Final Fantasy XIII-2 Review

Platform(s): XBOX 360, Playstation 3

Developer(s): Square Enix Production Development Division w/ Tri-Ace

Publisher(s): Square Enix

Genre: Role-playing game

As you may have realized already, Final Fantasy haven’t had a lot of luck with sequels with their mainstream games since Final Fantasy X-2 having an unneeded storyline and Final Fantasy XII attempting to create a RTS with a Final Fantasy feel to it. So, I was a little bit skeptical about getting Final Fantasy XIII-2, especially since they was bringing back the theories of the space/time continuum – a topic that's always interesting to explore but notoriously difficult to execute. Luckily, Final Fantasy XIII-2 does bring back the space/time continuum with some touches and innovative play style.

Story-wise, Final Fantasy XIII-2 is lacking a little bit but it still makes a heavy impact. It follows the events of its predecessor: Lighting was written out of history for disrupting the flow of time by “achieving the impossible” in defeating Orphan and saving Cocoon. Presumed to be dead, everybody moved on and began their life on Gran Pulse believing that Lighting gave her life up to the common good except for Serah, her sister, who believes that her sister is still alive because of her dreams. Along the way, you run into familiar faces and learn the reason for the paradoxes and problems in time. The story does make interesting theories regarding time/space continuum as well as give more depth to the story and events in the world of Final Fantasy 13. Especially since, as a Final Fantasy first, you are granted the ability to time travel from the beginning of the game. The game introduces a variety of side-quests and multiple endings that more than compensate for the short story that can be achieved through various criteria.

When it comes down to actual in-game content, Final Fantasy XIII-2 has revamped their gameplay style, bringing back the paradigms roles and adding cinematic triggers to the various battles to add more of an action element to the game, while maintaining the graphics that the original game is known for. The game brought back some favorite such gaining gil after battle, random encounters, exploring town, Moogles, and, which was a shock for everybody, the Beastmaster class. This feature in the game allows the player to capture and raise various monsters, each with their role and assign them to your party. To take it a step further, different monsters can also be absorbed by another monster to obtain passive abilities and/or learn new abilities.

PRO: Unlike its predecessor, Final Fantasy XIII-2 focus more of adventure than the main storyline on the game giving more freedom with great side quests to complete and various endings to see which adds to its re-playability. It also took combined the traditional elements of Final Fantasy with the gameplay style of Final Fantasy XIII. Of course, the graphics are breathtaking, especially when it comes down to its their cutscenes. Finally, the return of the Beastmaster class was a welcome addition to the game allowing the player to add their trained monster to their party, even if you can only add three at a time.

CON: Final Fantasy XIII-2 does have a few flaws. For instance, the game is pretty short for a Final Fantasy game. The other thing that can be a nuisance is the low odds of monster crystal being dropped but there are workarounds. All and all, the flaws can be overcome.

OVERALL: Final Fantasy XIII-2, in my opinion, has finally broken the curse of sequels of the Final Fantasy mainstream games providing a sensible story and unbelievable gameplay features. The story may be a little short but it will keep you hooked from beginning to end.

Overall Score: Final Fantasy XIII-2 gets a 4 out of 5.

Justin P.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 demo strategy guide (FREE)

Thanks to gamer "Safer Sephiroth VII", we are blessed with a "Final Fantasy XIII-2" demo strategy guide to help the new and old RPG fans who happen to be curious about the world of "Final Fantasy XIII-2". How in-depth is it? Trust me when I say you will fully understand how the game plays!!

Download "Final Fantasy XIII-2" demo strategy guide HERE!

Dance Central 2 Review

Platform(s): XBOX 360

Developer(s): Harmonix Music System

Publisher(s): Harmonix Music System

Genre: Music, Rhythm, Exercise

Without ever a full year passing by, the Kinect’s best-selling game, Dance Central, is back with its long awaited sequel, Dance Central 2. As you may recall with the first Dance Central, it made a perfect blend of music, ranging from old school to contemporary, and dance, ranging from simplistic to intricate. Taking cues from previous music games, Dance Central creates innovative dance routines based upon the theme and genre of the song and goes a great job while doing it. The same thing is done with its sequel but at a greater effect.

