Review: Ragnarok Odyssey(Import)

Ragnarok Odyssey
PS Vita
RRP: US$39.99
ESRB: T

 Once again, I've had to import another bloody game because the PAL region always gets a middle finger when it comes to Japanese and Asian games in general with a few exceptions(usually crap like the PS3 Atelier games!) Well the big question is whether or not this is worth the import or not... or in the America's case whether they should buy it. Well, here's the review.


The vague story of Ragnarok Odyssey is that you are suppose to be a new recruit for the Sundered Land fortress and you'll need to explore areas to prove yourself before fighting the bigger threats to Rune Midgard... or something like that.

The games has been compared to Monster Hunter a lot in those big boy reviews everyone reads instead of mine, and it is a hell of a lot like Monster Hunter. You play a variety of missions with the same goals you see in every MMO and action RPG these days where you kill X number of monsters or gather Y amount of a certain item. As for how you play, it's a 2 button combo based system and all the special skills are tied to the combos. You can jump, dash step and sprint to dodge or attack from a different angle or height.

 The game has 9 "story" chapters and an extra chapter and as you clear each story chapter you are rewarded with a permanent stat boost. You can play all the missions in both single player and in multiplayer via Ad Hoc(if you can even FIND another person with a copy of the game, let alone a PS Vita) or online with up to 3 other players. Word of warning though, it's extremely laggy online since it never got a PAL region release and almost no one in the PAL region has a copy.

Welcome to the team... your doing all the work!

Game sounds simple and boring right? Well this is a Monster Hunter clone after all. Like Monster Hunter you'll spend a lot of time crafting and upgrading weapons and making outfits. On top of that there's hunting for weapons with better skills and stats and hunting cards for skills to make combat easier.

Cards you say? WTF? What madness is this?! Well instead of getting armor in the game you equip cards to your outfits to boost stats and/or gain abilities to make combat easier. Your outfits can only carry 8 cards or a set value of cards, yes each card has a value cost set by the level and number of skills on the card. Finding the right cards to suit your job class is tough though.

Speaking of job classes, there are 6 job classes in all. The Sword Warrior is your balance class, Hammersmith which is all power and nothing else, Hunter for ranged but weak combat, Assassin's are fast attackers with low strength, Clerics are the self healing noob class and the Mage for suicidal masochist but has high mage power with low... everything! I suggest find a class that suits you and stick with it I went mage so I'm crazy.

Fighting is what you do best.

 During the game you will get to fight against giant monsters, though you fight giant monsters normally but these are colossus sized ones. These fights can be epic and happen every once in a while... and are tough as HELL! This is were 4 player is AWESOME! Seeing 4 people attack a skyscraper sized monster is so cool and taking it down in a pack is just so epic! This is where the game shines in my opinion.

As mentioned before there is no armor. You instead get outfits to choose from so you can look the way you want. This is complemented with a series of hats and both can be dyed 4 different colours(depending on the item in question). Along with these your appearance is customisable from the start and can be changed any time in the game after a certain point. I like being able to build an identity but once you see an exact look-a-like you become disappointed by the limited options.

Playing with others is better... even with lag.

The game does feature some mandatory touch controls but thankfully they aren't intrusive... unlike Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation. You can open you map, express emotions, use items and type with the touchscreen but it never feels stupid. This minimalist approach to touch controls is exactly what developers should do instead of going gimmick crazy... like Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation or Uncharted: Golden Abyss.

Setting up multiplayer games works on a simplicity first basis. You can search out rooms that suit what quest you want or create a room with the purpose of clearing missions that you want to do and you can restrict who enters. Communicating with each other through text is a pain but thankfully you can emote with physical actions and emote bubbles for all the basics and leave text for detailed communication. Luckily communication isn't really needed. As for headsets... not sure if it works.

So was it worth the import? Well if your into repetition and Monster Hunter then yes, if not then run for the hills! I never really liked Monster Hunter myself but Ragnarok Odyssey at least has a sense of purpose and permanent stat boosting. It's also a very addictive game that is hard to put down. I can't really recommend it like I can say... Final Fantasy IX or The Last Story, but I'm sure if you like this type of game then you'll enjoy this. One thing's for sure, it's better then Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation and the DS Ragnarok game.

Score 4/5

Review: Ratchet & Clank: Q Force(Full Frontal Assault)

Ratchet & Clank: Q Force(Full Frontal Assault)
PS3, PS Vita, PSN
RRP: AU$24.95 retail $23.95 digital
ACB: PG

Hoping to get the bad taste out of my mouth left by the mediocre Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, I jumped at the chance to play this game but surprise, surprise... it's better than All for One but still doesn't hold a candle to the others. Well, find out why by reading my review.


The story for the campaign mode has a former Quark fanboy named Stuart(last seen in Ratchet & Clank 3: Up your arsenal if I remember) out for revenge because Quark has disappointed him on numerous occasions. He does this by taking down the planetary defenses of a few planets, which in turn allows the Grungarian marauders to invade these planets. Now the Q Force has to turn the defenses back on a defeat the new menace.

First thing I need to address is the humor... it's still a funny game but not as much as any of the other games... small game, small amount of humor... but smaller then Quest for Booty. Secondly, cross play with the PS Vita and a free PS Vita copy with the PS3 retail version is brilliant! Finally is that I'm glad they made it a retail and digital release so the lazy can download it and the smart can have a REAL copy.

Gameplay is what we've done about 10 times over the last 10 years now. If it moves... shoot! Well there's more to that but I don't feel the need to go over that because it's hot in Australia at the moment and I assume by now we've all played at least 1 Ratchet & Clank game, so I'll go into the new. Q Force is a tower defense game. The story mode and online play a little different to each other but is similar at the core.

Story mode has you protecting a base and turning on the planetary defenses for the most part. You go out and unlock weapons pods, build base defenses and take down enemy defended key nods to gain access to the planetary defense before defending your base from a final onslaught while it powers up. Your base will get attacked every once in a while while exploring but that's what building defenses are for. You win each level by keeping at least one base generator operational after defeating the Grungarian barrage during the planetary defenses powering up sequence.The story mode is easier with a partner but you can only play with PSN friends or a couch friend. The story is also criminally short, sure it's a downloadable title but I need a REAL Ratchet & Clank game again.

Unfortunately this game's main focus is online multiplayer... ugh! The thing I'm never fond of had to be the focus didn't it?! Online you can play 1 Vs 1 or 2 Vs 2 and you fight to destroy the other teams base. The online game works in phases. The first phase is Recon and you hunt down bolts and nodes to unlock weapons and buy defenses. Phase 2 is Squad and you build your invading force during this phase with the bolts generated by the nodes you've captured. The third phase is Assault and during this phase you attack your opponents base or defend yours. These phases will cycle over and over again until one team is victorious. During any phase you can build defense but be warned... they don't stop the other players, just their Grungarian marauders.

The flow and outcomes of online matches will take time and a good internet connection to get used to. Once you've learned the maps and play with people in your own country, it can be fun... sorta. One thing that pisses me off is the lack of a local competitive mode! I mean come on, the PS3 supports 4 players and most people own TV's that are 40 inches or more in size so why not?

So what's the point of this Ratchet & Clank game? Experimentation would be my guess. I mean look at it, big name game series with a new play style. It's not the first time it's happened with a big name franchise and it won't be the last, though it's kinda sucky when it happens.

So what's the verdict then? Well it's a good game for what it is but flawed and the story feels rushed and it's short. The tower defense style of gameplay is an interesting take that needs to be a little more flesh out. The lack of local competitive modes royally sucks but it's online competitive can be fun if there's no lag in the connection... which never happens for the most part. It's a game that's pointless if you want a decent single player game but if your looking for an alternative to online military shooters then it's pretty good, although most won't stay for long. Either way for AU$25 it's good value for money.

