Ryan Clements
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IGNLatest Reviews
Long-time Devil May Cry fans unsure of Ninja Theory's treatment can abandon their fears. DmC hurls Dante into a newer, better world, complete with a glorious combat system and enough style to make old Dante proud. This is digital action at its finest, steeped in the blood of angels, spiced with gunpowder, and garnished with a middle finger.
Those of you that played Flower might notice that Journey mirrors many of its predecessor's emotional milestones. Journey celebrates the poignancy of nature, it startles you with the unexpected, and empowers you in an exhilarating, unforgettable conclusion. The hours spent completing Journey will create memories that last for years.
Square-Enix provided the author with retail copies of Final Fantasy XIII-2 for review purposes. The author completed the main story on normal difficulty in approximately 35 hours using the PS3 version. Brief testing was also conducted on the 360 version.
The console version of Crysis doesn't look quite as good as its PC counterpart (and that's to be expected). It doesn't add any new campaign content, and it doesn't include the multiplayer support packaged with the original. With that said, it's a great buy for console owners. Even without the badass Nanosuit abilities the gunplay itself entertains. And considering how many different methods you can pursue to complete your mission, no two players will tackle Crysis in the same way.
Nier is ugly and it can get really repetitive, forcing players to backtrack multiple times across familiar locations. But for every frustration I encountered in Nier, there were surprising gameplay twists, unsettling aesthetics and intriguing characters to meet. The ideas that Nier was built on are extremely solid -- the execution just falls short.
But hardcore Final Fantasy fans might be disappointed by the game's abandonment of franchise traditions like open worlds, town exploration and complex mini-games. The game is still worth buying, but it doesn't quite feel as complete as its well-loved predecessors.
Despite Warriors Orochi 2's massive roster and Ad-Hoc multiplayer (which runs fairly well, though it does suffer from slowdown), I just can't give this a recommendation. You've undoubtedly played this game before (and I'm not just talking about the console version) and I find it frustrating that so little effort is put into making something genuinely new in this franchise. I just want to kill Orochi and move on!
Although sometimes awkwardly paced and linear, Eternal Sonata is an RPG that everyone should consider checking out, especially for the unique premise and touching music. The battle system is rewarding and evolves throughout the game and seeing the characters interact is a lot of fun. Especially with the added features, there's really no reason for RPG-hungry gamers to pass up the PS3 version. But if you only take away one thing from this article, remember this:
If you don't have a huge budget and you need to get a lot of play time out of a single title, Disgaea 3 is certainly a great option, as you'll be playing it for months -- even years. But having to sacrifice so much in terms of graphics and mechanical implementation is unnecessary. Ultimately, I think Absence of Justice is just the repackaging of a formula that's passed its prime.