Right off the back, Dance Central 2 present itself with more appealing graphics by adding the effect similar to that of viewing a lighted object through smeared glass. This only made the colors pop and, when it came down to scenery changes, which can only be achieved by hitting a string of “Flawless” and “Nice”, the visual makes the game even more appealing.

Another thing that makes the game worthwhile is the improvements that it has made from the first one. One of them is the introduction to crews. There are six crews, consisting of two members (some returning from the first one and some new to the game) each with their own style and attitude towards you: Lu$h, Riptide, Hi-Def, Flash4wrd and Glitterati. With these crews comes the most important improvement in the game: Simultaneous 2-player gameplay. While the first Dance Central dabble in 2-player mode , having the Dance Battle forcing you to switch every interval, Dance Central 2 now support two dancers on the screen. This enables you to either play cooperative or competitive with your friends. It even introduced a drop in/drop out functionality. While the two player gameplay is a welcoming addition to the game, granted if you have enough space to accommodate another player, that’s not the only thing that has improved.

Dance Central 2 has also remodeled their “Break It Down” mode, allowing the players to focus on specific moves in a particular routine that’s giving them a hard time as well as record how you’re performing each move. This feature will allow you visually see how precise your movements are in comparison to the dancer. It also goes to show the improvement that the developers went into making sure that players don’t half step these moves now the sensor is very sensitive to the way your body is moving. That means if they want you to get low, you have to get low.


Finally a campaign mode has been added to the game allowing players to get familiar with the different crews in the game. Each crew has a set list of songs that are unique to them. For example, Flash4wrd, a sassy hip hop crew consisting of alumni Taye and newcomer Li’l T, focus more of the sexy and seductive dance style such as Rihanna’s Rude Boy or Donna Summer’s Hot Stuff. The campaign is simple, and can be expanded on, but it’s still pretty fun.

The Pros:

Like its predecessor, Dance Central 2 has a great blend of old school and contemporary music, ranging from techno to hip hop. It also gives the player the luxury of import all their downloaded and original songs from the original Dance Central increasing the complete list of songs to a whopping 100 or more. It also made a great number of improvements to its existing features; two players dancing being the most emphasized one. The graphics is another plus because it makes the environment and characters pop.

The Cons:

Dance Central 2 goes come with one interesting flaw: it’s not XBOX Live compatible. This may be a problem for some but others aren’t too picky about it. Since the game is meant it to be a party game, putting it on Live would defeat the purpose of the local aspect of the game.

Overall:

Dance Central 2 is the game for beginner and advance dancers alike, showcasing seamless routines to some of the most popular songs in the industry. While your body may be aching from some of the demanding moves in the song, it still, in my opinion, holds the title of being the best-selling game for the Kinect.

Final Score: Dance Central 2 gets 4 out of 5.

Justin P.

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 Review

Platform: X-BOX 360, Playstation 3
Developer(s): CyberConnect2
Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Genre(s): Fighting
Rating: T for Teen

Anime-based video games…it’s the one type – if you could call it a type – of video games that usually doesn’t leave a good taste in people’s mouths. Reason why: while the series provides crazy, over-the-top action, the game puts heavy limits on how over-the-top the mayhem can get. However, there have been a few games that have gotten fans attention recently. The main one being the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja series, Ultimate Ninja Storm being its highly-acclaimed hit. Can the sequel raise the bar on what its predecessor brought to the table?

The Story:

First off, if you know the story of Naruto, either because you follow the manga/anime series, then you know what’s going on and you want to skip this part. With that being said…

Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 picks up where its predecessor – and the entire season of Naruto – left off. The story revolves around an older and slightly more matured Uzumaki Naruto and his quest to save his friend Uchiha Sasuke from the grips of the snake-like Shinobi, Orochimaru. After 2 and a half years Naruto finally returns to his village of Konoha, and sets about putting his ambitions to work, though it will not be easy, as He has amassed a few (more dangerous) enemies, in the likes of the shinobi organization; Akatsuki.

