Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP) Review

This time we have a game that has been hiding in the backlogs for many many years. Way back in the day I had bought a PSP for the soul purpose of playing two games: Phantasy Star Portable and the recently released remake of Persona. But to have a console and not play more the two games is an absolute waste, so I would pick up other titles during it's life. Unfortunately I did not get to play them all over the lifespan of that machine, but it would hint at it's own demise coming, so I had time to prepare, ripping my library to file form so I could eventually play them all anyway. Today this should have paid off with an interesting view of how the events of Final Fantasy VII were set into motion. But I am sorry to say, it did not. I found myself bored by it to be quite honest.

Now before we begin, I have to admit, just as the above suggests, I did not play this game on the PSP. Rather well after my actual hardware died, I played via emulation ripped from my original copy, so my experience could well be different then yours. But with that in mind, step inside.

Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn (PC) Review

Back in the day when the MMO genre first launched, I really didn't want any part of it. For the life of me, I couldn't justify the idea of buying a game and then paying to play with what I just bought. I finally broke that rule to play Planetside towards the end of it's life. Years later, we live in a world where most people have grown tired of this model... enough so MMOs do not really survive without having a model to get around needing a subscription fee (usually an in-game store). But here we have an exception that survived on the fees: one of two games with a big enough name they could. So is it worth it? Well? Yes and no...

Star Ocean: Second Evolution (PSP) Review

While I always liked the idea of these games, my past with them have been a bit tumultuous. I bought this and First Voyage for the PSP at close to the same time and I played the original long ago. Simply put I loved it, even with the incredibly stupid/cheesy reason for the last boss. So when I bought a PS3, I already wanted Star Ocean: The Last Hope for it (Star Ocean 3 was going to be next to impossible to find, so I took what I could get). And when I played it, well… I was far from impressed with. But when the dice selected this as a possible game, it had my curiosity. After all, with the steep difference between what I played in the portable game vs it’s sever-iteration later sequel, I could only wonder if the game’s were good until then, or if it was a slope of sequels that got worse as they went on. After finishing this game, I believe it could well have been just Last Hope that was just that bad.

Also, please note, that by the time I played this game, my PSP had basically died. While it was in the process, but I could at least get the disc drive to work some of the time, so I hacked it and fought to get my small library to file. As such, I played this game via emulator with a 360 controller, so your experiences may vary some from my own.

Xenogears (PS3) Review

When I first heard of this game, I was in college and some buddies were finishing it up. At the time, it looked cool, but I made note of it for later, as I had much more on my PC I wanted to get to. But I never forgot the game, so when I found out the prequel games were coming out for PS2, I decided to start there, but that proved an utter mistake as I found the game used the strategy guide as an extra-expensive manual. Still, that did not mean I didn't want to play this one, so when I could get it on PSN, I jumped. Now, as I’ve finally played through the whole 90 hour adventure, I have to say… I’m glad I did, but I’m not to sure everyone should.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (PC) Review

Tonight we have a look at the latest entry in a series I have been a fan of for a very long time. Unfortunately, we are also looking at perhaps the last game in the franchise for a good long while. And while I can point directly at Square and their behavior as to why this game failed, we are here to check out the game itself. And… well, it’s a tough one to call. I’m really not sure if I want to call this a swan-song or a train-wreck, as it seems to be equal parts of both.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope (PS3) Review

Here we are. I finally finished playing yet another one of the original 5 games that convinced me to buy a PS3. When I first saw this game, I got a very “Phantasy Star” vibe from it, and being a huge fan of that series, I knew I wanted this game. Fast-forward to about a month ago, I decided it was time to play with the PS3 and having been kinda bummed out by the odds that we would never see Phantasy Star Online 2 officially hit the United States, I came back to this box. It was better then nothing, and I refuse to hack a game to play it when I have so many others to play now, so I wasn’t going to be playing the Japanese PSO2 anytime soon.

I finished the game today, and all I can say is you might want to sit down for this one. What I’m about to say isn’t pretty, but it must be said. While this game really isn’t bad, it definitely isn’t good… and there are a lot of parts to it that downright suck.

Deus Ex: The Fall (PC) Review

I heard all the warnings. I read the Steam forums as this game was getting ready to launch. Everyone warned me and anyone else who would spend the time reading not to buy this game and that it would be terrible. And yet I couldn’t help but think their reasoning was flawed. It seemed that everyone had shot the game down because it was a port from iPad, rather then even look at the game itself. I suspect most people complaining had never even played the game in any form before they started bitching.

With this in mind, I took the plunge with the intention to play, review, and report to you all if the game actually is any good. And as I finish it, I find myself disappointed. It was not the doom and gloom that the always complaining Steam forums made it out to be, but it definitely wasn’t good either.

Chrono Trigger (DS) Review

Sometimes, we all miss games. This is exceptionally true when they come out after you’ve lost interest in the platform they are on. This would be one of those games for me, since by the year the game came out, I had moved onto PCs for the most part. So when I found this title available for my DS I have to admit, I was interested. But it had to wait due to everything else portable I’ve wanted to play (including multiple Persona and Phatnasy Star titles). But this game’s time has come…. and proved why classic games are truly classics. Come on in and have a read.

Quantum Conundrum (PC) Review

This game and I have a small history. Back during the summer sale this year, I was interested, but not sure I should put my money into it… and then my brother opened up the demo on the 360. I believe he was trying to show me how bad the game was, but what he showed me is an amazing turn of events where I was jumping between flying furniture, dodging lasers and having a blast with it all. I bought the game that afternoon. Now, having just finished it, I am not sure I should have been as excited as I was. Overall it was great but there were issues along the way had I known they existed, I probably would have bought it with a little more “this will be fun” and a little less “HELL YES!” Let’s go over it, shall we?