okunoin9

Ignore all of the negative reviews, they are simply trolls, people who've not played the game. I got the game yesterday and finished It in just over 11 hours, it's a great game, with a colourful cast of both characters and environments and a fun combat system with depth should you seek it. Ninja Theory have taken a lot of criticism from old DMC fans upon taking on the franchise and they've done a sterling job, aside from a few technical hitches on the PS3 version (including iffy shadows and the occasional frame drops on busy cutscenes) it runs and looks phenomenal, the standouts include Chapter 13/14 and the final battles. In comparison, I found DMC4 to be a sloppy, lazily put together mess with no originality and half of the content was repeated, a terrible game.

I rated Papo & Yo an 8. It's a deeply personal narrative, charming setting, full of character, hampered only by it's technical issues. At just a few hours long, I completed the game in one sitting, how I believe the game would be most enjoyed. It delves deeply into 'games as art', the narrative and story itself being at the forefront of the experience, if you're looking for a genuinely compelling tale then you should definitely check this title out. There are various technical issues I came across, including an unstable framerate, moderate screen tearing in places, 2 separate bugs that forced me to repeat a section in order to proceed, and other general 'jank'. If you're a person who can overlook such flaws and see the vision which the creator is trying to have us experience, then I implore you to buy this game. The story is poignant, the game is full of personal touches, and the soundtrack is simply outstanding. It's most certainly a flawed gem!

I just completed Uncharted GA, I give it a 7/10 or so. I've only completed the original Uncharted so I'm not particularly well invested in the series, some thoughts; +It looks awesome, along with Gravity Rush it really shows the Vita's capabilities, it bodes very well for the graphical benchmark we can expect on the handheld throughout it's lifetime +The animation is excellent, on par with the console games as far as I'm concerned + The gyro controls are really perfect, the gunplay feels pretty awesome, sniping with the gyro is so much more satisfying than using an analog stick + The voice acting and the music is stellar + The overall pacing and cinematic nature is very compelling + I liked some of the other interactive elements such as the charcoal rubbings and flipping through the pages of Drake's notebook - I feel like the interesting aspects of the story (including the mythos behind the gods and all of the treasure and whatnot) are lost within the cluttered pages of the notebook, a lot of it's hard to comprehend, I couldn't even pronounce half of the names of the Gods and in general I feel like the game does an injustice to these elements by not expanding on it more - The villains and overall plot are largely predictable or uninteresting - The combat, while fun, is very formulaic, much like the other Uncharted title I played, it tends to bog down the pacing somewhat - though there is much more platforming here for those who prefer that - The 'sticky' style platforming which Uncharted has brought into this generation is quite shallow - though it does work well within the game - I came across a variety of bugs, including Drake constantly walking towards the camera when the sticks are in their default position, enemy encounters randomly not triggering, being unable to pick up certain weapons (and thus not being able to proceed) and the touch screen functionality becoming completely unresponsive. They were all resolved relatively quickly but it was frustrating at the time I only paid half of the RRP for the game, and for that price it was well worth the money, I'd only recommend it at a higher price for fans of the series - though I will say Golden Abyss is definitely as good as, if not better, than the original Uncharted.

I gave Mutant Blobs a 7. It's a visually lovely bite size platformer with a few shortcomings but ultimately it is what it says on the box. There's some replay value in finding all of your little mutant blob friends, and of course collecting as many points as you want, there's also leaderboards which I personally don't care for. I'll no doubt jump back in every now and then for a bit of mindless fun, but the pretty aesthetics aside, Mutant Blobs is a shallow gaming experience reflected by it's budget price. It is however, a nice showcase of the Vita's software variety.

I gave Shinobido 2 a 6. I did juggle with the idea of giving a 7 score, but I believe the game doesn't offer enough variety to warrant a higher score. My initial playthrough has lasted around 8 hours, a fair length - and the game does dole out an array of optional character skins and costumes to make further plathroughs more enjoyable. The reason why Shinobido 2 didn't score higher for me, is because it suffers from a fairly flat execution of it's story, the cutscenes, while visually at a fairly nice standard, with a nice attention to detail, generally don't pack much of a visual punch. The characters themselves are pretty one dimensional, with our hero, Zen, being almost irritatingly stubborn. It's clear this is a direct sequel to the first game, so the story is harder to grasp to newcomers to the series like myself. It also makes the intentions of the villain fairly obscured because it relates directly to events that happened in the previous game. It simply comes across as being half baked, the creators could have done so much more with such a combination of unusual characters, but it feels as though we gleam most of the characteristics of these people from the ending montage! Another conflicting aspect of the game is the overall presentation, beautiful music dampened by basic sound effects, pretty locations plagued with repetition, nice character models with basic animation. The missions themselves offer various styles, including kidnapping, sabotage, retrieving documents, bodyguard work, annihilation, hunting and good old assassination - this is where the game works it's magic. Going back to the most basic forms of stealth gameplay, the game offers the most enjoyment - suffering only when we're forced to do face-to-face combat because the janky, unyielding nature of the gameplay can frustrate. Another aspect of the game that regrettably under-delivers is the daimyo, or warlord association. By carrying out missions from certain daimyo you can improve your reputation with them, unlocking certain gifts and rarer missions. Basically you can aid certain daimyo to win the war, by favouring one over another you can sway the outcome of the war however you like. The outcome itself doesn't appear to affect the story - however I did unlock a unique cutscene at the end of the game along with my A ranking *wink wink* So again, while it does fall short of what it could have been, it does offer replay value should you choose to back the other daimyo (three to choose from) in future playthroughs Shinobido 2 is a game of potential, and there is a lot of value in it should you choose to seek it, just don't expect to be blown away in your playthrough, with a steep curve to attune yourself with the controls, and the gameplay in general, many people will be put off straight away. After a few hours though I did very much enjoy the good old Tenchu nature of the game, and I will continue to jump in every now and then to back those other daimyo, and perhaps play as a bear!

