Game Reviews

[Tidus2791]

Pretty obvious right? ^^

Just pick any game you have played in the past or have just finished and type a short review to let other members know what you thought of that game and it may give people an idea whether to purchase that game or not, or just to compare views on that game.

If you can type a few short paragraphs about features such as Gameplay, Graphics, Characters, Story/Plot, Music, Extras, Or any other, then rate the game out of 10. You don't need to do this but feel free to use these as examples.

[Zotar]

Ever since the board game, Dungeons & Dragons came out, nerds were kept well entertained while the rest of us were perplexed by the nuances and intracacies of the game, which has been evolving ever since. Predictably, D&D and those who played it became ridiculed by those who thoght it stupid to use thier imaginations.

Now the Game is easy to play, now that is on PSP. With at least 30 levels and side-quests and many Mighty foes, the adventure game is successfully condensed into a more playable, easier-to-master form. The Game Has multiple storylines depending on the Alignment of your characters, (Good V.s. Evil or Law V.S. Chaos). You play with a party of six Characters either pre-generated or custom made by you. Choose a class for each from the Wizard, Sorceror, Fighter, Bard, Rouge, Cleric or others such as Psycic warrior.

Complete quests to earn gold and powerful weapons and gain levels as you play through many mission-like adventures. The battle system is turnbaseds. The graphics are good but could be better, especially on the part of spells.

All in all the game is easy to learn and play and fun. And you wont think it nerdy, and niether will your friends.

D&D Tactics: 3-1/2 of 5 Stars.

Edit: Im not very good at this.

[Terminal Est]

Here is a review which I had written for Jeanne D'Arc on the PSP. Actually I believe that I may have posted it here before, but I cannot find it. I also have some for Final Fantasy 2oth Anniversary and Silent Hill Origins, if anyone is interested. These three reviews were to be submitted to a role playing site, but they never put up any of my reviews, when they said that they wanted them. Oh well, ha ha.


Jeanne D'Arc Level 5, PSP
An SRPG (Strategy role playing game.) by Level 5 which does not offer so much new content as it does entertainment, but it certainly is worth checking out.

As its name implies, this game is based on the real life events of Jeanne D'Arc, (Joan of Arc.) and her efforts to liberate France from the English. However it stops there, as the story veers off in its own way, and eventually leads you against an army of demons called the ''Reapers''. This version contains talking frogs, demons in the ranks of the English army, as well as its myriad of role playing clichés which make the game progress forward.

We have all seen these major aspects-there is not much of anything new as far as the story itself goes; however it is more than well executed, extremely charming and colourful, and there actually are some VERY decent plot twists which are worthy of some of your most memorable role playing stories. They make the progress fun, and keep away the boredom. My one gripe, however, is that the end of the game, prior to defeating the final guardian, seems quickly thrown together, and lacks the effort of presentation and engagement otherwise present throughout most of the game.

Oh, and this is ONE tactical role playing game that fails to deal with religious matter, and has very little political mention-quite a refreshing taste-in this case, the cliché and general formula works.

The battle system is worth mentioning of course, but as you play, you shall quickly see that for an SRPG, this lacks depth-a lot. If you should be familiar with the deep gameplay of such titles as Final Fantasy Tactics, this does NOT compare. There are no classes or such general features, all your characters are stuck with innate weapon proficiency which cannot be altered, therefore, customization is very low, if non existent. (Most allocated skills pertain to specific weapons, so that makes it worse, since your characters cannot use all weapons, only the ones they are proficient with.) The rock paper scissor elemental scheme is quickly forgotten, as it is next to useless-it certainly was never necessary to implement this in the battle scheme.

The skill feature allows you to distribute magic spells and automatic statistical or battle related enhancements, however since all statistics are automatically set, this barely has any use. Even if you can give a magic spell to your tank like character, it is useless, as he will never do any decent damage with it. (Although you CAN use this to spam experience points, ha ha.) Basically, because of the set parameters and lack of customization, playing this game once is enough, should you be in it for the gameplay.
The skill fusing scheme is fun though, and the allocation of skill stones to your characters does have an impact-way better then that item fusing scheme from Stella Deus, for example. Quite neat, fast and easy, and is to be considered before entering battle-it may fail in the name of customization, but the choices are far from short.

