66 - Enchanted Arms (360)

Genre: SRPG
Rating: T
Developer: From Software
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platform: 360 (Also: PS3)
Release Date: 2006

I'm not really sure what spurred me to play Enchanted Arms but it led to a really great day of gaming. Usually I don't find myself playing games for more than an hour at a time. For one, there's other business to attend to. The much larger problem though tends to be that I just can't remain interested for that long with nay game anymore. Every once in a while something grabs hold and won't let go (like, say, Corpse Party) but otherwise even the most "addictive" games are passed over by me.

So it was definitely really strange when this RPG managed to hook me in for a great deal of hours on my first time playing it. The game isn't honestly all that great though. The graphics have definitely been surpased by now and the voice acting in particular is awful. You can switch between the English and Japanese voices and, unless you need a laugh, stick with Japanese. I just left it at default English voices because it made the otherwise same-y story have more life.

The game itself is basically a turn-based SRPG. What makes this more interesting is that you've got "golems" to create. These golems are basically like Pokemon or anything else because one big point of the game is to catch them all and train them well. They gain new abilities and all that jazz just like other members in your party do. It's rather fun.

What makes this game probably so awesome to me is that it adds in a lot of features that modern RPGs should have. For one, it allows the option to save anywhere. Why is this still not the case in every game? Just keep players from being able to save mid-battle or something and then it should be fine. Secondly, the game lets you put battles on auto and even speed up the proceedings with the push of a button. I wish more games allowed you to fast forward through the repetitive bits. These were pretty much necessary additions though as random battles happen a lot.

For all the good stuff I have to say about it, Enchanted Arms failed me at about 7 or 8 hours in. It's around this point that the game finally takes on JRPG tactics of old and requires copious amounts of grinding because all enemies have suddenly become insanely strong. I don't like grinding in any games and I wish this didn't have to be a part of the genre. So, I've put it aside for now and don't expect to touch it anytime soon. Still, for a fan of the genre it would probably be worth trying out to see what it does right.

Would I play again? No.

65 - Hitman: Blood Money (Steam)

Genre: Stealth
Rating: M
Developer: IO Interactive
Publisher: Eidos
Platform: Steam (Also: PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360)
Release Date: 2006

This is the only Hitman game I've spent serious time playing although it was not my first experience with the series. I started off with the first game, Hitman: Codename 47, but found it much too difficult to play. Although generally stealth games are pretty cool, they are often way harder than I can handle. It's one thing to understand how to be quiet and stay out of site but it's another thing to actually be able to carry it out.

So, with my normal inability to play stealth games I ended up really enjoying this game all the same. I think it's due to the fact that in Hitman: Blood Money you don't have to be stealth if you really don't want to. Obviously the game pushes you in that direction but allows most missions to be completed regardless of getting seen by people, killing civilians, or whatever else trouble you might get yourself into. I appreciate this because it means the game is really open to all kinds of play styles and techniques (including my bumbling, Rambo-esque one).

The game has a really strong sense of self. I often found myself just wandering around to listen to characters chatter on or just explore. Everyone has their own routine. It's pretty cool how nicely realized the world is, although it certainly gets very dark at times. As this is a game about a hitman, you're going to be forced to think about the ramifications of your actions - even if Agent 47 himself isn't.

I really, really like this game. Although I'm absolutely horrid at it the game accommodates itself to me and allows me to continue. The world is cool and I want to see it all. Definitely check this game out if you're in need of stealth games.

1 - 24: The Game

Genre: 3rd person shooter

Rating: M

Developer: SCE Cambridge

Publisher: 2K Games

System: PS2

Release date: 2006

I've never watched 24. Anything other than monster of the week TV shows are rarely something I can get into. Either way, as I started playing the game I figured it probably is a very good representation of how the TV show progresses. You have chapters divided into hours and do lots of exciting, bomb-diffusing things in between. There's also a lot of shooting, predictably. 

For some reason when I started playing the game's default brightness is none at all. I could barely see where I was going and had to crank it up 5 notches for the game to look nice and vibrant. I wasn't especially good at killing the enemies but at least there was a (somewhat glitchy) auto-targeting system. You got more points if you arrested the crooks instead but it seemed random whether or not the enemies would choose to surrender after having a taste of hot lead or not. 

I only got to experience diffusing a bomb once in my limited playthrough and it seemed supremely simple. I assume that was due to it being the introduction to the entire deal. However, I could see it becoming a very tense and fun minigame in between levels. 

Overall the game seemed tailored to those who don't spend much time playing games or were younger. The story was completely incomprehensible but I chalk that up to being unfamiliar with the series and characters.

Would I play again? Sure.