Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam

Release: 1985

Director: Yoshiyuki Tomino

Rating: *****

Now we reach the meat of the pie as it were. After the original Mobile Suit Gundam was cut short, Yoshiyuki Tomino continued having little luck creating a hit mecha show. Once Gundam started to obtain followers, and shows like Macross proved you could stick a high production value on a TV anime and turn a profit, Tomino was ready to try again. This time he would succeed. 

Zeta Gundam is set eight years after the conflict in UC0079. After Zeon loses the war, the Earth Federation goes to great lengths to keep the colonies in line. An elite faction called the Titans was created to impose it's grip on spacenoids, quelling any call for equal rights. The only opposition to the Federation's complete domination of space is a rebel group called the Anti-Earth Union Group, or AEUG. This small faction is helmed by some of the veterans of the previous war. Gone is Amuro from the pilot seat this time. In his place is Kamille Bidan, a young, hot tempered teenager who builds a personal grudge against the Titans. 

Zeta Gundam marks a huge increase in art and animation quality compared to the original show. While the original Gundam was a product of the 1970s with it's bright colour palette, Zeta is a product of the 1980s. Most of the tones are darker, with less goofy designs by comparison.

While the mecha in the original series moved like a person in a costume, Zeta feels much more realistic. The continuity of sound effects are present and they still sound great today. The music is also some of the best in the whole franchise.

The show is not without some problems to note. It is a sequel to the original Gundam and as such, it's really suggested that you see that show first. It's not a requirement but it really helps flesh out so many of the characters who return for Zeta. Also, something you will find to be a trend for the Gundam universe is that it sort of just drops you in the middle of it all. If you don't go with the flow early on, you'll be asking questions that the show is not prepared to answer yet.

Some of the series tropes are first created in Zeta. This is the first Gundam series where the pilot gets a mech upgrade during the show, something that happens in nigh on every main Gundam series after this. This also is the first to do a faction role reversal. While you spend the whole time watching the original Mobile Suit Gundam on the side of the Earth Federation, Zeta portrays the second half of the coin. This is also something that happens reasonably often in Gundam.

Finally, Zeta Gundam grows to be incredibly dark in tone. I won't spoil the show needless to say, it was not something that people did when writing a mecha anime at the time. 

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam is the anime that cements the Gundam franchise into Japanese pop culture. While there are many great Gundam shows to come, it's difficult to say if it ever got better than this. Most anime are flawed and I throw this word around for very few of them but Zeta Gundam is perfect. I would not change a thing about it.

Mobile Suit Gundam

Release: 1979

Director: Yoshiyuki Tomino

Rating: ****

In 1979, Yoshiyuki Tomino created a enormous divide in the Giant Robot or Mecha genre. Largely filled with flashy super hero robots, Tomino envisioned a future with realism. Gone were the rocket punches and special move names and in their place we have warfare tactics and more contemporary weapons. This change allowed for a story that focused more on political and ideological struggles as opposed to weekly good versus evil arenas. Fans refer to these now sub genres and Super Robot and Real Robot. This new change breathed life into the almost stagnating Mecha genre and most of the famous Mecha shows we have today are thanks in no small part to Tomino's work.

Gundam takes place during the new calender of Universal Century 0079. UC marks the first steps into space colonization from the necessity to preserve the ecosystem of the Earth. The rich and privileged primarily live on earth while the majority of the human race live on giant space colony clusters called Sides. The conflict between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon continues at an almost stalemate as the young boy Amuro Ray stumbles upon the Federation's new mobile weapon Gundam while his colony of Side 7 is being attacked. Being the best choice for piloting the Gundam he soon finds himself having to look at his life through a bigger lens.

The Gundam franchise is a space opera and as such is largely about the characters. Sure there are tons of set pieces and battles but seldom do battles ever take place just for the sake of it. One thing to note going in is that Gundam is quite old for it's kind and I would be hard pressed to say it doesn't show. The animation cannot compare to Macross which came out only shortly after. The original Gundam also suffered poor ratings during it's first run and as a result had to be cut short. This causes the ending to feel somewhat rushed compared to some later Gundam shows. It wasn't until the model kits or “Gunpla” came out that the fanbase for Gundam really started to expand.

On the surface, the show looks rather unscientific for something trying to portray realism in robots but with a little reading you will see a fantastic wealth of mechanics and very little use of “magic energy” such as warp drives. If you don't know what a minovsky particle is or you don't know the difference between a Zaku and a Dom. Don't worry, it all comes with a little time. The problem is, at even the shortened length of 43 episodes, it's quite a lot to sit through unless you're really committed to watching dated looking shows. Thankfully the whole series was compiled into 3 movies and I hear they basically get you though the original show without missing anything important. Alternatively to even that, there is a faithful manga called Gundam The Origin which retells the events of the original series but using updated Mecha designs. If you want something a little bit different and far more dark, I recommend the Novel by Yoshiyuki Tomino which is a very different version of the story.

