Radiata Stories: Full Review

As promised, I finished the game and now here is the full review:

Okay, first things first: the story. Overall very solid, but sometimes confusing. Like the most recent Star Ocean you don't really know what's going on until the end. Even then it can be confusing. The story branches midway, and the only way to get the full story is to play both branches.

The character cast is huge. More than 100 characters can join you on your quest. I was a little disappointed that you don't actually get to play AS these characters. You can't even buy and equip new armor and weapons for them. They are strictly AI controlled. It does work, though. You CAN give them orders such as "Go Nuts!" and "Attack My Enemy", but mostly it's useless.

On the subject of weapons and armor: There are a lot to discover. Besides the ones that can be bought you can also discover various weapons scattered throughout Radiata. You also aren't stuck with one type of weapon. You can chose between one-handed swords, two-handed swords, axes and spears, as well as a bottle and an umbrella. Some armor will even change your appearance. You can be a robot, demon even a businessman.

Some of the later battles can become very difficult if you don't have the strongest possible weapon and armor. Buying the equipment can be difficult due to the cost of said items and the fact that money is difficult to acquire. Hardly any enemies drop more than a couple thousand Dagols.

Anyway, it was an enjoyable gaming experience overall and well worth the money.

Radiata Stories: First Impressions

I just purchased Radiata Stories today, but I've had the chance to sit down and play it for a few hours. My first impression of the game is good, the story line so far is solid, the graphics remind me of Star Ocean, understandable seeing as how it was developed by the same people. The main character, while likeable, seems to be a bit lacking in design. There aren't random battles, that's a plus, you can see and sometimes avoid enemies. Still, I'm only a short distance into the game and there remains a lot to see, so I will post the full review when I'm finished with the game.

EA and Spielberg?

Steven Spielberg has signed a three-game deal with Electronic Arts to oversee their development. The games are set to be original projects, but no word on possible movie spin-offs. Personally, the thought of playing a game that came from the mind of Steven Spielberg sounds pretty exciting, let's just hope he isn't out of fresh ideas.

You can read the full story here.

A long overdue update Pt. 2

I've also recently played X-Men Legends 2, also published by Activision. As with Ultimate Spider-Man, everything that was great in the first game is here in the sequel. Along with the updated graphics you can now play as members from the Brotherhood. Additionally you can team up with your friends in 4 player co-op on and offline. As I said though, it's quite a bit like the first game, but there is still a lot of new things to warrant a purchase.

Additionally, the PSP version contains 4 exclusive heroes and 9 all new classic comic missions. The PC version contains 2 exclusive mutants, additional danger room missions and added online play.

Whichever version you buy, you'll find a lot to love about X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse.

A long overdue update

I haven't been playing very many games lately, but I have recently purchased Ultimate Spider-Man, developed by Treyarch. For those of you who have played Spider-Man 2, much of the game will be very similar. The city is slightly larger and the graphical direction is different, but many of the flaws are still here. For instance, the game is much too short: Anyone familiar with the other game can easily beat the main story in under 8 hours. The city races, while allowing you to upgrade your swing speed, are still annoying and take a lot of patience.

On the upside, there are more bosses this time around. Unfortunately you have to chase them around the city before you actually fight them. The story is solid, but as stated before, much too short. There are now side missions called "Combat Tours" where you go from point to point fighting groups of thugs. It's certainly better than catching balloons. There are still side missions where you help people, but they are less an annoyance this time around.

Where Ultimate Spider-Man really shines is being able to play as Venom. It really adds depth to the story being able to play as him. Besides, picking up a vehicle and throwing it at an innocent bystander is fun as hell. It also offers a different play mechanic, requiring you to jump around the city instead of web swing. You can also fall or jump from a high building without killing yourself, that's always a plus. As good as this game is though, I really wish we could have played as Carnage.

So to wrap things up, if you liked Spider-Man 2, you'll find much of the same here to like, but maybe as only a rental, due to the short length of the game.