It's undeniable that many games from Japan that make it to our shores--particularly in the role-playing genre--have strong influences from anime. Great role-playing game series like Disgaea, Persona, and Tales feature visual and storytelling elements heavily influenced by the art form. Developer Imageepoch aspired to go one step higher with Time and Eternity, billing the game as "playable anime." Unfortunately, the end product is not only a showcase for nearly every negative stereotype ascribed to anime, but a bad RPG to boot.
When I first saw the commercial for the movie Pacific Rim, I thought about how bad ass it looked. It was basically a bunch of childhood fantasies for those who are in their mid-20s to early-30s, who grew up playing with toys wishing that they were bigger so they can battle in real life. I have yet to see the movie as I hate going to the movie theater, but luckily the officially licensed game managed to pop up on Xbox LIVE (a game based on a movie? Shocking!).
It's not every day that you see a game like Shin Megami Tensei IV, especially on the 3DS. It hints at a mysterious tale early on, befitting the series' reputation for brooding themes and hellish settings, and this dark wash informs the attitude and appearance of the world, which is unsurprisingly experiencing an influx of demonic activity. You play as a samurai charged with protecting the Kingdom of Mikado, and the invading demons are yours to recruit as much as to destroy, keeping with the series' well-known catch-'em-all mindset. But make no mistake: although demon hunting, recruiting, and fusing may provide some of the best experiences here, there's more to enjoy beyond the demon-hunting trappings.
Ever wanted to know what your little brother dreams about?
Probably not… but Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, the latest entry in AlphaDream’s acclaimed series of handheld RPGs, givs Mario just that opportunity. Ostensibly, it’s an RPG with some platforming elements, but it's really a restless compendium, wrenching together so many different types of gameplay that it lacks overall focus and a steady rhythm. It continually offers up new experiences only to then put them to one side because it wants to show you something else, something new. And while this is one of its great strengths, it unbalances other aspects of the experience.
Here’s a fact: late-game Civilization is usually awful. Most of the important decisions take place at the beginning of a game, and the last third is about managing momentum. That’s what makes Civilization V: Brave New World the best Civilization expansion so far. Instead of just losing the endgame, now you can win it.
Crazy things happen when video game worlds collide. Mario and Sonic compete alongside each other at the Olympics. Claptrap plays poker with canine cop Sam while GLaDOS looks on. And in Project X Zone, Mega Man, Ulala, Jill Valentine, Dante, Jin Kazama, Sanger Zonvolt, and many, many more find themselves thrown together by fate to take a stand against the forces of evil. Though many of these characters hail from action games and fighting games, these battlefields force them to take a more tactical approach to combat than they may be used to. Unfortunately, Project X Zone's strategic gameplay is too one-dimensional to captivate, leaving the game's huge cast and its spirited presentation to keep it afloat.
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