Review: Persona 4: Dancing All Night

Posted on October 4, 2015 by geelw

Platform: PlayStation Vita

Developer: Atlus

Publisher: Atlus USA

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Official Site

MSRP: $39.99 (Standard Edition), $79.99 (Disco Fever Edition)

Score: B(80%)

Sure, the premise is supremely goofy and practically guaranteed to make some of the more obstinate old-school fans of the long running Shin Megami Tensei and Persona franchises get a bit cringe-y. But Persona 4: Dancing All Night manages to shake off most any negative vibes thanks to it not only being a pretty decent rhythm game, but a really well-made spin-off to the Persona 4: Golden (that’s also gotten a pretty darn good 2D fighter with an even better follow up). Keeping the surviving characters and situations from P4 intact and working them into the game’s plot was an inspired touch that’s hopefully going to sell those gamers who are only buying this for music and gameplay into picking up P4:G at some point if they’ve yet to.

On the other hand, if you go into P4: DAN with skeptical intent, don’t expect to be knocked off your feet by the game’s premise, how some characters act and the overall gameplay that may not be your cup of tea. Fully enjoying this one means throwing caution to the wind, diving in feet or face first and letting the music and atmosphere wash over you like a sudden summer rain shower. Continue reading →

Summon Night 5: The PSP Takes Another Deep Breath Thanks To Gaijinworks

Posted on September 30, 2015 by geelw

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If you thought the PSP was deader than well, the Vita (ha and ha-ha, but *sob!* for Sony not knowing how to promote its otherwise fine handheld), consider yourself about to be surprised. Gaijinworks continues to kick out the quality and somewhat obscure games with Summon Night 5, a tactical RPG headed to PSN as a digital release for both the PSP and Vita and to a lucky handful of gamers who pre-ordered the limited release physical version.

As with Class of Heroes 2, those lucky folks with the physical version coming also get the digital version of the game as a bonus because Gaijinworks knows some of them won’t ever even crack the shrink wrap on their coveted LE and a few will even go right to eBay and resell their “prize” for boo-koo bucks to the highest bidder. Damn dirty capitalism has its upsides to those who know how to take advantage of it, I suppose. As Gaijinworks doesn’t do review codes (as far as I know), I’ll be ponying up some actual hard-earned loot to play this just like everyone else interested in it.

Me, I just want to finally play an actual Summon Night game in English. I missed the two Game Boy Advance spin-offs from a while back because they got a limited release and now fetch a pretty penny for complete copies. Nope, knowledge of the other four previous Summon Knight games (nor the upcoming sixth one headed to PS4 and Vita in Japan) is necessary in order to fully enjoy what’s here. But one would hope that gamers who don’t know a lick of Japanese can some day get their paws on some sort of collection. Of course that won’t happen unless Gaijinworks has a metric ton of money lying around and time to do all that porting and localizing.

Some Batman Day Stuff To Drive You Batty

Posted on September 25, 2015 by geelw

So, it’s Batman Day tomorrow and yes, a few (well, more than a few) sites are having some nice sales on some fun to funky items. I’ll give a shout out to a handful below:

MezcoToyz is offering up an awesome deal of mystery randomness with its 1-day ONLY Batman themed Mystery Box. $19.39 (yes, the year Bats first appeared in comics)nets you a box that will contain assorted Batman and DC Comics related merchandise. You may get something common,but you may also snag something super-rare and guaranteed to have the Joker pop by with a can of Smilex gas while you’re sleeping. Hey, he collects toys too… at your expense, of course! This sale runs from 12:01 AM on September 26th to 12:01 AM on September 27th and yes, supplies are LIMITED. Oh, and if you’ll be in NYC for the event, make sure to visit Mezco at New York Comic Con (booth 1754).

If you prefer something a bit more interactive, Bundle Stars has you covered with two cool Bat-bundles of PC games with the Caped Crusaders and friends. Ten bucks nets you the first three Batman: Arkham games along with three huge DLC packs or Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham plus SEVEN nice DLC packs.

