Final Fantasy XII

In recent years the respect and prestige the Final Fantasy franchise earned from providing a stellar storytelling experience, backed up by graphics beyond the confines of the other console games, has slowly deteriorated. This is due to the awfully poor Final Fantasy X-2 and the online rendition of the series which has only gained a small cult following (sorry ya losers the FF MMO sucks).

Most of the people I know just gave up on hoping the next game would break Square Enix out of their rut and bring Final Fantasy back up to speed with current games. Some people even fooled themselves into believing every game after X-2 was still amazing, ignoring the stink of mediocrity that currently plagues the series that used to set trends for the market.

The tutorial turns out to be a massacre. Poor Reks.

Genre: JRPG
Developer: Square Enix
Release Date: 16th March, 2006
Platforms: PS2, PS4
Score: 6/10
Similar Titles: Grandia, Dragon Quest, Star Ocean
Worth playing: If you are a fan of Final Fantasy or are running out of alternative RPGs to play.

Bleach: Versus Crusade

Bleach is an anime that has made several forays into the video game arena, with a reasonable amount of success. However, some of the best Bleach titles never even make it out of Japan. After playing the disappointing Shattered Blade on the Wii, I wasn't very eager to play another game that might ruin the reputation of my favorite anime. However, after a bottle of vodka and some wine, I made the happy mistake of attempting to emulate Bleach: Versus Crusade. Surprisingly, it's actually a fun and entertaining game. With Dolphin emulator and a reasonable internet connection, it's a very quick and easy process to obtain and get it running too.

Byakuya is hard to play but rewarding.

The first thing you need to know about Versus Crusade is that it's all in Japanese. There's no English patch, so it takes a little research on Google or knowledge of the language to get started. If anything, I'm happy that I don't have to listen to Ichigo and Rukia's voice actors speaking in English. Don't let this barrier deter you; you can find menu translations all over the internet, created by avid fans.

Ichigo is pretty overpowered, but he can be beaten.

The second thing you need to know, is that instead of the 2D Tekken style battles are gone. Instead, Bleach: Versus Crusade adopts a combat style that can only be compared to the Dragonball Z: Budokai franchise. This is a very welcome change, bringing a more free-roaming approach to the action, which befits a franchise of Bleach's caliber. Being able to Shunpo around the battlefield dodging blasts of Reiatsu is deeper and more fitting than the 2D arcade style of beating eachother senseless on a single plane.

Melee attacks are the bread and butter, to build up your Bankai.

Although the story is very short, it takes place during the Hueco Mundo arc. Which means Ichigo can go Visored mode and put on his mask in battle. The plot follows canon and in between battles the dialogue is unveiled upon a simple backdrop. The lines are all voiced by the actors from the show. It's pretty basic really, and is in no way special. The only real redeeming quality of this game as a whole is that it's basically Dragonball Z Budokai's battle system with beloved Bleach characters. Albeit with a lot less content.

The dialogue is essentially quoting the Bleach manga.

As I have mentioned already, the combat is drastically better than the other Bleach titles on the market. Each arena you fight in is large enough for you to move around freely. You can chain together several flashsteps to cover distances quickly. Each character can strike in melee, landing a hit allows you to chain together several blows. There are also four special attacks that are unique to each character. For example, Ichigo can fire off small or big Getsuga Tenshou projectiles, and Ishida can use dangerous long range Quincy arrows. All characters can Bankai, which increases their damage considerably. It's not too badly balanced, no matter who you pick you have varying strengths and weaknesses.

Not unlike most of the games on the Wii, the graphics aren't spectacular. The maps are pretty awful too, but they do depict all the scenes from the anime and manga accurately. What I do like, is the fairly comprehensive roster of characters you can choose from. You can play survival or arcade mode when you've finished the campaign, which utilize tag team battles. Overall, I'm disappointed in the lack of content, but it's definitely a step in the right direction for future Bleach games.

Bleach: Versus Crusade isn't really a great game. It's fun, and will kill a few hours of your time. But it lacks depth and there's not much for you to do. If you do like Bleach, then it's worth playing. If not, you can probably find something better to do.

Crysis 2

When the original Crysis hit the shelves in 2007, it was borderline revolutionary. The graphics and engine left people with a jaw to pick up off the ground. Those who could run it, anyway. Many a person bought a new computer just to get it running. The second installment however, just feels like more of the same without much being improved on. That's not a horrible thing, but among other franchises that progressed further using the original Crysis as inspiration- it makes Crysis 2 lack the means to really stand out.

