Also, to add, Gravity Daze is the Japanese title, it’s changed to Gravity Rush for west. I’ve seen release dates for Feb 22nd, but Sony claims it’s a “Vita release window title”, meaning it would be within 1 month of Vita’s release. Not sure who’s right.

Recently however I read a review from a trusted source (GamingUnion) and it sparked my interest again.  Especially that they kept the Japanese Voice acting that was amazingly done and done bin-aurally.  Watching clips of this game, even with only anime looking stills of the characters, add in the voicing and my gut was turning.  It’s intense stuff.

I want this game so bad, it gives me nostalgia of a crazy anime called Higurashi When They Cry.  Then again, I can’t justify spending 20 bucks on imagineware.

Recently, when I was looking for a demo of TalesOfHeroes on the Japanese PSN, I seen a demo for Corpse Party.  Don’t ask me why US PSN doesn’t have a Corpse Party demo.  I snagged it, threw it on my PSP, and gave it a shot.  Even though I can only understand a fraction of what’s being said, this game has me wanting it so bad again.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand Xseed’s issues.  They claimed on their forums that physical release would put them in the hole.  That it was either digital only, or not at all.  However when does it stop?  Will they only ever release digital only?  If that’s the case, I’d rather not support it.  At the same time, Xseed is one of the very few people localizing amazing and fresh Japanese titles.

Eh, after playing the demo, I’m probably snagging this.  I guess the only thing that can come of this is that I hope more people support these titles so they can get back to physical media.  At the same time, WHERE’S THE DEMO?!  Man, I wonder if there’s others like me that would change their mind on a demo?

Warning, for anyone else that wants to check this out, it’s extremely horrific in content.  Images of hanging, stabbing, tons of blood, corpses, and more.  So that’s your ‘Family Friendly’ warning.

Tales of the Heroes is not like a typical Tales game, but rather an open area hack’n'slash game similar to N3 and Dynasty Warriors. It’s an interesting route to take the franchise, and at first I was leery. However I think they did a good job of it, especially on the PSP. I typically get bored of these types of games really quick, but the colorful and fun specials made for interesting play. I won’t claim it’s amazing, but it deserves a play.

My only real annoyance was the repetitive attack yells. Using standard slash attack resulted in “Yi Ya Yi Ya Yi Ya Yi Ya Yi Ya” over and over. It pretty much forces you to either turn down the volume or use specials alot haha. Once I found myself rotating ‘L’ button specials in between frequently, it both got less annoying and more fun. The Twin Brave special was kinda cool too.

All mediocre hack’n'slash gameplay aside, it was fun to see some familiar faces most of all. Fighting against Emile, Marta, Yuri, and Flynn was fun and exciting.

Perhaps some day, when Namco/Bandai is feeling kind, they will put it in with some amazing ‘Tales of Never Western Released” package.

Story:
Alcatraz was closed and it’s prisoners and guards moved to other prisons. Although that wasn’t what really happened. All of the prisoners and guards vanished one night and it was covered up. Now, 50 years later, the prisoners are appearing. A SanFrancisco police officer, Rebecca(Sarah Jones) is tasked to find and capture these criminals and keep it from the public eye. She’s joined by a Alcatraz expert and writer Dr. Diego(Jorge Garcia). They are overseen by the mysterious FBI agent Emerson Hauser (Sam Neill) who is the leader of this secret prisoner hunting group.

The prisoners reappear the same age they were when they vanished 50 years before. Where they have been and why they seem to be seeking odd tasks is still a mystery.

Post Premier Episode Thoughts:
My Draws to this show were the interesting story idea, Jorge Garcia, and Sam Neill. So far, I enjoy Jorge’s character, he matches Hugo from Lost. Innocent and down to earth. I’m hating Sam’s character (In a good way) because he seems like a powerful character with the licence to do what he wants to get the job done. The first episode laid our the storyline nicely, and the second episode kind of set a trend of a possible episodic layout of “Criminal Per Episode.” I hope for the sake of my interest in the show it doesn’t end up episodic. I have to say I’m sort of disappointed in it. It’s interesting but definitely wasn’t holding my attention.