Meanwhile, the PlayStation Store, Sony is running a Batman Day sale on a slew of Barman titles for the PS3, PS4 and Vita. Boogie on over to that link above and let your wallet fly around the room for a minute before you wring it out until it’s all dried up and you’re buried in more than enough Bat-games to keep you occupied and out of trouble for quite some time. Or IN trouble because you’ve stopped going to work and have taken to wearing a cape, boots and utility belt you’ve designed on those trips to the bathroom. Remember to duck when you throw that homemade Batarang for the first time, as it’ll swing back and crack you upside the head before you can react.

I suppose you can do some reading as well, but I’ll let you poke around online for assorted sales. I do know DC Comics is doing something fun (as always) I haven’t read a decent Batman comic in ages, so I’m kind of need to do some poking around myself. Hmmm… it looks as if I’ll be hitting up the library here tomorrow or a nearby comic shop for a few freebies.

Heroes of Loot: Budget Bitty Dungeon Crawling Hits The Vita

Posted on September 23, 2015 by geelw

It’s a darn good thing I pay ZERO attention to what internet comment sections on game and video sites say. Absolution Games’ budget twin-stick dungeon crawler Heroes of Loot is actually pretty fun to play and dirt cheap at $2.99 on the Vita. The bite-sized dungeons, fast-paced gameplay and simple retro looks aren’t getting a lot of love from the usual suspects, but the game is great fun so far. You’re basically getting a Gauntlet homage with a bit more humor and difficulty that ramps up as you clear special optional side quests.

yeah, yeah, it was/is a tablet game, but so what? If you like your dungeon crawlers and teeny sprite characters zipping about laying waste to hordes of monsters, collecting loot and trying to stay alive, this one’s right up your alley. Or right down your dark dungeon hallway. Now, if you’ll excuse me… I have a LOT more monsters to kill. In the cutest possible manner, of course.

Persona 4: Dancing All Night Hands-On: Should You Be Dancing? Yeah!

Posted on September 15, 2015 by geelw

As a longtime fan of the Shin Megami Tensei series since the mid-1990’s, I’ll admit to getting a glorious case of the heebie-jeebies about Persona 4: Dancing All Night as soon as I heard it was in the works. However, as Persona 4 Arena and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax showed after I dragged myself kicking and screaming into both games and loving them, a little funky is a LOT of fun.

When the opportunity arose to check out a review code for P4: DAN, on went my finest disco wear with the hope that I didn’t look too foolish on that digital dance floor. Thankfully, the game doesn’t disappoint where it counts and even the most jaded non-music game fan of the franchise will want to slide somewhat electrically into their favorite game emporium on September 29, Vita in hand to snap this one up.

Continue reading →

Dungeon Travelers 2: The Royal Library & The Monster Seal Review

Posted on September 4, 2015 by geelw

Platform: PlayStation Vita

Developer: Aquaplus

Publisher: Atlus

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Official Site

MSRP: $39.99 (Retail/Digital)

Score: A- (90%)

Fans of Mature-rated fan service galore will absolutely be in deep grin mode with Dungeon Travelers 2: The Royal Library & the Monster Seal, which also happens to be an excellently designed and lengthy dungeon crawler. for the record, developer Aquaplus doesn’t reinvent the wheel at all here. But the gameplay is solid and challenging enough that fans of old-school Wizardry games and more recent riffs on it (Etrian Odyssey, Elminage Original) will find the game an excellent time eater.

In addition to some pleasing visuals, smooth dungeon movement and plenty of quick turn-based random battles against enemies that aren’t pure pushovers keep things rolling merrily along. The rather heavy fan service (in the form of plenty of under-dressed character art ranging from mild to somewhat creepy) will indeed be a sticking point for prudes and anyone else determined to dislike the game for the one thing it’ll sell for to some players who like this sort of content. Interestingly enough, the game somehow balances that out thematically by adding a religious subplot and characters to the mix. It doesn’t make up for everything, but it’s amusing, surprisingly well written (for a game such as this) and intelligently implemented. Continue reading →

Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders From Planet Space Trailer #2: It’s Boom Time For Big Space Bugs Soon

Posted on September 3, 2015 by geelw

I’m thinking Xseed Games is going to be selling a lot more copies of Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders From Planet Space than they expect. The game is headed to the Vita this fall in both physical and digital forms and given that it’s the best version of the game to date, I can see fans of the series who haven’t played it snapping it up and hopefully recommending it to friends who also like offbeat Japanese games full of destructible environments and tons of gigantic bugs, robots and spaceships to blast. While the ESRB hasn’t rated the game yet, there’s nothing “mature” about this one at all. It’s mindless fun at its best, but also a game where a bit of strategic experimentation in the weapons you use can mean the difference between crushing defeat and total success.

