Developer: Intelligent Systems
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Tactical RPG
Players: 1
Blocks: 19

Introduction

Finally another great new game in the fire-emblem series. This game is the third fire emblem for us ( and the 9th for Japan by the way ^^ sniff... ) and the first one to be 3D! The game is made by Intelligent Systems who also makes the advance wars games and paper Mario games ^^.

The story

The story begins and revolves mainly about a boy named Ilke. He lives with his father (Greil) and his sister (Mist). His mother died when he was young. They aren't an ordinary family; Ilk’s dad has formed a mercenaries band called the Greil Mercenaries. So because of that they live together with some other people and earn their money by doing the assingments that people give them; like getting rid of bandits.

Anyway the story begins with Ilke training with his dad because he want to be part of the group. Ilke finally gets in and after a few 'training missions' the story gets more interesting. A member of the band comes back from a journey and has some important news. Daien (neighbour land) has attacked crimea (Ilk’s land) and has declared war towards all country's. By pure luck they come across a young woman that claims to be the princess of crimea. She hires Ilke and company to bring her to safety. And so their story begins.

GamePlay

You have to think of this game as chess. You move your people like chess pieces across a map. The game is turned based as well. But it fits the game very well. You have to think very strategic and think your moves out very well. For an example; there is a weapon triangle; swords beats axes - axes beats lances - lances beats swords. The same triangle goes up for magic; fire beats wind - wind beats thunder - thunder beats fire. It's just like rock, paper and scissors! There's also a danger. Once a unit reaches zero HP the unit will be gone forever and will never come back. So you have to pay more attention then in advance wars. This aren't machine's but are real people; each with a unique face and personality.

The rpg part in this game is the fact that every time a unit of yours destroys a enemy he/she will get some XP that's being stored in a bar. Every time when the bar reaches 100 XP or over it the unit will level up. And will get some stats increases. In this game there are different 'classes. Ilke has the Ranger class and Boyd for an example has the fighter class. Each class his own unique stats. Once a unit reaches lvl 20 and has enough xp to evel up again they won't level up to lvl 21 BUT: they will promote to a other class. A fighter will become a warrior. And will be much stronger.

There are some new units in this never seen before in any FE game. They are called the Laguz and are half human - half animals. You can divide them among different animal classes. They are a little different compared to the other units. They can't fight in their human form... However hey have a bar and once it's full (every turn it will go up a little and also when they are attacked. they will transform to their animal form and when that happens they will be very strong. However every time you attack it goes down a little and after a while to transform back again to their human form. It's a cool add-on and they are really nice to have.

Exclusive to this game is also that you can earn bonus XP and divide them to your units to level them up. This is very handy when a unit can't keep up with the rest like healers. They also added skils with these your unit can attack twice as an example or when a enemy attacks them they can strike first. A nice addition as it let's you customize your unit's a bit.

Sound

If you played another FE game you know what to expect. Nice little themes and so nice music. I really do like the music in this game. When there's danger you will hear the correct sound to go with it. And when there are happy moments the same. Really great music

Graphics

Like I said before this is the first FE that has 3D graphics! I like this style but don't expect too much. It's okay but nothing special. You can judge by yourself when you look at some screenshots of the game ^^ There are some movie's that show up during the course of the game but there aren't that many but... they are nice tough!

Ending

If you like rpg's and/or tactic games you need to at least try this out by renting it. It's one of nintendo's best games and you can compare it with the legend of zelda and mario ect if you ask me! ^^ So BUY THIS NOW!

Score: 90/100

Yu-Gi-Oh The Falsebound Kingdom
Designed and Developed by Konami
Rated E for Everyone
1 Player

Yugi and Kaiba get a letter from a gaming company that trap them in a virtual world, full of humans wielding monsters! How will they escape?

A decent RPG, to say the least. You take the battle system of Pokémon with the creatures from Yu-Gi-Oh, add in a bunch of missions to complete and you get this game. You must work your way through various monsters in teams of 3 as you use your own to help Yugi and co., or the Kaiba brothers, out of the virtual world. With over 180 monsters to use, there's endless possibilities!

Yugi's Campaign walks you through the game as Yugi being the leader of the resistance army over the rule of Haysheen. Yugi is accompanied with Fizdis and Shimon, shortly followed by Tristan and Bakura. As you work your way through, you'll end up teaming up with Mako, Joey, Mai, Tea, and Espa Roba to bring the fight to the main enemy, Darknite!

Kaiba's Campaign walks you through the game as Kaiba being the top general in Haysheen's army. Being accompanied with Mokuba and Marthis, picking up Bonz along the way. When Kaiba betrays the Empire, Marthis leaves the group while Pegasus and Labyrinth Ruler join, shortly followed by Rex and Weevil, ending with Ishizu.

