- - - - - - - - - - - - 2008 Game Completion List - - - - - - - - - - - -

Baten Kaitos
Chaos Wars
Chrono Cross
Dark Cloud
Diablo II and Lord of Destruction
Disgaea III
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam
Growlanser II: The Sense of Justice
Growlanser: Heritage of War
Fire Emblem
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genji: Days of the Blade
Grand Theft Auto IV
Kingdom Hearts
Lunar Silver Star Story
Mario Kart Wii
Metal Gear Solid IV
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles
Rogue Galaxy
Shadow Hearts: Covenant
Soul Calibur IV
Splinter Cell
Stella Deus
Suikoden IV
Suikoden V
Suikoden Tactics
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Paper Mario
Super Smash Bros Brawl
Tales of Legendia
Tales of the Abyss
Warcraft III and The Frozen Throne
Wii Fit
Yggdra Union

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

• 1Oct 08

  Super Smash Bros Brawl, A Clash of the Video Game Titans!

  This is a review I have been waiting to get out and I have to admit I went a little overboard and it is way too long but I couldn't help it the series is so amazing. Other than my review I have been doing pretty good, I have been getting pretty obsessed with my fencing class I think I am going to order my own gear so that I can fence whenever I want and many even teach a buddy or my brother to fence with me. Have any of you guys ever fenced before? Well here is my Super Smash Bros Brawl review, I will be putting up a couple of Wii reviews besides this one Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn and Mario Kart Wii.

  The best fighting game in the history of games in my opinion would be without a doubt in my mind Super Smash Brothers Brawl. I know a couple of people who don't like it for no reason and some who don't like it because it is too "cartoony" they would rather play Soul Cal or such. SSBB combines the best parts of the rest of the series into a great new game that expands on every concept in the game to make it twice as good as before and finally without wave dashing!

  ---

  

  - Super Smash Bros. Brawl -
  
  Publisher: Nintendo
  

  Developer: Game Arts
  

  Release: Mar 2008

  The Super Smash Brothers series is a massive collage of the Nintendo franchise formed into a fighting game. It uses many heroes and villains from various series such as Mario, Legend of Zelda, Metroid, F-Zero, Kirby, and many more. The previous two Super Smash Bros games did not have a storyline to play through but Brawl strays from the norm and gives it a new twist.
  
  You begin in a stadium where Mario and Kirby are having a friendly battle together. Suddenly a barrage of mysterious creatures and a very large aircraft assaulted the stadium, these creatures begin attacking everyone and the heroes begin fighting them off. In the heat of battle an emissary from these forces comes and sets down some sort of explosive. They quickly flee but devastation from the blast destroys the entire stadium leaving nothing but those who escaped.
  
  Throughout Super Smash Bros Brawl you fight the Sub Space Emissary and its mysterious forces, which have invaded. You begin as Mario but through the game you play as nearly every character in the game. The storyline provides little back-story and small amounts of actual story but you already know everything there is to know about all these big name characters from everyone's favorites Nintendo games. The story is exactly as it should be one big all out brawl between all your favorite heroes, villains, and this mysterious Sub Space Emissary.
  
  Probably the most important addition to the series is the larger and more diverse cast of new characters. With some old characters such as Pit and Sonic and newer characters from recent games such as Ike and even Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid. Unlike the previous games these new characters are mostly very different from the previous ones with very unique play types. Another big introduction is a wide variety of new items including the infamous "Smash Ball" this item allows the user to unleash a unique and powerful super attack against his foes almost always ending in their death.
  
  The combat system is nearly identical to the old games, you can use normal attacks, smash attacks, and your unique character skills to defeat your opponent. Normal attack are mainly used for causing damage to get your opponent to where you can kill the, smash attacks can be used to cause some good damage but also send the character flying increasing your chance to finish them a lot. Every character has 4 special moves which are all good for different things along with these each character also has a grab move with a couple throws. To conquer your opponents you also have other skills to learn such as shielding, rolling, air dodging, and much more all of which are extremely useful in different circumstances.
  
  Air dodging went through a transformation in Brawl now instead of staying in mid-air while doing an air dodge you continue to fall while you do it. The only large change to the game mechanics is the removal of wave dashing, although some may disagree I for one am happy to see this exploit taken out of the game it allowed you to move in ways otherwise impossible which changed the combat system entirely. Before you had to master wave dashing to be truly good at Smash Bros but with it gone it is back to the original game mechanics.
  