Score 3/5

Review: New Super Mario Bros U

New Super Mario Bros U
Wii U
RRP: AU$79.95
ACB: G

A new Nintendo console has come out and Mario been made the Atlas(Greek mythology, look it up) of the Wii U as Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess was to the Wii on release. So to launch the Wii U, Nintendo made another 2D retro throwback Mario... and it's AWESOME! Yeah, I know I'm a Nintendo fanboy but I can see without rose tinted glasses. Anyway, review... read... back to Mario!


The plot has been shaken up slightly. Bowser has now giving all his kids their own personalised airships(probably bought used from Baron after Cecil took over... he he he... Final Fantasy reference... shut up!) and for a change, takes over Princess Peach's castle and kick Mario, Luigi and the 2 generiToads outs. So now the Mario Bros & Co(Pty Lld... what? I feel like joking around... shut up!) must fight there way through the Koopa forces to get back to the castle and save Peach for the umpteenth time... yeah, 27 or more years of the same thing... you know what they say "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" and Nintendo knows this well.

The gameplay is the same as the Wii version with the Wiimotes.... Seriously there's nothing new with the interactions there but when you play with the gamepad in single player, you don't need to shake it like a ninny. The gamepad plays like the 3DS version of the game so nothing new there and you press the shoulder buttons instead of shaking... unless you're dense and want to shake it. As for using the gamepad in multiplayer... it's what I like to call "youngest kid/mum mode" where you can tap the screen to make blocks appear to either help or hinder the people ACTUALLY playing the game.

Ok let's start with the main game mode. The game has been designed similarly to Super Mario World with the return of a full world map and Yoshi is back. The new Squirrel Mario power allows you to glide and cling to walls and with a shake of the Wiimote do a little scoop that can help reach higher places. You progress through each stage like we've done in the previous games in the series collecting Star coins along the way to the end stage flag pole. As you'd expect it's a lot of the same stuff we've done in NSMB but done the best here.

Just on the main game alone this game deserves a 5/5 but there's more to this game, They decided to add a bunch of extra modes to extend the life of the game and challenge Generation NES' skill. First off we have Coin Battle. Similar to the DS NSMB you play through stages and collect more coins then the other players, simple enough. Not my thing to be honest but I'm sure people out there will enjoy it.

Next up...Boost Rush! This mode is all about SPEED! You play through set courses with 5 lives and they auto scroll, the challenge? As you collect coins the auto scrolls speed increases making the stage more difficult and forcing you to think quick and pray the stage doesn't leave a big gap or worse... leave you behind. If you lose a life the speed does drop but you need to keep the speed up for a good record. I like this mode because of the challenge but playing with other people makes it a nightmare!

The Challenge mode lives up to it's name and then some. This is where you separate the veterans from the obsessed! There are a variety of challenges here and they will make you want to throw the gamepad through your TV! There are time trials where you have a limited time to finish the stage and some have an extra requirement to finish, 1up challenges that test your skills at gathering 1ups under varying conditions, coin challenges that challenge you to collect all the coins in the stage, special challenges with a variety of goals that will drive you insane and boost mode challenges where 2 players(one on gamepad tapping the screen and one on a Wiimote) have to work together to complete the goals set forth. All of these are hard and require patience, skill and most importantly repetition... and maybe a back up Wiimote if you break yours.

As NSMBWii before it, this game was built for multiplayer mayhem. 4 players on Wiimotes and a "fifth" on the gampad. Like before all 4 players bounce on and off one another and all over the place. As you'd expect fights for power ups will ensue and arguments over which players are stuck with the generiToads. If you've played the Wii version(sales records say there's a pretty good chance you have) then you know this frustration all to well. As mention earlier the 5th player gets the short end of the stick and can tap the screen to place blocks all over the screen to assist or hinder the people actually playing the game. I recommend getting mum to use the gamepad because most mums don't play real games(unlike my mum who is currently struggling though Chapter 7 in Ragnarok Odyssey. She's the best!) and your mum will most likely be helpful to everyone else playing or give it to the youngest sibling so the feel like they're playing and can amuse themselves by tapping the screen.


The main game will last you about 10 hours(if you hunt down all the stages exits and Star coins) and is just as replayable as every other Mario game. Challenge Mode will keep you playing long after you've saved the princess, especially if you want those gold medals and there are a lot of challenges too. So was this the reason to buy the Wii U? DUH! HELL YEAH! Absolutely was the reason to buy it. Sure it won't keep you occupied until the next real Wii U title comes out(what I mean is a game build from the ground up for the Wii U) but it'll pass the time during the Christmas break. If you buy a Wii U, you MUST buy this game with it!

Score 5/5

Review: Assassin's Creed 3

Assassin's Creed 3
PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC
RRP: AU$89.95
ACB: MA15+

Yeah! Another Assassin's Creed! Woooh! I love this franchise... that is a least true for the most part(Damn save data bug in Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation!). Why is that? Well that's what reviews and in depth analysis is for! So sit back, relax and pretend to read this review of Assassin's Creed 3... Go Banana!


Assassin's Creed 3 brings the Assassin's Creed Scooby gang to New England(America I think) to keep following the cryptic breadcrumb trail left by the first people to save the world from the 2012 apocalypse everyone is cashing in on. Desmond is now getting driven even crazier by all the cryptic nonsense and needs to find a key in a new ancestors life to open a door. As for the ancestor to quantum leap into, we join Connor Kenway who is assisting the Patriots in their struggle for Independence from the crown. Yes, we fight redcoats for America! And I don't care... I just want to stab Templar's in the throat!

What has changed since last year? Well polish for one! As many of you have noticed, this game glitches a lot and has a lot of problems that make it feel more like a AU$90 beta testing opportunity than a proper game(Although if you patch it, it has less problems). I could bitch about these problems for a long time but it'll go from a review to a rant.

Gameplay is SO MUCH BETTER now then ever, except now you're less like an assassin and more like a vigilante... or Batman. Combat has been refined further to not need to lock on to an enemy and countering has been stolen from Batman: Arkham City. Free running has also been made easier now that it only uses one button unless you want to risk death, but at the same time it feels restricting because you can find dead ends and scripted paths.

The game has a lengthy tutorial too. The first five sequences of the game are designed to teach you the majority of the gameplay features if you're new to the series and if you are new, you chose the right place for gameplay but not story. Everything is streamlined and easy to pick up.

The game features a large amount of mission, both main and side missions... unfortunately "Assassinate Target" style missions that allow you to assassinate someone are far and few between and don't give you real opportunities to be the stealthy assassin you're suppose to be... like I said vigilante, not assassins. To top it off you get a few naval mission too that have you pilot a ship. I'll go into each type of mission in depth so you know what you're getting into.

Ok, main story missions don't have many assassination missions and focuses more on just helping America fight England through key historic events. As mentioned the first few sequences are designed as tutorials and after you eventually become an "assassin" your opportunity to assassinate are mainly left to chance while you faff about Boston, New York and The Frontier.

The navel missions happen both as part of the story and as some side missions. These are mainly you sailing through rocks and sinking enemy boats. These are some of the more interesting missions in the game since they're new to the franchise. I love these missions because it just feels so good and I never played naval combat in a game before.

There are a lot of side missions to do in this game to distract you and pad the game out so you spend more then 20 hours on the story. These vary from fetch quests to assassinations, to even busting urban legends like Bigfoot. No , I don't know if any are missable because I always clear them out before I touch any story missions.

