[Review] AMY (PS3)

When AMY publisher Lexis Numerique surveyed gamers to find out how muchthey wanted the game to cost, I initially applauded their efforts. It wasrefreshing, though perhaps a bit suspect and odd, to see a publisher pricetheir game based on consumer demand rather than an amount to maximize profits. Asthe reviews trickled in and I had tried AMYmyself though, I realized it wasn’t so much an attempt to democratize pricingas much as it was an attempt to get the few extra bucks the game could netthem.

The story starts off on a trainwhere players control Lana, who has just helped Amy escape from some sort oflab. Suddenly, the train’s attendant knocks Lana out and by the time sherecovers, she finds that they have crashed into a train station and Amy ismissing. With that, players begin their quest to find and keep Amy safe. Formuch of the game, the narrative focuses on this goal rather than any realmotivation to find her. Even if the game were more exciting to play, I wouldhave felt little drive to look for the girl. But I suppose the fact that shewas a young girl was reason enough for the writer.

Conceptually, AMY had a lot going for it. Instead oflimiting players to the usual healing items or automatic regeneration found inmost games, Lana could cure her infection level through being close with Amy,who is immune to the monsters’ disease. In addition, Amy could be commanded tocomplete certain tasks that Lana couldn’t do. However, the execution of it allis shoddy at best. Amy, along with other NPCs, are prone to walking into walls,disobeying the occasional order, or simply being a hindrance as players walk.At least the collision detection works fine.

Most frustrating of all in thisgame are the combat mechanics and controls. Understandably, Lana isn’t trainedfor combat and could only wield the occasional wooden stick, but her limitationto either swing or dodge only makes for repetition. Even the protagonists in Silent Hill know how to pull a trigger. Theuncooperative camera hinders players even moreso than Lana’s own inability tofight, often placing enemies in blindspots and a prime location to ambushplayers or perhaps eluding players as to whether the monster has died yet. Othergames that feature a powerless protagonist feel challenging; AMY challenges players to not destroytheir controllers in rage. Sparse checkpoints will annoy players even further, forcing them to replay large segments from untimely, accidental deaths.

Upon first impression, the gamelooks like a treat, especially at the $15 pricetag. As players spend more timewith AMY though, the blemishes willsoon become noticeable. Once players take control of Lana and command her torun out of the train, they will notice the game’s extremely choppy frame rate.It’s as though the game decides to skip a beat with every couple of steps Lanatakes, a problem that is only exacerbated during fights. Design-wise, the gameis so dark that it actually affects gameplay. Without any reliable radar and onlyvague visual cues to go on, I frequently ran into invisible walls that shouldhave never existed – wide gaps that couldn’t be crossed and sizeable crevassesthat Lana just seemed too elegant to crawl through. Any spaciousness that thesevisual elements create quickly disappears.

AMY is everything that an indie title shouldn’t be – it’s marred bylazy design decisions, clunky controls, and wasted potential. Gamers who wantto test the legitimacy of reviewers’ scores or are drawn into the title by itspremise and graphics are highly discouraged from even touching the title. Thegame’s problems are simply too numerous and rooted in design for them to everbe patched up, making it hardly worth a purchase. 

Available on: PC, PS3, Xbox 360; Publisher: Lexis Numerique; Developer: VectorCell; Players: 1; Released: January 17, 2012; ESRB: Mature; Official Site

Note: A promotional code was provided to Denkiphile for review purposes by the publisher.

[Review] Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom (PSP)

Visual novels, by design, feature little interactivity incomparison to mainstream games and are engaging as far as their stories piqueinterests. Immersion could become an issue if the protagonist is someone thatplayers simply couldn’t identify with. This was the issue I had come across inmy time with Hakuoki: Demon of theFleeting Blossom. For the first time, I found gender to be a factor in mygaming.

Set in Japan, Hakuokifollows Chizuru Yukimura on her quest to find her father, who has been lost inthe dangerous city of Kyoto. Upon her arrival, she runs into the Shinsengumi, agroup of samurai whose mission were to protect the shogun. Eventually, theytake her in and begin to become quite acquainted with her.  As part of the otome genre in Japan, this game was made for females and will be ahard sell to a majority of male gamers. Despite this, the story should equallydraw in and repel history buffs for its inclusion of Japanese historicalfigures and liberties with them.

