Review : Tales Of Symphonia Dawn Of The New World

This is the last review of 2009 of Australian release games. There will be a review on an import game which will be the last game I review for 2009 other then Retro Reviews. So sit back and enjoy the review of last years game released this year, Tales Of Symphonia Dawn Of The New World.

Let me start with a subtle ARGH!!! Why you ask? Well somehow Namco Bandai managed to create the worst character ever! The games main character is a naive, apologetic emo who also seems to be like Yugi Moto fromYu-Gi-Oh! with a different personality in battle and makes me want to beat him to death with his own skull! The story is based a few year from the first and the 2 world that became Symphonia are waring with each other because of the two different culture... sounds familiar *cough* U.S against Middle East *cough* the main character Emil's parents get killed by Lloyd from the first and hates him. The kid also meets a girl named Marta(Martyr seems more like it, her character screams "I'm gonna die or have something tragic happen") and saves her twice, once in the prologue and once from a cool looking character named Ricther and then gains the a for mentioned Yugi spirit kinda thing and the power to recruit monsters. If this has confused you then join the club. The story is as good as other 'Tales Of' games but this has the official Worst Character Ever in it. Gameplay is the same as every Tales Of game and if your playing this without playing previous versions then shame on you. This isn't a game for newcomers that's Vesperia. Symphonia 2 assumes you've played the first Symphonia on Gamecube(also PS2 if your from the NTSC region) and it's a very simple style of play so even if you are a newbie then you can play it... but don't. The game also looks worse then the GCN predecessor and the new monster recruit thing is cool but it's kind of useless because of all the other characters in the game... seems like the awful Enchanted Arms game may have leaked on this huh? Also the lack of Classic controller and GCN controller support cripples this.

Tales Of Symphonia Dawn Of The New World is a fan game like all sequels, It's made with the fans in mind and forgets the others. Don't get me wrong it's good but not really meant for people who are not fans. I give Tales of Symphonia a 3/5 as a non bias reviewer but fans can understand that and my fan review score is a 4/5 because of the main character and the pokemon monster collecting kinda crap. If this is your first game in the Tales Of series you play just don't be surprised if you didn't like it that much, also your better off getting Vesperia as I said earlier because it's its own game not a sequel, prequel or otherwise.

Non bias Score 3/5 Fan score 4/5

Review : Assassin's Creed 2

Better late then never, I was able to play it last night while the temperature was cooler and now I can finally give you a review of Assassin's Creed 2.

The story continues straight after Assassin's Creed so before you play this finish the first one before playing this. Desmond and Lucy escape Abstergo and head to an assassin hideout that has an Animus as well. Using Animus 2.0 you re-live the life of Ezio Auditore, a noble who becomes an assassin to seek revenge for the death of his father and brothers. The games characters are well done in this game and they seem very human. Gameplay is a lot like the first game but with many improvements to key things like the free-running and climbing which feels more fluid and combat has slightly improved with the disarming ability and special attacks. The game is also more of a sandbox then the last one and has stores to purchase things like weapons, armor, medicine and other knick-knacks. You also have a villa you can upgrade with the money you get through stealing and treasure boxes which can also earn you money over time. The game also has a day/night cycle which gives it even more of a sandbox game feel. Assassination missions are better then before and Leonardo Da Vinci's contraptions are cool too. Pretty much Assassin's Creed 2 fixed a lot of the problems from the first game and manages to keep you wanting to play more.

Assassin's Creed 2 is... FANTASTIC! The game is better then the first and it's definitely one of the best games of the year. It's fun and almost no other games is as good as this game. Any adult who plays this game will have lots of fun and older teens will eat this up like lollies. I give Assassin's Creed 2 a 5/5 because it's awesome fun and unlike Uncharted 2 lasts a whole lot longer then 6 and a half hours, also Uncharted 2 : Among Thieves is a good game as well but it's too short. Bottom line AC2 is a must buy and if you don't have the first game, buy that too.