As well, during battle, there are not many intricacies to consider; you'll not have to worry about damaging your own party, and the complexity of strategizing limits itself to movement and damage range. :/ This, in my opinion, is the low point of this game-use its battle system as basic training wheels for more complicated titles.
Aside from a ''Flaming Aura'' and ''Unified Defense'' feature which ups the damage dealt or lessens the damage received, Jeanne D'Arc offers absolutely nothing new to the SRPG battle formula.
However, there is a limit to rounds for every fight, which is interesting-so you cannot spam potions to get your experience points up forever-however, it fails to add as much strategic level to the battles then you might imagine.

However, this has to be the one game with the most interesting battle objectives-(Other then Growlanser Generations.) capture some dragons, catch a boat in time or stop a character from invoking stronger foes-the excitement is there, and does not always consist of just killing everything that moves. (However such is always an alternative.) In any case, I like how the story is partly ''played'' with these decisions and objectives, rather then simply viewed. It does not bare that much of a significant impact upon the overall conclusion, but it is cute, and different.

The game is riddled with fun cut scenes, not too long and not too short, which make the story move along quite smoothly. They are entertaining to watch unlike many games, and as well, there are over a dozen very nice anime videos included.

The difficulty is a mixed bag-it is very easy at first, but the challenges do increase. However, this depends solely on whether you like to grind levels or not. You could easily waste an entire battlefield with your villager girl, just as well as Conan the Barbarian could-at least in the game's first half. As well, some characters can transform, giving them insane abilities and boosted statistics-this is also cheap in the beginning, as killing one enemy gives you one free round when transformed-therefore you can go mental.
Although there are some optional stages, which are harder then the usual ones, including a colosseum. See? CLICHÉ! But this one is fun, and makes me rip my hair out.

The game is not very long either, but it does offer a post game option, which allows you to replay all the levels, with stronger monsters and new loot and skills. I appreciate the fact that the player does not have to restart the entire game to enjoy this. As for replay value however, it pretty much stops there.

The graphics are very nice, bright and cute, and so serious and dark at the same time. Because of its lively visual presentation and ability to make even the depresing parts cute, the game possesses a unique atmosphere, which is not always common in SRPG's and RPG's. The animation is very fluid as well, which is actually very surprising. However, I do not know if everyone is going to dig the big head scheme.

The music is nice, but there is really nothing memorable in the soundtrack, and after a while, it becomes pretty monotonous-the sound effects are well made though, no complaint there.

So while the game does not suffer from any significant faults, it brings nothing new to the table in terms of gameplay either, however it more then makes up for it with its charming atmosphere, and it is simply a blast to play through. That much is evident to me, Level 5 cared about their game while creating it, and I certainly hope that this is not the only good title we shall see for the PSP in this genre.

[MidgarFanatic]

@ Zotar: I have always loved playing D&D, but most of the video games that have spun-out based on the franchise have been quite the stinkers havn’t they? XD Mostly because the whole idea of the traditional pen, paper, and dice D&D allows you to do (or at least try) whatever you want, and the confines of the electronic games have felt very restricting. I bought one, well over a decade ago and it was for my PC and it was just absolutely god-aweful. I couldn’t play it for more than a few hours, my entire sense of self was insulted by it. LOL

But now that games have become somewhat more sophisticated I am not surprised that a new go at a D&D game is getting some more positive attention. This one might be worth checking out, if at the very least for a comparison to what I have personally experienced… thanks for the review Zotar.

@ Terminal Est: I have picked up this game many times in my local electronic stores and read the back… but I have always put it right back where I found it. Because I am a bit of a history buff I am somewhat attracted to the historical connection of Joan of Arc, but… I just do not have the patience for strategy games anymore these days. After struggling through games like Dark Cloud and Harvest Moon, I am burned out and I have all but given up. They are good games from what they are, but not for me anymore.

I think the problem is that I just don’t have the time for long periods of gameplay anymore, which most strategy games demand. At the very most, I can usually sit for an hour or two, before I must take care of other matters in life. I have also come to the conclusion that this is the primary reason I have all but given up on Final Fantasy XI.

But it does sound like a “cool” game T, very much your style, and I appreciate the feedback greatly.

