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Tales of graces f doesn't break any new grounds or tell a particular original tale but it's still definitely worth your attention in these times of jrpg drought. The tales series never had a huge fanbase outside of japan so it's of no surprise that not even half of the games get released over here. After petitions and thousands of begging from the fans to namco we finally get a tales game released in the west after 4 years since vesperia. Tales of graces was originally a wii exclusive that came out in japan in 2009 right before ff13 jpn release. The game bombed and namco released a improved version for the ps3 to much success in japan. We received the definitive version of the game and i'm happy to report that it was worth the wait. Story and characters are a little bland in this game. It's not like it's bad but it just feels like namco has done this formula before but better. The characters don't stand out much and the story is very basic i know they could have done more with it but decided to play it safe. This results in a decent cast of character and a passable story. Graphically the game looks good. You can tell it was originally a wii game but the game still holds up it doesn't look incredible but it gets the job done. Character designs are a little weaker in this installment in my opinion but it's still a very nice looking game. Sound wise is easily in my opinion the weakest part of the game. Motoi sakuraba is a very talented composer and in my opinion this game is not one of his best work. A lot of the tracks just don't stand out and are very forgettable. A few are ok but for the most part it was very disappointing. The voice actors did a good job none of them felt annoying to me and they all felt appropriate. Gameplay wise is kind of a mix. The battle system is incredible one of the best i've seen in the genre. The tp system most of the tales fans in the west are familiar with is now replaced with the CC system. This adds alot of depht to the combat and prevents dumb button mashing. The battle system takes a while to master but when you do few games battle system will feel comparable. Out of battle the game is your typical jrpg run from point A to point B and then cutscene time pretty much throughout the whole game. Tales of graces f doesn't break you grounds but if your a fan of jrpgs then i'd recommend this game solely for the fact that you won't find much better on consoles in the genre for the next while.

If you own a vita and are a fan of hack and slash games you can't go wrong with dynasty warriors next. Dynasty warriors next is a game based on dynasty warrior 7 a game that came out on ps3 and 360 which is in turn based on the story of romance of the three kingdom. The game uses touch controls to take advantage of the vita functionality. The game is a hack and slash game that has over 60 playable characters. Graphically the game really impresses this is easily the best looking koei game on a portable devices it's a huge graphical leap from samurai warriors on 3ds. It looks almost identical to the ps3 version especially the character models which are very detailed on the vita's beautiful screen. A lot of the music in this game is reused from dynasty warrior 7 which is great because that game had a great soundtrack and the new music added just for this game all sound great. The voice acting is also top notch. Fans of dynasty warriors games should have a good idea of what they are getting themselves into and the touch controls add a little variety to the experience but at it's core it's still a dynasty warriors game. The story mode alone could last you 20-30 hours and the game has more modes like conquest and create a character can definitively increase the play time for those who are into that stuff. It's a great that i definitely recommend and i hope we see another koei game on the vita.