Ultimately Gundam was a revolution for anime and it's effects have gone even so far as the recent Pacific Rim. Without Gundam there would be no Macross, no Evangelion, No Votoms. That being said. The original Mobile Suit Gundam is not the best the franchise has to offer but it makes a great opener to the next series. Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam.

The Anime Shelf: Kara no Kyoukai

Ryougi Shiki has special eyes that see the death of all things.

This will be my first anime review and Kara no Kyoukai is a difficult beast to describe. Mix this with the fact that I have no formal education in film or 2D animation and we're left with a post that is probably going to be a little bit rubbish. Either way I plan to do my best and avoid spoiling anything along the way.

Kara no Kyoukai in summary, is the story of Ryougi Shiki who investigates various supernatural crimes while struggling with her own killing urges. With the help of Mikiya Kokuto and her magus boss Touko Aozaki, they spend most of the films in independent stories that tackle their problems.

Kara no Kyoukai was originally a three volume light novel series by Type-Moon. Kara no Kyoukai was their first ever work and probably stood as a prototype for their later visual novel Tsukihime. Many of the concepts that appear in Kara no Kyoukai end up in Tsukihime in one shape or form. Now that is not to say that Kara no Kyoukai (from now to be abbreviated as KnK) is an incomplete or even mechanically flawed work. It's a stand alone complete piece that works perfectly even if you completely disregard the existence of Tsukihime.

Anyway, we're not here to talk about the light novels, we're here to talk about the animated films. KnK was animated by Japanese animation studio Ufotable and released as seven films and one 35 minute OVA epilogue. The length of the films can range from as short as 48 minutes to 121 minutes. Pair this with the fact the films were released in non chronological order and you have a reasonably difficult plot to get into at first glance.

You might feel lost sometimes but it all comes together.

That being said, I urge not to rearrange the films and watch them in chronological order but to stick it out in the order they were aired. This is because that the films were designed that way and everything falls into place properly. I've yet to go back and watch the films in their chronological order but I can tell you that it's not really necessary.

The first film, Overlooking View will be the only true stumbling block in your enjoyment of KnK. Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic film but there is little to no character development until the second film, A Study in Murder (Part 1). As such, you may be tempted to quit only a little way into it. Overlooking View is a film that is retroactively brilliant. Once you know the characters it adds more layers to the already visually stunning film. So I would ask you to keep watching KnK but if by the third film, Remaining Sense of Pain, you do not think it's for you, then it's probably not going to grow on you.

All of the main characters get plenty of development.

KnK looks and sounds fantastic. Takashi Takeuchi's art style has always been really great and the light as well as the general use of colour is really great. The music was composed by Yuki Kajiura. She's worked on some of my favourite anime soundtracks to date, including the recent Fate/Zero soundtrack. I would say that KnK was even better than that. The music fit perfectly with the scene and is honestly one of my favourite soundtracks to date. I would even say it gives Kenji Kawai a run for his money.

The story was written by Type-Moon's Kinoko Nasu. I've always loved Type-Moon stories and KnK ranks up with the best of them. The main thing that will probably turn people away is that it's very dialogue heavy. If you're a fan of action, you won't find too much here to begin with. The few primary characters get an absurdly large amount of development. You feel that you could comprehend all of the small details of the characters actions by the end. Even Ryougi Shiki, with her multiple personalities has little quirks you will probably pick up on. Some things however are somewhat broken to us due to the language barrier. In Japanese, both of her personalities are the same name but written with different Kanji. Also depending on the personality present she will speak using different mannerisms, which only those who speak Japanese or at least have some limited understanding of Japanese might pick up on. (something I did not at the time.)

Cigarette magic!

I feel that with having watched Fate/Zero recently and now Kara no Kyoukai, I've been spoilt by fantastic Type-Moon works. If Kara no Kyoukai is too much for you, I would recommend maybe getting into the Fate/Stay Night anime, (though butchered compared to the Visual Novel) if only so you can go and watch Fate/Zero afterwards. I honestly think that Kara no Kyoukai is one of the best anime films I've seen in recent memory, if it's not even the best I've ever seen. I can only imagine how good Ghost in the Shell or Akira could have been if they had the budget to release them as several, more complete films.

I don't see the point in giving a score for anime as it's really going to depend on your tolerance for tropes and pacing. All I will say is that Kara no Kyoukai does what it does perfectly. There is very little room for improvement and aside from one small spoiler related aspect at the end, I had no real gripe to speak of. Only watch this show however if you're willing to sit through tons of dialogue and waiting a little while for the character development to kick in. 