There game has some clubs again to give you mini goals to complete for an achievement. I never cared for these myself. It's more padding to stretch out the life of the game. If you like arbitrary, mindless goals for an achievement then have at it.

The economy system has been revamped...or should I say castrated! No longer do you invest in businesses or restore landmarks, instead you convince people to move into your homestead Davenport and sell what they produce for profit along with whatever you find or harvest while hunting the local wildlife. What do you use this money for you may ask? Upgrading your boat, buying weapons and maps... nothing else really. Assassin's Creed 2 done it better in my opinion.

As part of making money, you can hunt animals in the frontier. I could have lived without this to be honest but it does fit the theme and character of the game. You go out and piss PETA off by trapping animals in snares and chasing them down to kill on the ground or from the trees. Predator animals like wolves will attack you on sight and you'll have to do a quick time event to kill them. The game does kinda punish you for killing animals with heavy damage weapons by reducing the spoils to just a damaged pelt so you're encouraged to bow hunt or kill with the hidden blade.

Your homestead does actually serve a purpose other then making money... crafting weapons and pouch upgrades as well as junk for more money! As you gather more residents through side missions, you'll find craftsman who can make items from the recipes you find in chests around the games world. After you craft the items, you sell it, rinse and repeat until you have enough dosh(money). You can also store your spare weapons and costumes(or at least the ones you earn without bullshit preorder codes) in the homestead too but that comes under the heading of "Duh!".

Once again the guild is back... not the show, the assassin's guild and recruits. This time you get less recruits and they are scripted as specific people instead of randoms so no all female assassin's guild like I had in Brotherhood and Revelations. Like before you can send them on missions across the country to earn more cash and level them up, plus you can call them to do your dirty work since you don't get many chances to assassinate anyway. Calling assassins to help you has expanded a little bit though. You can call them to cause riots to sneak past guards or as an entourage to look like a badarse down the street among other things.

Guess What? Desmond actually gets to do something other then lie down on his back... and I still don't care! At a couple of points in the game, you can play as him in some short sections that are similar to the main game but not as satisfying as when you play as Connor. Also we don't spend THAT much time with him so that's a good thing. This is the portables games advantage... NO Desmond!

As for the multiplayer... I didn't play it. I'm not too big on multiplayer myself and I wasn't much of a fan of the other Assassin's Creed games multiplayer. Also to paraphrase fellow Australian Ben "Yahtzee" Crowshaw "A great man once said a game should be able to stand on single player alone!". If you bought Assassin's Creed for the multiplayer, then you're an idiot and are helping ruin modern games by encouraging tacked on multiplayer that the time spent making it could have made the single player better!

When it comes to Assassin's Creed 3, the "assassin" part is a bit lacking. I love the series so much that I'll forgive it for forcing me to not assassinate for America's founding fathers to shoot stuff, because America! Assassin's Creed 3 is a great game lacking polish(I blame the time wasted on multiplayer!). The combat and the parkour have been refined to such a great degree and is fun to engage in. When it comes down to it, it's probably one of the best games of the year and I highly recommend it to everyone but Assassin's Creed 2 is still my favourite(wish they'd re-release AC2 with AC3's combat!) along with Assassin's Creed Brotherhood. Sure we can't assassinate as many people in Assassin's Creed 3 as we could in games past, but a tomahawk to the face kinda makes up for it.


Score 4/5

Review: Halo 4

Halo 4
Xbox 360
RRP:AU$89.95
ACB: M

Halo makes a return to the Xbox 360 with this latest installment.To be honest I had low expectations for this game since Bungie didn't develop it. Well now 343 Industries has brought Master Chief back to hold up the Xbox once again during a downturn of profits and we've all bought the game so this review is pointless isn't it? Regardless here's my review.


The story of Halo 4 kicks off 4 years after Halo 3... yeah... just about as long as you waited for this story to come. Master Chief is revived by Cortana(Now looking too attractive for the franchises own good... disturbing) on the space frigate "Forward Unto Dawn"(If you saw the web series, that was his memory and expansion of the story while in cryo sleep)because it's being invaded by the Covenant(Yes, they were defeated in Halo 3 and are now reorganised). Now Master Chief is back to kick their ass and a new enemy know as the Prometheans but I won't explain much about them because it's spoiler territory. They look like Michael Bay designed Transformers crossed with Space Pirates from Metroid! Anyway, the Prometheans are revived as well as a Forerunner who wants the extinction of humanity and it's up to you to stop them. Just another day for John 117!

The game is Halo to the power of Halo times Call Of Duty! What does that mean? The gameplay and multiplayer are the standard Halo affair but the online modes are skewed in favour of the obsessive players(who are most likely unemployed lifeless people with the social practices of crazy hermits and have all the time in the world) with custom loadouts that like in Call Of Duty, reward those who playing for longer all the best stuff and everyone else suffers! The game feels and plays like Halo Reach for the most part in the main campaign but it feels a bit muggy at first... at least it did to me.

The main campaign will last you anywhere between 8 to 10 hours(9h 33mins in Heroic difficulty for me) and has a surprising amount of care taken to both the writing and pacing. The campaign also has a few flight sections extremely similar to Halo Reach's... come to think of it this game REALLY wants to be Halo Reach! As usual the main campaign is more of a training tool for the multiplayer but it is so well fleshed out that even if you didn't play online you leave satisfied, unlike any Call Of Duty!

Speaking of the online modes, this game copies another think from Call Of Duty... Spec Ops, I mean "Spartan Ops". This is an episodic series of short missions with it's own story tagged on it that will be released over time after the release for "free"(supposedly but I think it will start free and then be paid for DLC) and support up to 4 players and can be played solo if you're friendless like me. The mode is fun overall and it earns you XP for the main online multiplayer mode and is actually Cooperative.

Before I go into the multiplayer I'll expand on the XP thing. In Halo 4 you earn XP in Spartan Ops and the online multiplayer. The XP will earn you levels for your Spartan rank similar to Halo Reach but instead of just unlocking armor pieces, you earn Spartan points per level. The SP is traded in towards your loadout options and skew combat towards the "heavily invested" player. As for the armor not all of it is unlocked with the levels you earn, some require certain commendations to be earned and once again skew towards the "heavily invested" player.

The main online multiplayer mode... oh God! What a disappointing mess! Well, at least for me.This is where the game runs shy of a perfect score in my book... Yes, it's not a 5/5 so deal with it! Ahem... anyway in the multiplayer you earn XP(explained earlier) as you play to customise loadout for the various game modes. This fair reader, is a BAD thing. Halo Reach was just so well balanced and when you sucked, it was always due to lack of skill and not starting super weapons and skills that dictated what happened. Sure like in all multiplayer, the person who plays the most is going to be better but at least Halo Reach gave everyone a chance from newbies to experts. Now new players will return the game or trade it in because the multiplayer mode is unfair(I did it with every Call Of Duty I ever played and Battlefield 3... pieces of shit!)... not exactly good business strategy!

There are a variety of game modes to play in the multiplayer but two important and fun modes were removed! If like me you loved Firefight and Invasion, you just got screwed and will probably "Remember Reach"(great marketing at Bungie there) and start playing that over this. Not many new modes but some old "favorites"(to other Halo fans) make a return. The basic team slayers are back for some good old fashion "RvB" action in teams of 4 and 8 as well as well as the Pro slayer for all your dick measuring pleasure. Oddball is back for those who like turtling a teammate to earn points or hunting the easy target. Of course the virtual paintball isn't complete without good old Capture the Flag, but this time both flags are up for grabs instead of fair gentlemanly turns like in Halo Reach. Also King of the Hill(the mode not that boring show Mike Judge did before remembering we like Beavis and Butthead) is back and nothing is different there either. Also if you want to make a custom game, Grifball is back! I suck at it but it's back baby!