A secret campaign that's unlocked after playing the other two at least once shows the story of a certain blonde gangster during Yugi's story, teaming up with Jussell and Malaikura, picking up a few more friends along the way.

There are 187 monsters in this game total, including the 3 Gods! They are broken up into 7 groups: Spellcaster, Warrior, Beast, Machine, Spirit, Darklands, and Dragon. You can pick monsters from 3 Blue-Eyes to 2 Dark Magicians, from Saggi the Dark Clown to Armored Zombie, from the lesser known Water Girl to the near-impossible-to-find Moisture Creature. You can also fuse your monsters together to make your team last even longer in battle!

You can also choose to play Challenge Mode, which pits you up against 7 teams, or if you use the Advanced Version, 10 teams, ending with battles against the Gods!

All in all, the game is entertaining, though it does get boring after a while.

Promos include Zoa, Metalzoa, and Goblin Fan.

92/100


Blue-Eyes strikes!


Time to move out!


A battle with a wild Silver Fang


Ra vs. Jinzo, Curse of Dragon, and Moisture Creature

[color=#FF0000][b]Naruto Clash of Ninja
Developer: TOMY
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Fighting
Players: 1-2
Rated: T

Intro: From the makers of Bloody Roar, brings you a fighting game from one of the most popular anime show, Naruto. It is not released yet, but I heard it is good.

A fighting game with many ways to win, either brutal strength or cunning tactics. There are many jutsus to perform from and endless combos. You have many genins, chunins and jounins to choose from. However, only one can be the best hokage in the world? Are you going to be one?

Modes: There are various modes like multiplayer, where you can face your friends. Campaign, battle other ninjas with a storyline just like in the show! As well as other modes.

Characters: When you start off, you only have a few ninjas. You'll have Sasuke, Iruka, Kakashi, Zabuza, Haku, Sakura, and the main character Naruto. Further on in the game you'll unlock more. You can use them in multiplayer and practise mode.

Graphics: The graphics are Cel Shaded which means they are like the game "Dragonball Z Budokai 2" and "Dragonball Z Budokai 3". Or in another answer, they look more like in the TV show than 3D. Pretty good if you like those kind of graphics. In campaign when they talk in the beginning, it is like those drawings and there are subtitles on the bottom of the screen. The campaign where they talk is pretty almost like "Dragonball Z Budokai 3". The surroundings are pretty good as well.

Gameplay: From what I see, the gameplay is almost like Tekkin and Bloody Roar.

Sounds: The musics are good, that is all I can say ^^

As well I am taking a guess that this game is the english version of "Naruto Gekitou Ninja Taisen" which is the japanese version. So there might be Naruto Clash Ninja 2 and 3 with huge difference and improvements.

Overall this game sounds and looks really good!! Game will be released on March 17, 2006.

Rating: 9/10

SUPER SMASH BROTHERS MELEE
Developed exclusively for Gamecube
Rated E for everyone

This awesome game is the unstoppable force of entertainment throughout the Gamecube world. If someone has a Gamecube you can almost bet that they have this game. So what is it that makes this game one of Gamecube’s greatest games? I’ll show you

The game has a 1-player mode however its not the main focus so lets go through it quickly. U have 3 modes in the Regular matches, Classic, Adventure and All-Star. Each one presents its own challenges to players who are either beginners, moderately efficient fighters or self-proclaimed masters. In Classic u go through various stages fighting against random characters (Also u’ll notice that the “random” characters are decided by which character u choose to fight with, order may be different but it’s usually the same characters). No biggie, fight through, win, go home. However, if u complete the classic mode on Normal or higher with only 3 lives and no continuing, u’ll find out that Master Hand has a brother, Crazy Hand. Adventure offers a new style to the 1-player mode in that u must travel through all the worlds of main(meaning not hidden) character worlds such as Mushroom Kingdom, Brinstar, Popstar, and the others fighting the characters from those worlds. In a few levels u must travel forward first to meet the enemy (or enemies) and conquer them b4 u can complete the stage. There is also a different version of “Race to the Finish” right after u beat Samus on Brinstar and must escape the planet b4 it explodes. Once u fight ur way to the end, u’ll meet Bowser, last boss of Adventure Mode, appearing in black. Beating him is no real task but if u meet certain requirements, which are the same as mentioned for Classic mode, Giga Bowser will appear and defeating him is much more of a challenge. Finally there is All-Star, the unique 1-P mode that makes u fight 25 characters in 1 vs 1, 1 vs 2, and 1 vs 3 matches. Also at the end u meet 25 Mr. Game and Watches, but these guys are like the Fighting Wire Frames as one good hit will send them flying. Beware of falling tools. Oh, did I mention that u can only replenish ur health 3 times? That’s it; U accumulate ur damage as u progress in this mode and can only get health between stages; there are no health items dropped in stages in this mode. Have fun with that.

