Crossing That Line

Who can complain of more Valkyria Chronicles 3 on the 3DS?

Project X is one of those guilty pleasure games, it’s not an excellent game by any means but certainly very addictive and fun. The crossover theme seems to be a common fad in Japanese modern games and here it’s demonstrated to great effect as classic characters from mega franchises come together for one big team-up mash. The chemistry between all these different characters is the highlight of the game, never mind the fact the story makes no sense and it’s just an excuse to pile as many characters together as possible.  I was surprised by the level of detail as the amount of voiceover work is extensive and the characters are all voiced by the original voice actors (from what I can tell with the Valkyria Chronicles 3). Each fixed pair of characters can be assisted by a third party member and I often mixed up each pair with a new character just to see what silly banter they throw at each other.

The game is a strategy RPG but there are action elements thrown on that allows you to string together combo attacks. Basically it’s a bit like the first Devil May Cry game where you juggle the enemy in the air but here it’s all about the timing of the buttons to keep the combo going as long as possible. The animation and 3D effects when you unleash the special attack is simply awesome, no matter how many times you seen it. It’s high unlikely to know every character in the game but there is a useful crosspedia to help you catch up to speed with them and the universe. I started playing Sakura Wars on the PS2 after being introduced to the Gemini character and that’s the beauty of the game, you learn more of other game series.

The game has a repetitive and predictable structure but somehow I'm always drawn back by the familiar characters, theme music and before I know it, another hour has passed. I guess that’s what it means by having fun. 

Talking about My Revelations

With Revelations 2 is almost upon us now, I thought it would be a good time to reflect back on the first Revelations game and what made it so great. I first played Revelations shortly after getting a Nintendo 3DS so the experience is a little less than a year ago and still pretty fresh in my mind. I find Revelations' acclaim a little unwarranted, I mean sure it was miles better than Resident Evil 6 but let's not make it sound like the second coming of Resident Evil 4. I do want to point out what made Revelations better than most recent RE entries

1. No More Umbrella
Let's face it, the original storyline that spans across the first 3 RE games is now a convoluted mess thanks to the many different writers who pitched in over the years. It's hard to make an sense of the Umbrella legacy anymore or tie up the loose ends which Capcom so clumsily attempted to in RE5. Thankfully, Revelations told a new story much like RE4 did without much ties to the original storyline aside from the iconic characters appearing. No silly homages to the series like what happened in RE5 Gold or RE6, it was a servicable story with nice twists and a brand new villain.

Remember the feeling when you first got the Colt Python?

2. Simple Guns
The RE games has always placed a strong emphasis on the guns used but in the early games, you are able to figure out which weapon works best against which enemies because the weapons were slowly introduced into the game as you play. That way you formed a strong bond with the weapons because you become very familiar with the ones you are using before you get a new toy. In RE6, I actually lost track of which ammunition goes to which weapon when I was clearing the character inventory. Too much awesome weaponry was clearly not a good thing and Revelations wisely scaled back on the number of weapons deployed. It doesn't introduced the weapons into the game as masterfully as the old games but at least, it was manageable and fun.

Aside from this, there are some aspects which makes RE Revelations not so great like the annoying new side characters and episodic chapters. In the end given the dire strait predicament of the series right now, the first Revelations certainly did more right than wrong but it still pales in comparisons to the early RE games under Mikami's supervision.

So Much To Play So Little Time in 2014

The year is almost finished and I thought I would reflect back on the games I have played and completed over the last twelve months. So going through my trophy log and saved games, I have compiled a list of the following games that I started and finished within the last year.

1. Valkyria Chronicles 3 (PSP)
2. Max Payne 3 (PS3)
3. Deadly Premonition (PS3)
4. Resident Evil Revelations (3DS)
5. The Spirit Camera (3DS)
6. Yakuza 5 (PS3)
7. Lollipop Chainsaw (PS3)

None of these games were particularly new or expensive but rest assured, I have not gone cheap on games as I finally got a new Nintendo hardware this year. Cross generation games are still prevalent for now so it remains to be seen when the PS4 will happen, probably not next year unless a nice Yakuza Zero PS4 custom edition emerges.