RinEvangel

Amalur is easily and by far my favorite RPG i have played in 2012 only since Dragon Age origins have i ever truly liked a western made RPG. Amalur like dragon age was one my most immersive experiences i had. the gameplay, story, and game world were all so wonderful for me to indulge in. To start of with the gameplay was some of the most invigorating i have seen in a western RPG. with the game being an action RPG you will spend most of your time in combat witch is by far better than most other western RPG title, more comparable to combat in God of War or Castlevania Lords of Shadow, Amalur's combat is heavily based on dodging parrying and attacking rather than preplanned elaborate tactics, this style of combat serves and fits well in this type of game. to go along with the game play the UI is very well design, the HUD is simple yet solid and the menu catagorizes all your gear and items so well its never hard to find what you want. the RPG elements that support the game are impressive as well. being able to blend the three styles of combat Might(warrior) Finess(rouge) Sorcery(mage) in anyway you want is great i found my self preffering the rouge mage build and a combination of all three. there is also crafting but im never much for crafting in any game it so i wont judge it. navigating the world is all simple and sastifying a massive map filled with many areas strung together with narrow interconneting pathways makes navigation easy and not at all overwhelming to any player. all together the gamplay package with this game is one that borrows alot from good examples and excutes them just as well the game world its self is quite pretty i found it seems like it started as a very bright and colorful MMO but stopped half way to be a single Player RPG. the art direction is one i really like especially with many games having such bland color pallets its nice to see a game like viva pinata thats not afraid to use colors thats are browns and greys. the creatures in the world arent very original in though or idea but have their personality in execution (except wolves but come on they're wolves you can only make them look so different). also the game is riddled with lore. that can be found in many forms such as books NPCs and Lorestones(stones that when activated play an audio file related to the background story of the world) are scattered throughout the world. the game world is one that i find to be immersive and interesting. lastly the story which is very possible the hardest thing to review. some may find it boring while other may find it entertaining. it all falls heavily on what you like in a story. for example many people find the witcher to have a great story where i find it to be a whatever story but its all opinion. So in my opinion the story to Amalur is good. any one who knows of Joseph Campbell knows what to expect from any story that involves a hero's journey there is no originality here in plot devices and what not just like any other hero story but the circumstances and setting around it supports it enough and makes it stand out in my memory. to give a quick no-spoilers summary: having being brought back from the dead you discover that you are no longer bound by the weaves of fate the determine the fate of the world and all who inhabit it. and since you are the only one free to choose your own destiny its up to you to save the world. nothing new here same as many hero stories, but i believe that the fateless one angle is worked pretty well. all in all Amalur is a great game and should be at least tried by any RPG fan. I was so infactuated with this game i actually bought it 3 times once on all the platforms it was released on eventually. and of course like every other game its has its faults but none take away from overall enjoyment i give it a solid 8/10 the game would earn a 9 from me if it didn't suffer from boring side quest syndrom(where all almost all the side quest are go here do that come back for hours on end) more varrying enemy types and a greater visual variety of armor sets(just about all armor of the same type looks exactly the same) just to name a few problems i had and guess a slightly better fast travel system to, if only to be picky at this point.