Next up is the Event Matches which increase in difficulty as more become available. There are 51 events in all, which match descriptions from classic Mario vs Bowser to rescue Peach to other more varied battles. There are also Melees with the Fighting Wire Frames, Home-Run Contest and Break the Targets. Plenty to keep urself entertained.

But like most ppl know, this game excels in the multiplayer mode with Special Melees, Standard, Item options, Coin Battle and Fighting Style battle, what more could u want? Answer: Not much. This game keeps all entertained for hours and people still play the game after this long time since its launch for the simple reason that its still one of Gamecube’s most successful games: This game is impossible to master. All of the variables, all of the combat styles, 20+ characters, and all other things mold this game and those who play even competitively, the champion of the game is always changing. While there are superior characters, the most surprising of moves become accustomed to and the most unsurprising of moves will send u flying off-screen. Keep playing because when Super Smash Brothers Brawl hits the field, its building off of Melee so the better skills u have in Melee will probably get u a head start in Brawl. And with Nintendo finally hitting the internet playing field, be prepared to test ur skills against all who challenge u.

Rating: 9.8/10

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Designed by Intelligent Systems
Developed by Nintendo
Rated E for Everyone
1 Player; 17 Blocks

Well all loved the N64 version, but how well does the 'Cube version go? Well, it's a lot better, from having sharper images and better sound effects, you can expect a lot from this game.

Mario gets a letter from Princess Peach to meet her at Rougeport, a port town filled with thugs and rouges, hence the name. You meet a female Goomba, Goombella, being bullied by a Robotnik wannabe. You kick his ass and Goombella teams up with you, serving the same purpose as Goombario from the original. You'll find yourself caught up in a legendary tale and hope to set things right with the map Peach sent you with the letter.

You'll meet new friends as you traverse through the pipe system to get to your locations; no more going along long pathways! Koops, the equivalent of Kooper, is a shy Koopa that wants to save his dad from the dreaded dragon Hooktail. Flurrie, an original character that blows away hidden passages, wants to go on your journey and make a play out of it. A baby Yoshi (whom you name), the equivalent of both Lakilester AND Parakarry, assists you in defeating a twin pair of Clefts with an infinite Defense! Vivian, the equivalent of Bow, helps you get your identity back from the Duplighost Doopliss. Bobbery, the equivalent of Bombette, assists you on a journey to an island with a treasure deep inside. Ms. Mowz, an optional character that can sniff out hidden items and flippable panels, is the equivalent to Watt.

Using your papery form to its fullest, you transform into a plane, boat, tube, and thin strip of paper to fly, swim, go under stuff, and in between bars. There's numerous possibilities for you to explore using these functions!

Of course, with friends, you meet enemies as well. The X-Nauts, an unknown race bent on world domination, is led by the evil Grodus, who wants Mario dead! You'll also meet Lord Krump on your journies as well, fighting his cardboard robot Magnus Von Grapple. You'll also take on the dragon Hooktail and the power hungry Grubba. There's numerous enemies to fight as this adventure awaits you.

The music and sounds are great as well. While some themes are remixed versions of the old school ones, there's new themes, including the battle with Rawk Hawk, Smorg, and even Bowser himself!

This adventure of dragon slaying, train-top fighting, and identity thefts is a great one and worth the money (and 17 Blocks of Memory it takes up!!!)!

95/100


###### is he......big!


Hey, how's it going?

I can't believe your gamecube section does not discuss this game. I am here to remedy that.

Yes I know it is no longer a Gamecube Exclusive, but I bought nintendo's lunchbox spicifically for this game, which means this is the home console. Anyone who says otherwise can reimberse me for the $80 I spent on the system.

If you follow video games at all, you've probably heard some of the media machine buzz about this most Evil of Residences. The game critics of the world almost uniformly loved it.

The die-hard Resident Evil fans, the ones who have played every RE since the original...they almost uniformly hated it, calling it too much of a departure for the series, missing the "boo" moments that came from never being able to see where they were going, and the difficulty of combat, saying it encouraged a more suspenseful, run-for-your-life sort of feel.

These people are wrong. The RE series had gone as far as it could with the system it had, and when your new games are just cookie-cutter copies your older games, it's time to mix things up a little or risk loosing your crown as the king of your genre. RE4 didn't just reinvent Resident Evil as a franchise, but survival horror as we know it.