I gave Yakuza 3 a 7. It's a patchwork combination of clunky gameplay and an awe inspiring attention to detail with it's environments. It has both touching emotional moments with genuinely likeable characters, and over the top campy camaraderie that suits this uniquely Japanese adventure. Yakuza 3 most certainly comes across as labour of love, and despite the shortcomings that tend to come hand in hand with an ambitious open-world natured title as this, it brings a great deal of fun and variety to the table. I feel as though the engine is somewhat holding back the ambitious vision the games creators had, and the vast array of mini games and fun gimmicks that we're given to enjoy come across as a 'jack of all trades, master of none' in that - there is a lot of content for us to dip into, but none of it meets a standard we would expect in other games. It's understandable however, because no other game sees you enjoying karaoke, playing a round of golf, escorting a young girl to various ice cream parlous and fighting street thugs amongst the streets of an almost surreal depiction of real life Kabukicho (or Kamurocho as the game would have you call it). Yakuza 3 essentially offers a fun adventure and a promise of great things to come for the Yakuza franchise

I gave Amy a score of 6. Fairly sure most people aren't interested given the critical reception but if my opinion is being sought by a survival horror gaming fan then I'm happy to give it; + Nice overall visuals and atmosphere + Sparse but good soundtrack, there's some sombre stuff similar to Silent Hill and some nerve-wrenching drum pieces that let you know you need to run as fast as you can + Good character models (comparable to Siren) and some nice animations (also uses Siren engine I believe) + Fun puzzles, forcing you to be aware of your environment + Good relationship between the two characters + Unique use of psychic powers and contamination for different situations + Refreshingly challenging (One hit kills from certain enemies, inventory resets per chapter) 0 The combat is pretty bare bones, a certain degree of jank but it does the job fine - there are some unique animations mixed in there for different kills (The 0 means I don't like or dislike it) 0 The voice acting is neither good nor bad, it does the job - The save/checkpoint system is brutal, most people will be put off by this. I took it as a challenge! - You need to turn the gamma setting to maximum to be able to see anything, and even then it's dark - Camera is perfectly fine for the most part, can play up a little in tight spaces - There is a mixture of comic book style cutscenes and normal cutscenes, the former leaves a little to be desired - The framerate is a mess, there is screen tearing - The ending falls directly into a sequel of which there will probably never be, which is a shame Basically I think it's got some nice ideas, and I found the puzzles and gameplay compelling despite all of the performance problems I recommend it to survival horror fans who can deal with the horrendous framerate The painfully low scores are a disservice to the challenge the game does provide (which is all but gone this generation) Fans of old school survival horror will find something from Amy, it's obscured by it's flaws, but it does more right than it does wrong, for me, and that makes the game worth playing - especially for the bargain price you can grab it at!

A perfect 10 for Journey. This title is a testament to man's ability to create a piece of art to the highest of standards. There's not much I can say that hasn't already been said, nor would I choose to - because Journey simply needs to be played to experience what it offers. It sets the audiovisual standard in the gaming industry, and is the absolute highest calibre of what a developer can hope to create. thatgamecompany have set a standard which I can only hope their future projects can come close to meeting, I am very thankful I was able to play through their vision and I wish them the best of luck in the future! Journey is my 'Game of the Year' for 2012.