Originally Posted by Tidus2791

If you can type a few short paragraphs…

Short paragraphs? LOL I am so sorry buddy (and to anyone else who struggles through this post)… but, as anyone around here knows, this is utterly impossible for me, LOL, so here it goes. Although I hate to shamelessly promote such a corporate giant, I cannot deny that this is probably the best game I have played in the past year:

Super Mario Galaxy, Nintendo, Wii (2007)

When Super Mario Bros. debuted on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985, it appealed to a wide audience of video gamers who immediately became engaged in the colourful world and perils of the Mushroom Kingdom. Gone were the days of Pong and Atari arcade classics with their one-button controllers and overly simplified graphics. Nintendo offered something unique and new. Today, Super Mario Galaxy for the Nintendo Wii proves that ideas such as fast-paced cartoon style violence, colourful innovative level design, and chivalric heroes are more than just excessively used plot devices, but are in fact traditions that are constantly revamped and can continue to capture the imaginations of gamers, even if they are routed in over-used themes of video game’s past.

The graphics in Galaxy are amongst the very best that the Wii has yet to offer, and probably ever will. Massive playing fields, expansive regions through space, and at times hundreds of moving objects all work in a smooth and beautiful arrangement on the screen. The game play is so involving and fluid that I occasionally found myself actually getting dizzy while playing. Mario also has so many different jumps and moves that the level’s challenges never get dull, which strongly adds to the replay value of the levels, which is a necessity, since multiple visits to gather various stars are part of the routine.

There are so many worlds to explore in Galaxy, and the Wii’s innovative usage provides a wide range of challenges. There is a reason why the Super Mario series has appealed to such a diverse range of age groups, because there is something for everyone in these games. Younger children will enjoy the simplicity of the earlier stages, while more advanced players will find enjoyment in worlds which stretch the limits of the Wii to it’s greatest potential. In the more advanced worlds I was reminded of the optional Star Road and Special worlds from Super Mario World. Their advanced challenges, strong monsters, and difficult puzzles kept fans thrilled for months, and Galaxy offers much the same.

There is some incredibly fantastic stuff to play through. Advanced worlds such as The Matter Splatter Galaxy and several of Bowser’s dungeon levels play around with the rules of gravity and nature which would not be possible to fit into any other video game in existence. It makes for some of the most original level designs in any video games available today. Also, as has been tradition, Mario also tries on new outfits this time around, leading to a bumblebee, ice man, and ghost form just to name a few. These new forms are fun to experiment with, and provide new challenges to the game play style as the physics of Mario’s movement is different with each unique appearance.

We have come a long way since the tinny electronic sounds and music of the Super Nintendo generation of games, and Galaxy shows just how far we have come. Each world starts by exploding into a fully orchestrated arrangement that sounds absolutely magical on surround sound. The music in worlds such as the Good Egg Galaxy and the Gusty Garden Galaxy are particularly memorable and greatly increase the energy of the game. Video game soundtracks are a hot commodity in countries like Japan, and I am not surprised, as I would proudly showcase the Galaxy soundtrack on my CD rack, should it be available anywhere in North America... I really would! XD

The Super Mario series’ weaknesses have always been their storylines, and Galaxy is no different. It has pretty much followed the same formula since the 8-bit days; Bowser shows up and kidnaps Princess Peach and Mario pursues through a variety of terrains. Galaxy makes an attempt at offering a deeper storyline by unlocking an optional side story involving a new character named Rosalina and the Lumas stars which unfolds in chapters within a library. It also stands as a rather strange attempt at explaining the nature of the space-station home base which acts as the setting for the game. However, this side story is honestly boring, and, because it is optional, I would strongly recommend avoiding it unless you are under the age of 10. Fans hoping to find deep philosophy in these chapters will be strongly disappointed. There are other elements of the story which probably would of benefited the game overall if given more play time. For example, I would of liked to have seen more of Luigi after all, as he has always been there.

What is unique about the Super Mario series has been Nintendo’s ability to maintain a sense of familiarity with these games, while still offering new innovative forms of game play, and the Wii passes this test in abundance. We have the same rolling green fields, ice worlds, sandy dunes, and ghost filled mansions, and yet the series seems to continue to reinvent itself with the implementation of each new more powerful gaming engine. If history repeats itself, it will be fascinating to see what Super Mario Universe will look like when it one day enters our homes on the next great next-gen Nintendo console.