Gone are the set camera angles in favor of an over-the-shoulder viewpoint that lets you see, and aim, at everything comming at you. That's right, it eliminates the outta-your-blindspot-boo suprises that were the bread and butter of the other games in the series, but you know what, the stuff that you can see comming for you, in a neverending stream, thirsty for your blood, ready and willing to tear you limb-from-limb...is downright terrifying. Chainsaw wielding bloody-bandage wrapped grandmas. Tattooed monks chanting thier desire for death. Giant Armored Blind Monsters with Wolverine Claws. Huge Giants ready to squash you flat. Twisted psudobugs spewing acid and hissing like roaches. These new not-zombies mean all kinds of bloody buisness, weilding everything from kitchen knives to scythes to Wolverine Claws to gattling guns and one-hit-kill chainsaws; they move fast and will actively try and surround you: before you know it, you're clinging to the controller like your life really does depend on killing them before they kill you.

Of course, that doesn't mean RE's fabled ambience has fallen by the wayside. Forget the cheap scares: some of the most suspenseful moments of my gaming life came from walking around the intricately designed and wonderfully gruesome areas, jumping at small noises and knowing, full well, that things would not be this quiet for long. I had to put down the controller and stop playing for two days, simply because the atmosphere building up to the Operating Room was too intense for me to handle. I was shaking like a leaf when I finally got up the guts to go in there: and was rewarded by a Regenerator-induced hicky for my trouble.

My point is, this game is scary. You feel heavily armed and competant, but up against creatures who are inhuman and without mercy. You can't even relax during the cutscenes: if you miss the button-command imputs, it's a one-way trip to the "you are dead" flatline. The art direction, skillfully crafted atmosphere, and grotesquely awesome monster designs will have you both looking forward to and dreading the next fateful encounter with these evil resident biohazard waste products gone homocidal. Even the soundtrack and monster-noises will make you nervous.

But how's the story? Not much to say about it, besides that meh, it's interesting. It has a nice aura of mystery to it. The poorly-translated dialog (a staple of RE) is here in full effect alas, but the voice acting is suprisingly good.

How does the game play? Like a dream. Actions are executable in real time (context sensitive commands appear when the time is right), once you get the hang of aiming you'll deal out death like no-one's buisness, your knife is always equipped, even reorganizing your inventory is fun and laiden with strategy.

I could write much more about this game and how awesome it is, but I think you get the point. It's just amazing. Definately a 5/5, easy. Play it. You know you want to.

Game: Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 and 2
Developer: SEGA
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1-4

Intro: If there are some things that Gamecube lacks of and PS2 and XBox are better at, it is RPG and Online. Phantasy Star Episode 1 and 2 introduces you into a virtual reality where you fight your way to the end, gain stats, new abilities and find rare weapons and items along the way.

Characters: Well the only character you can be is one, and that is YOU CAN CUSTOMIZE THAT PERSON. You can change its looks, gender and class.

Gameplay: In this virtual reality, there are infected monsters and you have to destroy them and reach to the end. Each time you step into a new section or level, it gets harder and harder. So you can go back to where your location anytime and the monsters will respawn. You can train and train until you think you are ready for the next level.

The levels in each episode is short. However, there are new monsters and great bosses along the way which are not always one way to kill them.

The thing that is so special about this game besides it being online, is that you can have this little "sidekick" along with you. Not actually a sidekick, more like floating mechs on your back ^^ What is so special about them? They can boost your stats and help you fight much better against stronger monsters. So lets just say you'll need them or it is going to be a bumpy road from the beginning to the end of the game.

Multiplayer is also great when you are stuck in a level and you have some extremely good friends that play this game. You can invite your friends to come over, upload your saved characters and BAM, you are ready to kick some boss butt!!

Sound: The music is okay, not that great and not that bad.

Graphics: The graphics are extremely good. Both background and characters are 3D.

Overall this game is pretty and it is a must try!

Rating: 8.5/10


Four players in the first level...


One of the boss, forgot which level, I know it is not first level.

Micks:*edited problems with review*

Pok?n XD: Gale of Darkness
Developed by Nintendo
Designed by Genius Sonority Inc.
Rated E for Everyone
1, 2, or 4 Players; 43 Blocks

The sequel to Pok?n Colosseum, this game is a LOT better. Taking place 5 years after Colosseum, this game brings back the conspiracy known as Shadow Pok?n. Cipher, an evil organization that wants world domination, attempt to create these Shadow Pok?n in a way where Evice, the previous leader of Cipher from 5 years ago, went wrong. Normally, you'd be able to Purify these Pok?n and bring them back to normal. Cipher is now attempted to make Shadow Pok?n that CAN'T be Purified, starting with the prototype Pok?n, Lugia, Codename: XD001.