I’ve played this oldie to death as an import on the PS2, PSP and Vita and I’m looking forward to the English localization just to see how it’s turned out. Xseed took a campier tone that expected with the title, but it’s all good in the end. This is one of those games where you get so many hours of play out of it that paying full retail on day one makes perfect sense. You’re not going to get 100% completion on this one for a while and the added online play should help make this one even more fun if you’re into playing with others. All the game needs now is a release date and all I need after that is time enough to sink a few dozen hours into it all over again.

Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax! – An October (Non) Surprise From Sega

Posted on August 29, 2015 by geelw

You don’t have to be a fan of the Dengeki Bunko light novels or any of the anime associated with them to appreciate Sega’s upcoming PS3 and Vita exclusive Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax!, headed your way on October 6. Developers Ecole Software and French Bread have cooked up a great looking, fast paced 2D fighter with nice 3D backdrops and some wild “Climax Moves” that can decimate your opponents when pulled off.

The game’s roster includes characters from the following DB light novel series:

A Certain Magical Index
Accel World
Black Bullet
DURARARA!!
Oreimo
Ro-Kyu-Bu!
Shakugan no Shana
STRIKE THE BLOOD
Sword Art Online
The Irregular at Magic High School
Toradora!

Plus assist characters from these DB series:

Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan
Boogiepop and Others
Ground Control to Psychoelectric Girl
Golden Time
Kino’s Travels
Spice and Wolf
The Devil is a Part-Timer!
The Pet Girl of Sakurasou

The game will be available at retail in a limited launch edition that comes packed with a CD soundtrack. As far as I can tell, digital copies of the game won’t net players that freebie. So you may want to pre-order this one or take a chance that your local game shop has ordered a few extra copies so you don’t miss out on that bonus.

While I’m not the best fighting game player out there (understatement of the decade, folks), I do appreciate awesome art and animation when and wherever I see it. So this one on the list to check out in full review form.

Yes, Virginia – There Is A Sony Claus

Posted on August 27, 2015 by geelw

One problem with the internet these days is there are too many skeptics ranting about stuff they think is fake when some simple research will save them from eating crow and losing out on some cool stuff while they eat that crow. Case in point, the whole PSN reimbursement deal some made fun of as false a few months back. While those folks were going on and on about the deal being fishy because Sony didn’t seem as it was officially behind the program, people like me signed up to get our free game codes or PSN credit voucher after carefully reading the details. It took a little while to arrive (about three or so months), but I had this nice non-surprise waiting in my mailbox when I got home.

All I need now is a good PSN Flash Sale to spend my slight windfall on. Um, Sony? It’s your move. My code is redeemed and I can wait for stuff to pop up that I want to add to my digital library.

Whispering Willows: A Haunting You Will Go (On Even More Platforms)

Posted on August 15, 2015 by geelw

Abstraction Games and Night Light Interactive have a nice and spooky surprise coming soon for Xbox One, Wii U, iOS and Android owners. Although the game is already out for a few platforms (PC, PS4, Vita and OUYA), I’d actually never heard of Whispering Willows until an email about the latest version popped up in my inbox. Initially set for an August 12 launch at $9.99, Xbox One owners will be seeing the game as part of Microsoft’s Deals With Gold promotion starting Friday, August 28th at 30% off ($6.99) for two weeks only (through Friday, September 11).

iOS and Android versions will also be available on the 28th with the Wii U version following shortly thereafter. The horror-themed puzzle adventure has you playing as Elena, a young girl with the ability to use astral projection. The talent comes to good use thanks to her father going missing in a creepy mansion and yes, Elena heads into that haunted palace set on finding out just where he is and what’s happened to him. I’d say more, but I’ll need to play the game and get back to you on how it turned out. I’d gather all those plaudits on the official site mean the game is worth the price and more. A half dozen screens to ogle are below.