The new modes are not that exciting to me but there's are a couple. Flood has 10 players and 1 of them is randomly chosen to be a Flood and the object is to either turn everyone into a Flood or ride out the time with the highest score... which will NEVER HAPPEN! Regicide is the new "Free For All" mode that has every man for themselves and one person is deemed King and has a bounty on his head, highest score wins and the king is worth extra points. Then there's Dominion... this is our Invasion consolation prize and has you taking bases and first to 600 points wins.

Like in the other Halo games, Forge is back for people who like to build there own custom extensions on the original maps or "tweak" the original maps to suit themselves. In the past people have done some crazy thing in this mode like making race tracks and obstacle course. I never really spent much time in Forge over the years but it opens the door for a lot of shenanigans.

So yeah, a lot of online multiplayer option there for those who enjoy skewed bullshit that's about as fair as putting a wolf against a pomeranian in a dog fight(I know distasteful, but it's accurate none the less).I personally think the main online modes are crap and I'll personally be back on Reach if I ever want to play online multiplayer in Halo again.


Halo 4 is overall a good game. The campaign is great and can be played with others(better with couch friends or real life friends online) for even more enjoyment and is a decent length. I really like the Spartan Ops mode and look forward to more episodes of it in the future too. As for the online multiplayer... I think I'll just stick to Halo Reach unless a friend desperately wants me to play it with them since it's so damn unbalanced and doesn't have my favourite game modes in it. If you like Call Of Duty's multiplayer, then Halo 4 is that but with power armored space marines! No matter what I say, you don't care. If I ever do play Halo 4's online multiplayer on my own again, it'll probably be Capture the Flag.


Score 4/5

Review: Code Of Princess (Import)

Code Of Princess
3DS
RRP: US$39.99
ESRB: T
Currently unavailable in PAL region

 Sometimes in Australia, we miss out on games for the most bullshit reasons. Whether it's not profitable or Europe never localised it or my favourite... there is no audience for it. There are plenty of excuses that have been used. This bullshit has lead me to import a U.S. version 3DS out of self defense since Nintendo region locked the damn thing. I highly recommend more people in the PAL region do the same to protest against Nintendo and wake them up to their stupidity before piracy and homebrewing go into overdrive.

Anyway, having a U.S. 3DS has given me the opportunity to play a game that may never make it to Australia and is on my review chopping block. Is it good? Is it worth having a U.S. 3DS? Well keep reading to find out... or just scroll to the score and be off with you.


Code of Princess has a strange story... not strange as in "weird" but strange in the fact it's broken into bite size portion before quests. The story itself has you following the Princess of DeLuxia Solange(it's French pronounced) as she protects the magical sword called Deluxcalibur from the evil Queen Distiny's army because of the swords power to change the world. Along the way you meet a few characters and yada yada yada. The story isn't really too serious and the game doesn't treat it too seriously either. It's a good story mind you but it's kinda forgettable and silly.

The game is a side scrolling action game with a leveling system... idiots would call this an Action RPG but the only RPG element in the game is the leveling system and nothing else. I'd say this game is more of a mission based beat 'em up. The game is supposedly similar to a game called "Guardian Heroes" but I've never played it so I can't make the comparison myself, just read it somewhere.

The controls are pretty simple to learn and the game features a tutorial video mode to teach you if you aren't from the Stone age or forgot what an instruction manual is for. Basically you have 2 types of attacks, lock on attack, guard and a "burst" mode to power up attacks. You fight on different plains... I think that's what they're called, pretty much straight lines you can fight on and switch between.

Combat itself in the game reminds me of Dungeon Fighter(I reviewed it a while back) where in you had special moves that were used by inputting a specific series of d-pad presses and an attack button. There's also a "Burst" that drains your MP(called Piety here) to double the strength of you attacks. It's actually pretty fun to play with this combat system since it's hardly been used and with most games playing and looking the same as other AAA titles, it's nice to have something rare and different used.

Worst armor choice EVER! Just underwear and small pieces of metal to cover nipples.

The game is broken into missions/quests, each with a portion of the story to frame the mission in question. The quests aren't really even quests when you get down to it. They are just kill whatever is on screen until the game says your done, beat a boss or protect a suicidal A.I character that 9 times out of 10 will kill itself by getting in the way. There are also bonus quest that get unlocked from playing through the main story and some online quest to make life miserable for those of us who despise online multiplayer and completionists. You can also replay story mission in Free Play and not have to put up with the story again.

The box boast 50+ characters... they weren't kidding! See the 50+ characters are just the 4 main characters, a few story characters and EVERY NPC AND MONSTER IN THE GAME! There's also over 100 quest in single player and a lot more that are ONLINE ONLY! That actually pisses me off. Since most of the quests are just kill stuff before time runs out, they just start to blend into one another... but are strangely addictive, mainly due to cash and item rewards.

As mentioned earlier the game has a leveling system. You earn XP after completing each mission and each one gives you a specific amount of XP, regardless of how many enemies you kill.When you level up you earn stat points that can be used to suit the characters or as you see fit. Along with the leveling system you find gold and items in quests and you earn them from completing them too. You can equip the items to increase or decrease stats and add abilities to give you an edge in certain missions or when you use "Burst".

Believe it or not... that's a girl!

 The game does feature some online modes. There are Co Op quests for 2 to 4 players and some specifically for 2 or 3 players only. These will earn you more XP, gold and items... that can only be earned here... which sucks! There is a few online Vs modes where you just fight other players with characters you've unlocked in 3 different lobbies. Ranked which is self explanatory, free play and Ultimate which is your level Vs the opponents level. These modes are plagued with a common problem all multiplayer games have... balance issues! Some characters are overpowered or have unfair attacks that can attack from anywhere, regardless of plain or direction they're facing... I hate these modes! Personally since I live in Australia, the connections were always laggy as hell and it's also hard to keep a stable connection... probably because the internet in the U.S. isn't as good as it should be, you guys in the U.S.A should get on your ISP's cases about that.

You can play as a senile old woman... trust me, she's senile! Play the 2P co op online mission "Undead Assault".

There are some achievements in the game to earn... but you can't find them to see what you've earned and could earn. This wouldn't be an issue if the game didn't reward you with items from them! I enjoy the fact they give you something, but I'd like to know what I have and haven't unlocked. Also achievements suck!

Code of Princess is a mixed bag. The gameplay is well done, but the mission structure of the game makes combat too short to really enjoy unless your a low level or play for long periods of time. The 50+ characters is just an advertising blurb just to draw attention but ultimate only offers a small portion of worth while characters and only 4 can be used in the story campaign. Admittedly this game is addictive! Between that urge to level up every character or to complete just one more quest after finishing the last "one more quest", it just sucks you in. I highly recommend the game for those of you who own a U.S. 3DS or if you are actually from North America. Sure the online only quests and the uncheckable achievements damper the experience a little but it's still a great game overall

Score 4/5

Review: Resident Evil 6

Resident Evil 6
PS3, Xbox 360, PC(eventually)
RRP: AU$99.95
ACB: MA15+

Well a new Resident Evil is out and I've been playing it non stop since it came out in Australia on September 28(suck it world! We got it first for once!). Also took me 4 days to clear all 4 campaigns in the game. What's my opinion on the game you ask? Read on o' child of naivety.


The story of Resident Evil 6 is split into 4 stories, 5 chapters in each. The story focuses on Leon's struggle with zombies in Tall Oaks, Chris' vengeance against Ada Wong for killing his men, Jake's survival to save the world from the new C virus and Ada's mysterious breadcrumb trail she must follow. I'd love to spill more about the story but to quote River Song "Spoilers!"(Doctor Who reference for the win!)