Score 5/5

Review : Assassin's Creed : Bloodlines

I will be reviewing Assassin's Creed 2 tomorrow but I'll review the PSP sequel to the first game that continues the story of Altair and his quest to stop the Templar's. This is the review of Assassin's Creed : Bloodlines

First of all I'll start by saying that the install data for newer PSP is a good idea but you need big memory sticks to make the most of it. Story is basically Altair is hunting down the Templar's to get any other items that may be used for their evil purposes and help out the locals to bring back order. Gameplay is clunky, seriously if Assassin's Creed is normal walking, then Assassin's Creed : Bloodlines is walking through malasis. The combat works as well as the first game but also clunky. The camera, oh the camera. The camera is definitely not a team player in this game. There's a button to centre it but the games idea of centring it is anything but centred. The missions work the same as in the first game so basically this is just a clunky version of the first with a different story. Also while this is a PSP game it's graphics seem a little bad for a PSP game and I don't usual give a crap about graphics but I thought I'd mention it.

Assassin's Creed : Bloodlines is overall a reasonable game that's worth having IF your extremely big on the Assassin's Creed series or if you want the 6 extra weapons in Assassin's Creed 2. If you choose not to buy it I fully understand. I honestly say that this game is one that would be better at a cheaper price too. I give Assassin's Creed : Bloodlines a 3/5 because it's ok but a lot more care could have gone into it.

Score 3/5

Review : Ratchet and Clank : A Crack in Time

Another installment of a dying bred of games known as the platformer shooter, Ratchet and Clank : A Crack in Time is out (the standard edition at least until 12 November) and here's a review for one of the greatest game franchises new game.

Ratchet an Clank has been a series of games that are fun and funny and this game continues it's tradition and comes out better then the other PS3 games in the series. Story follows after Ratchet and Clank : Quest For Booty with Ratchet and Clank separated and brings back an old foe Dr Nefarious who is after a special item the Zoni has been guarding and Clank knows where it is.... well it's location is in his memory banks. Ratchet on the other hand has teamed up with Quark... kinda to look for Zoni and find Clank, on his path he runs into another Lombax called Alister Azimuth who knew his father and is helping him find Clank. The game plays like every other Ratchet and Clank so if your not familiar with the series just get the older ones. The flight simulation part in the game is now more 2D and easier to control and is your main source of travel between planets and you can land on moons and planetoids which can be fun but repetitive. The game has some new weird weapons for unique destruction and some customizable weapons which can be tweaked to your liking... assuming you've got the upgrades and the colours can be changed to to suit your personal preference. One thing I should note is the skill points and the trophies are 2 separate thing which is fantastic and exactly what I was hoping for.

While newcomers will definitely be confused on where the story is fans will devour this game and enjoy every minute of it. Ratchet and Clank : A Crack in Time is another great installment of the franchise and will keep you wanting more games in the future. Ratchet and Clank : A Crack in Time gets 5/5 and deserves no less.

Score 5/5

[EDIT] I'm sorry for listing the game as crank in time. I only realised recently I goofed up.

Review : MagnaCarta 2

I waited... and waited... and waited for this game to be released and I got it and... well just read the review on MagnaCarta 2 for the Xbox 360.

MagnaCarta 2 is the story of a guy who suffers of amnesia and is called Juto because no one not even him, knows his real name. He and his friend Melissa get tangled in the war between the Northern and Southern forces and Melissa gets killed by a guy named Elgar... I think and Juto joins the Southern force to avenge her with the help of a princess named Zephie, a dragon rhino thing named Argo and other characters. The story also shatters the 4th wall during story dialogue which ruins the experience and drives me nuts, especially since the story isn't very interesting at all. Gameplay is generic action RPG style and mimics Infinite Undiscovery's battle style so it's familiar but it's slower then Infinite Undiscovery so it's very sluggish and frustrating. You can switch the party leader in battle and it's just not very fun, especially when your attacking and go into "Overheat" mode where you CAN'T attack! Again FRUSTRATING! The game works like most JRPG's even though it's Korean and it's got sidequests that reward you MMORPG style with exp, items and money. One thing that should be mentioned... the graphics are extremely poor! I'm not petty on graphics usually but this game is bad anyway so I figured why the heck not. The graphics in the game look like it was meant for the PS2 and slightly enhanced for the 360 to meet the HD quality and the character designs are horrible in the game, the artwork on the cover looks good but the in game designs are poorly done.