Overall gameplay: 9.5/10

[NeoFighter5]

. . .i have all the ff titles for the psp. . .but i need something with a bit of more action in it. . .i would like to know if you kids can recommend anything. . .i have planned to buy monster hunter freedom 2, and castlevania: dracula x chronicles. . .but those are still not the action packed stuff i want. . .so if anything hits your mind. . .let me know. . .

. . .as far as games are concerned. . .i still recommend god of war. . .i give them an 8.0, 8.5. and 10 (out of ten, of course) to gow: chains of olympus, gow1, and gow2. . . respectively. . .these are the qualities that make it such a good series: the games are action packed, with many of different enemies and cool bosses based on greek mythology, and almost all of them have a fatality-like mode (remember mortal combat?) once you lower their health low enough. . .the game is also full of puzzles, which could get repetitive in gow1 but with plenty of stuff to do, it doesnt take from the game. . .now, although the game does not have a hundred so weapons like in an ff game, there are plenty of moves in each one you will encounter, and mastering the combat system isnt hard. . .different magic is present in every game, although each new kind you see will often fufill a similiar function in the other games; for example, you will always have a magic skill to hit enemies from afar or hit a mass amount of enemies at the same time. . .

. . .if story is what drives you, gow isnt lacking. . .it would not be the same if it were not for the story line, actually. . .although its not as deep as an ff game or a kh game. . .but you have to remember rpgs relly on story almost exclusively. . .game play and story blend pretty well in the gow games. . .(now if, your looking for a love story, go see a soap opera instead. . .gow doesnt bother w/ that). . .

. . .the game is at least worth a rental. . .but im not kidding you when i say that the gow franchise is as strong as any around today (if you need a better picture, think halo and gears of war. . .w/out the hype. . .). . .

[Terminal Est]

Final Fantasy I (From 20th Anniversary PSP

Here is the one for the Final Fantasy version for PSP, although I do not have a review for the second, so am reviewing the first one only.

Now then, this will indeed seem like I am committing a huge sin, as I am not giving this game a very bright light. I completely understand that the original Final Fantasy is a classic, and one which initially helped to establish the genre, along with other titles such as Phantasy Star and Dragon Warrior.

However, please take into account that this is a remake, and not a port, so therefore, I am going to treat it as such.

I do not think that I need to explain the story. You control the prophesied Warriors of Light, whom must restore the elemental crystals which compose the world's balance to their rightful role.

Chaos, a time traveling force of near primitive definition even in stereotypical evil takes over the body of Garland, a near like historical figure in the universe of Final Fantasy, in order to bring about the ruin of the world, by awakening ancient fiends and having them drain the planet's natural forces.
I know this is a very old game, and so it could be forgiven that the plot is barely elaborated, and that in the end, is only there to give the game a flair, because we all know that the gameplay is why anyone ever wanted to play this, or at the very least, is what hooked players.

However, role playing games these days demand an intricate plot and thus becomes almost a core element-this, today, seems so bare boned and almost ridiculous.
The game is good of course, but the story concept has not aged well, and cannot even be called a cliché-this is like a blueprint.

Still, fans of this particular game will enjoy it-and in the end, it is probably a good thing that the story did not get touched, as there are purists out there who would say much worse things than I, otherwise.

That certainly is not my main qualm though.

Everything from the original is here-the classes, the simple yet addictive battle system, and the clever and imaginative means of exploiting it via magic spells and items.
Not only that, but the game has a whole slew of new items, weapons, armor and the like to find-some from the last PlayStation remake, and some exclusive to this PSP remake.

However, the entire experience seems to have suffered from a major deficiency; the difficulty.

It used to be that you had to gain level after level in the original version, and many of the battles were insanely hard, if you were not careful with your preparations and decisions in battle-even if the latter was never that wide in range.

The game is WAY too easy. This is on a handheld, so I'll not say anything about the ''Save Anywhere Anytime'' function-in fact, 'tis very appreciated. Mostly because, the dungeons are so damn long, and trudging through them gets boring fast.

However, you shall find that breezing through every battle and coming out smelling like a rose every single time gets old quick, which is very unforgiving when you consider that after the challenge of battles, all which remains to the entertainment is finding the exit and gradually wasting your potions.
Even though this is a classic game, this formula is old, tired, and role playing fans will not really appreciate it aside from and for the nostalgic feel. I do not believe that this game has aged very well at all, as a whole.

