Time to fire out some quick text reviews, all in one massive post. Now keep in mind I may be giving a shorter version of my views on these than a normal wall of text review, but I try to keep spoilers out and keep it simple.
Things Covered:
I. Batman Arkham City
II. The Sly Collection
III. BlazBlue Series
IV. Trinity Universe
Grading Criteria
Important note: this is a system out of ten based on how I felt the appropriate care was taken in each area.
Graphics: not so much on a scale of how amazing the graphics look, more if they fit the style they try to give
Voice Work/Characters: Basically if they kept true to a character, or use them wisely, will refer to the general cast
Gameplay/Conrols: basically is it playable from a controller standpoint
Difficulty: self explanatory, also includes learning curve time, 10/10 is appropriately done, anything less implies too easy/too hard
Replay Value: can it be played through again, and why
Price: is it worth the value listed
I. Batman Arkham City
A rather nice and well done sequel to Arkham Asylum, which improved quite a bit on the original. I believe they added a few new take down options like the vent cover take downs, and my favorite change, the trophies an be picked up at range with the grappler, as opposed to the first game where you had to walk up to each one. That being said, not as easy to get all the trophies, and the Riddler has more screen time, so to speak. The interactions are interesting to watch, the other villains have more time than it all just being Joker with some cameos from Bane, Killer Croc, Scarecrow, and Poison Ivy (Harley counts as a single villain with Joker for this). Overall, a fun game but unless you really want to kill a lot of time, don't go hard mode, as several of the bosses (one in particular) are much much harder, and eat up about ten times the amount of time just from the change, but more importantly the red shirts are strong enough to not be red shirt category in a fair fight.
Graphics: 9.5/10 it achieved what it set out to do, but a few things I nitpick on character model wise
Voice Work/Characters: 9.5/10 I felt that all the
Gameplay/Controls: 9.5/10 would be perfect but there have been a few challenge maps where instead of grappling up to a gargoyle it takes me to a ledge, bad guys notice me, and because its the extreme version on hard mode I die in half a second, other than that, works fine, just keep the camera still when picking a target when there are multiple legitimate choices
Difficulty: well loaded question in my case, 5/10 but 10/10 on normal, as it is just as hard as it needs to be, there are little tricks to learn here and there but nothing too big, basically you just need to prove you know the controls
Replay Value: 8/10 Nothing against this game mind you, after you go through story mode, there is a new game + mode to go through again, after that it is collecting all the riddler trophies and such, completing sidequests for subplots and going through challenges, and the dlc ones as well. Replayable, but probably things on my list higher up to go to first.
Price: Worth it, 8/10, granted I feel some games are overpriced, this one is debatable, but not a bad buy either way, and this was one of my few pre-orders.
II. The Sly Collection
Fun one I beat a while back, worth the money for all three games, and rather cheap for that as well. Fair warning, they do have old school graphics so you'll see the slight change in look over the games, but all around good platformers. Worth the rent and the buy, or at least the rent, as the games are basically gaming history on some level, maybe not high, but classic games none the less.
Graphics: 9/10 Me being the lenient type who generally will like something a lot more than I would hate it as a whole entity, it was nice seeing the evolution of the character models and environments through the games, and the look gives it that platformer feel.
Voice Work/Characters: 9/10 A few spots the voice work seemed odd to me, but overall all good, great character interactions, they all have a degree of natural feeling in the tone that you would expect from anyone just talking, even if they all might be insane sometimes.
Gameplay/Controls: 9/10 I didn't really have a problem with it but missed the time manipulation ability from the first one in the second game, which basically just upped the speed for everything around Sly including himself, great for us impatient types, although they did bring something akin to it back in the third game. The games actually run sequentially, and you have to beat them in proper story order, which is always a nice thing to get reacquainted with the plot, or acquainted for the first time.
Difficulty: 8/10 Can be a little easy at times but hey, it is a platformer, and a fun one at that.
Replay Value: 8/10 Well, I'm probably low balling it here, but great nostalgia, but generally once you get everything you won't really replay it that often if you have new games to play, or other games to finish.
Price: 10/10 I believe I picked this up for $30 at the time, although I'm fairly certain it has gone down since then, if you have the cash lying around, might as well just get it if you liked the past games, good way to spend "free time."
III. BlazBlue Series
Like classic 2d fighting games? Like anime? Like fourth wall jokes and holes in said wall? Well this is the game for you, well games to be specific. All the characters play differently from each other, and work differently from another. The second game improves on the first, and continues the story. By the way, there is a story mode, and it achieves the goal it sets out for itself. Most fighting games simply have the characters as the way they are, however with BlazBlue each one has an unlimited mode, basically boss mode, which you get (with the exception of the dlc characters in Continuum Shift) through means I unfortunately have forgotten, but make the game more interesting, especially in Continuum Shift, as they added a new mode which leads to running into more of the unlimited versions of the characters, assuming you take the higher difficulty paths. Good game for fighting fans and worth a try for anyone who even feels neutral towards them.
The following applies to both games as a whole:
Graphics: 10/10 Really nice flow to the sprites, and the color palettes are well done, and an hdmi cable brings out the best in it all
Voice Work/Characters: 9/10 I could nitpick a few things, but without spoilers, the voice work was quite well done, and the characters all have their own unique reasons to be involved in the plot.
Gameplay/Controls: 9/10 Overall, character dependent, you generally want to train a bit with a fighter before using them, well at least if you are Carl Clover, as you basically control two at the same time.
Difficulty: 8/10 Always something to improve upon, and some of the AI (cough, Tager, cough) can be ridiculous at times in terms of what they can pull off seemingly, once you get the hang of a character though it is rather rewarding to start messing around with them.
Replay Value: 9/10 Can always be picked up, just random matches against friends, AI, or online multiplayer, although might want to avoid the net if you are rusty for a match or two.
Price: 10/10 Worth the price for either game in my humble opinion.
IV. Trinity Universe
Oh where to start with this game.....I will admit I have not finished it yet, but if you are a fan of the Disgaea series, try it, and if you think the graphics don't look as good as they should, or something about the appearance feels cheap (which something does feel off to me, but that might be from playing the game with an hdmi cable, which I don't think the battles were meant to be viewed in) I will say this, regardless of the battle graphics on the characters, the game play is solid, really solid, and rather enjoyable characters, especially when they all get together, as Prinny, Etna, and Flonne are all a riot, and they're not even the focus of the real story. Now this is a crossover game, and the Disgaea universe is basically the guest to the party, but still overall an enjoyable game.
Graphics: 9/10 A few things I can nitpick at, but overall, rather nice
Voice Work/Characters: 9/10 Took a while to get used to Recit's voice, but once you get how his character was structured, he and the whole cast have an appropriate feel to the dub work on them, not to mention each character has their own individual reasons for being there.
Gameplay/Controls: 9.5/10 Solidly built, but don't be impatient like me in combat, as you can miss some of the combo timing, if you ever played Legend of Dragoon, the active battle command entry style reminds me of that, as once you start acting on a character for the turn, the gauge will not stop for you, with minor exceptions.
Difficulty: 8/10 Takes a little while to get used to it (well it is a JRPG after all) but once you get a rotation down and figure it out, it is relatively easy, although it is also easy to bite off more than you can chew.
Replay Value: ?/10 As I have not finished it yet (distractions and all) I cannot give a proper review, however there are two main characters, and you can go through the game from either's point of view, with each side being slightly different.
Price: 7/10 (for original price that is) Felt it was a solid, good game, but at the time I was not sure if $50 was the right price to ask for.
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