Tales Of Vesperia (360)

I love a good JRPG and have done ever since the SNES days. The various games championed by Super Play magazine in those days got me into the genre and also provided me with my first steps into the world of importing.

Since the during the PS1 days the genre has incorporated overly long self indulgent cutscenes. A fact that you could probably blame on Final Fantasy VII for making popular. Although FFVII thankfully didn't feature voice acting - my bugbear with modern JRPG's and the reason why i struggle to connect with any.

All of this rambling leads me nicely into Tales Of Vesperia. I've always enjoyed the Tales series to some extent, mainly the battle system. Tales Of Symphonia was the first one to tie it all together into a compelling title for me though. One think i liked about Symphonia was the fact that you could mute the characters, which was a godsend for me!

Vesperia differs from many RPG's these days in that it actually features decent voice acting, and a decent lead character who doesn't suffer from being TOO whiny or emo. That's not to say that the rest of the cast don't meet these stereotypes as most of them do.











The battle system is fantastic, this series has always been known for it's fast paced battle systems and this one is no different. To begin with i didn't enjoy the 3d battle area as opposed to the 2d plane found in Symphonia but i soon adjusted and grew to love it. Grinding is always enjoyable in this series and it's also possible to make your characters insanely leveled up and therefore make a mockery of some of the bosses (not necessarily a good thing)

Where Vesperia and the Tales series in whole lets itself down is with the plot. It manages to become a bit ludicrous and i found it a bit hard to connect with what was going on in the later stages. A plot doesn't need to be hugely over the top and convoluted to be gripping, a simple story done properly with proper character development would be much better.












I have to say that by the end of the game i had become a bit sick of the plot and the childish way which some of the characters both behave and are portrayed by their voice actors. This has recently really hit home as i have been playing Lost Odyssey - an rpg with a refreshing mature theme that manages to keep a more serious tone without feeling pompous and convoluted (plus it has a Japanese voice track)

Whilst i enjoyed Tales Of Vesperia and wouldn't at all say that it's a bad game in the slightest i just think the genre has so much more to offer than this.

Now playing:

Zywiec (Pol 360) - fantastic playability but unfortunately very limited lastability....

Vanquish (PS3)

I think deep down i was always going to get a raging sem-on for this game, it's directed by Shinji Mikami - a man who has either directed or had a hand in many of my favourite games of all time which meant i've had my eye on it ever since the first details were announced.

As it happens Vanquish is actually a 3rd person shooter with a cover mechanic, and has been compared by misinformed hacks and gamers to Gears Of War. To look at a screenshot you can see why, the use of cover is familiar and the design of the LT Col Robert Burns character is very similar to that of the "Gears" (something which i believe was done on prupose to poke fun).
This is where the similarities end however, and if you try and play Vanquish the same way as something like Gears Of War you will get raped on Normal difficulty and above.













What Vanquish does is take the general blueprint of a cover shooter and fill it full of amphetamines. This is mainly down to the moves that your characters suit can perform. The suit allows you to boost along the gound at high speed and also go into a "bullet time" style slow motion mode, both for only a limited time before the suit overheats leaving you exposed and very vunerable to enemy attack.













These two moves completely change the game, the boost is so intuative you will find yourself using it as your default way of getting around even when no enemies are present. The slow motion "ARS" mode allows you to pick off multiple enemies with ease and is absolutely essential to taking down the bosses.
This mode also allows you to pick off missiles that are fired towards you, the likes of which have never been seen in a game of this type before, they are more akin to the kind of flak you have to avoid in a modern day shmup to be honest!













Vanquish throws numerous set pieces at you and moves at a frantic pace, much like Resident Evil 4 felt the first time i played it. Not suprising really when they share the same director.
Unfortunately even though Vanquish has received good reviews in this specialist media it's chances of selling in large numbers seems quite remote, much like Bayonetta i belive the price will fall quite quickly which is a shame as it deserves more sales!

Now playing:

Call Of Duty: Black Ops (360) - Multiplayer

Top 5: Arcade racers

5. F Zero GX (Gamecube)















Blindingly fast and un-relentlessly challenging or the harder difficulties, Nintendo definately picked the right people to develop this game in Sega's Amusement Vision studio.



4. Burnout 2 (Gamecube)















Probably the last "pure" title in Criterions excellent series before EA diluted the franchise with "EA Trax" and "DJ Wankstain". A much more traditional racer than Takedown and showing it's age a bit but an exhilarating experience nevertheless.



3. Ridge Racer 6 (360)












Regardless of being released very early on in the 360's life i still think RR6 looks and plays fantastic to this day. It's also huge and very challenging in the later stages which add to the games lastability.



2. Outrun 2 (Xbox)















A fantastic sequel to a classic racer. Wonderful home conversion by Sumo Digital as well, especially when you consider most people thought that the Lindberg powered arcade game was too powerful to bring to home consoles.



1. Burnout 3: Takedown (PS2)















I really expected EA to ruin the franchise with this game, especially after the classic that was Burnout 2. Luckily developers Criterion pulled a masterstroke and gave us a top drawer title which bests the second game and everything else out there. Unfortunately they peaked with this game in my opinion as i don't find any of the follow ups as good. The graphics are also fantastic for a last gen title.

Now playing:

Vanquish (PS3)


And it's fooking marvelous!

Batman: Arkham Asylum (360)

Despite being released in 2009 i have only recently played through this great game. Having ignored it at release thinking it would be a very generic title (much as i did with the equally wonderful Dead Space)

Arkham Asylum certainly made me eat my words however. Aside from some slightly ropey combat in places and some rather uninspiring boss encounters it's a superbly crafted, atmospheric title and actually does deserve the majority of the praise that's been heaped upon it.












Having read the first play thread over at NTSC-UK to wet my appetite before playing the game one comment had stuck in my head, a comment that likened Arkham Asylum to Bioshock.
At the time i couldn't quite fathom what the poster meant but now having finished the game i can completely see what he was getting at, the graphics and the general atmosphere of the game definitely remind me of Bioshock.












Arkham Asylum also benefits from having fantastic voice acting and music, both of which enhance the experience and add to the feeling of "being Batman"

What i actually loved the most about Arkham Asylum was the hidden Riddler challenges. To begin with i didn't pay much attention but as the game progressed finding them all took over and i was consumed with the need to find them all! That's how collecting stuff in games should be, actually interesting and intriguing rather than just the standard "collect 100 flags etc" found in other games.

Much like Dead Space and Skate this is an unexpected classic that everyone should sample.