The art in this game is done superbly well, with thedisproportionate figures of low budget visual novels nowhere to be seen. Inaddition, the costume designs are appropriate and true, reminding players of a Kyotoand Shinsengumi that is consistent with that of other Japanese media, likeclassic shounen anime Rurouni Kenshin. Of course, this isprobably aided by the game’s own roots in anime. It all leads to an atmospherethat will take players back to Japan’s Edo period. The one exception is thewriting, which frequently features the casual tones and words modern speakersare used to, hardly ringing true to the same period’s formal speech patterns. Aksysloyalists will appreciate their usual brand of localization that includesliberal use of casual words and expletives. Though this makes the game moreaccessible, it also takes away from its credibility.

For the most of the game, players will spend it pressingaway at the X button and skipping dialogue that involves little interactivityfrom the player. Only at pivotal points will the game ask for input fromplayers, which, surprisingly, offered very different events for players toparticipate in. Not only do these give players different views on Chizuru’spossible adventures, but also chances to build relationships with differentcharacters. However, these are few and far in between, leaving much to bedesired.

As an introduction to Japan’s otome genre, Hakuokidefinitely eases the west into it by providing a rich background story alongwith the romance. Its anime heritage and quality production provides for someof the best art that US players have ever laid eyes upon and, combined with itscharacter and costume designs, is a 2D visual treat. While general anime fanswill want to pick this one up, those pining for more otome and visual novel games should definitely do so to tell gamepublishers what they want in the future. 

Available on: PSP; Publisher: Aksys Games; Developer: Idea Factor; Players: 1; Released: February 14, 2012; ESRB: Mature; Official Site

Note: A retail copy was provided to Denkiphile for review purposes by the publisher.

[Demo Spotlight] Resident Evil Revelations (3DS)

Resident Evil Revelations is the next portable installment of the Resident Evil franchise and features the familiar third person survival horror gameplay that we all know and love. I really enjoyed the old Resident Evil games. There is something about hoards of zombies trying to break into the building to eat your brains that is really thrilling. I was excited to try out the new demo for this game and maybe even kill some zombies. However, this game takes place between Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5, so I didn't get my hopes up.

As the demo started, the spooky music that usually accompanies these games cued and the creepy atmosphere began to fall into place. I woke up in a squalid cruise ship and soon after a Silent Hill-type monster broke out of a closet and tried to kill me. It was clear that this was going to be a great looking game. I was not expecting this level of graphics when I picked up the 3DS, but this game did not disappoint. The only thing that I did not like was that I did not see a single zombie throughout the demo.

That is not to say that this game is going to be a bust. It still looks great for a portable and they did a great job at creating a dreadful atmosphere. The lighting and sounds of monsters lurking in the darkness really add to the immersion and I felt wary of turning corners. This might have been partially because the camera angles are kind of awkward, but this is typical of small handheld screens. Another little issue was that I kept wanting to see more of my surroundings, however, Jill is constantly covering up half the screen.

A cool feature was a scanning gun that can be used to search the area for hidden items like herbs and bullets. It is satisfying to watch the scanning animation and get needed supplies, especially since I kept finding myself in in shortage of them. It was difficult to aim as Jill kept pointing her gun at the monster’s feet instead of somewhere useful. It took a while to get head shots and by that time the monsters were already chewing on my neck. If you are used to playing third person shooters with one joystick, then maybe this isn’t a problem; for me, I felt that the controls were a bit awkward.

Overall, Resident Evil Revelations looks like it will be a solid release, but I’m just not as interested in these Resident Evil games that lack zombies. If you want to pick this game up, look out for it on February 7. I’m going to wait for Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City instead, where there will be plenty if zombies waiting for me.

[Demo Spotlight] Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

This is an anticipated single-player action role-playing game that may actually please many role playing gaming fans for 2012. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning seems to have all the traits of a great RPG, such as a gripping story line, beautiful environments and incredibly liberating gameplay with interesting customizable sets of talent trees that will make for interesting combat.

The demo begins by explaining that the world is at war with a race called the Tuatha, who are trying to gain control Amalur. Your character was a victim of the Tuatha, but is brought back to life by the gnomes’ secret weapon known as The Well of Souls. Without revealing too much about the story, this is where your journey begins. The demo gives hints that your decisions in the game may affect the course of the story, very much like Dragon Age: Origins.

