Review: Persona 4 (PS2)

Persona 4 is perhaps one of the greatest RPGs of this year, decade and maybe of all time. Its only real competition is its predecessor Persona 3: FES.

Persona 4 takes the core concepts of Persona 3: FES and really redefines them to the point where the system is starting to feel a bit more stronger. The one thing that is more prevelant in 4 is the huge amount of comedy thrown into the whole story. This is such a refreshing change for RPGs which are usually far more concerned about whatever plot is ending the world. Persona 4 never misses a beat in the comedy realms. If there is ever a part of dialogue going on that leaves one wondering what in the blue hell, the characters will pick this up and run with it with a most comedic of ways.

The one true defining feature of this game is the characters. Can’t think of any of them that seemed out of place or flat out annoying. Yeah Teddie and Rise can get a bit over bearing at the time but that is just who they are. The game revolves around the player moving to a small town for a year to live with his Uncle and Cousin whilst moving school and having to make friends with the other cast members Chie, Yosuke, Yukiko, Kanji, Rise, Teddie and a few others in between. The main plot in the game is a fog hangs over the town and everytime it does someone is murdered. After a classmate goes missing the Investigation Team is go and they soon set off by entering TVs to the dungeon parts of the games.

The battle system is much improved over Persona 3 for the one main fact of being fully able to control every team member which is pretty huge. The main problem with Persona 3 is the other team members all casting magic that is totally useless and never getting the job done.
The battles are all very run of the mill turn based elemental affairs like lightining beats wind etc.

When not traversing the TV world the player has to make social links with the people of the town to help boost the power of the Personas they collect which you use in battle as your main powers. Think like Pokemon. The Social Link aspect of the game is totally addiciting. To the point where I would try and get the dungeon done in one go just so that I could go and do more Social Linking. The interactions in these scenes are always interesting. With a few of the ladies you can max the social link and be their boyfriend which really serves no purpose in all honesty.

All in all there is a lot to do in Persona 4. With numerous dungeons that can be gone through again and again. Huge cast of characters to Social Link with, not all you will get done with in one play through and just an awesomely written story with amazing characters. Persona 4 is clearly the best there is, was and ever will be(Although matched by Persona 3: FES)
Also the music in this game is really good.
Everyone go out of your way to purchase Persona 4!

Rating: EXCELLENT. EDITORS CHOICE. GAME OF THE YEAR 2009.

Jake Hunter – Detective Chronicles (DS)

Jake Hunter Detective Chronicles is a graphical text adventure game developed by Workjam and published by Arc System Works. This is the first time the series has been released outside of its native Japan. In Japan the series started way back on the Famicom Disk System and has spawned an impressive 12 console versions and 16 mobile versions. This DS version contains 3 cases from the mobile line of games. This is one of the first glaring problems of this version. The Japanese equivalent has 5 cases and extra features too. I can only presume it was a matter of cost as to why there is only 3.

The game stars surprisingly enough Jake Hunter. As per usual detective standards people have crimes that need to be solved and thus our hero is on duty. The cases in the game are all pretty interesting. Definately interesting enough to gloss over the few translation errors, which there is a few of but nothing too bad. This game is very heavy on the text as most cases are solved just purely through conversing with other characters. In each case there is usually about 4 or 5 places to travel between however sometimes when you are in a location you cannot leave until you have done every conversation thread but alas there is a problem with this too. I found that even going through all the conversation and having Jake say “I think I found everything I can” the game would still not let me out the screen. The problem? I had to inspect the person who I was talking to for the game to fully finish of the conversation string. This is quite the problem this game has. There is no clear instruction of when you have to do this. After a while you just presume thats what you have to do and it just feels really unatural.

Each case only lasts about an hour and a half. Which at first feels like it is way too short but the stories do wrap up nicely and don’t feel prolonged. Also the fact these were mobile games first makes sense. Total play time is only roughly 5 hours or less which I feel is pretty alright. It is perfectly portable.

Jake Hunter Detective Chronicles is a very good adventure game with really interesting cases however a few translation errors and some clunky transitions make it feel like a diamond in the rough. Defianately worth a look.
4/5

Review:Broken Sword Shadow of the Templars Director’s Cut (Wii)

Quite possibly the game with the longest title this year. Broken Sword is a port of the original PC version with a few new added scenes and Wii specific puzzles.
The game is a classic point and click adventure game with some of the best dialouge and characters in the genre to date.
The star of the game is George Stobbart an American on holiday in Paris. His holiday is soon interrupted by a clown with an accordian bomb.
The clown blows up the cafe George was sitting outside of and thats how the story begins or at least it was until this Director’s Cut.
Now the game starts with the lead female Nicole Callard going to do an interview. This is one of the major problems for fans of the original version. The start of Broken Sword is pretty iconic but now the flow and grandure of that is ruined by this new start with Nico.

There isn’t anything wrong with these new bits per se but the general point is you can tell they are just tacked on. The plot elements in the new Nico storyline don’t really flow into the originals narrative and it makes it feel really rather disjointed. Of course new comers to the franchise might not notice as much as the fans. The other main point of this side narrative is to introduce Wii specific puzzles. To be honest these puzzles are really bad. The Wii mote right now just cant handle what the game wants you to do. It takes a lot of patience to get through them and what doesnt help is the fact that the on screen cursor seems to freeze for a good ten seconds when trying to stop an action in these exclusive puzzles.
The other problem is, much like the new story additions these all feel tacked on and really bring the pace of the game down. I feel as if they re-released this on the PC with these new puzzles taken out then the game would be much better.