Post Second Airing:
I am upset that it’s pretty much confirmed it will be episodic (Prisoner-Per-Episode) and the overall plotline looks like it’s going to be fed in tiny scraps here and there. I’m usually not a fan of that type of show, and I will probably lose interest. That is unless they give me more of what happened this week on the show.

The prisoner this time around was a sick man. The acting and filming made him creepy as heck and they did it so well. While it was all predictable,it was still amazing and it had my stomach turning a little.

At the end they hinted at the possibility that they can revive the dead. When Hauser dropped off a corpse at the secret prison facility, he tells the doctor that he may have to work on his partner (who at this point is in a coma).  There would be no point otherwise for him to bring her there.  This then raises the question that if someone else can do the same elsewhere and that all of Alcatraz was killed/being revived.  Speculation Speculation!

Family Friendliness, it’s iffy.  I didn’t notice any language (though I may have missed it) however there is a lot of violence here.  They arn’t afraid of killing off people including teens.  So be aware of that.  Anyhow, I’ll stick with it for now and keep my updates going. If it keeps my interest.

The game itself looks extremely promising. Boasting the old survival feeling that is so missing from the franchise as of late. Bullets are in low quantity, enemies take a lot to kill, enemies are actually quite bone chilling, and most of all they jump out and give you a startle! I know, it’s hard to believe, but my stomach actually jumped from a batch dropping from the ceiling. The sounds are chilling and the music adds tension.

Not much about the story is revealed here, but it’s a great demo to get a feel of the game. My only beef so far is the aiming seems loose, however that may remedy once I get used to it. My only other beefs is the sound is very low and I couldn’t focus with the 3D very well, although this may change with the end product as this is a demo of course.  The graphics are amazing and the best on the system so far.

Anyrate, if you’re a fan of Resident Evil, go grab it!! Not a fan? Grab it anyhow, it’s free. This has a bit of blood and gore and quite chilling so it’s not for the young of course.

The biggest thing to expect is a coverage of Final Fantasy 13-2. I should be getting ahold of it (despite my dislike for it’s direction). I may do like I did with FF13 and do some guides as that seemed to bring some heavy visits.

3DS coverage. Well, I’ve leeched it of what all I have to offer for now. The next titles I will be reviewing will be Tales of Abyss 3D when it’s released and possibly later Devil Survivor Overclocked. No promises on the later.

In between there I will be reviewing some titles that have been on the wayside. Socom 4, Lost Planet 2, 3D Dot Heroes, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, Tales of the World, Final Fantasy 1-2 PSP, FFIV Complete Collection, Brave Story, Burnout Paradise, Tales of Symphonia 1-2, N3 I+II, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, and some other great titles.

Late February will mark the release of the Vita. I will be holding off until the release of at least Disgaea3 and Gravity Rush. At which point I’ll have a full review of the console and those 2 titles. So look forward to that.

Looking forward even further, in March will mark the release of Tales of Graces f. I will be vegging for many weeks playing that one to death.. so you can look forward to some great coverage and review of that title as well.

Of course also, any titles in my “2012 Looking Up for JRPGs” post will be promptly snagged, played, and reviewed as well but most of them are not seeing an early 2012 release. If you all have any requests, please leave a comment. Happy Gaming!

Right off the bat we are reminded of what all transpired in season 2, including Raylan Givens being shot. 3 weeks have passed and he’s still not up to snuff. His accuracy frankly bites. So he’s become a desk warmer for now. However that doesn’t stop him from getting into the mix of things. After questioning Boyd Crowder about some missing items from old Mags place, Boyd questions his lack of an apology for prevent him from killing Dickie for shooting Ava. That leads into a nice brawl and broken glass.

I quickly realized the reason for the brawl, to get to Dickie who was in jail. Though it’s a nice smirk that they cleverly threw that in there.