The gameplay has been overhauled to play like every other 3rd person shooter on the damn planet! Let me put it this way... Epic Games ripped of Resident Evil 4 and tweaked it for Gears of War and Capcom ripped off Gears of War to save on innovation and pander to the idiot masses. Well that may be a little inaccurate, if you've played a 3rd person shooter in the last 3 seconds then the controls are nothing new to you. Luckily(if you can call it lucky) for Resident Evil veterans, we can change the controls to be slightly more like Resident Evil 4... but it'll slow down the way you play unless you're REALLY good... like me.

While the controls may be different to previous games, the new features wouldn't be available without it. For the first time ever you can walk and shoot... not run and gun though for all you Ritalin junkies. You can also sprint, take cover, melee, perform quick time events and this is sounding AWFULLY familiar isn't it? Yeah... the game has finally bent to the will of the idiot masses who like action over horror. The unique moves in the game are sliding, shooting on your back, dodging and countering... not much huh?

To make matters worse, the game has an annoying habit of taking the camera away from you to focus in on a specific event happening. If they would have copied Gears of War completely and used a button for the focus, it wouldn't be as annoying. Speaking of the camera, the game is filled with sprint sections where the camera likes to change without a moment's notice and throw you off. It's so frustrating when your character isn't on screen and you get turned around and die(this actually caused many deaths for my mum who actually IS a gamer... that and the QTEs)! FFFFFFFFFFF!!! Also slow walking sections have the camera taken from you sometimes and these section usually have you on the radio with someone. I HATE SLOW WALKING SECTIONS IN GAMES, ESPECIALLY WHILE THE CHARACTER IS ON THE RADIO! STOP IT!

As mentioned before, there are quick time events...ugh! Resident Evil 4 has a lot, Resident Evil 5 had more... Resident Evil 6 throws them at you constantly like an aggressive gym teacher who loves dodge ball WAY too much and hates nerds. Whether it's because of being attacked, a cutscene to progress further, to interact with an object or just to piss you off, Resident Evil 6 has one waiting for you. I hate QTEs some much and these come fast and furious at you, requiring the speed of a hyperactive knat on Red Bull and cocaine to react to them!

The campaign's are split into 5 chapters and each one can last up to 6 hours if you hardly die and 12 hours if you play with your mum... or at least my mum... she got better in the other 2 Co Op campaigns though! You can play 3 campaigns in Co Op both online up to 4 players and locally with 2 players. The 4 player online Co Op connects 2 campaigns together at an intersection of the story, usually for a boss fight. The way it works is if by some chance you and another players campaign are at the point where the same characters interact, you can team up for a short period of time. This is pretty cool since all 4 campaigns interact with one another every once in a while.

As for the supposed "horror", this game brings back zombies that are now faster and use weapons to actually make them challenging to suit the more action focused gameplay. The Ganados/Majinni make a return under a new name call J'avo and on top of that, their plaga are more bug like and are part of the C virus. The J'avo have a more tactical script written into them so they are more difficult to defeat then the Ganados/Majinni of the past, who the zombies are more like.

The enemies of the game are pretty boring to look at. It's just zombies and J'avo who look like normal people for the most part until they get damaged and transform. They are all bullet sponges and take way too long to kill, hell zombies take more then 1 bullet to the head! WTF?! Nothing really poses much of a threat either! Everything is just a nuisance that have a habit of cheap attacking you and knocking you back... like in Lost Planet! I think that Capcom never bothered scaling the enemies and gameplay properly just like they do with their fighting games.

One other thing, there are a fair few vehicle sections in the game. Capcom used about every vehicle in the action movie playbook. You will ride a snow mobile, bike, drive a car, fly a jet and helicopter. This games wants to be an action movie/game so bad that it's starting to resemble those piss poor Resident Evil live-action films... it's laughable! These vehicle sections are just a pointless waste of time and drove me crazy!

During the game you will find items in boxes and dropped from enemies that give you ammo, health restoration and skill points. The skill points are cashed in to unlock a variety of skills to help affect how the game flows. You unfortunately can only equip 3 skills in campaign and only 1 in Mercenaries mode but you can set up 8 skills sets made to suit your play style or a specific situation and in campaign mode they can be swapped around in game. Some of the skills will require you to finish the entire game or earn a certain number of kills with a specific weapon to unlock.

Like in Resident Evil 5, there are emblems to find within each stage of the game for a total of 80. All they seem to do is just unlock digital statues and files that delve into the mythos of the Resident Evil franchise. At least collecting them all unlocks a trophy/achievement for achievement hunter. Some of these are really well hidden so hunting the down won't be easy.

Mercenaries mode is back but only has 3 maps. You can tell Capcom plans to pocket mine heavily through this mode. There are costumes to unlock for each character that have different load outs and a character to unlock in each map. I personally am not clear how Capcom plans on convincing us to waste money on pointless DLC for Mercenaries mode, but we'll see soon enough. Again Mercenaries mode can be played in Co Op but be prepared to either frustrate or be frustrated by other players. I personally have been extremely frustrated by other players in this mode. The major purpose of this mode is to earn skill points and earn high scores for bragging rights.

To give douche bag trolls something to do in a new mode called Agent Hunt. In this mode players can invade other peoples online campaigns and take control of the enemies to kill them. This is just meant to piss other players off who accidentally leave Agent Hunt on in an online game. Also there are no achievement to earn in this mode, so it's just a troll mode and nothing more! In my opinion this mode is pointless in a game like this and is only for jerks who like to ruin other peoples fun. I'm sure there are pricks who will enjoy this mode but I don't like it! It's a mode better suited for a Call Of Duty's campaign mode, not this game.


Resident Evil 6 is a bit disappointing to a long time fan like me who guided the master of unlocking through a mysterious mansion, experienced the worst first day on the job ever, got chased by a zombie terminator, escaped a zombie infested prison island while being hunted by a crazy guy with multiple personalities, saved the president's daughter, finished Wesker off once and for all, found out where it all began and fought leeches that grouped up to make other creatures. This is a "good" game but not good. Sure I enjoyed playing it myself, but I love Resident Evil! This game isn't as bad as Operation: Raccoon City but it's not a real Resident Evil game, it's Gears Of Wars with zombies! If you never played a Resident Evil don't bother with this one, if you have and love Resident Evil then just wait for it to go into the discount bin since it's only really worth it for the story. I considered giving this a 4/5 at first but on reflection and talking with my partner in crime I played the game with(my mum) I think this score suits it better.

Score 3/5

Review: Double Dragon Neon

Double Dragon Neon
XBLA, PSN
Price: 800MS Points, AU$12.95
ACB: PG

Like most retro gamers, when I heard a new Double Dragon is coming out I had to check the calender to make sure I didn't travel back in time. Now that the initial shock is over I can tell you that this game... isn't quite what I expected. Find out more by reading my review... or just go to a professional reviewers site for a video review. Now let's get this party started!


The story of Double Dragon Neon is just as minimal as it's older counterparts. Set in 1987, Jimmy and Bimmy... Oops! I mean Jimmy and Billy(Stupid bad writing in Double Dragon III!) are out to save Marian once again but this time she's kidnapped by Skullmageddon, who sounds an awful lot like Skeletor from He-man and the Masters of the universe... maybe that's why He-man ended? Skeletor changed his name and looks and is now on Earth running an evil organization that's main goal is to get him a date with a big boobed blonde. Seriously though the plot is as thin as paper to make it more retro.