This time, you do not control Wes, the main character of Colosseum, but instead control Michael, an amatuer trainer that loves Battle Sims and lives at a Pok?n Labratory run by Proffessor Krane. Krane is attempted to build the Purification Chamber, a special mechanism that acts as the Relic Stone in Agate Village, only you need not open the Pok?n's heart in battle. Vefore his research is finished, some Cipher henchmen kidnap him and take him to their lab in the middle of Orre. You must rescue him while the rest of his team attempt to finish his work without him. You're introduced to a new Snag Machine, this time being slim in appearance, and carries a Shadow Monitor, which replaces the purpose Rui had in Colosseum: Finding out what Pok?n are Shadow Pok?n. You start of with a Level 10 Eevee, and snag a Level 11 Teddiursa near the beginning. You can also evolve your Eevee in one of the 5 Evolutions it has with the items you can receive at Gateon Port, but choose wisely (I myself went with Jolteon). Unlike last game, there's 83 Shadow Pok?n in this game, compared to the 48 in Colosseum. There are also a few in-game trades, along with the Wild Pok?n and Prize Pok?n at Mt. Battle, totalling to a even 100 obtainable Pok?n in this game, some being Lugia, the Birds, and Dragonite!

The music in this game is stunning. Not only are some themes reused from Colosseum, such as the city themes and some battle themes, but there's new themes as well, such as Miror B.'s new rocking Battle Theme, the rodeo-esque battle theme for Wild Pok?n Battles, and the Cipher Admin theme, which is hard to describe, truth be told.

The Trainers you come across are mostly ones you've encountered in Colosseum, such as Chasers, Riders, etc. But there's some new faces you'll see, namely the Cipher Admins and Peons, whom got a costume makeover. There are 5 Admins in all: Lovrina, Snattle, Gorigan, Ardos, and Eldes, followed with the Grand Master, Greevil. You'll also see some familiar faces in the game. As stated previously, Miror B. returns as well as Justy of Phenac City. And who could forget Eagun and Belha? Team Snagem also returns as well as the Kids Grid, who now run the Orre News Broadcast System (ONBS). Sadly, some areas are removed, such as The Under. As always, there's trainers to battle, including the Colosseum challenges and Mt. Battle.

The graphics look much better compared to Colosseum. Thunder actually looks like Thunder, Psychic looks a LOT better now, etc. Why couldn't Genius Sonority do this good in Colosseum?

All in all, this is a superb game, and it PWNs Colosseum in all ways possible.

Final Score: 96/100


Example of the Purification Chamber


Spheal is Purified, and learns a brand new move!


Snorlax used Hyper Beam!

Developer - Silicon Knights
Publisher - Nitendo
Players - 1
Blocks - 15


Introduction

Some say they found this game so scary that they almost wet themselves in a lot of places and psychologically couldn't cope with playing the game for periods longer then 2 hours at a time. Others may have jumped once or twice and found themselves disturbed in places due to varying concepts and ideals, but overall found the game rather enjoyable. And yet others found themselves laughing most of the way though, deliberatly driving their characters past the brink of insanity just to experience all the special effects this game has to offer. Whichever of the above you presume yourself to be, chances are you'll find the game to be quite enjoyable - disturbing perhaps, but enjoyable nevertheless.


The Story

Throughout the game you play the roll of 12 characters ranging from a time period of 26B.C. to 2000A.D. The central character to the storyline is a university student by the name of "Alexander Roivas", who after having a rather unsettling dream receives a phone call informing her that her grandfather has been murdered. The police request for her to come to the Roivas manor and identify the body, as she is the only living relative.

Game players are then taken to a scene in the Roivas manor where Alexander positively identifies the rather mutilated body. Rather upset she yells at the police asking them why they had to show her such a scene - why couldn't they have checked dental records or something!? The police aquidly inform her that they would, however there is no head for them to do so.

A week later, unsatisfied with the lack of answers the police have uncovered, Alix decides to explore the family manor in hopes of finding some sort of clue as to exactly what happened during her grandfather's final hours. She quickly comes across a room with a book titled the "Tome of Eternal Darkness" - a book central to the storyline. Each chapter in this book is a different character which you must play, from a different background and time period. For most part it's in chronological order, though there are some exceptions.

I shall not reveal anymore of the storyline starting from the first level (first chapter in the book), however i will state that a good portion of the characters die in rather interesting ways so therefore don't become too attached to them. Some really are quite likeable.


Gamplay

The gameplay is realistic in many ways, which causes many to appreciate it. For example when your character is seriously injured they become rather slow, limp a lot and are easier for enemies to attack. Physically fit characters run faster and are more agile then overweight ones, whom tire quickly. The magic, health and sanity bars are respective to what one would expect of the character’s time period, occupation and personality - the journalist from WW2 for example has a much smaller sanity bar then most of the other characters.