  The four-player combat is essential to the Super Smash Bros series it gives a whole new feel to the fighting game and makes it the best multiplayer fighting game hands down in my opinion. With a side scrolling environment and the chaos and excitement of the simple yet complex combat Super Smash Bros Brawl will be a solid icon in the history of fighting games. They also expanded greatly on the trophys from the last game adding much more unlockables to strive for as well as new things called stickers allowing you to customize your characters for single-player.
  
  Yet another large new feature is the ability to make your own stages, although you cannot make them as complex as the Brawl stages or the old stages it is very fun and adds a new element to the game. The graphics on Brawl have obviously taken a large jump forward on the Wii, many people talk bad of the series for the cartoon graphics but would you really want to play Mario, Link, and Donkey Kong if they looks realistic? No, they are cartooney for a reason and they look flawless that way anyone who wants them to be changed doesn't like them in the first place. The fantastic animations of the various skills and stages among other things add to the great environment of the series as you battle.
  
  The music of Super Smash Bros Brawl like the rest of the games is a collage of music from all the old and new titles. This allows you to not only hear new music from brand new Nintendo titles but also hear your favorite songs such as the Legend of Zelda theme. Not only is the music utterly fantastic but also the rest of the sound as well, the voices and sound effects of the game are great and add much to the games quality.

  Overall Super Smash Bros Brawl is a masterpiece taking the great parts of the series and improving on them is every way possible. If you own a Wii you need this game it is a blast by yourself and it is priceless for multiplayer and in my opinion is the best fighting game there is. I would rate Super Smash Bros Brawl a 10 out of 10 for taking an amazing series and adding great new characters, new items, a storyline, and online play turning it from a great game into a masterpiece that people will play for years and years to come. I couldn't refer this game any more highly it is a must buy for any and all video game plays and Wii owners.

  ---

  Also read and/or recommend this awesome review!
  Mace's Super Smash Bros. Brawl Review
  • Posted Oct 1, 2008 2:30 pm GMT
  • Category:
  • 3 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 30Sep 08

  Fire Emblem, rock/paper/scissors can actually be fun!

  I am doing pretty good keeping up with homework, although it is taking alot of my free time away I notice but what can you do about that. I am still currently playing through Breath of Fire III about halfway through the game I fogot how good of a game it was it has been a long time.

  Now that Silent Hill Homecoming is about to come out I have to crack down and beat BoF3 so that I can start that up. Hopefully it will be as good as the previous installments into the series with new developers there is always a chace they don't understand what was so great abot the series to begin with.

  ---

  

  - Fire Emblem -
  
  Publisher: Nintendo

  Developer: Intelligent Sys.

  Release: Nov 2003

  You begin Fire Emblem as a nomadic girl named Lyndis, now on her own being the only survivor after bandits had destroyed her town. Under attack by bandits Lyndis and a strategist come out victorious but are confused as to why she is pursued. Soon after she meets two knights who join her and tell her that her mother was the daughter of a powerful lord of a region and with her grandfather on his deathbed she is his only heir. Being raised in a monad tribe by her mother she had no clue she was in a powerful family, with this knowledge she decided to go meet the family she didn't know she had.

  Being pursued by her grandfather's brother who wishes to steal his power Lyndis is in great peril on her adventure. Although you start as Lyndis you also play the majority of the game as Eliwood and his friend Hector who is in search of his father who mysteriously went missing. With the only clues to go off of is a mysterious organization called the "Black Fang" and a named they set off in pursuit of this mystery which unfolds into a large adventure.

  The storyline of Fire Emblem revolving around Eliwood, Lyndis, and Hector is very well made and cut into separate segments to get a better understanding of each characters personality. The impressive character development and old-school Fire Emblem gameplay makes playing the game a blast for both veteran and beginner. Keep in mind although named Fire Emblem this is not the first installment into the series, it is just the first part of the series on the Gameboy Advance there are actually many Fire Emblems.

  The combat of Fire Emblem is a grid based strategy combat with a rock, paper, scissors weapon system. Spear beats sword, sword beats axes, and axes beat spears through this system is the basis of combat forcing you to strategically fight your battles. There are many weapon exceptions and special types such as bows, light magic, dark magic, and elemental magic to complicate things and add more strategy to the game. With a large cast of characters and a wide array of characters such as archers, mages, healers, cavalry, pirates, myrmidons, and much more there is a great variety of customization in the teams you use and how you fight your battles with them. The excellent combat system of the Fire Emblem series never disappoints.