The Pros:

To start this off, I’ll say this: if you have a game that can draw in fans, even when they aren’t fans of the series or Japanese animation in general, then you have a solid pro. The combat in this game is where the game shines at. Combat has a high risk of getting insane, which is exactly how it is in the series. Every move can still be evaded with the Kawarimi no Jutsu (Substitution Jutsu – a well-timed block will get you behind the opponent when he attacks), which is still one of the best defensive mechanic in fighting games. Reason why: it makes sure that there's no chances for infinite combos.

An improved feature that they’ve added to the game is the Team Assists, which is a pro. With the addition of the Support Drive meter and the option to choose what type of support your character does (attack, defense, and balance), it adds a new depth to the combat. It gives the option of letting a character continue a combo, stopping an opponent from charging in, and even pushing the character out of the way when an Ougi (Ultimate Jutsu) lands. And, there’s also the Triple-Team Ultimate, where all three characters attack, ending with the main character performing his finishing technique on the opponent.

A personal pro of mine is how well the story was done in the game. Simply put, when you do story mode, you’re literally playing the series. All the events in the game are the same thing that happened in the series, which is another plus for the game. Also, the crazy boss battles that the predecessor had are back and better than ever. And with 44 characters in the game, including Lars Alexandersson from Tekken 6 (his alternate costume in Tekken 6 was designed by Masashi Kishimoto, creator of Naruto)…well, it’s self-explanatory from there.

The Cons:

Sadly, there are some objectionable downsides of the game and they have to do with what was taken out of the game. A main con is the loss of the Jutsu Clashes, where if two techniques collide, the two players will battle it out in a button-mashing contest to see who wins. It’s no longer in there so if two Jutsus hit, they’ll cancel each other out unless the technique’s not a projectile.

Another con is the loss of the Ougi Battles. When a player did an Ougi (Ultimate Jutsu), they would have to input a displayed button command to see if the move would connect. With that no longer in the game, it’s just a case of “if it hits, then it’s over”. Not that it takes anything away from the game overall, but it’s a bit of a downer in my eyes.

Overall:

For fans of the series (video games, anime or both), Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 is a must to buy. If you’ve played the first one, then you’re going to enjoy this new installment. Everything that was great in Ultimate Ninja Storm is back along with new stuff and an Online mode, so you’ll be getting your $60 worth. And if this is your first introduction to the Ultimate Ninja Storm series, well…you’ll have your mind blown away by this game. Crisp graphics, an excellent story mode with good replay value, epic boss battles and combat that rivals the action in the series…you can’t ask for more.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5

Emerald Chasers Video #4

Video #4 is up for your viewing pleasure. This time, it's Heart Of The Ruins (Aquatic Ruin Zone Remix). Check it out!!!




Stay tuned for more vids from Emerald Chasers. There's only 4 more to go until it's complete!!! And if you haven't downloaded the album, do so!!!

- Ray Riley

Bioshock 2 Review

Game: Bioshock 2
Genre: First-person Shooter
Developer(s): 2K Marin, 2K Australia
Publisher(s): 2K Games
Release Date: 2/9/2010
Rating: M
System: XBOX 360, Play station 3, PC

I hope you brought you swim suit because we’re going back for another dip in the pool with Bioshock 2. This is the sequel to 2007's Game of the Year Bioshock. It is a first-person shooter. You play as Subject Delta, a Big Daddy, the first one to be exact. You had your own little sister and life was good. She would gather ADAM and you would kill anyone who would try to hurt her. Then they took her from you and killed you. The game takes place 10 years after the events of Bioshock 1. When you awake the city's founder, Andrew Ryan, is dead and now it is run by Sofia Lamb and her Splicers. But where is your little sister? Is she ok? What have they done to her? You must find out.

