Lee Babin
Well, another month has passed bringing with it a bevy of new games to play and a conglomeration of games still waiting on deck to be played. Last month I began my treck down the Nippon Ichi path with the incredibly cool Makai Kingdom. Truly Makai Kingdom seems a throw back to the game that had me addicted beyond all recognition; Disgaea. Sadly, while Makai Kingdom certainly managed to draw me in with the same level of addiction and enthrallment that Disgaea provided, it sadly also ended much too early for me. While I find most Nippon Ichi games to be at least slightly challenging, Makai Kingdom fell before me like the proverbial candy to be taken from a baby. It ended much too soon for me, and I feel that my foray into the Makai Kingdom universe is not yet at an end. I have ordered the official strategy guide (from doublejumpbooks) and hope to continue my quest into the Makai Kingdom universe in a second play through.
After Makai Kingdom bit the dust, I delved into two quite dissimilar PS2 titles. Delta Force: Black Hawk Down and Ys VI - The Ark of Napishtim have both brought me back to my old school roots. I have not really played a first person shooter since Metroid Prime and Halo and found the experience to be one of mixed emotions. On one hand, Black Hawk Down served as a true adrenaline rush; I found myself glued intently to the screen as I sniped down enemy militia after enemy militia. On the other hand, the gameplay has seemingly not evolved much at all; rather it seems the same game I have played before but with prettier graphics. And, please, do not get me started on the AI; it would be an exercise in futility. That being said, I am glad to have played it as it brought me back up to date on how shooters are progressing.
Ys VI, on the other hand, is a true nostalgic joy. This is how action RPGs should be made; I cannot seem to put the game down. The combination of addictive leveling, a great storyline, loveable characters and a lush, beautiful world to explore have won me over like very few games. I find myself both rushing through the game to satiate my hunger for it and yet hating myself at the same time for doing it as I do not want the game to end. It has an amazing soundtrack as well; flowing almost as pure, liquid nostalgia could if it was possible to be syringed into your veins.
On the handheld front, my PSP has, sadly, been brushed to the wayside as I await anything (besides UMDs) worthwhile to play on it. The RPG front for the PSP has got to improve soon, or I fear my PSP may become obsolete as the DS and GBA continue to issue very playable games. I am currently working on Riviera and Advance Wars DS; both games fighting for possession of my limited time. Both are amazing games in their own right and manage to fit into my DS at the same time, allowing me the freedom to choose what I want to play at any given time.
Currently Riviera is winning the fight. It is played out in a very unique style whereby you level up by using items and move from place to place via a strange map interface. The upside to progressing through this very linear game is that the story, graphics and hidden content truly shine through due to the lack of free exploration. I am quite enjoying the plot and the characters are too cool to ignore.
Advance Wars DS is exactly what I expected it to be; a set of new battle maps with a few new dual screen features. That being said, however, there are new (useful) units, the dual screen adds quite a bit more strategy and the new battles are both fun and exciting. I can't say enough about the series; it is truly awesome and should appeal to just about any gamer; from the hard core to the casual gamer.
I have a line of games waiting on deck to be played, some of them quite stunning titles. I have a copy of Digital Devil Saga II on the way as we speak which I am extremely impatient to play. I also have an unfinished copy of ICO, Megaman Command Mission, Front Mission 4, Jade Empire, Arc the Lad End of Darkness and .hack // Quarantine just begging to be played. There are also a bevy of games set to be released including the very cool looking Magna Carta which I am highly anticipating. All in all, it is a great time to be a gamer, I can't wait to move into my new house and get my 57" widescreen HDTV hooked back up to my Sony 5.1. Have a great fall everyone, see you in a month!