Character customization involves four playable races: the Ljosalfar, Varani, Dokkalfar, and Almain . During customization, you choose your deity which helps boost certain attributes such as critical hit or increase health and mana. You have a limited range of customization for your character’s facial features since you are only given five presets to choose from. You can change your character’s skin, eye color hair style, make up, tattoos and accessories. When it comes to the eyes, face and other features, there is no adjusting. Whatever preset you pick is what your character will look like, maybe with different tones and some design changes.

With most RPGs, class selection is done in the character customization screen, but that is not the case for this game. What makes Kingdoms of Amalur so interesting is that your character has no set class. In fact, the class is built as the game goes along. Your character starts off with a clean slate or as the game calls it, “Fateless.” Your class, or “Destiny,” also has a lot of liberty behind it. In most games, your class is set; you can only get certain abilities for that class. But in this game, your Destiny Points can be spread towards different categories, making your character a hybrid class. You can be a warrior with mage and rogue like abilities, which make the real time gameplay unbelievably enjoyable. The gameplay itself has an odd mix of God of War's action and Skyrim's customization with gamers having total control of the character’s action.

Kingdoms of Amalur will be released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on February 7. We can't wait to jump back into the role playing madness after the short post-holiday slumber.

[Review] Hero Academy (iOS)

I, like many of you other on-the-go gamers, became addicted to Words With Friends, Hanging With Friends, and all the other turn-based word games. But I also soon became saturated by notifications because I was playing around 20 games at a time. Maybe it's just me, but the point where games become a chore is approximately the point where they are no longer fun. Though these types of games are great on cell phones, I think that playing games with words might just be a bit too leapster learning for me. I wanted a turn-based game with more... action. And Hero Academy was just what I asked for.

After installing Hero Academy, you're prompted to set up an account and then you're ready for action. When you have to set up an account for anything app related, it is usually a turn off for me. Hero Academy would benefit from instant Game Center connectivity. This is one of the features I feel it is lacking the most. Regardless, I was fairly excited for this game so I sucked it up and submitted my email and was ready to go. There is a simple tutorial that covers basic gameplay but it all feels too conceptual. It doesn't become real until you really get into a couple games. To start a game you can either choose a random opponent, find a friend through Facebook connect, or send a tweet to your followers and challenge them. Again, Game Center would be great here but Facebook Connect is a huge plus. Another feature I'd like to see is maybe a simplified AI mode where you could play against a computer and not have to wait for strangers or  friends to take their turn.

There are two different races to choose from: council and dark elves. The council is your basic team, containing characters like knights, archers, wizards and ninjas (yeah... I kinda had a hard time wrapping my head around how a knight and a ninja decided to team up, but I digress). The dark elves team has similar characters but in evil elfish forms. It does cost 99 cents to unlock them, but you get the added bonus of making the game ad free. Each character has unique abilities and along with them advantages and disadvantages. Some characters have strong melee attacks, while others have long range capabilities; some can inflict splash damage, and others can heal units. Your goal is to attack your opponent's jewels while at the same time protecting your own jewels (giggle). On each turn, you have five moves to do it. Your moves range from moving a unit, attacking, equipping power ups or swapping units. Once you finish your five turns you submit your move and impatiently await your opponent's turn. At that point, any units or items that you've equipped from your hand are replaced as if they're scrabble tiles.

Characters are highly animated from them moving to attacking or being attacked. There is also a chat option where you can have some back and forth with your opponent. Random geek out warning, but the chat has the best default font I've ever seen in an instant message medium. I'm not a font nazi (minus over the overuse of comic sans) but the font really compliments the game. So thank you, sir who chose the font. The developers are also great with communication through their message boards as well as frequent bug updates. During my short time with the game, I've received a game update as well as notifications as to when they will be conducting server maintenance.

Hero Academy is pretty much scrabble... for men. Testosterone filled turn-based combat delivered in a very elegant package. Unlike the tedious nature of word-based games, this game has me anxiously awaiting and planning my next move. Though there has been a couple of downsides, there really isn't much more I can ask from a free game. So do yourself a favor: check it out and challenge JhonnyC if you dare.

