Undead Bonzi
10-19-2009, 06:57 PM
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Every once in a blue moon I run into a great game that seems to slip past the hype radar and the general gamers market and I think this is one other INTJ gamers might really like but not know about.
Gameplay: The fighting is an interesting mix of turn based and real time combat with a sprinkling of RPG equipment and stat line workings thrown in for fun. (I tried typing out how combat works but once I hit a full page and had only scratched the surface I realized it was best to just let anyone interested in the game go read some professional reviews to get an understanding.) What I will say is that the game play is complex, strategic and deep, yet simple and intuitive at the same time. The story line missions all manage to be unique enough in challenge and objective that the game never feels too repetitive. Also, the complexity of the game builds over a gratifyingly long part of the game. All the way up to the final third of the game new elements or tactics are added with regularity, keeping the game interesting to those who might usually get bored quickly with a game before even finishing the story. Difficulty progression is perfect right up until the final boss who can be either rage inspiringly impossible or a cakewalk depending on how good you are at tactics.
Graphics/Art: This games aesthetic is an interesting hand (colored pencil/watercolor) drawn/anime style and is the first games I've ever seen to pull it off with such style and flair. Characters, terrain, explosions...all of it could easily be described more as art/graphic novel quality rather than video game. Usually when a game uses an aesthetic like this detail seems to suffer but that is not the case in this game. Everything and every action is textured and beautifully rendered with a very vivid color pallet as opposed to the typical drab/dull colors typically found in a war/combat game.
Story: This game has a story...and it is actually pretty good (actually let me rephrase that: the game IS a story and it is actually pretty good)! In this game the game play is actually based around the story rather than the typical video game where story seems to be a flimsy excuse to play. Now typical to Japanese storyline there is plenty of cringe inducing 'I've got to try my best!' moments, but in general the characters, their individual plots and the story arc in general are actually well thought and believable.
The presentation of the story is also slickly done in the manner of a war diary with cut scenes and battles integrated into its pages. In fact the story book mechanic was one of the things that I thought was really well done in this game. It is hard to explain unless you've played the game, but the mechanic just fits with the whole game play/story very well.
Conclusions: This is one of those games that is a whole and complete package. Game play, art and storyline are all fantastic and come together to make one of the most impressive PS3 games I've played to date. If you like games that involve tactical thinking/strategy and if you can appreciate a good story and great art this is a game you should look at. Given that the game was released some time ago to US markets it should be fairly easy to find a used copy for less than 30 bucks. Give it a try, you wont regret it.
And after writing all that I found this video review which says it all and more.
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Every once in a blue moon I run into a great game that seems to slip past the hype radar and the general gamers market and I think this is one other INTJ gamers might really like but not know about.
Gameplay: The fighting is an interesting mix of turn based and real time combat with a sprinkling of RPG equipment and stat line workings thrown in for fun. (I tried typing out how combat works but once I hit a full page and had only scratched the surface I realized it was best to just let anyone interested in the game go read some professional reviews to get an understanding.) What I will say is that the game play is complex, strategic and deep, yet simple and intuitive at the same time. The story line missions all manage to be unique enough in challenge and objective that the game never feels too repetitive. Also, the complexity of the game builds over a gratifyingly long part of the game. All the way up to the final third of the game new elements or tactics are added with regularity, keeping the game interesting to those who might usually get bored quickly with a game before even finishing the story. Difficulty progression is perfect right up until the final boss who can be either rage inspiringly impossible or a cakewalk depending on how good you are at tactics.
Graphics/Art: This games aesthetic is an interesting hand (colored pencil/watercolor) drawn/anime style and is the first games I've ever seen to pull it off with such style and flair. Characters, terrain, explosions...all of it could easily be described more as art/graphic novel quality rather than video game. Usually when a game uses an aesthetic like this detail seems to suffer but that is not the case in this game. Everything and every action is textured and beautifully rendered with a very vivid color pallet as opposed to the typical drab/dull colors typically found in a war/combat game.
Story: This game has a story...and it is actually pretty good (actually let me rephrase that: the game IS a story and it is actually pretty good)! In this game the game play is actually based around the story rather than the typical video game where story seems to be a flimsy excuse to play. Now typical to Japanese storyline there is plenty of cringe inducing 'I've got to try my best!' moments, but in general the characters, their individual plots and the story arc in general are actually well thought and believable.
The presentation of the story is also slickly done in the manner of a war diary with cut scenes and battles integrated into its pages. In fact the story book mechanic was one of the things that I thought was really well done in this game. It is hard to explain unless you've played the game, but the mechanic just fits with the whole game play/story very well.
Conclusions: This is one of those games that is a whole and complete package. Game play, art and storyline are all fantastic and come together to make one of the most impressive PS3 games I've played to date. If you like games that involve tactical thinking/strategy and if you can appreciate a good story and great art this is a game you should look at. Given that the game was released some time ago to US markets it should be fairly easy to find a used copy for less than 30 bucks. Give it a try, you wont regret it.
And after writing all that I found this video review which says it all and more.
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.