Ok first off this game gets minus points cause of its lack of multiple save slots. I had an issue where my save file got corrupted because apperently just because the auto save icon goes away it doesn't mean its done saving and you shouldn't turn off your console the second it is goes away. had to restart the game from the begining when i was about 7 hours in very frusterating. now onto the real review. This is a very good game, but also a very bad one. Some of the things i love about this game is the combat system, and fighting boss monsters feel great. also the taveling the world feels nice and gives a good sense of journey. I found all the Classes very fun to play, my favorite being the magic archer and the vanilla strider. Now on to the bad stuff. the first thing i have to address is how crappy the pawns can be. i know some people would argue that they're great and amazing A.I. additions to your party, and i would like them to define their definition of great and amazing. throughout my experience with the game i have consistantly been giving the pawns i recruit a dissapointed face and a shake of the head. at many times they seem like they are just there to troll me inside and outside of combat. Case #1: they are programed to say the say lines in the same locations in the world and against the same enemies. so very quickly you'll hear most of what they have to say and not long after that you'll get tired of hearing them say the same crap over and over again. i ended up muting my tv while i played after about 4 hours in only unmuting it during npc dialog and cutscenes. Case #2: I went to the edge of a mountain cliff to pick up some gathering materials that happend to be next to an exploding barrel. the pawns heeding to their overwhelming desire to break everything thing possible in sight broke the barrel causing it to explode and sending me off the edge of the mountain to my death. oh the joy. Case 3-4: i encountered some undead enemies at night, and while combating them my mage pawn informed me that they are week to fire. i awaited him to give me a fire augment for my daggers which has done before in the past, only to recieve a ice weapon and him informing me yet again that they are week to fire. also another time is when we are fighting one of the "Dark Chimerea" i believe they're are called and all my pawns are telling me to kill the goat first, it makes the fight easier they said, but i would be much more inclined to believe them if they weren't all targeting and trying to kill the snake instead. I believe that my main point is that the Pawn A.I isn't the brightest or the most sensible, and leaves much to desire, i believe this could easily have been avoided if i could directly control of influence their actions in some way. like the tactics system in dragon age origins. but aside from the pawns being crappy other problems of this game is the lip syncing that makes Robotech(1985) look good, that along with a story with greatly wasted potential and a unbelieveably boring set of side quests. However going back to the good this game is overall fun to play and enjoy. The main quest will take you to interesting locals in the world along with bringing you very interesting fights along the way. My 20min encounter with the sort of final boss is one i will not soon forget. also believe it or not this game actually has more meaningful choices to make than Mass Effect three. I would say I've seen about 4 different ending already, be it they aren't the true ending but it still adds great variety to the story. lastly i wan to point out that as bad as they are as a whole there are moments where the pawns truely shine. thank the developers for giving them times they can't completely screw up. I believe this game justly earned my 6 out of 10

When i started this game and in the first 2 minutes i realized this was a visual novel with some combat i said F*** YEAH!!! Now can anyone like this game. of course not. but a select few, yes. this is a special kind of game meant to appease a certain kind of audience. the kind of audience that love games like hyperdemsion Neptunia and cheap Japanese Visual Novels

I want to give this game A 0/10 but i didnt want people to be confused into thinking that it crappy game. its actually much worst or quite the opposite. This "thing" (i cant call it a game it goes against my morals and standards) doesnt have sufficient enough GAMEPLAY to be called a game. All you do is walk around and listen to the character/narrators dialogue; oh and you get a flashlight to. Now dont get me wrong its still a very pleasant experience if you can be accepting that kind of thing. but all in all it gets a 0/10 as a game and 9/10 as a "Artistic experience" (yes it was difficult for me to type that)