As for how the game plays... well it's not too bad really. Almost every button is mapped to an action to expand the combat. Essentially the game plays like any old school beat 'em up but with more buttons. You can punch, kick, grab stunned enemies, run, duck/dodge and use special attacks with a button dedicated for each... and Hi 5 your partner... yeah! I'm serious! 2 grown men with mullets that call each other butt holes and Hi 5. Classic!

As you play and beat up enemies, you'll collect money and cassettes. Money is used to buy cassettes, lives and health recovery and the cassettes are used to unlock special attacks and stat boosts. You can equip the cassettes to turn the tide of combat in your favour but skills of play are still needed. The special attacks range from a simple Bruce Lee one inch punch to a flaming dragon that does heavy damage to every enemy on time. To prevent abusing the skills the game only lets you equip 1 tape for a special attack and 1 for your stat boosts.

Along with money and cassettes, you can get mythril from bosses. Mythrill is used to expand the amount of cassettes you can hold for each skill. The more cassettes you have of a skill, the more powerful it becomes. To actually buy and upgrade tapes, you need to find shops in certain stages. The shops sell different tapes at each store so buy as much as possible when you visit them. The tapesmith shop is where you cash in the mythril to upgrade the skills. I find it weird that it's called a tapesmith but whatever.

The boss fights in the game aren't many in number but can be difficult if you don't have the right mixtapes. Their patterns aren't too difficult to learn but they have a habit of juggling you and dealing heavy damage. Enemy variety, like in the millions of games ever made has an extreme amount of palette swaps... so there aren't too many different models used at all. Admittedly seeing old enemies redesigned invokes nostalgia, but it wares thin when you think about the games of today and the fact that this game somehow takes up 2.3GB of data.

Speaking of the 2.3GB the game takes up, the graphics are both cel shaded and mediocre. I usually don't talk about visuals in my reviews unless I feel it necessary and in this case it needs addressing! When you consider that the backgrounds and breakable items are 2D, why does this game take up 2.3GB? Blade Kitten is less then a gigabyte, cel shaded and uses nothing but 3D graphics and cutscenes! Also there are a lot of palette swapping in DDN so it just makes no sense to me!

The game features 10 levels with very little inspiration outside of redesigning old stages and newer stages that feel old. Some stages have hazards to avoid but they aren't so much of a hazard to you as they are to the enemy and it's spastic A.I. Within the levels you may find a key. The key is used to open a box filled with cash and tapes. They even placed a giant worm in some stages that will drop tons of cash and tapes when you wale on it. To make these little bonuses worth while, you can replay the levels to max out the skill, earn more money and mythril and visit shops... yeah... grinding... in a beat 'em up game... yay...

The game has co op just like you'd expect... what I mean is that it's local only... so no anonymous players giving you grief. You can optionally choose to have friendly fire on if you want a challenge but it's completely up to you. During co op you can give each other Hi 5's to get a a variety of stat boosts. The game is best in co op in my opinion since this is what it's meant for.


Look... this game is relying too much on nostalgia! From the remixed music to out right using the same opening moments from the original arcade classic, this has it's eyes set on retro gamers more then modern gamers. This game isn't bad at all but it feels like a nostalgia grab to me. I enjoyed the game but the game is designed for gamers like me! Modern gamers won't give a crap about this and I won't blame them. If you enjoyed Double Dragon in the golden age, then it's a must buy! Other then that it's not really worth it, even though it's cheap.

Score 3/5

Review: Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Nintendo 3DS
RRP: AU$69.95
ACB: PG

10 years... 10 years of Kingdom Hearts... really? Has it been that long? 10 years, 7 games and most people have only played the 2 PS2 games... poor fools! Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance is the newest game in the series and timeline and finally shows signs of Kingdom Hearts 3 on the horizon and dumps all the previous games info for those who missed out... in text(as punishment!). Any who, time to review this game... yay... review... god I am tired at the moment of writing.


The story comes to us after the events of Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded
... which is based after Kingdom Hearts II for those too ignorant to buy the non PS2 entries of the series. Sora and Riku are taking the Mark of Mastery exam(see Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep for more info on what it is) to finally become true keyblade masters. To do so they must enter the worlds still asleep from being swallowed by darkness and unlock the keyholes to gain a new ability. While doing so they are also being stalked by ghosts of the past.

The gameplay is copy/paste from the fantastic Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep and hasn't changed except they tacked on a more speed focused combat mechanic know as "Flowmotion". This new combat mechanic has you grinding rails, bouncing/kicking off walls and spinning around posts to get around the worlds and combat moves that can only be performed in flowmotion movement. Most gamers will find this new mechanic a great addition... me on the other hand? I found it an easily exploitable ability to avoid damage, platform against the intended path in the level design and damage enemies without chewing up the skills in the command deck. You can also use the Circle Pad Pro for the camera but it isn't worth it and it's useless in every game so far on the 3DS that uses it.

Ahh... cutscenes! As good as the PS2 games too!

Companions/partners return in this game too called Dream Eaters... but they are also the enemies you fight... and take up the bulk of the grind. To get Dream Eaters you need to farm items to make them... yeah... kinda like Castlevania: Curse of Darkness. These creatures are also where the majority of you commands, stat boosts and abilities are learned from... so yeah, grindtastic! On top of that you need to Tamagotchi/Nintendogs the little things too! To help them perform better in combat you need to pat/poke them and feed them to build up their abilities and switch them out and repeat constantly! To make it more time consuming their dispositions will need to change to unlock more abilities... ARGH! You will spend a lot of time trying to learn everything and make every Dream Eater... kind of like catching every Pokemon.

The game features 7 worlds, each gets played by both Riku and Sora. While most worlds are new, some are recycled with extra rooms or redesigns. As for level design... they all look like their inspirations, but aren't that good... yeah... and with the new flowmotion mechanic, any platforming complexity is killed since you can just wall kick up a wall to get to any platform. The worlds take inspiration from Disney classics like Fantasia, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Pinocchio as well as modern movies like Tron Legacy and Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers. Level complexity has never been Square-Enix's forte(Just look at Final Fantasy XII and XIII) so don't worry about it. Each world also has touchscreen based gameplay mechanic exclusive to the world... but aren't needed outside of opening certain doors and boss fights.

Best... Party... EVER! A Dragon, a lion and a T-Rex!

When you enter a world for the first time you will enter a "Dive" mini game. During this you are given a goal to achieve, either a collect X amount of stars with a time limit stage or defeat a boss fight. In the star collecting stages you have to avoid obstacles while collecting the stars and if you lose... you have to take it from the top. A needless distraction but gives score chasers something to do.

Within each world you will find pink portals you can open when standing on top of it on the map and touching the screen. These portals will either give you a temporary party of Dream Eaters or a combat challenge to earn items. You need to hunt them down to get some of the rarer items needed to make the coolest Dream Eaters... like a dinosaur! You can also set portals with your Dream Eaters for people to use with the Spot Pass feature, but good luck finding people though... I've yet to.

Yeah! Hitting stuff with a giant key! Totally doable.

The game also has this character swapping "Drop" system. At first I found it annoying but after a while you get used to it. During the game a gauge on screen will deplete over time and the speed it depletes will vary depending on what happens during the character's run. Once the gauge is empty you will switch characters right there and then. Worst thing is if it happens in a boss battle, when you return you'll have to start from the beginning of the fight. You can also change at will but if you do, you'll miss out on all the bonuses you get from cashing in large amounts of droplets you get from enemies. Oh I forgot to mention that didn't I?