The biggest setback I have left for the end. As of now, it's not available to buy in the UK and the US boxset by Aniplex will run you up something like $500 last time I checked. You can rent the films on the US Playstation Network but other than downloading, it's the only legitimate way without spending an absurd sum.

Aliens: Colonial Marines Review

Game over man! Game over!

This game is terrible. Just...Just trust me on this. Avoid it. buggy game with terrible lighting, stupid A.I. from your allies and the enemy...Those things might be forgivable but it's just so damn boring! Honestly, save your money and go buy any Aliens vs Predator game or better still. Grab your DS and buy Aliens: Infestation. Seriously, Infestation is a far superior game in every aspect. Your marines have perma-death and there are a finite total amount of marines to encounter during the game. Each with their own personality. This helps each encounter come with a sense of fear and tension as opposed to just popping back two minutes to the last checkpoint. It shares a great deal with Metroid, which in itself is inspired by Alien. It's arguably the best Aliens game to date.

I cannot understand why Colonial Marines failed so badly...I mean it's textbook! You make some aliens and then you have them jump out at you...Not run slowly upright towards you in the same comical animation. That is, of course, when you actually fight aliens...You spend a good chunk of Colonial Marines not even fighting aliens but humans. Other than a couple of nods to the Aliens film, some good, some bad...I cannot even recall a single remarkable thing about the game. Pulse rifle had good sound effects I guess? As a result, I am forced to give Aliens: Colonial Marines...

Star Wars: Battlefront Review

Can't say I remember Stormtroopers with jet packs.

 Star Wars is always something of a shot in the dark when it comes to games. My first memories running across the sands of tatooine or facing off against the death star were in the Super Star Wars games for the Super Nintendo. Sadly for every Super Star Wars, Knights of the Old Republic and Rogue Squadron there were equally it's own weight in Masters of Tera Kasi, Jedi Power Battles and any of the direct movie tie-in games. On the outside, Star Wars Battlefront looked exactly like one of these poor examples of a Star Wars game. A generic third/first person shooter with mindless base capturing objectives right? Well yeah, that's exactly what it is but still...Maybe I was a little bit hasty to skip it.

Story.

This is a little bit of a null point for the game as it does not really have a story. The campaign has you playing through the prequel trilogy before jumping into A New Hope through to Return of the Jedi. You have to option of starting with Episode 1 or jumping straight into the original trilogy. This is great for those who cannot stand the prequels but it's still just as solid a game throughout. Each battle is introduced with a frankly short clip from the respective film before forcing you onto the most practical side for playing that battle.

Rebel battle on Tatooine?

 The main problem when the prequel trilogy is concerned, is that Battlefront was released before Episode III was released. This had led to some battles that speculate further into the rest of the plot. Thankfully, you are not really playing Battlefront for the story. It's all about the...

Gameplay.

As I said above. Battlefront is a third/first person shooter where the objective is primarily to capture all the enemy bases and hold them until the short timer runs down, or at very least to aid you in cutting their respawns down to zero. While alone at the enemy base, it can be hard to capture their post as they will respawn quite tenaciously as you wait for the base to finish being captured. The friendly A.I. Can be helpful in regard to keeping the enemy busy but do not expect them to give a big push to victory.

To aid you in your effort to destroy your enemy, you have multiple classes to choose from. These vary slightly from mission to mission and each side has slightly different performance but most missions you will have a front line trooper, a anti-vehicle unit, a sniper, a pilot and a specialist unit.

Your basic front line trooper will be perfectly serviceable for most situations. Their blaster rifle will take down most units with a variable of efficiency. I found the anti-vehicle unit to be far less useful. I would often jump into a vehicle of my own before tempting fate against an AT-ST with a rocket launcher. The sniper is a useful unit in that it can deal heavy damage while still being able to handle itself at close range. The pilot often has a shotgun of sorts but once again, I could find little use for him. The specialist unit varies greatly depending on the faction you play as. The Rebel Wookie Smuggler I found to be quite impractical where as the CIS Droideka was outright broken.

Hoth is still the best battle in Star Wars to me.

The level design is really quite good in the game however it's just too small for some of the aerial vehicles like the X-Wing and Tie Fighter and sometimes too big for you to cross the field on foot. One of the Cloud City maps leaves a lot to be desired where as Hoth is as brilliant as it appears in The Empire Strikes back.

Music.

Thankfully, the music in a Star Wars game is often very easy to talk about. It's nigh on always fantastic and Battlefront is no exception here. The sweeping sounds from the movies translate well into the game and really help set the scene. I don't think a Star Wars game would quite feel right without the music. You may also be happy to know that all the famous sound effects feature into the game perfectly. The only problem is that when you hear the sound of a Stormtrooper firing his blaster you tend to expect in the back of your mind that he will always miss...Sadly it's not always so in Star Wars: Battlefront.