This game plays like the first one. In this case, it's not a bad thing if you never played the prequel. If you played Bioshock, however, you will notice some small changes. You still get guns and Plasmids but now you can wield both of them at the same time. Finally. It made for some intense situations but it was more frustrating at times. There is a melee button instead of a melee weapon. This comes in handy during heated battles or ambushes. Also if you run out of ammo, you can just hit them with you weapon. Speaking of weapons, all of them can be upgraded. There are only 5 weapons in this game, compared to the 7 you got in the prequel. To compensate for the lack of weapons, you get 2 gadgets: a research camera and a hacking tool. The research camera is similar to the one on the first game, but instead of taking pictures it records the subject. While the camera is recording you can still attack. The data recorded is graded, so the more you mix up you attacks the better you grade. The hacking tool is like a dart gun for hacking. Gun turrets, vending machines, health stations, security bots and cameras can be hacked. You shoot the dart at whatever you want to hack, and then a meter comes up. The meter has a sliding arrow and 4 zones, green, red, white and blue. You have to hit the green zones to hack correctly. If you hit the red zones you set off the alarm, the white shocks you. The blue ones give you bonuses like a free item or extra damage. This is better than the tube system in the first game where you had to connect the tubes so the circuit flow could connect.

Plasmids are the games version of super powers. You can shoot fire, electricity, or freeze you foes. Those who played the first one will be happy to know that most of the originals have returned but are "New and Improved". For example, you can now charge them for more damage or for longer lasting effects. The Gene Tonics has also returned. These are passive skills that act automatically. Some make you stronger against attacks others may help you hack better. You can change your Plasmids and Gene Tonics freely at Gene Banks.

The AI is the same from the first game. The Splices have the same “fight or flight” personality. The Big Daddies act the same too. The game does "explain" why they are like this. After the abuse of ADAM Splices become like addicts searching for their next fix. Hmm…sounds familiar. The Big Daddies were subjected to various plasmids experiments and test, making them mindless protectors of their bonded Little Sisters. The developers did try to mix things up with 3 new enemies, Brute Splicers, The Rumbler Big Daddy and Big Sisters. Brute Splicers are like the Bouncer Big Daddy but can throw things and doesn't have a little sister. The Rumbler Big Daddy is just a Big Daddy that shoots grenades and turrets at you. The Big Sisters are only real new enemy. They are tough. They can flip around, charge and tackle you and even shoot fire.

Bioshock 2 now has multiplayer. This is a first for the franchise. Surprisingly it is good. Some games have multiplayer as an afterthought but it’s actually a part of the story here. The multiplayer takes place before Bioshock 1, so you get to play what happened to Rapture. You are part of the "Sinclair Solutions Program" (guinea pig) were you test out the Plasmids in combat situations. You are given an apartment where you can change you appearance, weapons, or view you stats. It has a Modern Warfare style of leveling up. Instead of points it uses ADAM. There 7 play modes: Survival of the Fittest, Civil War, Capture the Sister, Turf War, ADAM Grab, Team ADAM Grab and Last Splicer Standing. Survival of the Fittest is free-for-all with 6-10 people. Civil War is a team vs. (Atlas vs. Ryan). Capture the Sister is like capture the flag but it’s a Little Sister. Turf War is like king of the hill. ADAM Grab is where you hold the Little Sister for as long as possible. Team ADAM Grab same as ADAM Grab but with a team. Last Splicer Standing similar to Civil War but its four rounds with no respawns. The team with the most surviving members wins a round. Win the most rounds you win the game.

There aren’t that many bad things with the game that stand out. Besides the AI, the game is short. It's about 20 hours. If you know what you are doing, you could beat it in about 10. If you played the first one, some of the task will seem familiar. Some of the places feel like add-on to other areas in the first game. I'm not saying they look the same but some place could pass for smaller levels of the first game.

In a nutshell, Bioshock 2 is good game. Good story, improved controls, fun multiplayer. The AI is passable, short game play, and the feeling that it could have been a downloadable game are what hurt it.

Final Rating: 3/5

E3: Ratchet & Clank Future! Super Mario Galaxy 2?

Here are some more videos from the E3 announcements. I'm not much of a Ratchet and Clank kind of guy but this does look good. 

Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time 

Impressive right? I would actually watch a feature length film of R&C. Would you?

Well I know waaay too many Mario fans out there, so I know that people are excited for the ever impressive sequel involving our hero traveling from planet to planet for all of plumber-kind:

Super Mario Galaxy 2

A beautiful Wii game! Thank you Nintendo! It takes a mind so full of creativity to create not just one, but a sequel to such an awesome game!

We'll be putting up more info throughout the week!