It's so pretty! Aside from the destroyed terrain, of course.

Genre: FPS
Release Date: 22nd March, 2011
Platforms: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Score: 6/10
Similar Titles: Farcry, Just Cause, Halo (kind of not really)

I have always seen the Crysis games as a graphics engine. With a lack of much else to compensate. I decided to follow up on that with a nice long playthrough to cement my opinion. To be honest, I still retain the same opinion. Mostly, anyway. But boy is it pretty. Even now, years later I cannot help but admire the incredible graphics and visuals in the game. Not only that, but my computer admires them too. Enough to stutter a few times in firefights, anyway.

Alien spaceships apparently need steampunk gears and cogs.

Unlike the majestic jungle you will experience in the first game, Crysis 2 sports a ravaged New York City. The aliens for the first game are back with force, with their world domination plan beginning in New York. Because aliens always attack America. Why? Because you're all cunts, that's why! The city looks really good, but the limitations of where you can and can't go will become apparent very quickly. Regardless, Crysis 2 is enhanced by the atmospheric visuals. Watching buildings getting torn to pieces whilst spaceships fly overhead is incredible in high definition.

The story is a follow on from the first game, the opening scenes begin with the new main character Alcatraz, a marine sent to combat the infection that has spread across the population. upon reaching the shores of New York, the U.S submarine comes under attack. Alcatraz is the only survivor, barely making it out. Prophet, the protagonist from the first game manages to save you. Sadly, he is infected by the deadly virus and doesn't have long to live. As his final act, Prophet passes on his stolen suit to you. And so begins your quest to save the human race from extinction.

These aliens can't even see you until you hit them in the face.

As the only person with an advanced Nanosuit that even rivals the advanced alien technology, Alcatraz can survive bullets, jump incredible heights, and even turn invisible. There are even purchasable upgrades to enhance your capability. All suit powers are governed by energy, which depletes when you activate them or take damage. Using the advantages of the suit is vital to succeeding in Crysis. You can die very quickly if you forget to turn on armor mode; or get outnumbered without taking advantage of stealth. The real shame is if you use the suit intelligently and frequently the game is just a joke. It's just too powerful- and the AI has no way to counter it. You can stay in camouflage mode indefinitely, making it possible to complete an entire level without being spotted. Armor mode is almost impenetrable, it takes several rocket launcher shots for you to run out of energy. Quite simply, if you want to actually play a video game instead of strolling through an incredibly pretty film- you have to resist using your full strength all the time.

The visor allows you to find ammo quickly. The other 'advantages' are all pretty useless.

This really put a dampener on the game for me. You have all these amazing powers at your disposal, giving you the potential to pull off amazing assaults and some badass moves. But what's the point if you can just walk through the game wasting entire rifle clips on a single enemy without being challenged? Or if you get into a tight spot you can just put on invisibility mode and walk away, while the 20 guys who had you pinned down just stand there scratching their heads without even looking for you? You have access to grenades, C4, rocket launchers- but are they ever really that useful? Nope, merely tacked on mechanics that are less efficient than shooting someone in the head. The worst part is, these inherent problems that make every gunfight boring and easy could be fixed in less than a day. Give the enemies EMP grenades to knock out your energy, or even just special flares to bring you out of camouflage. Problem solved. AI that is only programmed to shoot at you when they see you horrendously lazy code and ruined the game for me.

This little piggy got microwaved.

Despite the giant difficulty flaw, Crysis 2 is still a decent game. Sure, the story is a bit of a flop and you won't be challenged too much- but the rest is pretty solid. The Nanosuit is a cool ass feature that I'd want in my wardrobe. New York feels very realistic and the alien invasion affects the City just like you'd expect it to. Dying citizens can be found hiding from the armed forces in alleyways and sewers. Aliens land in various places to attack army emplacements and you can hear it all through your communications.

As for the aliens themselves, they can be pretty freaky. Crysis intentionally puts you in places you wouldn't want to be and throws enemies galore at you. They come in several types, some of which can take a fair amount of bullets to the face. Humans are also gunning for you, but they aren't really a threat. In fact, barely anything is a threat but we need a scale to measure.

I like to think he had a parachute. It just failed to activate.