Visual.

Star Wars: Battlefront was a game released in 2004 but the graphics are very good considering this. I played the PC version with all of the settings at maximum and it was very pretty. I also got a solid performance throughout, being that it's an old game by PC standards. You will easily discern each unit from a glance and all of the battlefields look great. Sometimes they take some lenience with the design to make them more practical for competitive play. Nothing quite beats the feeling of facing off against an AT-AT with just a snowspeeder and a tow cable. The only major complaint is there are no space battles to be seen. This is somewhat a huge blow as that is practically half of what makes Star Wars.

Final Thoughts.

Star Wars: Battlefront is a game that falters very little in it's effort to really make you feel like a Rebel on Hoth or a Stormtrooper at Endor. It's a shame that the third part of the prequel trilogy is missing and that space missions are largely absent but Star Wars: Battlefront is arguably one of the better Star Wars games to date, and I hear the second one is even better.

7/10 Star Wars: Battlefront does it's best to give you the true Star Wars feeling, and it mostly succeeds in that.

DmC: Devil May Cry Review.

Has Dante changed for the better?

I remember the day, the first time we saw what the new Dante looked like. Oh the outrage from fans who predicted how utterly disgraceful this reboot of Devil May Cry would be. Dante has short black hair, he's a foul mouthed thug, and yes, while all of this is true, it is not quite as simple as that. Believe me, I was one of those people who were quick to criticize the new style but for those with an open mind, you may find yourself completely surprised by this game.

Story.

I felt the dread when I first started to play this game when it came to the plot. Dante was exactly as I thought he would be. He felt like he was developed by children. He swore every chance he got, he was a sexual deviant, he was the furthest thing from the original Dante that I could imagine. You see, the original Devil May Cry games knew they were silly and over the top. It was tongue in cheek. It was cool because they were aware of how absurd it was. It's clear that DmC however is mocking the style of the original game and plays it completely serious and ironically coming across as totally childish.

Well that was my first impression. Thankfully DmC is not like I thought at first. It's a refreshing story with new and interesting characters. Perfect it is not, predictable characters and plot changes are everywhere but that being said they are well designed characters. Dante does not continue his infantile attitude throughout the game, or at least it's toned down greatly as the story goes on and the rewriting of the mythos of Devil May Cry is actually very good. I could not say it's better than some of the best that Devil May Cry has to offer in terms of plot but it's still one of the strongest.

Probably the most interesting element is that of limbo, a twisted version of the real world where demons inhabit and rule the real world from inside limbo. All of the fighting in the game gets done when Dante is dragged into limbo and is guided by the spectral presence of people within the real world. Another change in the reboot is that Dante and Vergil are no longer just demon's but half Angel, half Demon called Nephilim. An unholy union which is despised by the demons.

Gameplay.

Having played every Devil May Cry game so far, I was worried about how they would ruin the gameplay compared to the peak of DMC4. Dropping the framerate to 30fps from 60fps. Oh I could see the jerky motions and unreliable combos now. I did not have much faith for the new DmC and based on the information we were given, I think I was right to be worried about it.

You can still play with your enemies by pulling them into your aerial dance of death.

Thankfully the negative information betrayed the fact that DmC really feels like Devil May Cry at it's core. There have been some changes, some for the better, some for the worst. First thing's first. Combos are fluid, I feel like I am completely in control of Dante's moveset. Most of the moves from Rebellion you remember have returned. Stinger, High Time, hell, he even has Roulette from Nero in DMC4. Some of the buttons have been simplified, High Time is now just attached to it's own button and Stinger requires a double tap forward and the attack button but it's basically just how you remember the game.

There are basically two major elements to the combat which have changed. Firstly you have angelic and demonic weapons and an angelic and demonic grappling hook. Both features change the gameplay greatly. The grappling hooks help with both combat and platforming. The demonic grappling hook can be used to drag demon's and platforms towards you and the angelic can pull you to platforms and demon's. While in combat this allows you to chain absurdly high combos, much like Nero's demonic arm in DMC4. The demonic hook can also be used to remove the shields from some of the more pesky enemies in the game.

The second element is the angelic and demonic weapons. Each are connected to a trigger on the controller in which you enter either angelic or demonic mode, changing your melee weapon into one of their type. Angelic weapons are fast and deal in crowd control and large juggles. Demonic weapons are slow, heavy hitting weapons which serve as a great way to crush bigger enemies or break past shields. Both of these new forms of gameplay add a great deal of depth to the gameplay.