Available on: iOS; Publisher: Robot Entertainment; Developer: Robot Entertainment; Players: 1 - 2; Released: January 11, 2012; Official Site

Note: A promotional code was provided to Denkiphile for review purposes by the publisher.

[Preview] Gravity Rush

Of the games about to come out on the PSV, Gravity Daze certainly looks to be theone that makes best use of the system’s abilities the most while retaining theproperties of a traditional game. It has also received interest largely becauseit is not a simple remake or have any console counterparts. While checking outthe PSV recently, we downloaded the demo from the PSN store to give the game aquick look.

With its beautiful cel-shaded graphics and vibrant colors, Gravity Rush doesn’t need the technicalpower of a home console in order to wow. Animations are smooth, often temptingplayers to roam the environments rather than go toward the objectives. Cutscenes are presented in comic panels quite fitting of the art style. As anovelty, or perhaps something that will affect gameplay in the full version, thegyrometer is put to use during cutscenes and will tilt along with the system,giving new angles from which to view the story.

Once players are done gazing at the game’s beauty, they willhave a chance to marvel at the game’s equally mind-blowing gameplay. The game’sfloating mechanic allows protagonist Kat to freely float and aim a spot uponwhich to land. At first, it seems like a mundane feature of the game, butcombined with kicks that bounce players back into the air, it will keep playersaiming at enemies in the air and taking them down one-by-one. It does give therush that the game’s name implies, challenging players to combo as many and asquickly as possible.

The demo concludes with a boss that has several spinninglimbs, all of which have a weak spot that must be kicked from a floating state.As with any traditional boss, repetition only gets the player so far before newstrategies must be implemented. As individual limbs lose their vulnerability,players will have to aim more carefully rather than catapulting Kat mindlessly.Once the limbs are all taken out, players can also rush in and finish the bossoff with basic melee attacks, not unlike those of other action adventure games.

Amongst the heavy hitters that will be coming out at the PSV’slaunch, such as Uncharted: Golden Abyssand Resistance: Burning Skies, it’seasy to overlook a title without any name recognition to it. However, gamersthat have been complaining about the lack of original titles on Sony’sportables should definitely give GravityRush a spin. It could change their perspectives on the Vita’s launch. 

[Demo Spotlight] Final Fantasy XIII-2

When I heard they were going to make Final Fantasy XIII-2 I thought “Oh no, not another X-2.” I was expecting a fan service filled experience, but I was pleasantly surprised. FFXIII-2 seems to be going in a good direction. I wasn’t exactly in the loop about the story line prior to playing the demo, but I found myself wanting to know more about what was going on. Where is Lightning? Why am I playing Serah and who is this Noel guy following me around?

I think the greatest change that I appreciated was that upon the death of the party leader, you do not instantly lose. Instead, the party leader shifted to the surviving character. It was a big pain to have to start the battle over when only one of my characters was dead in FFXIII, but that issue has been solved in the sequel.



It’s a nice throwback to the old Final Fantasy games that battles are randomly generated, but I missed seeing monsters roaming around the maps. Some of the bigger battles had quick time events that allowed for higher damage to enemies and made the battles less repetitive. I’m not a fan of gimmicky additions to games, but these instances were not overly done or annoying.

Since only Serah and Noel were in my party, I was given the option of adding a tamed monster into my party. Among these was the Cait Sith, who healed my characters while I focused on dealing damage. These monsters have a bar that fills up so you can unleash a new feature called “Feral Link,” but it did not seem to be a big deal. Maybe after you level these monsters up, they will do more damage, but from what I saw, I’d leave the damage dealing to the main characters instead.



Another system that had a huge change was the crystarium. Instead of each role having its own separate crystarium structure, every character had a single crystarium. At each point of the crystarium, I got to choose which role I wanted to level. This simplified the leveling system and made it simpler to deal with. Not that anything was really wrong with the old crystarium, but this one makes allotting AP points a lot easier.



Overall, I enjoyed what I saw from FFXIII-2. As expected with any Final Fantasy game, the graphics are already amazing and the musical score does not disappoint. It’s looking to be a nice addition to the Fabula Nova Crystallis stories and I already foresee horrifying midnight launch lines from January 31.