Where Is My Heart? aims for opposite goals compared to most games. While so many current gen titles try to woo us with fanfare, Where Is My Heart? takes a more quiet and contemplative approach. Perhaps not so surprising for a game that was inspired by the story of a real family lost in the woods and the way they fall apart when forced to rely on just their senses and each other.
We can only hope you fare better as you navigate this enchanted wood…
A “biased” review of a videogame is a hot topic in today’s Internet societies, which always seems hilarious to me: any review of any thing, whether book, film, food, business or perhaps a device which allows one’s cat to fly, will naturally be colored by the thoughts, imaginations and opinions of the reviewer.
I’m telling you this, of course, because if there’s anything I love in the world, it’s horror stories and visual novels. Tell me that a game contains either of those two elements, and I’m absolutely, positively, 100 percent in for the ride. Tell me its got both, and you could complain about bias, because I’m obviously getting to review two of my favorite things, right?
All that aside, though, Corpse Party is tremendously good, and for reasons other than my hardcore love of its themes and approach.
I’m never long for thinking of Sony’s palette-perfect cave-art-in-motion Patapon without also thinking of that other treasure on the PlayStation Portable, LocoRoco – and vice-versa. Both titles livened up Sony’s handheld offering with a breath of fresh air, largely composed of daring dabs of color as vibrant as the twist of controls that presented both as prime reasons for early PSP ownership. But, both titles also offered an experience that seemed to leave little room for growth, largely saying all there was to say the first time around – though that didn’t stop either from broadening the brush strokes with sequels that struck a few new sparks for the trouble.
A third swing at the bat saw LocoRoco take a strange move off a cliff however, seeking to serve as some form of “lost levels” for that franchise, and directly creating a game with enough sadistic spirit to do the dark lord proud whilst also chasing many gamers away.
Where Patapon 3 could have taken a similar dive from the heights of previous critical praise – changing the beat for the sake of change – this newest march to war strays from the depth of previous entries to create a more ideally portable extension to the rhythm.
Phantom Brave has been trying to get me to play it for years. I actually purchased a copy of the game for PS2 back when it was released in 2004, but for whatever reason I never got around to playing it. It sat on my shelf, sad and lonely, until it eventually was sold on eBay during a crazed period in which I auctioned off a number of my games to free up some cash. I always felt guilty about that. So guilty, in fact, that I planned to buy the game when it was released for the Wii in 2009. I even had a copy in my hands and walked to the register at Best Buy before I weighed my options and realized having gas money was more important than having Phantom Brave.
So, here we are, almost seven years after the game was originally released, and I’ve finally given in and played it. Was it worth the long wait? Well, playing the game wasn’t an earth-shattering experience, but I still found it worthwhile, if a little overwhelming.
Phantom Brave: The Hermuda Triangle proves that sometimes giving players freedom isn’t always such a good thing, as the depth of the game and variety of options is almost too much to wrangle. At the same time, it’s a deep game and offers hours upon hours of gamplay, so strategy RPG fanatics will likely enjoy it.
Among a slew of titles releasing in February that may prove well worth our time, Ys I & II will be hitting the PSP with a bonus soundtrack CD around the 15th, wrapping up the trilogy Xseed Games has brought to the handheld in North America – and clearing the way for another Falcom trilogy from Xseed in 2011 with The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky still to come.
Xseed’s latest bit of gameplay video is more of an audio focused affair, offering a taste of the three different soundtracks available to players. Musical appreciation and nostalgia aside, it’s hard not wishing it was time for Legend of Heroes now-ish, but check it out for yourself and let me know what you think.
On the list of PSP games I’d really like to see come to North America this year, another round of bikini zombie slaying with Aya gets something caught between a guilty nod and a gleeful shout-out.
I realize this makes me a bad person, I have an illness and I’ll admit to it, but PSP doses of repetitive slashing could prove the porridge Goldilocks would choose, at least where this franchise is involved – and if your significant other isn’t interested in playing co-op until their sword fills up with blood at night, then it’s probably best you find out now rather than later. Have no fear should that prove to be the case however, you can play the game’s multiplayer with an AI partner as well.
The game hits Japan on March 24th and D3 put out video showing Aya, Saki, Misery and the gang back at the grind fighting zombies, grayish brown blobs and a bear – I’m not sure any future release will ever top fighting a zombie killer whale though.
Would it shock you to learn that Z.H.P.: Unlosing Ranger Vs. Darkdeath Evilman was one of the best games I played in 2010? It certainly was the game with the longest, most esoteric title that anyone played in 2010. Beyond the hokey moniker however, there hides a roguelike tactical RPG that is wholly fresh, inventive, and surprisingly accessible.
Z.H.P. is a strange game, to say the least – though I use the term ‘strange’ as both a term of endearment and for descriptive purposes – the pre-title sequence warns you right off the top that the game only contains one battle, but that it’s awesomely epic. This had my interest piqued well before the title sequence and opening story portions fully introduced me to the breadth of Z.H.P.’s overt strangeness.
The opening story is told through Television news updates and eye witness accounts, global attention fixed on the scene of an epic battle that is about to take place between the supreme hero and his arch-villain nemesis. Running late to the epic showdown is our hero however, the Unlosing Ranger, and unfortunately for the well being of all mankind he is unceremoniously hit by a car and killed along the way. With his last breathe he bequeaths the Unlosing Ranger mantle to you, the accident’s sole witness.
Taking up the challenge thrust upon you, you set out for your date with destiny – the final showdown against Darkdeath Evilman, wherein you are instantly killed and sent to a realm known as Bizzarro Earth.
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