Limbo adds a great bit of platforming outside of the combat, pulling platforms and yourself, gliding through levels, it's one of the first action games that comes to mind with really fun platforming elements. However, not all is good in the gameplay. The problem with DmC is that it's frankly too easy to avoid death. Most enemies put up zero challenge and others mess with the pacing by playing the waiting game, ruining the flow of the normally fast gameplay. There are plenty of highter skill levels but so far, I’ve not hit any major wall of difficulty. I'm sure that once Son of Sparda and onwards have been unlocked, it'll be a nail biting challenge but being you have to finish the game before you can take that challenge, those planning a single playthrough might be disappointed by the frankly, pathetic AI.

Music.

The music of DmC is by far the worst aspect of the game to me. Even prior Devil May Cry games had superior music and you felt the rhythm in the music to help the pace of combat. In DmC it falls flat. You can tell that the choice of music was one that tried to invoke the style of the original DMC games but with more modern sounding tropes but ultimately it's not very fun to listen to. Not that it's all bad, some of the tracks ring a good level of emotion for the game. Just don't expect anything world changing here.

Visual.

The visuals of DmC is arguably another spotty area of the game. Graphically it's an okay game. There are some muddy textures during some points in the games due to Ninja Theory's reliance on the Unreal 3 engine but otherwise the graphics are completely suitable. The area's that you'll visit in the game are very interesting. Not to mention the fact that seeing them from limbo gives a nice extra take on where you are. The problem mostly is within the colouring or rather, lack of.

Prepare to see a lot of red and it's not blood.

You will see lot's of browns and reds during your demonic romp through limbo but it never really has much flair. Even the deep colours feel dull and uninspired. Nothing like as bad as what we see from the modern shooter and quite frankly the original DMC was not much better but even so. It's not very good. There are a couple of times during the game where artistically I wish they had used the style throughout the whole game. Ghostly wisping colour, escaping the characters.

Final Thoughts.

DmC is the poster boy for not judging a book by it's cover in the game world. Everything we were shown about the game made most loathe the idea of it. We were so sure that there was no way this game could possibly hold a candle to the original series. Not only does it hold a candle, it ranks up with some of the best in the series. Do I prefer it to the original series? No. I still think Dante is not as interesting or as fun as the original and the style is not one that I prefer but I would like to see a sequel. DmC is by no means a bad game. It's a great one.

8/10 DmC does almost everything right. Not all of it works as well as others but it all comes together well.

Faster Than light

Space Opera. The apex of everyday science fiction. I must say that I have a secret passion for the genre. Be it Gundam, Firefly or Farscape. I love the idea of human relations within deep space while living on a ship. Sadly this has never strictly transferred too well into video games...I can't fathom why as I see it was a goldmine of opportunity. There have been a couple of shining examples. Mass Effect captures the story, Infinite Space delves deep into space battles and ship building/management. Ultimately though, it's shaded in X4 space strategy games and space simulation games. Not that these are bad but I really want to manage all of the more literal things within the ship.

Faster Than Light, or FTL, is more or less just that. Taking many cues from the Roguelike genre it pits you in a bite-sized struggle to flee to the 8^th sector. This is one of the first kickstarter projects to actually come to fruition. Visually it's a little rough around the edges but the gameplay is solid.

You'll start out with a crew of 3 humans which can be assigned jobs around the ship. Man the weapons to boost their effectiveness. Have a pilot for dodging and warp space travel. Once they die, that's it for them. You can however recruit more crew as you travel space and the various species have different effects. Some can repair faster, some supply energy to the part they work on, some have immunity to fire and some are good at hand to hand combat.

Combat is the main aspect in the game and it will quickly have you powering down parts of the ship to draw power to others. For example. If you plan to play defensive, then you can power down your engines and put all of your power into your shields.

Providing the enemy doesn't fire too many missiles, they will have to break through your shield before they can even touch the ship. If they do however, maybe a fire will break out. This can quickly spread and cause damage to major parts of your ship. You can choose to open the airlocks and suck out the air, while also putting the fire out. This of course will mean that your crew will quickly suffocate but you can section off parts of the ship so they can keep some of their precious air. The same can be done if the enemy boards your ship. Upgrade your doors to blast doors and watch them lose their lives to the blackness of space.

Being a roguelike, FTL is very challenging. Do not expect to make it through the game with anything like ease but even in death, it's fun to command a ship and try something a little different.

FTL is a reasonably cheap game and it's probably worth your while if you are dying for your next deep space fix. It won't play against the big titles out there but it's another example how indie can surprise someone into how much innovation there is out there still or how overlooked a genre can be.

Mark of The Ninja Review.