This is a game for the true fans of Kingdom Hearts. If you already own all 6 previous entries you are going to buy this anyway but let me reassure you that it's got the best combat so far and will last a good 30 hours on a rush run or a whole lot longer if you want every Dream Eater, command and ability. The story is great and sets up for the next entry forward. If you miss this entry, you should just give up on Kingdom Hearts in my opinion. Also the 3D sucks but who cares about trendy 3D anyway! It's a must buy but it's just a shy from being as good as Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep.


Score 4/5

Review: New Super Mario Bros. 2

New Super Mario Bros
Nintendo 3DS
ACB Rated: G
Price: AU$69.95

Well... a new Mario game in only 9 months since the last one... am I the only one wondering why? Yeah I'm excited to play a new Mario game too but in such a short time? Call me suspicious but I smell a hasty cash in... except it's not exactly one... not completely. Well anyway, read the review for more.


The story is the same one we've seen the last 27 years. This time it starts with Mario and Luigi after saving the Princess and returning her home. Not a moment after dropping Princess Peach off she's kidnapped by the Koopa kids and it's second verse, same as the first.

The gameplay is the same as the previous entries in the (not so) New Super Mario Bros. series. 2D platforming with all the new updated techniques from the 2006 entry. To shake this up Nintendo added a few new elements... if you can call them new. Raccoon Mario makes it's triumphant return following on the heels of Super Mario 3D Land's Tanooki suit, but unlike the suit this one brings back flight and more vertical level designs.

Haven't we been here before?

2 new power ups have been added to the game to enforce the new goal of one million coins. The first is the Golden Fire Flower which is essentially a fire flower on steroids. It can turn bricks into coins and send out a shock wave that can hit multiple blocks and enemies and reward you with coins when the enemies are defeated. The second is a Golden Brick that is worn on the players head and award you coins as you move, the faster you move the more coins you get.

The level designs while new, don't feel much different to the previous NSMB games due to the recycled backgrounds and enemies. While the level design is fantastically designed, all the coins the game now throws at you has reduced the difficulty level. The levels like in the previous titles have 3 large coins to collect, a red ring that yields 8 red coins to collect for a power up or extra life and a midway check point... and now to add to the premise of earning one million coins, a gold ring that turns enemies gold and makes them give coins upon defeat or drop coins and koopa shells drops coins as they travel.

So many stages... too many lives!

The game features 9 worlds, 3 of which are "Special Worlds" which are unlocked by running through certain cannon stages or in the case of the final world you need to finish the main game. Each world has a them around them kinda like Super Mario Bros. 3(the actually game this one is trying to be... and every game since that's in 2D!) and seem to be borrowing from that game too. The maps feature the usual stuff... you know stages, mushroom houses and some require either Star Coins to unlock the paths or finding a secret exit in certain stages.

The games difficulty has been swung towards a more new to games angle due to the large amounts of coins thrown at you and extra lives still only need 100 coins to be earned. Boss fights are also extremely easy too, which makes it not to hard to finish. Heck... even Bowser is easy to defeat! The real challenge comes from finding the secret exits and large coins. To add to the easy difficulty, a white Raccoon Leaf is available to you if you die a fair few times in a stage. Yes, the game is designed for everyone to finish it and while veteran gamers may be insulted by it... it's not necessary to use and not for veterans.

Trust me... he's going down!

Along with the one million coin goal to make sure you don't trade the game in, a new Coin Rush mode has been added to the game. This mode has you racing against the clock to collect as much coins as possible and trying not to die. In this mode you have one life and 3 levels to collect coins in that are randomly chosen from a specific set of worlds. The scores you earn can be shared with others via Street Pass to give you more incentive to improve your scores against other players.

The game also has a Co Op mode that brings a lot of the same problems as the Wii NSMB game. The small screen is too small to handle the co op and on top of that both players have to be on each others screen. Let me just say that co op is only worth it if you play with someone of similar skills as you or after you've finished the game and don't care about doing things right. I honestly will never play co op again but that's because I game alone usually.


Overall the game is another great entry in the library of Mario games... the only problem is it feels like we've played it before. The goal of one million coins is a tedious edition to reduce the chance of trading it in and co op is not for everyone. You'll get a great experience none the less and I highly recommend it. Veterans and newcomers alike will enjoy the game and with DLC coming soon for Coin Rush mode means more life out of the game.

Score 4/5
P.S. I don't feel right about giving a Mario game a score that isn't perfect, but I'm trying to be non bias here.

Review: Dungeon Fighter Live: Fall Of Hendon Myre

Dungeon Fighter Live:
Fall Of Hendon Myre
XBLA Only
800 MS Points
ACB Rated: M

Well it's the game drought again... so until mid August, nothing is coming out at retail and the download scene gets it's notable gems. So I reluctantly decided to bite the bullet and purchase a subscription/license for a game based on a popular MMPRPG... yeah, I've bought a game based on a MMO before and that wasn't exactly what I expected. Well anyway here's my review of Dungeon Fighter Live: Fall Of Hendon Myre.


For those who don't know Dungeon Fighter Live is based on a MMO called Dungeon Fighter Online. It's a free to play game with a micro transaction model that will run on any PC made within the last 10 years. Dungeon Fighter Live however is a watered down version of that game.

Ok. There is a story at the start this game and it's told in a series of comic books pages and to be honest... it's feels long and it's boring to put up with, this coming from a guy who reads comic books/mangas and plays JRPGs and on top of that has finished Metal Gear Solid 4 3 times! It's also forgettable and I have trouble remembering it... I even zoned out.

The best way I can describe the gameplay is Golden Axe crossed with input commands for special moves like Street Fighter with RPG elements(you know levels, HP, MP) and nothing but fetch quest and monster hunting. Yeah, if you zoned out half way there I don't blame you to be honest. The controls are simple and special moves can be set to hot keys so anyone can easily jump in and play without having a steep learning curve, plus the game forces the tutorial down your throat when you "create"(more like select) a new character to play as... even if you made one prior.

There are 3 classes to choose in the game and that means that the Mage, Thief and Priest classes from the original are not available in this version. You get to choose a female fighter, a slayer who looks like one of the characters from Marvel Vs Capcom 2 and a gunner who looks like a generic anime character anyone could make if they redrew Vash the Stampede slightly different. Each has there own unique skills and abilities that can be leveled up by using SP earned while playing. Unfortunately there is also a low level cap of 20 for each character so you can easily get there without too much trouble.

Dungeon Fighter Live's name pretty much describes the game itself. You spend most of your time either in the hub town or in the recycled designed dungeons fighting the same palette swapped monsters in a Golden Axe style of gameplay with special moves. Each dungeon has gold and items to collect from defeating enemies or just breaking things like barrels, chest and trees.

Like Borderlands before it, Dungeon Fighter Live has a boat load of colour named pieces of equipment to collect that you'll be swapping out constantly and quests to complete lifted out of any MMORPG ever made. You can give items to other players too if you want for an achievement... is there any other reason? Yes but most won't consider it.

As mentioned above you can play up to 4 players locally or online. This is where the subjective fun can be had. Playing with randoms doesn't seem to yield any lag in my experience but the fight for loot can be frustrating, even when you tell them as the host of the game that the items are collect what you made drop unless it's a weapon for another players class. When you play with friends online it become more of a mutual collaboration and if you go with couch play the fun varies depending on the seriousness.

There really isn't much more to it. It's a watered down console port of a popular MMORPG that keeps the gameplay and addictiveness of it's predecessor, without the depth. Considering the price and the fact it actually plays well, it's not bad... just not great either. Like Ragnarok DS before it, Dungeon Figher Live is just a cash in port that's safe and mediocre. The game is better with friends that may like the idea of a Golden Axe RPG with special moves but how many of us have friends, let alone friends with that kind of taste. There are better games out there worth your time but still it isn't that disappointing. I would suggest the MMO over this but I won't tell you to avoid this one either.