Ok now before i Even begin let me just state that i am a hard core Armored Core fan and have been with the series for over a decade. so you know now your getting a fan's opinion of this. AC: verdict Day is the follow up game to V it runs the same engine so the core game its self is largely the same so i wont go into too much detail about it later on. Instead i'll focus more on the new features. Armored Core: Verdict Day is a mech simulator game in which players design their own Armored core (AC for short) from the ground up with a large varity of parts (legs, core, head, arms, FCS, generator, boosters, left and right arm weapons, shoulder-mounted weapons and support systems) and pilot these in story missions and online play against other players and their AC designs. possible AC configurations can range from light weight speedy mechs to heavy weight tank tread AC and everything in between and with over 25 different types of weapons and hundreds to chose from you'll be able to tailor your AC to your prefered combat style. Verdict Day seeks to maintain the focus the previous game had on multiplayer action by building upon its old system and aliveating some of the fustrastion of the previous game. Verdict features a new Persistent online mode called the Verdict War where three factions fight for control of the map. Players upon starting the game are ask to either create or join a team of players and then select one of 3 main factions to side with for the war. Players also have the option to play as mercenaries and fight for any faction as they please. Each verdict war last a week season or until one faction controls the map completely. the winning faction wins the ablility to run special boss missions in between the season downtime which give players a reason to want to win. and factions can be changed at the begining of each season. The combat in the verdicts wars plays very similar to ACV in which you attack territories lower their base points then invade for the capture. the improvements such as better matchmaking and UNACs(will go into more details on UNACs later) make the verdict wars very much enjoyable to play. the game also retains free battle which are seperate multiplayer lobbies. In addition to the Verdict Wars, the new UNAC system which is similar to the A.I AC in AC:silent line is quite the marvel. UNAC or Un-Named AC are A.I controlled AC the players can bring along on either world and special sorties(Verdict war missions) and story missions. UNACs are unlocked after reacher a certain point in the games story mode and can be use to fill in missing player spots in the available game more. the game offers a number of default UNAC to choose from, however players can create their own customs UNACs if the standards arent working for you. the UNACs feature a highly customizeable and adaptive A.I that can be upgraded in 2 ways. either spending in game currency to lvl up different aspect of combat or more interestingly, you can feed it combat data from any player in one of you world sortie operation log. Unlike A.I teammates or opponets in other games. UNACs are every fair and fair and very viable. having a team of UNACs is not a disadvantage in its self and they can pose quite a threat if their A.I is upgraded properly. Verdict Day has a slightly new story mission format with a total of 60 missions 10 story and 50 side missions. as always in an armored core game the story is more of a means to earn cash then to find something truly entertaining. missions layouts are simple you either have to destroy all targets in the combat zone or eliminate other AC(s) the story is there but nothing to impressive. but player are sure to find several missions that they will enjoy quite a bit. also story mode supports full 2 player online coop or UNAC support once unlock. upon completion the game offers several hardcore modes that will challenge even the most grizzled veterens AC: Verdict Day also features and Expansion of parts you can use to customized yours and your UNACs ACs. with part types returning to the series such as weapon arms(arms that are weapons in them selves) and shields. a multitude of weapons ranging from rifles, gatling guns, sniper rifles, laser rifle cannons, railguns, missiles CIWS bomblets E war systems missiles, Ultimate Weapons etc. and now for the best part the cons. verdict days does nothing to improve on its lack luster and unintuitive UI which has been a prime concerns for many. also the games lacks a tutorial that explains anything outside of combat there are a few tool tips but they do not explain things very well. Overall the games new player experience is piss poor. the story missions ramp up in difficulty very early on and unless your skill as a pilot improves quickly you'll need to have help on most missions past 20. AC:VD is a game designed with its fans in mind and while returning fan with feel right at home newcomers may feel alienated but dont let that discourage you

I'll keep it short Single player/Co-Op=very good action packed chest high wall hugging shooter Multiplayer=solid enough to last years and quite possible the best multiplayer shooter i've ever played Gameplay=very tight responsive reasonably balanced, also its fun to be the guy surpressing and the one getting surpressed Story=didnt pay too much attension to the story after the 6th mission and yet i dont feel as though i was missing out was to enthralled by the gamplay to care Soundstrack=good problems= all minor and dont take away from the overall experience final verdict= 9/10 a must own for all shooter fans

my quick review of Diablo III for the PS3, 6/10 its a game thats not very good but not bad in the least. it main problem is its self. th lack any real customization outside of how you map keys and what gear you have is deplorable. also you will most likely find yourself out powering all the games content around the half way mark and will have to ramp up the difficulty incudulously to give yourself some challenges. oh yeah all the boss fights are trivial and boring. However that said its not impossible to find some enjoyment from this game. This game does not deserve anything below a 4, that's just unreasonable, and giving it a 0 is ridiculous. a game deserving of a 0 has no redeeming qualities at all and can be argue is its even a game. That said this game has decent gameplay and by game play i mean the controls feel solid and the combat all though seems heavily tipped in your favor is reasonably balanced i never found my self saying "Oh that's BS!!!" The audio soundtrack is not the in my opinion isn't the best out of the genre but there are a couple of boss music i like. the story is a little over cliched but that's about all that is wrong with it. In a nut shell Diablo III is a very video gammy game. It is not a shinning star nor is it the king of terds. However for those looking to pick this up on consoles i would wait for a price drop cause for me i didn't really feel like i got $60 worth of content; more like $40 this a decent game.