This game was designed for a western audience and you can tell that it's a poor attempt at it. I almost never rag on RPG's unless there the American RPG's like Oblivion but this is a bad game for RPG fans but people who have never played a RPG may like it and that's an extremely loose might at that. I give the game a 2/5 and recommend a buyer beware thing for this game because it's not that good and you might not be able to return it. I'm going to try tomorrow but since these games don't sell well normally I may not be able to.

Score 2/5

Review : Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days

I'll first start with saying that if you haven't played the PS2 Kingdom Hearts games you really shouldn't bother with this. If on the other hand you have played them and the GBA version or PS2 version in NTSC regions Chain Of Memories then you need this, but if you didn't get Chain Of Memories you may as well forget this because your not dedicated enough for this. Ok now that we got that out of the way here is the review of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days, also this review is targeted at true fans of Kingdom Hearts more then newcomers.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days focuses on Kingdom Hearts 2 character Roxas and Organization XIII which has 14 members *laughs*. You play in the story mode as Roxas during his days in Organization XIII. The game is mission based but before you whine about that it, it works with the story unlike some mission based games so it can be forgiven. Missions are mainly recon and enemy eradication so they do get repetitive but repetition hold the JRPG genre together. Gameplay is almost a carbon copy of the PS2 versions but modified for the DS and type B controls are what I recommend for better camera controls. There's a new Panel system in the game which is used to equip your magic, skills, items and even levels.... yeah you equip levels. I wish I could review the multiplayer but unfortunately I don't have friends with DS's to try that mode out but it's co op with a competitive edge to it so it's pretty generic sounding and you can use any Organization XIII member in that mode. Missions in story mode can be replayed at anytime in the game so you can build up levels, complete the missions 100% and just get whatever you missed.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days is meant for true KH fans so if you haven't played it before your missing out on a great game series and this is a good game to tide you over until the PSP KH game comes out and the eventual PS3 KH3. The game is fun and it's story helps you understand Organization XIII and Roxas better and helps build up the KH story as a whole. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days gets a 4/5 and you really should buy this and the KH PS2 games and if you can import it or buy it on eBay get Chain Of Memories as well.

Score 4/5

Review : Fallout 3 Game Of The Year Edition

I know I don't need to review this but I got it, it's a new release and I was lucky to find out yesterday someone broke the market on the game and ran up to the store I pre ordered it at. So here is the review of Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition, which I might add has all the DLC on the disc.

Fallout 3 is based in a post apocalyptic USA and your character has left the protection of the Vault 101 to search for their father, especially since after he left the Overseer of the vault wants you dead. Gameplay is basic first person shooter style and you level up similarly to Elder Scrolls : Oblivion, pretty much is Oblivion with a futuristic world to play in and collecting items is done through pointing the cross hair on objects and pressing the A or X button, depending on which console your playing the game on. Controls are trying but can be altered to suit yourself. The game uses this thing called V.A.T.S. which is a precision aim thing that allows you to hit more accurately at certain parts of the enemy, depending on how you wanted it to die. Admittedly the PS3 version of the game is extremely buggy so you might want to get the Xbox 360 version... unless you only have a PS3 then your gonna need some serious patience. The PS3 version may have a better frame rate but it has a lot of bugs, I mean it pauses in the middle of fights and movement and you really need patience to play the PS3 version. What make this game so good is it's freedom to do almost anything you want and it's downfall is it's extreme amount of repetition and bloated amount of achievements/trophies. The game falls shy of perfection and being the must have game for everyone, but other then a Final Fantasy made by Hironobu Sakaguchi this really is a game everyone should try and a lot of people already like it.