I give Gravity Rush a 9. I've just completed it, what a truly great game it is! My overall playtime was probably between 15-20 hours, I can't check because the clock is bugged but it was most certainly longer than 12 hours which is probably the average, I spent a good bit of time just flying around and collecting gems. I had pretty high expectations (love Toyama's stuff) but Gravity Rush, for me, is his most accomplished game so far - there are moments in the game where you feel a rush (excuse the pun) of pure joy, as you plummet across the skies in shifting gravity, launching yourself head on to your enemies, painted against a pastel water coloured sky that melts into the landscape. For anyone still on the fence, I'll list a few of the pros and cons I came across: + Lovely story, there are a lot of loose ends, where the games just gives you enough to speculate but also keeps you guessing, the ending heavily implies a sequel is planned. These are my favourite kind of stories, where a lot of it is left to your own imagination rather than having an exposition dump + Charming, likeable characters. I don't think there's a single character I disliked! This is a big deal for me. Kat is a brilliant heroine. + Amazing visuals - technically it's the best looking handheld title I've ever played. + Carrying on from the last point, the art style is awesome, entirely consistent - down to the maps, the menus, the comic book style cutscenes, the quirky voice acting - it's all ace. + The soundtrack mixes equal levels of whimsy and more bombastic tunes to create a wonderful mixture of sound + When it hits it stride, the gameplay is really very fun, launching yourself around and homing in on enemies while being suspended upside down above a **** becomes second nature to you + Exciting and varied boss battles + The gyro is used very well for subtle maneuvers - The gryo isn't as effective for more demanding maneuvers and for navigating tight corners and whatnot - The dash move is really quite unyielding and there seems to be a steep learning curve to master it (compared to the other uses with the gyro) - While the world is designed wonderfully, there's not much to do outside of challenges and listening to rumours. Some more gimmicks to add distraction and variety would be welcome (For instance, they could have fleshed out Kat's home and let us collect lots of little objects to put in there, or there could be some sort of Fortune Telling mini game) - Specifically, more variety with the sidequests themselves would have been nice - More enemy variety would be great - The game brings in a lot of story elements and characters towards the end, and so they're not expanded upon enough - we will have to wait at least a year or so for a sequel :( Most of my complaints are basically that I wanted more variety, which is something that a sequel would definitely remedy I'm pretty confident there will be one It's my 'Folklore' of the Vita (a total gem!) It's the most ambitious handheld game I've ever had the pleasure to play, and with that comes some flaws, but I absolutely can overlook them because Gravity Rush is everything I look for in a game; oozing with charm and character, a joy to both look at and play, and leaves me wanting more. It's currently happily sitting on my 'Game of the Year' spot for a handheld title. And certainly takes it for 'Best new I.P' for me.

I gave it a 3. I'll be honest, I've not completed the game, and probably never will. Diablo II true successor this is not. I used to play Diablo II a lot in my youth, it was pretty much the only PC game I'd play, it was fun, addictive - and since that time it'd be my 'go to' game every summer, I'd reinstall it, even if just to play for a handful of hours, to experience the magic and then I'd be content. Diablo III simply never delivered any magic from my brief time with the game. It's essentially been designed to be a rather dull grind through 'til level 60 where the game quickly goes from a good challenge to broken, unbalanced, mess. Loot is no longer designed by way of the carrot and stick method, instead we're given useless drops that serve no purpose but to clutter up our inventories - the real loot is all sold via the Auction House - a system which is a massive point of contention for me. The game is overly streamlined, there's a vast array of invisible walls, and locked doors and blocked entrances that only open up as the story progresses - something that Diablo II was not a victim to, to such an extent. The story is quite frankly, garbage, and predictable. It offers no intrigue, or mystery. The characters are flat and poorly written - the games use of audio messages to tell of the lore is flawed because it's often interrupted by ingame sequences or completely inaudible over the noise of battle. The skill system was designed to offer more depth and more varieties in the builds by way of runes, but it simply offers less variety. It's not particularly creative - and it fails to add some excitement to the basic dungeon crawling gameplay. The maps are bland, and do a disservice to the charming art style. The multiplayer is basic, the lobbies offering little customization to find a player tailored to your needs, I spent a lot of my time with the game playing with my partner, and while he enjoys the game - as a Diablo newcomer - I found the multiplayer equally as boring as playing alone. The game offers no PVP, it's woefully missed, and something that Blizzard should have put in there at launch. To summarize; - The game is too easy for the vast majority of players, who will lose interest before hitting the harder difficulties (And why should we have to replay the game a handful of times before we get a real challenge?) - The loot is not rewarding - the game is a dungeon crawling loot game, if there is no worthy loot, the game has failed on a very basic level - Throwaway story that is highlighted evermore by the super linear nature of it's progression I also find the whole RMAH a very cynical, profits based system and I want nothing to do with it. That Blizzard is being so blatant about it amazes me and does invoke a certain level of awe within me. Blizzard can alter and nerf and update the game as much as they want, but it does not take away from the fact that they released a terrible, broken, shallow game at launch, one that does a massive disservice to the franchise and that, for me personally - has made me vow not to support any software they intend to release in the future, Diablo or otherwise. I can agree that for some people this game hits the spot, is a joy and a wonder, but for me, I will look back fondly on Diablo II, while Diablo III will be long forgotten.