The overall story it seems is leaning towards the loan sharks and some big money moving. As well as the Crowder family rise. While the loan sharking doesnt seem to be that interesting, I’ll be happy to finally see some more of Boyd as he was quite.. void in this episode.
The Highlights of the episode?

• Dickie’s face when Boyd showed up at the prison.
• How Raylan handled the Ice Pick killer. I was literally laughing out loud cause I knew he wasn’t going to immediately grab it. I was figuring a kick at the table. This is the Raylan I just love Justified for.
• “Yeah, should have worn your suit,” Raylan says after fighting with Boyd. Too funny.
• Ava’s frying pan action that I seen coming from a mile away but it was still hilarious.
• Duffy being utterly scared to death of Raylan.

My only thumb downs? The whole Ice Pick killer scene with the poor pizza guy was… excessively violent, and the sex scene was unnecessary. Overall though the episode was great.

I can watch this scene forever and ever.

Design: The PSP has a look that reminds me of the days of Gameboy Advanced and even Gamegear!  Long from left to right, only as tall as the screen itself.  The screen itself is large, and very vibrant.  It of course has a glass overlaying it which can cause glare from bright light.  The speakers are AMAZING on this device.  Often praised as being a beast of a media player.

The buttons on the right and Dpad on the left feel really solid and just like a Playstation controller. The only downside to the layout is the analog stick.  It’s not a typical console controller analog stick but rather a flat shifting disk.  Similar to sliding a coin around a table with your thumb.  It feels off and takes time to get used to.  While it doesn’t feel precise, it does the job and decently well.

The shoulder buttons feel solid and work well.  They also have a neat clear look that helps the PSP look consistent and sleek.  The standard body has a gloss finish which looks great, but suffers over time from scratching.

Graphics: The graphics on this system are amazing.  Rivaling most 6th Gen consoles.  Though with some limits of power, the games can’t be as large as the 6th gen consoles.  Looking at games like Crisis Core and Birth By Sleep, it’s no wonder this thing is a power house.  Couple this with the amazing 4.3″ vibrant display and you have some great gameplay action.

Battery Life: The standard battery can give from 4 to 6 hours of gametime.  Getting the 6 hours is easy just by turning off WiFi and keeping the screen brightness down.  I love this things longevity because I can game it up without worrying.  To be honest most the time I’m running max brightness and keeping the WiFi off and stil getting great battery life.  To make the deal even sweeter, you can buy a double capacity battery that gives you upwards of 11 hours!

Price: PSP originally sold for $249 USD.  It was steep, but also advanced for it’s time.  It’s since then came down from it’s pedestal to 189, then 169, to the now 129.  It’s current price is amazing for what it’s still capable of, what it’s established, and the amazing/cheap library it has. Which begs the next topic.

Game Selection:  The PSP is chock full of great titles.  I can honestly say of all of 7th Gen consoles, the PSP has me hooked and hogs my attention.  It’s jam packed full of great JRPGs, action titles, great racers, and puzzle titles.  Best of all, for a Final Fantasy fan myself, it has over 13 FF titles including all but 1 of the 1-9 FF titles.  Birth By Sleep, 3rd Birthday, and Crisis Core look amazing.  Brave Story, Persona 3 Portable, and Valkyria Chronicles 2 are amazing RPGS.  VC2 took over 200 hours of my life away (haha).  There’s just great stuff here and so many I’ve yet to touch on.

Overall: The PSP is amazing.  While it took a bad wrap for being hacked and pirated to the ground, it still held on to a great place in my heart.  I havn’t had more fun with a console like this since PS1 and possible SNES.  Amazing library of great RPGs and action titles as well as great games that break the mold of gaming like Locoroco and Patapon.  While some may be looking at the Vita since it will have PSP/PSN compatibility, I’ll still be holding onto my PSP (and may grab one for storing once price drops after Vita releases!)