Another curiosity is the decision to remove some of the dialogue from the game or just replace it with new lines. Again something someone new wouldn’t notice but I do feel like it damages the game in a way as the new dialogue isn’t that good. Still most of the original witty dialogue remains so it isn’t all bad.

Included in this version is a hints system added into the menu. This is a great addition as some of the new puzzles are tiresome to the point of just wanting to know the answer. It really is a great addition and other point and click games should take notice and put it in there games. There is also a diary which can be helpful if you haven’t played in awhile and forgot what you were doing.

All in all Broken Sword remains an absolute classic however the new content just doesn’t feel up to standard and it is pretty much tacked on.
I do recommend finding the original PC or even the Playstation port over this Director’s Cut.
Still a great story and amazing characters make this a must play regardless of the version that is bought.

Score
4/5

Review: TMNT (X360)

The latest trend these days is to bring back nostalgia memories from the 80’s and early 90’s. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are the latest in old school characters to be brought back in to the mainstream view.
TMNT is the game based on the movie which is not based on the old cartoon.

The game was designed by Ubisoft Montreal and you can tell that a mile away in the gameplay as this game plays out as a lousy unpolished Prince of Persia clone.
In the game you can use any one of the four turtles Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michalangelo. Each turtle has there own special moves to use to move through the game enviroments and all play differently in combat.
Each level is full of platforms to be jumped, walls to be run and enemies to be dealt with. The first few levels are nice and fast and have a really good flow to them. Then however by the time the five level comes around TMNT turns into a mess.
The first four levels introduce the turtles one by one and then all the turtles come together as one force.
The reason the game becomes a mess when all the turtles are together is the fact that there is really no point in having their unique abilities. Once in a blue moon will a level will require one specific power. The game manages to dilute itself into such simplicity that it becomes a total bore.
The only challenge stems from the beyond terrible camera. This thing is out to kill you at any interval. It is constantly stuck on the player in ways that don’t allow the area to be scouted to figure out what path ways to take in the levels.

What doesnt help is the horrendous combat. There is never a visceral feel that enemies are being hit and the sound effects are so pathetic. Most of the time the enemies will fall without giving any damage to the player.
The combat is so simple but Ubisoft somehow thought that there was a requirement for team combo moves for the turtles. That is great and all but doing these moves are never fully explained. All the game states is push X. In this day and age of good in game tutorials this is just pitiful. There is barely any direction for anything in this game and it shows.

TMNT could have been a really good game. It showed promise with some good fast platforming but the easyness of difficulty and lackluster combat just drags this game down. Seeing as the engine for the game seems to be directly taken from Prince of Persia this game should have been way better.
These turtles better just stay in their shells.

Score 2/5

Review: Flower (PSN) (PS3)

Flower is the latest PSN (Playstation Network) release for TGC (That Game Company). Flow, their previous game, was a cult hit with its simple game play and art style. Flow used the PS3’s six axis motion control system as standard. This system is also used in Flower.

Flower isn’t much of a game. It is more of an interactive experience. There is a curious simplicity to the game play that really does make it feel like something more; than just a game. PSN and TGCs decision to use the six axis control system once again, has proved to be the right choice.

The player plays as “the wind” blowing petals from flower to flower. Each flower(or group of flowers) will add more colour to the landscape in the level and open up new paths. Colour seems to be the emphasis of the whole experience. The main screen puts you in a drab and dark urban setting with only one potted flower on the window sill. With progression more flowers are added to the window sill and when selecting a flower the game cuts away to an urban scene before dropping you into a field to begin returning colour to the land.

Its this contrast that brings Flower into the “Are games art?” debate. It is a near impossible question to answer. However, Flower certainly puts up a case for being artsy and stylish whilst remaining a generally fun game to play. The music adds to the whole experience: rising throughout a level and with each different flower adding a chime or two the musical score feels almost magical.

The visuals on the other hand are to be expected for a game called flower: really colourful and pretty. The level of contrast certainly makes the colour much more vivid. Even if the colour emerging from the darkness is purple for example. With all of the above in mind it definately makes Flower an interesting art like project.

A further investigation of the game reveals there is no written narrative in Flower leaving the player to interpret the game through the visuals . Arguably leaving much more open to the imagination. For me it felt like TGC were trying to say “Hey look at your urban lifestyle, think how dark and drab it really is and now think how colourful the countryside is” Is it a play on the continuing urbanisation of the world? Maybe. Though again thats just my pennies worth of thought. Much like how the game Braid made players around the world think of the narrative and what it actually meant . Flower continues this trend and really it nails it well. The lack of written narrative and the use of subtle narrative adds a whole new level to the game.

On the technical side of things the six axis controls don’t always work as best they could. It isnt really a fault of the game, more a fault with Sony haphazardly throwing in motion control at the last minute for the PS3. It will take a good 10ish minutes to get a full grip on the controls and even then they aren’t perfect.

All in all, Flower is an excellent addition to the PSN family and with a low price point too it makes it a perfect purchase. All PS3 owners should give it a try and see what all the fuss is about.

Score: 5/5