To kill the insulting difficulty factor even more, your characters can now grow to level 99-which makes no real difference actually, as your statistics barely go up after level 50. A pretty useless feature in the end, when considering that the hardest fights require slight strategy and specific battle combinations to win, and not merely ridiculous amounts of strength.
A few differences arise in the battle system, as the ability to spam speed altering magic spells, which make the experience even cheaper. (In exchange for some old and favourite Nes glitches!)

The graphics are really nothing impressive, as it is basically a recap of the PlayStation remake in Final Fantasy Origins, as is the music. It is nice eye candy yes, and a fun change, but far from impressive. No real dialogue to speak of, although the dwarves are pretty fun.

Which leads me to the fun stuff. Four optional dungeons, which all present an appearance from some famous guardian favourites from the earlier Final Fantasy games-specifically, from III to VI. A very nice and clever touch. As well, if the lack of any real challenge offends you or leaves you wanting more, try the Labyrinth of Time. Countless floors filled with puzzles, the hardest enemies, unique pieces of equipment, and a time limit for each floor. Now THAT is refreshing, if not downright frustrating.

However, the extra dungeons (Before the Lavyrinth.) do not relate to the story very much, and whatever attribution they tried to include with such is almost nonsensical-not to include the messed up layouts-it is just all quickly thrown together.
By the third or fourth dungeon, you shall tire of them quickly, and might continue for the only reason to see what unique items and guardians you may find.

I did enjoy the inclusion of new equipment and enemies, this was great. However, it does not make up for the overall feel of the game, which is left almost ruined in my opinion-in fact, nostalgia cannot even be reached when remembering the unforgiving difficulties of the original Nintendo game.

Not much for replay value either-unless you absolutely want to unblock all the video stills and pictures. :/

While it is fun to revisit, and a much better improvement over that crappy PS remake, this is, essentially, a game which does not work by today's standards, despite the few new fun bonuses, additions and the fact that it is, indeed, a classic.

The main handicap here is that because of the reduced challenge, old school fans will feel betrayed, while younger and newer fans will find nothing engaging or appealing in the game. It presents itself as a letdown in both fence sides.

While truly hardcore fans of everything Final Fantasy will probably find more to appreciate in this title than I did, it certainly is not a title much of anyone is going to freak out on. I may concentrate too much on the fact that the twenty year old original was more fun, and so, it seems illegitimate to compare a remake today-but it really does fail-this is more like a very long Easter Hunt than it is an actual quest, and even then, treats are few and far between.

Purists may rejoice, but everyone else, not so sure.

[MidgarFanatic]

Yeah, I immediately noticed the plummet of difficulty level right away as I was playing. How many hours I must of spent raising my levels in order to become prepared enough to face those nasty wizards in the Marsh Cave in the original NES version, only to find they were naught but a bunch of push-overs at a very low level in the newest installments. And it doesn't really get much harder after that either.

The story is of course weak, absolutely; it was all about the battles. Although I have to admit, my first time through, I was completely and utterly shocked to find out at the end that Chaos was in fact Garland. M. Night Shymalan eat your heart out. XD

Oh, and they definately made Chaos waaaaaaaay harder in this version, as he seemed to have little resistance in the original... I was usually able to defeat him in about five or six rounds with little to no casualties of my own; whereas in this new port the end battle took the better part of half an hour. That's more like it.

Perhaps more than the large things, it is the small things which really stand out as making things much better this time around. It use to infuriate me to no end to see my fighter swinging at empty space if my wizards had already killed the monster he was predetermined to attack... would a fighter really be that dumb in real life? XD At least they fixed that glitch. And I must admit that I am happy to be able to save the game inside dungeons, although alloted save points might of made more sense, and wouldn't of changed the game from the original anymore than being able to save anywhere.

I enjoyed the extra dungeons and found them pretty challenging, particularly the Water/Kraken dungeon. But I didn't like how you had to start the dungeon from the start again one you had chosen a path and gotten to the end reward. Particularly when making your way through the earlier dungeons was so easy at higher levels, the random encounters began to get annoying.

A great review T... about the only think I might disagree with you on is the graphics. Particularly the monsters themselves, I found the new designs way better than the PS1 version, where they mostly looked like a bunch of mutant rejects. At least now their revisualizations have a presence. And the characters looked better too. But it is only a slight improvement... as they didn't add any new animation or movement to the battles as they did in the new DS version of FFIII, there really isn't much more they could of done I suppose.

