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.
Essentially an updated, albeit portable, version of the console original, Continuum Shift 2 brings more of the same 2D fighting flash to series fans… but does this update bring enough to the the table to warrant the purchase?
The answer to that question depends on what kind of fighting game player you are. On one side of the argument, this portable update of the PS3/360 original would be the perfect way to get introduced to the series. It’s a near-flawless handheld recreation that boasts smooth animation, brilliant 2D sprites, tight controls, and even throws in the original game’s DLC characters.
These new-comer perks are also the biggest detriment to series diehards; there are just far to few updates to the console original, aside from the character DLC and a new game mode, to be considered a must have.
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.
The concept of time travel has been used as a plot device in videogames time and time again, often with sterling results. From Square’s masterpiece, Chrono Trigger, and its follow up, Chrono Cross, to more recent fair such as Atlus’ DS release, Radiant Historia, time travel is nothing new for the medium. And yet as memorable as those titles are, no videogame that I’ve played to date uses the concept of time quite as effectively as Jikandia: The Timeless Land.
On the surface, the story is simple enough. You play a typical high school student who, along with eight of your friends, is magically transported to another world during your daily commute to school. You come to learn that you have been summoned to the world of Jikandia to help save it from destruction. Jikandia, until very recently, was devoid of time – that is until a crop of monstrous baddies began popping up, bringing with them the concept of time, which threatens to unravel the world of Jikandia with the resulting chaos.
In order to get back to your own world, players must uncover the origins of these vile monsters, eliminating them and restoring Jikandia the timeless land to its former state.
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.
Greetings Sugarfiends!
It’s time to announce the winners of our Ys I & II Chronicles Contest!
Last night, at the start of the wolfing hour, the Gamesugar crew ascended to the peak of a nearby mountain, placing the entries into a ceremonial bowl atop a stone pedestal – along with offerings to the forgotten Gods of old.
It wasn’t long before the clouds swirled overhead, and the faint sound of thunder grew in the distance until we were convinced that the nearing beat bore remarkable resemblance to the guitar riff from Iron Maiden’s Run to the Hills. Suddenly bolts of lightning struck the stone, forever etching three names into the splintered remains.
Congratulations to Radical Hair, Elatia-Rashiad Langford and Charles Sabers – though both Elatia-Rashiad and Charles Sabers need to drop me a line via jamie[at]gamesugar[dot]net since we don’t have your email addresses.
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