This will be the first time I've played a game by Klei Entertainment. After pretty much skipping Shank and Shank 2 due to the presentation I am starting to regret that choice. Mark of the Ninja is a 2D platformer which mixes some of the best elements from it's peers. This is probably one of the most well designed stealth games next to Metal Gear. 

Level design pretty much follows the tried and tested Metroid style but slims it down to keep the objectives clear and turning the game into a stage based game as opposed to one giant map. This works in the games favour as each little perch, vase or tunnel gives you so many options to proceed.

Like most Metal Gear games, you do not have to kill a single guard to continue the game and this is a big bonus for doing so. However some challenges will be impossible down this route. Metal Gear is easily more well designed in this sense but all the same, it works incredibly well.

Challenges on each mission give an extra layer to stages. They can vary from killing two guards with a single chandelier, or passing through a section undetected. Each of these completed bonus objectives will net you a point to spend on upgrading your ninja. You also can collect through scrolls on each stage which will each also give you a point, and finally your rank can earn you up to three points to spend.

The upgrades you can buy are overall, very good and practical. You can learn new methods of assassination, such as killing while hanging above a target. Or you can learn new combat skills, though more often than not, you will not be fighting toe to toe with an enemy. You can also buy or upgrade your ninja tools. Want smoke bombs to also choke the enemy? (if they do not wear gas-masks) or perhaps you want to drop caltrops behind you while escaping? Better than all of these, you can hide in a cardboard box.

There are also several costumes you can unlock which dramatically change the way you approach a level. One costume will make your footsteps silent but the trade-off is that you forfeit your sword. Another will make assassinations also succeed without a button prompt but you can only take one kind of tool into a mission instead of two. All of these features lend to make the game so free but without sacrificing structure.

The game is reasonably challenging and you will rarely die by accidentally hooking onto a ledge that you did not mean to or screwing up an assassination that was well planned. The game is very clear on the consequences of your actions. When you stop time to throw a dart at a light, it will give you a ring around the target to show the noise you will be creating and weather it'll be within earshot of them. Features like this means that you will rarely do something wrong without a lapse in judgement. As long as you stay in the dark, the field of vision for guards is very low and they have to be within assassination distance to notice you. This makes the stalking around you do, very much like Tenchu but without very tight controls.

The weakest point in the game is easily the story. It's very cliché and serves little purpose but to throw you into your next mission. This is little to complain about as this game was always about the gameplay but you essentially are given the task of stopping an evil mega corporation from making dangerous weapons to stamp out your ninja clan. Other than the story itself, the art and animation is a little sub-par but not really bad for an XBLA game. It very much reminds me of Samurai Jack and various other cartoon network shows of the time. I don't normally mind stuff like Samurai Jack but it does feel a little off this time.

My Score: Stealth games are more often a large battle with the controller than careful planning and execution. Mark of the Ninja does what it's trying to do perfectly. Other than being a little short and the story being a little weak. It would be one of the best games out there. 9/10

The People: I don't see many complaining about the art or story much but perhaps the length of the game will bother some. 8/10

The Dream of Flight: A Rocketeer Movie Review.

I don't normally do reviews of movies but I will make an exception for one of my favourite movies. I can't promise it'll be a good review or anything but if it turns out okay, maybe I will do some more.

Picture the scene. It's 1991, the only good superhero films have been in the shape of the DC giants Superman and Batman. Fantastic, considering the limitations of the time. Out of left field comes Disney with the idea of making a film of the 1982 comic The Rocketeer. To my knowledge, the character was not greatly known and only spanned 8 chapters total. Nevertheless, the Rocketeer became a cult classic which embodied pulp comics and drew them into the modern age. The general plot of the film is about a pilot called Cliff Secord who is at the bottom, just doing low paying air shows while building a plane that is capable of flying in the nationals. He soon discovers a Rocket which had been stolen and stashed in his hanger. Both the thieves and the American government want it back.

The film was directed by Joe Johnson who is known as the director or art director for many films, such as the original Star Wars trilogy, the first two Indiana Jones films, Batteries not included, Pagemaster, Jumanji, Jurassic Park III, The Wolfman, Captain America: The First Avenger and a fair few more. The guy pretty much summed up a decent amount of my childhood.

James Horner did the music for the film but I care not to run off a list of his work. Needless to say it's a fantastic soundtrack. If the Topgun soundtrack captured the idea of flying big powerful F-14s, then the Rocketeer soundtrack captures the pace of the propeller engines that are present in the film.

As for actors in the film, it all fits well in my opinion. Billy Campbell plays the lead role of Cliff Secord and he feels great in the role, I must admit that I have not seen any other films of his, other than the 1992 Dracula in which he plays Quincey Morris. Even then, I did not know it was him. Jennifer Connelly plays Jenny Blake and works really well, even though the character is changed greatly from the original comic. Finally we have Timothy Dalton as Neville Sinclair, the snobbish Hollywood star who acts as a giant thorn in the side of Cliff throughout the film.

