And here's what we got:
Oh look, another Professor Layton. I don’t think I need to outline once again how every Professor Layton game holds me firmly in its thrall. I’ve lost sleep with each game. Basically as long as Level 5 keep coming out with these games, they will keep taking the money I throw at them.
That said, the new Professor Layton came with a veritable feast of new mini-games, new puzzles, and one of the best story-lines in a game I’ve played in the last while. As a result, the newest addition to the series (Professor Layton and the Unwound Future) ends up being the best of the series (thus far).
I’ve strung words together before about my issue with brain-teasers. I’m sad to say that things have not improved at all. I still get hung up on them, I still lose sleep over them, and I still allow them to consume me far too much. It’s a character flaw on my part, and I’ve learned [...]
I got my hands on a copy of Time Hollow because, lets be honest here, I’m a total sucker for time-travel stuff. I’ve been a fan of Doctor Who since it was introduced to me, I love movies like The Butterfly Effect, and I can have totally open debates on the different effects of time travel can have.
So when I found out about Time Hollow, I thought I’d give it the old college try, because along with Time Travel, I’m also a fan adventure/mystery games. You can refer to my gushing over Phoenix Wright and Apollo Justice for examples therein.
Now I thought Time Hollow was going to be a fairly straight-forward mystery finder.
Yah, sometimes I’m just stupid like that.
Every once in a while, you are told about a game that sounds just a little too ridiculous to be true. Just something that’s a little too far off the beaten path that you simply have to play it, if only to know that it exists. Atlus published a game called My World, My Way, and it easily fit the mark.
When it was originally described to me first one eyebrow was raised, and then the other. Then my face had no where to go, and so my eyebrows fluctuated back and forth. I eventually got my hands on it, and was actually surprised.
Turns out it didn’t suck!
It’s been a while since I’ve played an honest to God platform game. It’s not my usual bag, as it requires a skill set that is lacking in me. These games generally consist of accurate timing, good aim, and good reflexes. These are all things I lack, and so platformers tend to annoy me to the point of non-playing.
I used to stay as far away from platformers as I could, given that my ability in them scored somewhere in the negatives. Every time I would try one, I’d get about 4 levels in, and then start to hate myself. It’s really not a pretty sight. Give me turn-based games and experiences points, that’s what I say!
Of course to every rule there is an exception, and Super Princess Peach is, shockingly, one of those exceptions.
Oh Front Mission. I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with your series. How can one franchise give so much joy, while sapping someones will to live so readily at the same time? I played my first Front Mission game back on the original PlayStation. It was actually the third in the series, but that mattered little to me. Within that game was a breadth of customization and unit control that up to that point I couldn’t have dared dream of.
Don’t even get me started on the side-quest goldmine that it was. It had it’s own “Internet” that came with spam, conspiracy theories, and hackable government systems. It had a solid story line, an excellent battle system, and some decent (for the time) graphics.
Front Mission DS (which apparently is a re-release of the original) has none of these things. Well okay, not none per say, but far less than my first experience. It did manage to be just as frustrating though, so that’s something.
Anyone who has talked to me about DS games will inevitably find out that I am a complete fanboy when it comes to what I call “The Lawyer Games.” This catchall title is used when talking about any of the Phoenix Wright or Apollo Justice games. I’ve talked about previous installments of the series, and so now that I find myself with a little time (shockingly) I thought that I should probably get off my ass and get to writing! Self-deprecating aside, I’ve always enjoyed the Ace Attorney series, but I honestly found this one to be a little lost. Well, a little lost until the end when the grand machinations of the writers come to fruition.
Self-deprecating, machinations, and fruition, all in two sentences. I think my brain is having some kind of vocabulistic everything-must-go sale. Of course then I go ahead and say something like vocabulistic, and all of my grammar street cred get’s shot to hell.
Anyways! Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney! Review! Commence!
I have a problem.
It’s silly, I know, but I have a problem with brain teasers. I can’t put them down without getting really angry at myself for giving up. I will constantly think about the problem until I’ve answered it. It’s really quite unhealthy. So what do you think happens when I come across a game like Professor Layton and the Curious Village?
I lose sleep.
Phoenix Wright: Justice For All is very much like the original, but with a few added tricks. Released in North America January of 2007, Current fans salivated over the new game. Featuring slightly improved graphics, – maybe I’m nuts but I don’t recall moving mouths in the first game – slightly better music, an expanded cast, and a new feature to aggravate the player, Justice For All provides hours of entertaining Lawyer-y fun.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is for the most part, a rather enjoyable game. Released in October of 2005 (if you live in North America as I do) this game became an instant hit and flew off the shelves. Now granted I waited two years before playing it (since then a second game has come out, and there are a third and fourth in existence somewhere) but only because I have only recently bought a DS. I have to make sure to buy my friend Dane a decorative cake for lending me his copy.