Gameplay: Similar to it’s previous installments, MK7 is a kart based race game where you combat to stay in front of your competition. The way your combat is by using different items. Attacking shells, speed boost mushrooms, invincibility star, and much more. New in this game is Tanooki Suit that swipes people near you, Fireball Flower that fires in front or behind you, and the Lucky 7 which spawns 7 items around you to use as you see fit.

The racing sees a return of drift and boosting. That coupled with ramp jump boosting and you have yourself the recipe for racing. I was sad to see drifting removed with Wii, so the return is welcomed in my book. On top of these features though is the introduction of underwater racing and air gliding. This allows for both change of pace in some courses as well as bringing some new elements to the old classic tracks that are reintroduced.

That said the game does feature many tracks from the old games including the original Mario Circuits, Rainbowroad, Dino land, and many more. On top of them is some new tracks. 8 Total Cups with 4 tracks in each.

New in MK7 is Kart upgrades. You can select a body, tires, and glider. As you progress in the game you gain new parts to upgrade to your liking. Big tires for offroad, tires for control, glider for speed, bodies for acceleration, so on.

The character roster is pretty big but offer no special attributes as I’ve seen, just who you like. 17 total. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Toadstool, Rosilina, Koopa Troopa, Shyguy, Wario, Daisy, Metal Mario, Lakitu, Wiggler, Queen Bee, or your Mii character. They are each animated and very vocal.

Other returning and new features is the array of modes. On top of the standard cup race mode you have battle mode, time trials, and coin runs. In the battle mode you compete against other players/computer to see who can last with the most balloons. In time trials, you guess it, you race for the quickest time. Lastly, in the Coin runs you compete against other players/computer to collect and hold the most coins. Being hit makes you lose your coins.

The only real problem in this game is the usual peeves I have with Mario Karts. A badly timed attack from an unavoidable shell will still cost you the entire race. An unavoidable blue shell right at the finish line can take you from 1st place to 5th place easily. It’s hard to, but if you’re playing Mario Kart, it’s always good to remember not to take it too seriously. Because it’s a havoc racing game that will throw you around at times. So be aware.

Graphics: Great stuff here. Very colorful and animated. It’s sad to say it, but this game puts Mario Kart Wii to shame. Of course, most of the 3DS can say that against the Wii. The game is fast pace and fun. The physics in some levels like Rainbow Road is a blast. The 3D also works exceptional and feels comfortable.

Controls: The controls seem to work well. The only problem I had is holding down an accelerator for extended time is pretty painful with the 3DS, but you get used to it… sorta. Outside of that, having to keep the accelerator held down (which is stiff on the 3DS) while at the same time hitting your ability button is rough. These are all minor and not too much of a draw from the fun here, so worry not.

Overall: I love this game and it’s easily one of my 3 package of must-haves for the 3DS (along side Mario 3D Land and Zelda:OoT). While it is still frustrating because a win and become a lose by an unlucky blue shell, or being bombarded right at the end with a red shell, it’s still a lot of fun.  Family friendliness?  Of course, it’s Mario!!!  Anyone of all ages can enjoy this one.

4.5 Paws Out Of 5

Pros:

• Great Graphics
• Fun Kart Action
• Fun Unlockables and Customization
• Colorful and Clean Fun

Cons:

• Controls Take Time To Get Used To
• Last Minute Shells Can Be Frustrating

The Look: The 3DS still features the clamshell body, touch screen on bottom but now a widescreen on the top.  4 button layout right of the lower screen have good feedback but feel a bit too solid like the original DS as well as the Dpad on the left has that cheap stiff feeling.  However the 3DS now features a comfortable smooth analog stick which is a huge welcome from me.  To the right of the top screen is a slider adjuster for the depth of the 3D feature.

The headset jack is oddly placed on the bottom.  I don’t know why handhelds choose to do that so often.  The Home/Start/Select are below the touch screen and feel like the cheap buttons from old remote controls.  This is a terrible design flaw that will see quick wearing if history has taught us with the remotes.

The shoulder buttons are nicely designed although having to hold them does feel off.  Perhaps I’ll get used to it.  It’s weight is surprisingly nice and doesn’t hurt to hold onto for a decent period of time.