It's difficult to not sound biased when writing about something one is passionate about so I’ll say right from the start. This film is one of those films that varies from great, to average, to terrible for people. Though I will say that if you like this film, then you will most likely love it. It's not deep and it doesn't have ground breaking special effects but they have held up pretty well for an early 90s film. Hell the film doesn't even have a ton of action. It is just an exciting film which taps the will that people have always had to fly. A shallow comparison would be Indiana Jones but with a Rocket pack. Either way they are both pulp action films. A mostly dead genre that often gets pulled from the cutting room floor just to fall back there again.

The film did poorly by Disney’s expectations but did turn a profit. This was mostly, like Scott Pilgrim, the fact they could not actually get people into the cinema to watch it. There had been a planned sequel, with a concept that I thought sounded amazing but alas, we will probably never see another Rocketeer film.

I really suggest that everyone at least see this film. Even if you just watch it when you feel like seeing a laid back film with some guy flying about with a rocket pack. You can take the film as that or you can see it as an action adventure which almost rivals some of the newer marvel films. I'm going to take some flak for this but I also think it's better than Tim Burton’s Batman.

Yakuza 4

Before I start I suppose it's fairly obvious to say that before you consider Yakuza 4 you should play through the first three in the series. I put off playing this series for a long time as it appeared to be a general sandbox affair but I could not be more wrong. Yakuza is clearly inspired by Shenmue a great deal and it pulls it off very well. Streamlining many of the flawed elements of it's precursor, cutting away all the junk to make everything feel so perfect. Now don't get me wrong, I love Shenmue. It was a fantastic achievement and in many ways still is but I think I can say that after four Yakuza games, it's clear to me that Yakuza is the superior franchise.

Yakuza 4 is the most drastically different so far as the game is no longer just about you playing as Kazama Kiryu, you now have four characters throughout the game, each with their own playstyle. You have Shun Akiyama with his fast kicking combos, Taiga Saejima with his powerful knockdown moves, Masayoshi Tanimura with his jujitsu holds and throws and finally Kazama Kiryu with his ultimate style combining bone crunching punches and kicks with wrestling throws. The game also has tons of minigames throughout the story. You can scout and train girls for a hostess bar, you can train students in a martial arts minigame and aid in the capture of an elusive criminal. There are tons of other sidequests and minigames but these are some of the major ones. The only real problem with the major minigames is that they are only accessible during that character's point in the story. It's impossible to miss starting the quest but it's a shame that the option is not there throughout the game.

Combat flows just as well as in the earlier games in the series, if not better. Because each character plays differently it does make you do more than just mash the buttons until they're down. This is even more the case with Tanimura who adds the most depth with his grabs and parries. For those new to the series. The combat is a Light attack combo to heavy attack finisher type of deal, similar to what you'd expect from Dynasty Warriors but the many variations in moves, Make this experience incredibly enjoyable. While being hit and hitting the enemy you fill up a heat gauge which allows you to do a powerful attack on a downed or grabbed enemy. Be this acquainting their face with the wall or picking up and throwing them over your shoulders onto their friend. It's all very satisfying.

The most important part of Yakuza is the story and every single one is amazing but I may have to say that Yakuza 4 is the best so far. Every character has so much depth and it all fits in so perfectly with the main plot. The story is so gripping that I rarely wanted to stop and mess around with any of the sidequests. The only flaw I could pick is that you do not get to see how Kiryu comes into the story until late in the game but each character is so interesting that this is not very important at all.

My Score: I cannot fault Yakuza in any sense. I only wish that Yakuza 5 was not so far away. 10/10

The People: There is something for everyone in Yakuza. Any problem I could only see as nitpicking. 10/10

Kid Icarus Uprising review.

I finished this a little while back and I had planned to write this review a little sooner but alas!

First off I want to say that I love the first Kid Icarus game on the NES. You played as a flightless angel called Pit who had to climb his way out of Hades and up to Olympus so he could save the goddess Palutena from Medusa. It was just one of those games that was absurdly difficult but the controls were tight. It really had some genius level design now that I think about it. If you have not played the original game it does not matter. It will help you understand some of the in-jokes and concepts within the game but it shouldn't stop you enjoying the game. Having said that however, I urge you to go play the NES game anyway as it's one of the best games on the system if you ask me. Second only to most, if not all the Megaman games but y'know, it's Megaman so...yeah.

