BlazingTiamat

Did not like the game much. The militaristic/stealth setting is great and shooting/melee attacks from surprise were fun, but overall Essentials is way too hard for non-hardcore splinter cell gamer. High difficulty, complicated controls, often unclear/obscure mission objectives, and also in some places somewhat busted technically. Only for die hard fans of stealth games.

An alright hidden object adventure game for DS. Nice setting, okay story, good graphics and not bad music. Nothing extraordinary though, so mostly for fans of the genre.

At first I was deeply disappointed by limitations of DotP - this was because I approached the game as a long-time Magic TCG player. But after some time I switched to perceive DotP as a computer game, and in such case the 2014 version is great - fantastic graphics and overall style, challenging, deep duel system based on rock solid MTG mechanics, plenty of modes and things to do. Very good, already went to Magic 2015 on Xbox, hope it will be at least as good!

I just can't believe how they managed to fit a full blown FlatOut experience on a single UMD disc. Head On is absolutely incredible - actual FlatOut 2 PS2-level game with contents including some of the stuff from Ultimate Carnage, I would say this game is probably the best racer on PSP. Fantastic graphics and physics, a lot cars to drive and cups/things to win, some absolutely mad bonus content (derbies!), and all working almost perfectly fine on a portable platform. Brilliant game.

A truly arcade version of Resident Evil, almost looks like it was a port of 2000s arcade! There is almost no story here, just a bunch of random RE-style levels with waves of RE-style enemies. Game uses RE4-style controls allowing for quite dynamic and intense survival action, and if you do not expect actual RE experience here (this is a score attack game - again, there is no story!) and like the RE spinoffs (like light gun shooters), you will have a great time playing The Mercenaries. There is a ton of skills and character/map combination, so replay value is quite high. And there is more - playing with a friend is strongly recommended on later stages. Not for the faint of heart or perfectionists, controls may be a pain sometimes, but overall a solid arcade-style package that works great on a handheld. And nowadays quite cheap too!

Excellent portable version of Dead or Alive, with just one major problem - game modes. There are plenty of them and the main one Chronicle Mode is fantastic both for newcomers and long-time fan series from story and series lore perspective, but they are all so short and basic that I was bored with them very quick. Chronicle Mode lasts an hour or two of actually interesting content (lots of annoying tutorials!). Perhaps lack of actual story mode or proper arcade mode are the reasons (the DoA:D arcade mode can be finished in 3-4 minutes max! no endings or even credits after!). Tag Challenge pairs you up with a CPU controlled teammate that is ****, becoming extremely difficult later on (really a mode for patient, constantly retrying gamers), while the Survival is ultra-uneven, makes you asleep while fighting with regular enemies then pummels and stomps you with bosses every now and then. Finally, the remaining collectibles and unlockables are laughable (1000 figures each being a single frame of ingame animation? really?). The game could be saved by multiplayer (the core of every DoA!), but the online play is sluggish (plagued by lags!), badly designed (cannot rematch instantly? what the hell!?) and quite deserted nowadays. Great core game, but just begging for a proper Story/Arcade mode.

Deep old school strategy RPG with some very interesting features (romances and children!) and complex, involving combat. Generally difficult and demanding game, but AFAIK probably one of the most accessible in the Fire Emblem series. Some features are missing (online play and tournaments, more side quests, equipment and character customization), certain parts may not be for everyone (lots of character interactions, manga-inspired) and DLCs are quite pricey (and sometimes not worth the money at all, especially the money and EXP boosters!), but it really is a massive game with over 60 hours of gameplay to be had. Worth noting is that the actual strategy combat is more like Panzer General and less like Final Fantasy Tactics - ranged attacks are generally 2-3 squares away max. Not as good as FFTA2 (crazy amount of side-quests, classes and items!), but outstanding in its own terms.

A pretty fun light soccer management/training sim game with strong manager-simulation elements (pretty tough to classify really!) and substantial 90s nostalgic vibe. Can get quite time consuming at times, especially later on while playing in higher leagues, but the actual matches play quite well, and it is really nice to see the players apply the tricks and skills learned through training between matches. Broken multiplayer (especially national for low-populated countries) and paid DLCs (aka training boosts/cheats) do set this game back, however - I could really live without these features. There is also not much actual game in this also, which is a drawback for me, an arcade lover. This is a curio recommended mostly for football fans.

Super fast time attack sci-fi racer with some excellent techno-trance music score. Challenging, requires extreme focus, but ultimately very rewarding. Has very nice online ranking system which supports separate list of friends' best times. There are only 18 courses and 5 ships that fly quite similar, but for this price you just can't go wrong with AiRace Speed!

Great motocross trials game on the go. Looks really great on 2DS screen, has some very solid level design and I really liked the urban-theme, with rough music and sound effects. The only things lacking are actual content (only 20 courses plus some extremely wicked challenges; only basic customization options) and some missing multiplayer features (lack of rankings, high scores integrated with friends list, etc.), but the game is cheap and with its rock solid physics engine the 3 hours I spent with to complete all the courses passed in no time. Highly recommended!

Not that small collection of extremely basic versions of arcade classics. The chiptune music is nice, but the game themselves are poorly executed - sloppy controls, very uneven graphics, boring level design with way to slowly advancing difficulty and sometimes looping (!) levels. The games aren't broken, they are just bland and not fun to play.

Pretty regular first person shooter, nothing groundbreaking, but stands out with a well designed Soviet Russia 1950s setting and nice range of Russian sidearms arsenal. Plus for wicked story that is presented so bad that it becomes gruesome.

Short, fully playable WWII first person shooter with some interesting setting (occupied Poland) and fast pace story. Looks average, sounds well and is dirt cheap, so why not give it a try? It's your typical Saturday afternoon FPS.

Decent followup to Heavy Fire: Special Operations, this 3DS conversion of its sequel plays great while on the move, with excellent touch controls, shorter and more dynamic but still very intense missions, a bit more forgiving difficulty and some more in-depth weaponry system. The tropical jungle setting is also a welcome change of atmosphere from the Somalian desert. Very good shooting gallery/rail shooter overall for the 3DS, recommended!

Some deleted by review, no idea why. Anyway, just to sum up quickly - Heavy Fire: Special Operations is a fun rail shooter/shooting gallery set in a modern day Somalia. Intense, focused, challenging, arcade-like - a very good game overall for its price. It might be simplistic or a little bare bones, the visuals are not top notch, but game really plays well and has nice military-themed setting. Recommended!

Solid action RPG with nice atmosphere. Certainly not perfect, but does keep the game interesting to beat the main campaign mode at least once (7-8 hours). Looks good, sounds great, plays well, and, what is also important, is not overloaded with stats, skills or abilities. Definitely underrated in my opinion.