I wouldn't really recommend Crysis 2 to the average person. It's just too similar and questionably inferior to other FPS games. Hell, even Call of Duty and its 5 year old target audience is probably better for most people. The one exception is people who like the idea of toying around with the super Nanosuit. Because it is pretty awesome. If you don't mind stomping noob AI, anyway.

Warlock: Master of the Arcane

Genre: RTS, Strategy
Release Date: 08 May 2012
Platforms: PC
Score: 6/10
Similar Titles:  Battle for Middle Earth 2, Battle for Wesnoth

Warlock is an indie game. I started playing it on a whim, and it didn't catch my attention very long purely because I had other things to do. Whilst I never really expected this strategy title to invoke my passion for gaming, I certainly got my money's worth. Turn Based Strategy games have always been a fetish of mine, ever since Final Fantasy Tactics.

Warlock menu screen.

What you shall find upon booting up your copy of Warlock: Master of the Arcane, is basic mechanics, some customization, a plethora of units, and simple graphics. It meshes together brilliantly, causing the game to have quite some depth. Build your armies, develop some powerhouse cities, and crush all the other Warlocks on the map using powerful researched spells. It's easy enough to get started, a little intuition will take you a long way.

Anyone with a little strategy experience will pick up the pace immediately. Resources are managed with a simple gold, food, and mana system. Certain units consume resources differently. The general consensus dictates gold is used to buy new units and upgrade your strongholds, food is essentially an upkeep mechanic, and mana is used for your Warlock and his spells.

Campaign creation is surprisingly adjustable.

Starting a new campaign will allow you to pick World settings, customize your Warlock and pick a race. Editing the world scenario is a great feature. It's possible to change the world size, difficulty, continents, enemies and even tack on some extra maps. This means you can adjust how long and challenging you want the campaign to be.

You may select some abilities for your Warlock at the beginning of your game. There is a range to select from such as increased money or mana, powerful starter units for early game dominance, and some devastating spells to wipe out encroaching armies. As the game progresses you learn new magic so a wide amount of utility comes available.

This army crushed a fair few enemies to say the least.

Races aren't a prevalent part of Warlock. There are three to choose from. Human, Undead and Monsters. However, you can access all types of units by controlling the right places. Each race has some variety to what units you may spawn, but they are all quite similar to keep the game balanced.

The entire game is played on the world overview map. I cannot stress how easy this game is to drop into. It's like playing Mario or Rayman. The UI is easy to adapt into, the mouse-over hints provide all the information necessary. Units can move or attack with the click of the mouse; they duke it out automatically and the animations quickly show the victor.

The UI is informative.

After spending approximately a dozen hours on this game, I found it unbelievably easy. Maybe that's due to my experience with the genre. Warlock: Master of the Arcane is definitely a nifty little title. Certainly a valued asset in your gaming repertoire, grab it on sale if you don't feel like throwing money around.

Lord of the Rings: the Battle for Middle-Earth 2

Genre: RTS, RPG
Release Date: March 2nd, 2006
Platforms: PC, Xbox 360
Score: 6/10
Similar Titles: Warcraft III, Heroes of Might and Magic

Opening screen.

From the early attempts by Melbourne House to the sketchy transitions made by EA games, the Lord of the Rings franchise has had a turbulent gaming history. I'm a little ashamed to admit how many of these titles I've actually played; despite never being able to truly enjoy the books.

The Battle for Middle-Earth 2 (BFME) is a fairly well structured attempt to port the epic feel of the films into the RTS genre. Incorporating RPG elements in a similar fashion to Warcraft III, BFME seemed like the ideal game to satisfy my appetite. Whilst I did end up playing it for a long period of time, a lot of the content seemed very dull and badly implemented. I eventually found myself merely challenging the skirmish mode repeatedly, ramping up the difficulty and increasing the opponents as I improved my skills. Although the title has plenty of different campaigns and even a War of the Ring conquest battle, they were mostly pretty boring.

Grandia 3

Genre: JRPG
Release Date: August 4th 2005
Platforms: PS2
Score: 6/10
Similar: Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest

The graphics aren't bad.

Grandia 3 is the final game in a great but deteriorating series. Although the plot and characters cling to the stereotype and refuse to decease in hitting you with the generic stick; at the end of the day it doesn't stop Grandia from being a JRPG worthy of Square-enix.

The characters are kinda horrible though.