Archive for the 'Games' Category
I picked Grim Grimoire today. It’s developed by Vanilla Ware, creators of Odin Sphere, which was the only requirement for me to buy it, really.
I’ve been playing it for a while now. It’s an RTS, which is pretty crazy for a PS2-game, but it offers a cute art style and an interesting story inbetween the missions. The american voice acting is terrible as expected, but thankfully you have the option to switch to the original japanese voices. Instead of using a more conventional top-down view, the “map” is a tower made up of floors, staircases and walls that you view from the side. It’s very different and somewhat monotonous, but it works.
Here’s a video of the gameplay, in case you need to see it to believe it.
Instead of building your base you’re placing “runes” that act as portals to bring in your familiars. Scattered over the map you find crystals that you can harvest for mana, the only resource in the game. There are two types of units, or “familiars”: substance and astral. Astral familiars can only be hurt by other astrals or by non-physical attacks. It offers a somewhat shallow rock-paper-scissor mechanic inbetween the different familiars and this is where the meat of the strategy lies.
I like it.. but I need to pack up my PS2 and ship it to Sweden soon =/
So yesterday Sony announced that they will release a new slimmer and lighter version of the PSP. It features twice the amount of RAM as the original model, a more efficient battery and the ability to output to a TV set. Hands-on previews have stated that the D-pad has been improved, which spells good news for Tekken-fans like me.
It will cost the same as the current model ($169, I forget the swedish price) but there will also be a bundle available that includes the silvery PSP, a 1 gig memory stick and the game Daxter for $199. I have to hand it to Sony. That’s pretty darn reasonable and I can see myself getting it.
[Update]
There seem to be some miscommunication regarding the new psp battery and I imagine it will stur some disappointment once the device is actually released. In an interview with Gamespot a Sony representative told them that yes, the device is more power-efficient and you’ll get twice the battery life out of it compared to the old version, and herein lies the juice, but only if you use the old psp battery.
The new battery has been slimmed down to account for the 19% less space, hence it’s not as powerful as the original one. The Sony guy said that with the slim battery you’ll still get the same amount of battery life (~5-7 hours). He also said that they still hadn’t figured out how to fit the larger battery in the slim model, only that it “will stick out”.
[Update #2]
I play a lot of DJMax Portable 2. A lot. To get the best audio experience I use headphones. The headphone jack is located at the bottom left corner of the PSP. This becomes a problem because as when I play the game, the headphone plug digs right into my hand at the base of the thumb. Enough to cause it to cramp up.
The new PSP have moved the jack slightly to the right, so it’s underneath the base of the device. Just enough to keep it out of hands way. I really like that attention to detail.
[Update #3]
It took a while, but people have finally started to catch up with the fact. Let the whining begin!
I mentioned before that God of war 2 had been banned in Singapore for it’s excessive violence so I still haven’t been able to play it yet. I finally ordered it online last week along with Odin Sphere. Since they don’t have Odin Sphere in stock yet they sent me God of war seperately.
I recieved it today so I think it’s safe to say what I’ll be doing this weekend.
[Update]
Odin Sphere was delayed by one week and then add another week for shipping. It pissed me off a bit since I had already started spotting it in stores. This was probably the last time I order anything from play-asia.com.
The game itself is great, though.
I’ve been playing my PSP a lot more ever since I bought DJMAX. Either I play a song now and then or I lie down in my bed and waste a couple of hours trying to beat some of the harder songs. I’ve been thinking about buying the new sequel, but I’m afraid I’ll stop playing the first one and not unlock all the songs. Maybe in a few more weeks.
I mentioned I got Disgaea and it’s just as awesome as the original. It’s all in japanese (couldn’t wait for the US release), but I can still play it with the only exception that I can’t read what the geo symbols do. If you’ve played it you’ll know what I’m talking about.
Raymond just hooked me up with the most recent custom firmware so now I can play PS1 games too. I downloaded Final Fantasy Tactics yesterday and it worked like a charm! Pretty damn cool.
Continue reading ‘Why the PSP is still awesome (rant)’
My copy of Disgaea Portable for the PSP finally arrived today. Between when I clicked ‘order’ to the point where I was holding it in my hands it took 35 days!
