St33rpike

This was a fun and unique take on the Mario game concept. While I enjoyed playing it, the game's linear RPG storyline makes it unlikely you would want to play it more than once. The story is strange and funny (or at least tries to be), and the fact that you can switch from 1D to 3D added a cool dynamic to the gameplay. Over all, though, the pace was slow and the storyline was too goofy to really get me excited about playing. This would probably be very fun for its target audience, but older gamers might find it a bit simplistic and watered down.

Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of MMORPGs. The only other one I've played extensively is World of Warcraft, and I preferred that game by a large margin. Why? Well, Guild Wars always seemed like a more limited version of WoW. The level cap is lower, the possibilities for playing without being in a party are more limited, and the items are less varied and interesting. None of that would matter very much if I really wanted to spend my time playing with other people, but there's nothing I find more frustrating than sitting down to play a video game and instead spending the next hour trying to get a group together, only to finally give up and turn it off. WoW offers gamers a lot of options for playing without depending on other players, and that is why I preferred it to Guild Wars.

This game took the premise of a dungeon-crawling game and simply made it better. The combat and graphics were excellent (for 2000), and the three difficulty levels made it so you could keep developing the same character for a ridiculously long time while still being challenged. The story is goofy, but who needs a complex story when you could be fighting big glowing demons, and slaughtering hordes of little goblin guys?

Okay, the combat in this game is really fun: you can simultaneously choose the moves of every member of your squad, can switch perspectives to complete the fight as a different squad member, and are asked to be highly strategic during some intense battles. Also, the story is fun, even if it pales in comparison to the more nuanced narrative of Mass Effect. Why the low score? Well, in some ways, this feels like a beta-test version of the game. The dungeons are all obviously using the same one or two maps. The shopkeepers simply run out of items if you buy their whole supply. Enemies don't regenerate when you return to areas later. All of this leads to a game that feels unfinished. It is entertaining enough, but I would never recommend this game without pointing out its serious weaknesses.

With Final Fantasy VII, it became clear to me that SCEA had no idea what makes me actually want to play an RPG. Sure, the graphics were interesting, but the game play was so ridiculously slow. Also, the graphics often made the game MORE difficult, because it isn't clear where you can travel and which areas are merely background. The linear storyline left little room for exploration. And the ridiculously long cinematics that accompany some of the combat maneuvers were just unbearable. I totally understand how many people love this game: the story was more complex than most games up to this point. However, the obsession with story and graphics over gameplay made this one a game I wish I could have returned to the store.

For one of the first adventure games, it's amazing how much they got right with this one. The saving system makes sense; the combat is fun and challenging; the difficulty increases gradually; the items are cool; there's a "leveling" system because of increased power and better weaponry, yet this doesn't become a distraction like it does in some games; and, it started an incredibly strong series. This is probably the best adventure game for the original NES, and is still fun to play.

What an addictive game. I played through this entirely over a three-day period. The combat is fun and challenging, the graphics are beautiful, and--let's face it--who DOESN'T want to be a badass assassin in Florence Italy during the Renaissance? The sci-fi part of the story is a bit confusing and detracted a bit from the rest of the game for me, but fortunately you spend little time in this aspect of the story. There were some other parts of the story that were kind of goofy, but the conclusion of this game is incredibly well-done. If you are looking for fun action and buckets of blood, this is a good one.

I'm jumping on this bandwagon a little bit late, having just finished this game with both 2 and 3 already out. This is truly an excellent game, exciting and fast-paced, and truly designed with the characters in mind. The player has an amazing amount of control in how they develop, and although a certain sequence of quests cannot be avoided or changed majorly, your decisions can have a huge impact on the game world. The only issue I had with this game was the tutorial at the very beginning. It ****. I made it through it without truly understanding all of the controls, and spent several of the first quests still figuring out how to use necessary skills. Other than this rocky beginning, this was a truly amazing gaming experience, and I am very excited to continue the series.

For a retro game junky like myself, this game was everything I could ask for. Well, okay, it was too short. . . but only because I could play Mario levels forever. This takes players back to the old-school one-dimensional Mario games with a lot of the same moves and controls, only now with a much greater level of accuracy in Mario's movements. Thank god. The multiplayer mode is awesome because it is total chaos! The secret levels are, for the most part, a challenge to even Mario veterans. Over all, if you liked the older Mario titles or are curious about what they were like, try this one out.

The open world in Skyrim is amazing, and so is the complexity of many other minor characters. There are so many directions you can go in developing your character, and Skyrim allows you to be a character who is good, bad, or somewhere in between. All three options have benefits. The load time on this was incredibly, INCREDIBLY slow, frequently a minute or more from just passing through a door. Also, in my one run through the game (which is probably 60 or 70 hours of gameplay) I was stopped temporarily because **** that I had to find a solution for online. Barring these limitations of the game, this is a phenomenal roleplaying game, and I would recommend it to anyone.