Weapons are from their respective eras. The various blade designs are rather artistic, and each has a slightly different feel to one another when used. Firing weapons are reflective to what they should be in real life - the crossbow for example only holds 1 arrow at a time and takes quite a while to reload.

The fighting system on the game is rather simplistic to understand and get used to. There is a little strategy in regards to how you fight enemies - if you cut off the head then they cannot see where you are and if you sever off the arms of a more humanoid shaped enemy then they cannot attack you. When starting out, a player may have to give a little thought as to how they plan on slicing and dicing a room with several enemies.

Also most defiantly worth a mention is the sanity feature in the game. As your character is spotted by the various enemies they lose some of their sanity - different enemies cause you to lose different amounts. This is understandable in many ways, as in reality if one encountered the living undead or saw some skeletal creature jump out of their dead workers bodies then they would start having mental problems. If you accidentally kill an innocent person in the game, your sanity meter takes quite a severe blow. Once your character has no sanity left then their health begins to suffer.

As your sanity bar lowers, some of the game's special effects begin to play. You may start seeing bleeding walls and enemies which aren’t really there. You may begin to hear noises like random incantations in Latin, people screaming in a nearby room or desperate pounding on the doors and walls. The game may start to experience technical errors such as the TV suddenly being muted or the screen turning itself off for a few seconds at a time. There are many different sanity effects - most of which I will not mention here but rather leave you to experience for yourself first-hand.


Game Pathways

Towards the end of the first chapter, your character must choose between 3 artifacts - a red, blue and green one. Each artifact leads to various game drawbacks as well as different scenes with each respective ancient. I strongly recommend that you do not choose the red artifact the first time you play the game, as the enemies are much harder to defeat and drain more health.

Storyline wise the green artifact is the best choice to start with, not to mention the voice of Zel'lotath is rather interesting. I have found it the easiest pathway to play, plus the excess sanity drain makes things far more interesting.

The first time you play the game it takes approximately 15 hours to complete. Second and third time takes around 10 hours each. Completing the game three times leads to an alternate ending as well as the ability to cast spells of purple element. Some of these spells have different effects from ones of other elements, so it’s worth experimenting around a little.


Sound

Voiceovers in Eternal Darkness are exceptionally well done, some of the voices being quite interesting to listen to. As mentioned beforehand the voiceover for Zel'lotath is rather unique and intriguing – it captures the listener’s attention while possibly causing them to feel a little uneasy. Also worth complimenting is the exceptional job done by the voice actor of Maximillian Roivas when he reads the various autopsy reports. The characters fear, paranoia and insanity are captured beautifully here.

Eternal Darkness also contains some good instrumental pieces of music - at the time of me typing this I am listening to a rather soothing piece from the soundtrack titled "Black Rose". Not all have such a dark feel to them, infact some make quite good background music when doing everyday activities. Only complaint I have about the music would be how quickly the music of the Roivas manor becomes repetitive - especially when one is having troubles finding the next chapter page.

When playing the game, ensure you have the volume at a reasonable level. Some of the sanity noise effects are rather good - for example the first time I heard pounding at the doors I found myself pausing the game to check the front door. The game is just more enjoyable when the volume isn't too quiet.


Graphics

Considering this game was originally built for N64, the graphics are exceptional - never once did I have problems fighting an enemy due to a poor camera angle. While some of the characters have better graphics then others, there are none which I would claim are poorly done.

Some of the artwork in the game, especially hanging around the Roivas manor, happen to be very nice pieces of work. They would probably appeal most to those with darker tastes and style.


Ending

Due to the fact the game has been out for 4 years now, it shouldn't be very hard to pick it up second hand for rather cheap price. It's the best game I have ever had the pleasure of playing on the gamecube (granted I haven't played all too many), and certainly worth the $15 spent purchasing it second hand.

Lovers of philosophy may be appealed to some of the things mentioned in the game. The mythology of the game cast aside for a moment, there are some very good points brought up by Edward Roivas – the character which does most of the narrating in the game. References are made to famous philosophers such as Freud, Skinner and Jung, as well as early mentions of a piece of literature by Sir James George Frasier. I haven't personally read the piece of literature that was referred to, but have been told it's quite relevant.

An exceptionally good fan-done trailer which doesn't ruin the storyline can be found here, and is worth watching even if you are not planning to buy the game. The monologue voiceover is from the start of Eternal Darkness and contains one of my favorite quotes of the game.


Final Rating

9.5/10. And that's only because the music of the Roivas manor became repetitive after spending a long time trying to find one of the chapters. That plus I don't like giving many things a perfect score.