I have very strong emotional attachments to this game, so I probably liked this remake more than you did, but it was still far from overly impressive, that much is true. It has many ups and downs... but if you are a FF fan, even a newer one, I would still recommend giving it a try, it does still has a lot of fun elements to it... and it's cheap.

[Terminal Est]

Oh, and they definately made Chaos waaaaaaaay harder in this version, as he seemed to have little resistance in the original... I was usually able to defeat him in about five or six rounds with little to no casualties of my own; whereas in this new port the end battle took the better part of half an hour. That's more like it.

Whaaa?? What level were you on? I wasted him in like not even ten minutes. Although indeed, I did all the dungeons before him, so perhaps it was much easier, but I was remembering how much a pain in the ass the final dungeon was...

Perhaps more than the large things, it is the small things which really stand out as making things much better this time around. It use to infuriate me to no end to see my fighter swinging at empty space if my wizards had already killed the monster he was predetermined to attack... would a fighter really be that dumb in real life? XD At least they fixed that glitch.

Oh right! *Smacks forehead.* I cannot believe I did not mention this! It is true, I certainly appreciated that fix up. Maybe this is why it seemed easier? Ha ha, the good old times, it seemed so much more complicated back then...

Oh yes, I do agree about the monster design. One of the things which was fun for me was revisiting all the enemies again, and see how they had changed, but aside from being improved, I was just disappointed that nothing new was added to the design from the PS version. Which sucks even worse than this one, I am actually quite glad that they made this PSP one.

Although I have to admit, my first time through, I was completely and utterly shocked to find out at the end that Chaos was in fact Garland. M. Night Shymalan eat your heart out. XD

*Laughs!* XD ;D

[Squishy_99]

Silent Hunter 3

No characters or storyline as such, but this sub sim puts you in the damp boots of a U-Boat commander in the Second Battle of the Atlantic. There is a Single mission mode, a Career mode and a museum, where you can look at all of the different ships.

Career mode starts you out in the years 1939-1943, and as the years become later and later, the game starts harder and harder, in a realisitc display of advancing Allied tactics. In July 1944, you will be redirected to Norwegian bases if you were in a French base. From there you resume your war against Allied shipping, (if you survive long enough) and hopefully survive the war. There is a realism switch which is 100% to 0%. I play on 100% realism which means if you stay underwater for too long, you die. If you run out of fuel, you have to go back on battery power. If you run out of that, you go back by sail. If you are hit by a shell, you die. If you are hit by a bomb, you die. If you are hit by depth charges, you die. Basically, if you do something wrong, most often you die.
For that realism, I will give this astonishg game 10/10.

[Terminal Est]

So, here is my Silent Hill Origins review.

Silent Hill origins PSP

To begin, I can safely say that I feel like a young girl in love all over again! XD This is not the best survival horror game ever, nor is it the best of the series; you shall hear me complain-but in the end, it is easily enjoyed, especially if you are a fan of the series. You can forgive its many flaws if you enjoy buggered up monsters and lonely, depressing streets and hallways.

The game seems to take place before the events of the first game, in a town setting which highly resembles that of the first installment. Characters from the original return-in younger form! Actually, it begins a lot like the first game, in which you are stranded in the town after avoiding hitting a mystery girl on the highway with your truck.

The mood of the game is as disturbing and tense as I remember it to be, and traveling around is a pain-a good kind of pain. Fog, monsters at every corner...(Missing some darkness though.) ...but the entire imagery seems a little bare boned compared to the other titles. I really did not find anything all that interesting aside from the mundane placement of houses, and strewn objects here and there. No real detail, even though the boring looked nice.

Very nice looking indeed, and some very good effects, like fog and light. Also, the alternate universe is gorgeous-if I can use that word. Blood and metal ftw!

Fighting is as sluggish as ever, however now we do have different kinds of attacks-mainly a charging dash which deals good damage, but must be timed carefully.
Another addition is the melee weapon break-basically, all your melee weapons will break after two fights. It sounds annoying, and it actually is-however there are enough weapons everywhere that you shall barely ever run out.
Some melee weapons are fast but weak, while others are the opposite, so it adds some depth and a slight strategic element to the combat, although that may easily be translated to what weapon works best against certain monsters. But in the end, you shall merely bash the X button like in all the other games, forgetting the slight combat mechanics that have been added. Still, the range of weapons is very interesting to say the least, from sledgehammers to hospital drip stands. O_o

Also, you have one hit weapons, which deal great damage, usually an instant knockout-but are gone after one use. And some of these assortments are rather comical-televisions, typewriters and even a toaster. And if all else fails, Travis can use his fists. This is funny, to see him going at it bar style brawl with shambling monstrosities. He is indeed a little more violent and aggressive then previous protagonists.