Overall the design feels sturdy.  A huge change from the original DS models.  My only beef is the top screen doesn’t lock quite 100%, so if you are using the camera to aim with a game, the top screen can flop down slightly while looking upward.

Graphics: A huge improvement here.  I have to say originally I thought the 3DS would only be a minor upgrade from the DS.  I was surprised to say the least.  The graphics seen a huge improvement.  You would think a port of the original Zelda: Ocarina of time would be similar graphics, but it brought that massive game into graphics that put the Wii to shame.

Controls: As I said, the ABXY buttons have nice feedback but are rather stiff to press.  The analog stick is a wonderful replacement to the crummy Dpad and works amazing in games.  The only beef I’ve found with playing on the 3DS in general is the shoulders.  While playing Zelda3DS, it was difficult to press and hold the shoulder buttons while fighting.  I’m also disappointed to find the touch screen did not see any improvement.  While the software seems to handle it better, it seen to care put into it.

3D Element: When I seen that the 3DS featured glassesless stereoscopic 3D, I dismissed it as a gimmick.  While I still agree it’s a gimmick, I was thoroughly impressed at how well it was executed.  It does really look well done.  I can’t tell you how excited I was watching Navi fly through Kokiri Village in 3D.  While the objects don’t come popping out of the screen like it seems in some commercial, it’s best described as peering through a window at a deep immersive world.  It’s also safe to say you have to keep your head directly centered or it doesn’t work.  This is problematic when games require moving the 3DS around to aim or look around.  Thankfully, switching in and out of 3D is a snap with the slider.  Also, keep in mind this technology will wear your eyes out, so don’t go crazy.

Battery Life: The 3D has a standard battery life of 5 hours tops.  This is with WiFi off, screen low brightness and 3D turned off.  The huge drain here is of course the 3D.  Take into consideration that when using 3D, it’s rendering 2 displays, one to each eye.  So it’s no wonder it takes the batter life down to 3 hours.  Sad, but understandable.  Keep 3D to a minimal when on the go, and go crazy at home with it plugged in!

Outdoor Gaming: I’d like to point out how well this system is for on the go.  While sunlight bright outdoor light casted on the screen can cause a rainbow like coloration, it’s still very easy to view.  This is just awesome compared to so many other systems that require shade to really see all that well.  I have to give Nintendo a huge thumbs up for this.

Price: Originally the 3DS went for a whopping $249, and I scoffed.  After some bad sales recordings, Nintendo caved and dropped the price to a much lower $169!  A much easier price to stomach.  Shoot, it even can make you cry if you recently purchased a DS as that is about the same cost as the originally DS late in it’s life.

Game Selection:  This is probably the part that still hurts the 3DS.  It just doesn’t have a solid lineup.  However with the recent 1st party titles coming out, it does feel a little better.  At the moment my library consists of Mario 3D Land and Zelda:Ocarina of Time.  While I’m looking at Mario Kart 7 and Devil Survivor, I’m just begging for new titles.  Luckily for me, I have Resident Evil Revelation and Tales of Abyss 3D to look forward to (Eagerly!!).

Also down further down the road is a Monster Hunter title that I may grab.  Beyond the Labyrinth looks great.  Squareenix is releasing a Final Fantasy’ish title called Bravely Default that may hit the west.  Kingdom Hearts DreamDropDistance will be out sometime this year and looks like a blast.  Luigi’s Mansion looks cute.  Final Fantasy Theatrythm looks.. interesting, while I hate beat games, I love FF music.  Lastly, Nintendo apparently has work on an original Zelda title for the 3DS.

Conclusion: While I don’t recommend buying any system without at least 3 solid titles, this piece of hardware is promising and definitely proved my doubts wrong.  While I still feel the 3D is a gimmick, Nintendo managed to put some amazing graphics on this handheld that puts their home console to shame.  The controls are a great improvement and the price is just right.  If you see some favorable titles on it, snag it up!