This was my first ever order from play-asia.com and sadly enough, probably not my last (as the local stores are less than ideal). I hate to give them beef over this because they’ve been very quick to respond to all my e-mails with apologies and according to them the blame lies entirely with their own suppliers.
Still, I hate it when people just pass the blame, and come the fuck on! 35 days!? Must be some sort of online retail record.
At least I get to finally play it.
So I got this game this weekend. I was lured by a cute pink-haired ninja. The reviews all said something like “Okay, not great. Hard as hell.” I agree with the first statement. It’s not great, but it’s pretty good. There’s some humor in there. Not Ha-ha funny but it’s cute.
The game does start out really hard. I think I died in the first 15 minutes. But it was hardly impossible. In fact after some minor grinding I was able to stay alive no problem.
Continue reading ‘New DS game: Izuna’
Just thought I should mention that I received a pass to play a closed alpha(!) test of World in Conflict through my subscription of Gamespot. WiC is the upcoming game from Massive Entertainment. I think the legal technicalities behind the alpha signup prohibits me from discussing the game or posting any screenshots, so I won’t.
All I want to say is that the game looks great and I think that Massive might have done it once again. I don’t want to say that they’ve “reinvented” the RTS genre, but it’s by all means something truly original but still in the spirit of Ground Control. Good job Massive!
Mmm.. music and boobies.
I saw some ads for DJMAX Portable 2 so I thought I’d try it.. but since I couldn’t find it I settled for the original. This rhythm game is in a word: unforgiving, but then again most rhythm games are. That’s kind of the whole point with them though. The most fun I’ve had in any rhythm game was probably playing Beatmania with my friend Simon back in the dorm until my brain would fall into a zen-like state and instinctively respond to the rapid rain of dropping beats.
I can’t say I’ve reach that state quite yet though. In fact I haven’t managed to get past the fourth level of the game yet. I manage one through three almost flawlessly but at four the difficulty swiftly bumps up to a level just slightly out of my reach. Need more brain training.
Here’s a video in case you have no idea what I’m talking about.
[Update #1]
Damn this game is addicting. My fingers hurt ._.
Oh and I saw numero 2 in the store today. I might buy it, but I should probably make sure I get good enough first. I’m pwning all the four-button songs now but I’m still having major problems with the six-button songs. Also I need to investigate how to play it on my downgraded PSP.
[Update #2]
I buckled down and eventually my brain was able to cope with the six-button songs, adding a new level of challenge to all the songs I’ve already mastered. I went back to play some good ol’ four-button songs after that and for some reason they had become easier than ever! I felt like I had super powers and hit every note even when my eyes weren’t really keeping up. Damn I love this game.
This saturday I went game trecking. I spent roughly four hours going to every single game story I knew about or could find in downtown Singapore. My quest was A) to discover whether or not God of War 2 was truly banned, B) to buy Rogue Galaxy and C) get Disgaea Portable(J) for the PSP (because I’m such a stupid fanboy).
I also browsed for some new anime figures, but for once I didn’t feel the need to get any more. I think I’m done. Maybe if I saw the sequel version of Etna I’d get it.. because clearly, I’m such a stupid fanboy.
I saw no trace of GoW2 what-so-ever nor Disgaea Portable although I didn’t really expect to see any of them. I guess I will have to resort to ordering online. I did however pick up a copy of Rogue Galaxy. Of course it was in the last place I looked. In this case it was in a small no-name game store down in the basement of Simlim. The guy at the counter seemed so happy to finally make a sale.
Speaking of which. It’s official. You heard it here first. Singapore sucks when it comes to video game retail. All the stores have the same games, very few PS2 games but TONS and TONS of GBA games. No one sells any used games and it’s downright impossible to find anything that’s over a year old. Unless of course the game sucks and they never managed to sell off their first batch. Oh and if they happen to have the game you’re looking for, it’s twice the price of a regular game.
Oh, and I finally got the power restored to the ceiling lights in my appartment. Only took about a month and a half. Good job!