  The game looks like most of the other Fire Emblem games with recycles sprites as well as new ones along with nice and clear animations. Although the battles don't look fantastic it gives a great base for the strategic combat and the art used in the game looks fantastic. The music of Fire Emblem is also of great quality with a large variety of battle music for bosses, sieges, and many other circumstances. Being a Gameboy Advance title it lacks the voice acting many similar games have but that doesn't change the games quality you just cannot expect the same features of console games on a handheld.

  Although the Fire Emblem series may be large in Japan it is fairly small here so we haven't gotten many of them. If you are a fan of strategy games you must play this series it is a staple of the strategy genre. With a good storyline and a great and fun strategic combat system with a large cast of characters to support it I would rate Fire Emblem a 8.5 out of 10. This game is a fantastic title and anyone with a Gameboy Advance should pick it up or at least try the series out for themselves. There are also newer Fire Emblems on the Gamecube and Wii if you are interested in the series.

  ---

  Also read and/or recommend this awesome review!
  Mace's Fire Emblem Review

  • Posted Sep 30, 2008 10:52 am GMT
  • Category:
  • 1 Comment
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 27Sep 08

  Splinter Cell - Espionage to the MAX!

  I have been typing up alot of my reviews and doing a ton of school work as well so I have been kinda busy. I also started playing Breath of Fire III which I haven't played in ages and started a martial artist assassin with my buddies on Diablo II. Well amazingly that is pretty much all I have been doing but here is my first review to post in a looooong time Splinter Cell.

  I love the Metal Gear Solid series so im comparison it is hard for me to view Splinter Cell without judgeing it based on the quality of MGS but I will try not to too much. Tuesday I should be back on to put up my Fire Emblem review for the GBA I might even get on later this weekend to put it up. I need to get this huge backup of reviews posted. So how are you guys doing? Whats new?

  ---

  

  - Splinter Cell -
  
  Publisher: Ubisoft
  

  Developer: Ubisoft Shanghai
  

  Release: Apr 2003

  You begin the game as 2 spies are invading a Russian secret military base, after being spotted the spies are captured during their retreat. In desperation the CIA contacts an ex-covert agent named Sam Fisher, with his high skill level and large amount of experience he is perfect for the job.
  
  After a few training exercises to make sure he is still at the top of his game he is sent off on his first mission. Now hot on the trail of the missing spies Sam must sneak, kill, and fight through many ordeals to uncover the sinister plot hidden in the shadows. The storyline of Splinter Cell and of Sam Fisher left something to be desired, with little to no character development and a linear plot it seems somewhat devoid of a story entirely.
  
  Although the story's faults may turn away some the main feature of Splinter Cell is the entertaining espionage gameplay. Sneaking around and completing missions is pretty fun and keeps you into the game but there are down sides as well as up sides. The combat of the game consisting of sneaking around and killing people with your gun and hands is almost entirely based of stealth. With little to no hand-to-hand capabilities and odd gun mechanics other fighting is ineffective and not very fun. Although a variety of cool features most of them aren't done very well and prove disappointing.
  
  I may sounds harsh but the game seems incomplete to an extent with a sub-par storyline and roughly put together stealth combat. Although the combat has its faults it is still a lot of fun and entertaining, overall the stealth espionage was well done even though it has faults. In comparison to the few other espionage games such as Metal Gear Solid it unfortunately cannot stack up.
  
  Splinter Cell for its time looked very good graphically on the Playstation 2, with good models and neat environments it makes the games appeal increase. The sound and voices were well done and I was quite impressed with them although the music was another story altogether. The music in the game wasn't all that bad it was just very generic and due to that it was very mediocre and didn't really keep the feel of the game constant and entertaining.
  
  Splinter Cell is a decent addition to the small and strict genre of stealth espionage games but it falls short of the greats that hold precedence over the genre. With an entertaining stealth system, good voice acting, and a lackluster storyline I was not impressed with Splinter Cell but I did have fun playing around with it. I would rate Splinter Cell a 7.9 out of 10 and suggest someone interested in a cheap espionage game to try it out although it wouldn't be my first suggestion.

  This review will show up as a 8.0 due to Gamespot unfortunately not allowing a 7.9 to be selected.

  ---

  Also read and/or recommend this awesome review!
  Mace's Splinter Cell Review
  • Posted Sep 27, 2008 2:44 pm GMT
  • Category:
  • 6 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg

See Previous Blog Posts