Well, you know you’re probably going to sell the cat (who will be glad to get out of the house finally) and half a kidney (because you just can’t let go of the whole thing) for this if it never comes out here, but fortunately, you don’t need to, as it’s headed to North America as well (but minus the 100-page artbook Japanese and Asian territory gamers will get, boo!).
That said, it certainly looks as if this one will be in huge demand as an import as well as a US version, as it’s probably the least expensive way to get to play all of these games on a single console. Granted, some of us old-timers actually own a working MSX, PlayStation 1, PS2 and PS3, but man, are some of those older Metal Gear games expensive if you’re looking for complete versions and not digital downloads.
Oh, and sorry about the pun in the title – I couldn’t resist throwing some freshly shucked corn your way on an otherwise manic Monday…
Oh, brother. Raise those hands now… WHO didn’t know that this was going to be a new 
Whee, a library update after a wee bit too long. OK, I never found my missing Silent Hill 4: The Room for the PS2 (what, I never told you it was missing? Well now you know!), so I figured that I probably accidentally sold it off or worse, stuck it in that big box lot of about 80 or so PS2 games I sold a few years back as a freebie. Oops. Anyway, I hadn’t been actively looking for a copy for a while, but poking around on ebay recently, a sealed Japanese version turned up at a crazy low price and my brain said (in the words of the late Merv Griffin) “D’ooooh!” as I ended up bidding and winning this one. I also finally got back the Xbox version I’d lent out ages ago the same day this arrived, so here you go. Yes, the import game has an English text option, so it’s quite playable…
Some recent PS3 games? OK, two racers and two RPGs for your viewing pleasure. MUD (recently reviewed here) and WRC 3 (which just came in today and will be reviewed soon – so far, it’s quite good), plus White Knight Chronicles II and Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, both developed by Level-5, and one FAR better than the other, period. Look, I LOVE Level-5′s games a great deal, but the first WKC, despite some nice-looking visuals and online play (it’s basically a MMO engineered for the PS3), is a pretty dull affair from the chunk of time I’ve put into it so far. The main issue is the combat system which should have been simpler and more action RPG oriented (like a Dragon’s Dogma, or Demon’s/Dark Souls) slogs down to a sea of menus and more menus plus a few menus for good measure. This wouldn’t be a bad thing if the game wasn’t insanely easy once you’ve gotten those menus and powers figured out. It’s also generic to the point of being maddeningly RPG 101 at times and despite a decent character editor, the guy or gal you create is a silent partner to another character who’s not much more interesting. I haven’t fired up WKC II yet, but I’m not expecting much other than better-looking visuals and probably a few gameplay tweaks. It’s not a BAD game, by any means… but it sure is bland for all those large maps, huge cast of characters and lovely CG movies…