Developer: Namco Tales Studio
Publisher: Namco
Genre: Rpg
Players: 1-4 (Mainly 1 but others can join in for battle's only)
Blocks: 3 per File

Introduction:

This game is made by Namco as you may now. Although this game is part of Namco’s tales series, it's a complete new game. And the first one to be released outside of Japan. Okay Tales of Phantasia on the snes has been translated by a group called Dejap. But that didn't turn out that well. Almost all of the games in this series are know by one thing the battle system. Why? Cause it's different from other rpg's it's real time. Now let's see what Namco has for us in this new tales game

The story:

The main character is Lloyd. He lives just outside of a nice village together with his dad. His friends that live in the village are Collete and Genis. He goes to school with them. Genis has an older sister and too bad for him cause it's also his teacher.

The Desians torture the other races mainly humans. If they stand in the way then they capture them and they take them prison in their ''ranches'' for experiments.

Collete is the chosen one to regenerate the world. Time over time an Orcale arrives that tells that the chosen can start her/his journey. So collete goes to the orcale together with Lloyd and Genis. However when they arrive they get stopped by people that look at first sight very much like Desians.

Lloyd, Collete and Genis try to fight them but they don't stand a chance. Then suddenly a men appears and saves them! The ''Desians'' retreat and it seems they now the men.

That's how the story begins. Later on you find out that there are two worlds. If one world is healthy then the other one is in bad shape. Lloyd and the others want to rescue both the worlds. The Journey that they take includes many dangers but also many new friends. Things might not seem as they appear to be.

Gameplay:

The key elements of this game are: The battle's, travelling on the worldmap, advance-ing further into the story and unsolving puzzle's. This is the balance that will addict you to this game for 60-80 hours long! The battle's are the main key of this game cause on the world there are enemy's and also in the dungeon's. Different from other games is that in this game you can see the enemy's. So you can try to avoid them. And that means no random Battle's!

Like earlier said the battle system is real-time and quick. You only control one party member you can choose who but the most will play as Lloyd. The other party members will be controlled by the computer but a friend can jump in and control an another character. All characters can learn skills but there are two sides: T and S. you can't learn skills from both sides so you have to choose.

The dungeons are all nice the puzzle's also. The sorcerer's ring is a main element into the puzzle's. One time it shoot's fire another time water. It just depends in which dungeon you are.

Sound:

Battle's melody's on tempo, atmosphere village sounds. Games to compare the sound of this game are: The legend of Zelda: The windwaker, Skies of Arcadia: Legends. But better much better. All the important scenes are spoken by real actors. Some say the voices aren't that good and some even say bad. But the voices are really good one of the best I've ever heard in a video game.

Graphics:

The Graphics are cell-shaded. You can compare this game graphics to: The windwaker and Jet Set radio. This style adors many Japaners. Tight lines and fierce colours make the characters on the front line. soft tints the landscape and the background. The characters are realy outstanding in this style compared with other games this is the best! This game has also a sort of pokedex, Wich if you use a certain item it saves the monster into the 'pokedex'. A cool replay value. One bad note tough although everything looks great the worldmap is a bit of a disappointment. It's a little too ugly. Other then that everything is fine.

The ending:

Almost everyone will enjoy this game even if you're not into Rpg's. You will love the chars as you play further. There's enough replay value cause if you come to the end you can buy various options that change the way you're playing. There are a few anime scene's in this game of high quality.

One of the best game's that you can buy on the gamecube!

Score: 95/100


Score: 95/100

Developer: Overworks
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: RPG
Players: 1
Blocks: 3 per file

Developer: Overworks
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: RPG
Players: 1
Blocks: 3 per file

Introduction:

This is not an original game. This is a game with a few extra's. This game is made by the company Overwork that's under control from Sega. The game first launched on the dreamcast But, when this game was released the dreamcast was already dying so many people didn't play this game. Sega decided to re-release this game for the so many people that had to missed it.

The Story:

The story is mainly about Vyse, Aika and Fina. Vyse wants to become the best 'blue pirate'. Blue Pirate you ask? Let me explain... In the world of Vyse there are two kind of pirate's Black and Blue. The difference between them is that the blue pirate's only steal from rich people and the armada they are people kinda like Robin Hood. The black pirate's acttack everyone including people that are merchant and are armed with weapons.

In the world of Vyse there are different regions each has it's own moon. So say you’re in a water environment; that belongs to the blue moon. Long ago pieces of the moons fell down to the earth. These pieces that where in fact crystals, those crystals hold the power to summon giga's. The people that lived under the different moons declared war to each other and used their giga's against each-other. The people of the silver moon didn't had a giga so they make their own one. The silver Giga defeated all of the others but it went berserk. So it was sealed away. It can only be freed if all of the crystals are together but that is very unlikely to happen.