Score 3/5

Review Lollipop Chainsaw

Lollipop Chainsaw
Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Price: AU$79.95

As you may know, I am bored of how modern games are turning out for the most part. Last year a new Suda 51 and Grasshopper Manufacturing game was announced and I was already sold on it before getting it. Unsurprisingly I fell in love with this game withing the first 5 minutes of this wacky journey. So sit back, relax and read my review of Lollipop Chainsaw... or just skip to the score and complain about it in the comments section. Your feedback is appreciated.


The story is wacky as hell! It's Juliet Starlings 18th birthday and she's late to meet her boyfriend Nick, but runs into a zombie horde on the way. After fighting the horde, Nick saves her and is bitten by a zombie. Juliet decapitates Nick to save him from becoming a zombie(although he was bitten on the arm. Why take off his head? Then again this is a Suda 51 game) and casts a spell to keep the head alive and reveals she's a professional Zombie Hunter. Later after more zombie killing you find out that all the zombies are the local goth/emo/whatever's fault and she has to defeat 5 super zombies called the dark purveyors to save the town... this believe it or not is the sain part of the story, everything in between is bat crap bonkers!

The gameplay is also kinda crazy with both shooting and combo combat mechanics. Combo combat is like most games that play like it( God of War, Devil May Cry, yadda yadda yadda.) where you press a combination of the action buttons and in this games case it's high chainsaw, low chainsaw, pom poms and dodge. The special moves can be purchased using zombie medals earned for killing zombies, rescuing survivors and picked up in each stage. The game has a ton of skills to purchase from the strangely named Chop2Shop.zom along with costumes, items for health recovery and stat upgrades, nick tickets, artwork and music. The game also uses quick-timed-events(QTEs) throughout the game but fortunately they are easy to do, but if failed some will cause an insta-death.

The moves Juliet can use are mainly combo based but as you progress you will unlock new abilities to vary the combat. Juliet gets a chainsaw dash that give her the ability to dash with the chainsaw on the ground allowing her to go over jumps and kill zombies in her path as well as the ability to shoot with her chainsaw. Nick also gets into the action with the Nick roulette. This is activated with a Nick ticket and it spins icons, each with a different ability and whichever on it lands on is used. Some of these can be useful in combat but one is a waste of a ticket only giving you medals and leaving you open to attacks.

The stages are designed to make the most of all the story earned skills in some way and one of the stages is set in an arcade and in some arcade games for parts of it. Throughout the stages golden lollipops are hidden with them, although I have no idea what they are for outside of an achievement and regular lollipops that restore health can be found frequently as well as zombie medals, surviving students(saving them affects the ending. I suggest finish it without saving them all first for the bad ending and save the rest for the good ending.) and Nick tickets.

The game is also a score attack game with both in game and online leaderboards. Scoring high points is done in a variety of ways. Clearing the stage fast, collecting zombie medals and not dying will score some points but if you want to hit the high scores you need to do some Sparkle Hunting... you heard me! Sparkle Hunting occurs when you kill 3 or more zombies at once or within a short period of time and will earn extra zombie medals in both gold and platinum. You can earn points quickly by activating the Star Soul mode which allows Juliet to insta-kill zombies, even those with heath bars while the song  Mickey is playing in the background. Star Soul is charged by killing zombies or collecting a star in the stage which fully charges it.

Boss fights in this game are all unique and challenging. They all have different strategies they play by and require some serious reactionary abilities to defeat. Unfortunately they don't yield anything special but that doesn't matter. Interestingly all the bosses have a music genre they represent and it's not hard guessing which ones.

Lollipop Chainsaw isn't for everyone. Women will most likely hate it due to the over sexualization and general tone of the game and modern gamers won't like it because it's colourful and not a shooter. For those who are the target audience, it's an absolutely great game! I am it's target audience and I had a smile on my face and the song Lollipop stuck in my head throughout my time playing it. The game looks fantastic and the eclectic soundtrack ensure that your eyes and ears will be satisfied. This is the best zombie game on the market in my opinion that isn't part of a franchise and it's a new I.P! I suggest you buy this game or at least rent it. You just got to play it and if you don't... What the dick?!

Score 5/5

Review: Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 2

Sonic the hedgehog 4: Episode 2
XBLA, PSN, Android, iOS,
Windows Mobile 7, Windows PC, Steam
Price: 1200MS Points
AU$7.49(mobile)
AU$14.95(console and PC)

Well we finally got Sonic 4: Episode 2 after such a long wait. It seems that like a lot of developers an publishers, Sega forgot that episodic games are suppose to be released within a shorter time frame because they are parts of one whole game. Regardless we have a new Sonic game and I have a review of Sonic 4: Episode 2.

Sonic 4: Episode 2 continues after the events of the previous episode and Sonic CD. Metal Sonic makes his return thanks to Robotnik aka Eggman repairing him to help him take over the world and eliminate Sonic and Tails... yes Miles "Tails" Prowler also makes a return in Sonic 4! Anyway now Sonic and Tails have teamed up once again to stop Eggman's new plot to take over the world and finish Metal Sonic off once and for all... they hope.

Sonic 4: Episode 2's gameplay hasn't changed much since Episode 1. Sonic is now a little more weighty though so he doesn't feel as floaty. Sonic also no longer stops on a dime, so momentum has returned. With the return of Tails, Sonic Team decided to use this opportunity to add new team up moves. The new moves allow Sonic and Miles to become a ball to perform a team super spin dash that can break through certain walls like paper and the old Sonic 2 & 3 Tails carrying Sonic in the air can be done, but now without another player.

The game consists of 4 zones, each with 3 acts(each with a red ring to collect. I have NO IDEA what they are for) and a boss fight. Along with the 4 main zones there is the final zone which has 2 boss fights and a Metal Sonic episode that has the first acts of Episode 1 stages playable with Metal Sonic. The 4 new zones in Sonic 4: Episode 2 pay homage to Sonic 2 stages, I'll let you figure out which ones.

The boss battles in Episode 2 are actually interesting in both design and how the battles are fought. All of them do revolve around around just hitting the main section but getting to it isn't as easy as you'd think, hell there's even a fight I couldn't even tell where to hit until I struck it by accident.

Like most Sonic games, Episode 2 has you collecting Chaos Emeralds in bonus stages. If you can make it to the end of an act with 50 or more rings, you can enter the special stage which has been modeled after the Sonic 2 bonus stages. Yes, the half pipe returns and are just as much fun as before. Unfortunately you will realise that the stages are more designed for 2 players instead of solo play. Oh and in case you forgot, collecting all the Chaos Emeralds allows Sonic to become Super Sonic and a different ending.

Yes, Episode 2 sees the return of 2 player gameplay and unfortunately it's like Donkey Kong Country Returns where in you share lives and they will be whittled away in the blink of an eye. The 2 player mode can be played local and online multiplayer, but it's best to play locally since there is no lag and you can abuse the person next to you when you run out of lives. 2 player local multiplayers only advantage comes in the special stages. Like in Sonic 2, both Sonic and Tail can collect and loose rings and in single player Tails will loose and miss a lot of them.

Sonic 4: Episode 2 is a great game. The only problems are that you can't play Episode 1 stages at all, you can't play with Tails as the leader in single player and 2 player mode is frustrating. The music and visuals are great and the game is highly replayable. The game comes close to perfection with all the issues fixed from Episode 1 but with the frustrating 2 player mode and ignorance of Episode 1, it loses points. Don't get me wrong, it's a great game! I highly recommend it to everyone to play, but buy it for it's single player.

Score 4/5