Therefore, although the combat has been ''tweaked'', it is a bit disappointing, as you will not make use of any of its intricacies such as charging when pressing X over and over again does the trick. Those looking for a challenge will be met, instead, by no difficulty levels to add whatsoever, and the same mundane patterns pertaining to different enemies and how to defeat them, it gets old quick, and most of them may be dealt with in a fistfight.

Voice acting is still awkward, but a much better improvement-I just wish Travis's reactions were not so...indifferent. If it was me stuck int here, I would be like, MY GOOOOOOD!! ... he seems all like, meh.
The character presentation is a little...leaves much to be desired. The story itself seems pretty straightforward, but as all Silent Hill titles always deliver, this is the black sheep which borrows from previously witnessed elements...the plot is barely making sense and offers a poor enlightenment at the promised light shedding in regards to the first game's confusion, and once you make sense of it, it does not seem to strike home as much.

This title is almost like playing a less then stellar but prettied up version of the first game minus what made it special, and the boring character execution is not helping, although I do enjoy the intriguing cameo appearances by old favourites such as Lisa Garland.
It seems to incorporate elements of the other games too, but I cannot delve into this without spoiling certain things. All I can say is that it is a bit disappointing that the developers did not really bother to think up anything new for the plot, and just included elements from older Silent Hill classics.
The story is like the equivalent of Friday the Thirteenth part something or other.

The game is fast and straightforward-the puzzles, require absolutely no brain power whatsoever to solve aside from perhaps ONE-However, about half an hour into the game, and the difficulty rises, and it feels like the big old ominous Silent Hill again.

There are some nice additions...like Travis's bloody footsteps if you walk over a dead monster, and the ability to travel between the alternate Silent Hill and the ''normal'' one at will through mirrors. But even so, this becomes boring quick, because it still makes everything straightforward, despite what one may imagine.
Travelling between both worlds at will actually takes away much of the depth, and even for an old formula such as Silent Hill, this seems rather primitive as it makes everything all the more straight forward. The initial goal with this idea, according to Konami, was to render things more complex, however it accomplishes the complete contrary.
I was hoping that the beginning of the game was passing off as some sort of tutorial, because otherwise, these elements really do not add anything new to the game and its formula. It could have, but the simplicity renders this potential void, throughout most of the game.

In the end, I am left with the impression that as much as I love the Silent Hill formula, even biased old me is starting to see that it is getting old-this offers really nothing new, and basically just serves a dusted version of everything we have seen before.

Do not get me wrong however, in the end I really do not mind, because the formula still works, despite its age. I am still afraid, I still have to take breaks from playing because it depresses me, I still sit on the edge of my seat and grit my teeth; and it is all damn awesome. I still fumble like an idiot when more than two monsters attack me and I DIE. That also rules. Kind of.
I love panicking in this, and the musical score is also very, very good. It is disturbing, especially in the alternate universe, and the game does not fail at throwing weird and seemingly alarming noises at you to steer you off track.

One major complaint (Ha ha.) though-the camera SUCKS. In the other games, you could control it to a certain degree of freedom-which was not always useful. It was awkward, and always pointed in weird and disturbing angles, and in places you did not even need to see-but such is why it was awesome. It added flair to the fear factor. In Origins, you do not even have that option-all we get is a re-centering scheme. Ack.

The conclusion is-Silent Hill origins is as creepy and fun as ever, and that the fear stays with you ALWAYS, unlike many survival horror games which solely rely on cheap jump scares... The atmosphere, although tired, works, and the game is not so terrible that you will not be engrossed-and want to turn it the hell off because it all works.
...but it is missing a lot of things unfortunately. The kind of things which made the game famous.

It is great for any fan, especially those interested in the mythos, but do not get your hopes up, as this does not really connect everything together as it said it would...there are evident things yes, but I believe that we will need a sequel, and please, more detail.