Anyway in present time; an group named the armada is after the crystals and wants to control all of the giga's they treathen the other lands/country's if they don't surrender the armada destroys them. Fina knows more about the ancient past and that's why the armada kidnaps her vyse'goes after her and rescue's her. Together they go on a journey to collect the crystals for themselves to keep them safe and out of the hands of the armada.

Gameplay:

You travel to place to place with a ship/boat. Everything is in the sky. So no large ground where you can walk on. You travel from island to island. There's lot's to discover in this game. There are so called discovery's that you come across and can collect. These can be everything: A tree, A grave ect. The game records these discovery's in a sort of diary. Everything that has happened is recorded so you can read everything at any point you want!

The battle's are turn based and random. That may seen annoying at first but after a while you get used to it. When it's your turn you can: Attack, Use magic, use a special attack or defend. Magic isn't so strong and important as in other games. You can earn more special attacks for each character as you collect more moonbery's. These can be found in chests.

There are also Bounty fights. Those weren't in the original game. These are special fights and if you defeat the enemy’s that you have to fight; you're awarded with a huge money reward. New bounty's arrive as you advance further in the story. Just check the sailor's guild an building where you can also sell your discovery's. Just be sure that you find them on time otherwise you don't get any money for it.

Sound:

The sound is a bit old if you ask me. A little cracked also. also note that unlike other newer rpg's the characters never speak. Unless you count little sounds like: 'NOOOO!' and YEAH!!!' so the sound is a little of a disappointment.

Graphics:

As this is a port that's almost the same like the original you can't expect major good graphics. This are average dreamcast graphics that aren't that good anymore as it used to be two years ago. It's a little blurry but colourful. And everything is clearly it's just not that good these day's anymore.

The ending:

If you like rpg's then I say buy it right now! But if you're not into rpg's that much or don't like random battle's then first try it out by a friend or hire it. Don't let you shock by the old graphics cause this is a great game!

Score: 80/100

Developer: Monolith software
Publisher: Namco
Genre: RPG
Players: 1
Blocks: 8

Introduction:

Another rpg from the famous Namco. That almost everyone knows from the Tales of games. Let’s see if this game is just as good as the other tales games.

The story:

The story takes place in a time where the earth is no more. The ocean is also gone. The reason why both disappeared? A long battle between the humans and the wicked god melpercio. After the long war the earth was so dragged down that nobody could live there anymore. The ocean was swallowed by Melpercio and he died by the very water he swallowed.

After a long time 5 very different islands floated high to the sky. That way the humans could once again live. Most of the people of the 5 different nations developed wings. But the main character of the game has only one wing the other one is a mechanic one made by his grandfather. Kalas is his name. He’s out for revenge some henchmen of the ‘’evil empire’’ destroyed his home but.... That’s not all they also murdered his grandfather and his (little) brother. So no wonder he’s out for revenge.

Xelha has foreseen that something horrible is about to happen. That’s why she headed for the heart of the empire. And she became the maid of the ruler of the empire: Geldablame. She found out that he’s trying to resurrect the evil god with the help of some necklace. She steals the necklace and runs off to prevent the god being summoned to the world once again.

Gameplay:

In the world of baten kaitos there are cards. They are called Magnus. Almost everything can be stored in a Magnus. From milk and water to Axes and swords. During the adventure you get blank Magnus and you can use them for carrying things like water and milk etc. These are called quest Magnus but they are very limited. During the adventure you get also Magnus that you can use in battle’s. The battle system is turn-based but quick. You can make combo’s by combining grades like in yatzee. That way you get extra damage done to your opponents.

You have to look out which cards you choose. If you choose a fire card to start off with and you combine it with a water card they damage is almost zero. Cause they negate each other. Never attack in the same turn with opposing elements.

No random battle’s in this game. You can see the enemies before you fight them. This gets rid of the annoying random battle's.

The world map is okay but not great. They are too small and thus making the world looking small. But that’s far from the truth. This game has 2 disc’s. They are some great characters in this game my personal favourite is the great Mizuti an strange looking character that speaks in riddle’s and is very confusing but all is explained in the end.

Sound:

Some people say that tales of symphonia has some bad voice covering. But if those people compare it to the voice covering in this game they are sure to change their minds. Almost all the text is spoken in this game. But at some points it just looks like the characters are talking trough a tube or underwater. Still I don’t think the voices are bad. They are just average and you can always turn the voices off.


Graphics:

This game uses a special style it’s called 2D rendering. It’s also used in some of the older resident evil games. The characters are 3D but the environment/background is 2D. This gives a unique special style. Although sometimes you have to look very good to see where are some little things like door passage’s and even people. Apart from that the game just looks really great!

Ending:

Another game of the same company that made tales of symphonia. If you liked that I’m almost sure that you will like this also. Don’t let the card system scare you off it’s really quick and a new style of fighting.

Score 80/100