Fallout 3 GOTY is worth it's price for anyone coming into the game for the first time and worth trading your original Fallout 3 for if you didn't download the expansions. It's the only American made RPG I actually like so you KNOW it's got to be good... I hate American made RPG's other then this and Fallout 3 GOTY is fun for most people. Fallout 3 GOTY get a well deserved 5/5

Score 5/5

Review : Cross Edge

Cross Edge... The game you'll never play thanks to Game and EB Games new policy on JRPG's in Australia. Even though you'll never get to pay this game I'll review it anyway.

Cross Edge is a JRPG that features characters you've never seen unless your Japanese, American or an importer. The basic story is York and Miko wake up in a strange place that turns out to be a world designed to take souls from 3 different worlds to power itself and York and Miko must release souls with there new friends(from different game companies) so they can return home.

The battle system is a pain but it's easy to get used to and battle commands are set to each main button and almost every button has a purpose. Battles are random like most JRPG's but you can also jump into battle with the press of a button. A hindrance is that battle positions for character because depending on where you are depends on whether you can hit your target and all the different areas that each character can hit with each attack can be an extreme test of patience. Finding thing on the map is done by searching there area with a button and some thing aren't found until you've done something in the story or found previous souls... it's annoying.

Overall Cross Edge is a JRPG fan game that has no room for people who don't like JRPG's because you need experience in them and patients.The story is interesting but the voice acting is low grade from famous voice actors... seriously they phoned it in and it's only worth owning if your a fan of JRPG's this is getting 2 scores the JRPG fan score and the score for normal gamers.

JRPG's Fans Score 4/5
Normal Gamer Score 2/5

Review : Halo 3 ODST

Luck was on my side this week and I managed to get Halo 3 ODST(ODST stands for Orbital Drop Shock Trooper if you didn't know). I also got it for $AU79 but found out after buying it that I could have gotten it for $AU68... AAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHH! Anyway here's another review for you to read on Halo 3 ODST.
Let's start with disc 1, the actual ODST game. It has 2 main modes, one is the campaign mode and the other is Firefight. The campaign mode last around 4-5 hours when you rush through but you can make it longer if you want to find everything and get all the achievements in the mode. The game plays like Halo 3 but brings back my favourite side arm the original Halo's handgun. The story for campaign plays like a quantum leap kinda thing into what each member of the ODST team did before you found the beacon. Personally I liked the story to a point... but lets face it story is not why we buy these games we buy them for pwnage(I HATE THAT WORD!). Speaking of pwnage the Firefight mode is pretty much in short Gears Of War 2's Horde mode with the Covenent and through FPV(First Person View). It's fun but the lives system kinda brings it down. I like being able to kill until I and my partners die like in GOW2 horde mode but at least the live make it go quicker, which also is a bad thing.
Now on to disc 2 Halo 3 Multiplayer disc... yeah this will be quick. It's a disc that make you want to scream at Microsoft for forcing you to download all the map packs and giving you a disc with exclusive maps on it... WTF! The new maps are Citadel, Heretic and Long Shore and they are interesting because Citadel is medium sized and doesn't provide much cover for a map that uses sniper rifles, Heretic is small and it's full of different levels to get lost on and Long Shore is large I suppose with plenty of places to snipe and hide and is my favourite of the new maps because it's Team Slayer potential is awesome!
Halo 3 ODST seems like very little for it's price of RRP$AU99.95 and it is... trust me get it while it's cheap if your a Halo fan! Don't wait 'til later because it's too expensive for what it is! I'm not saying Halo 3 ODST isn't worth buying, oh no I say buy it if your a Halo fan and get it now while it's cheap. In closing Halo 3 ODST is a must buy for fans and it'll keep you occupied until the next big Xbox 360 release. 4/5 is the score I give it but that's because of it's price, if it was $AU60 then it would have gotten a 5/5.

SCORE 4/5