Kid Icarus Uprising is a little bit of an oddball game as it comes packaged with a collapsible stand to aid you in playing the game and believe me, the control set-up requires it. As a whole it's a rather interesting little tool and I'm surprised how useful it was. You need a table of a decent height to play with it, but if you can find the perfect place to play, it's pretty great. I also played the whole game with the 3D turned off, as it distracted me. Too many things are going on at once and the 3D does nothing but worsen the experience if you ask me.

You basically have two modes of play in the single player. On-rails shooter in the air and third-person ground segments. Each have their own control style and one works far better than the other.

The On-rails segments work great. You move Pit with the stick and shoot with the L button. You aim the targeting reticle with the touch screen. This does work fine but my main complaint is there is no way to centre the reticle, so you may have to fight to get the perfect spot on the touch screen again. Either way it's a great system and fans of Panzer Dragoon will get a massive kick out of it.

The ground segments however are a little more challenging to deal with. You move with the stick as you normally would and shoot with L but now the touch screen not only controls the reticle but camera movement. By flicking the touch screen in a direction it will move that way but this makes complex movements almost impossible without practice. You can master the controls, but it's a mission that I think many will lack the patience to deal with. I feel I cannot really fault the developers as there are little other ways to go about making working controls for a game like this. There are adjustable options but I found the default setting worked best.

The game was created by Masahiro Sakurai from Smash Brothers fame and it shows. There are tons of unlockable trophies and there is a token based system to unlock more. The game also features various weapon types with many different effects. You can also fuse two weapons together to create something completely new. A system that very much feels like demon fusion from the Shin Megami Tensei series. There is also a very fun and interesting system that tries to make the player push himself by giving better prizes on higher difficulties. Ranging from 1 to 9. The catch is that the higher the difficulty setting the more currency you need to put into the pot.

The story mode is pretty long for this kind of game. I clocked about 18 or so hours by the end. The story itself is either it's best or worst point depending on the kind of comedy you like. The game is very self aware and constantly makes references to itself and it's 8-bit roots. It also has tons of cheesy 80's jokes and one-liners. I personally think it's the biggest charm about the game and I would love to see others willing to take this approach to making games.

On a final note. Due to the controls and the placement of the 3DS. I suffered tons of cramp in my hands and far worse back pains. I suggest to take many breaks when playing the game as it does really take its toll.

My Score: Entertaining characters and jokes along with genuinely great on-rails segments make this game great despite some pretty hard hitting flaws. 7/10

The People: The jokes are a mixed bag and the ground parts are sure to destroy the willingness to play for most people. 6/10

Asura's Wrath Review

It's sometimes hard to understand how some games get localized and others not. Don't get me wrong. Asura's Wrath is a very interesting game but it's a wonder how Capcom think that the game will sell better than a Megaman title. I honestly think the Japan sales alone of the Blue Bomber will surpass the global sales of Asura's Wrath. The game can be best described as having three styles of gameplay. Two button brawler, On rails shooter and QTE. The brawler parts of the game easily involve you the most in even if it's pretty repetitive feeling. The general idea is to keep hitting your enemies with normal attacks and to fill up the burst gauge to continue the story. You also have a heavy attack with cooldown. There is a state you can transform into which gives you infinite heavy attacks for a limited time but it doesn't really change the outcome of the battle very often.

The second part of the game is an On rails shooter. I regret that this mode is also pretty dull with very little to do but chain up attacks and shoot enemies to fill up the burst gauge so you can continue the story. It's pretty hard to get killed here and it really only serves to pad out the gameplay. Why it could not be like panzer dragoon I do not know. The final element to the game is the QTE parts. These can pop up at more or less any cutscene in the game and pretty much serve to give you a slightly different cutscene depending on if you fail or succeed. There is no way to die from QTE's in what I played of the game and the only purpose for it to be there is to keep you alert during the story. Shenmue pulled of QTE's fairly well as the pacing was better for it. Asura's Wrath is already an insane ride that adding QTE's just cheapen the experience.

So there you have it. From a gameplay point of view. The game is utterly terrible. I do not think I've played anything quite so bland and boring in my entire life. I really do not know how they cyberconnect2 screwed up the gameplay so much. Solatorobo had awesome gameplay and even the .hack series had interesting elements to the gameplay. It is good then that the story is good right?

Well yes actually, it's a pretty awesome story which taps heavily into Hinduism with an absurdly over the top anime flair. It's clear the game was created with anime in mind. You have fight scenes that feel like they've been pulled from a shounen anime like dragon ball. Mix in a massive revenge story and strength which seems to stem from the philosophy of rage solves everything.

If you like that kind of story then you're in for a massive treat with the game...If you're not...Then I cannot really see any redeeming feature to this game for you.

Before I finish this up though I'd like to point out that this is a Capcom game and while I was going to rate it well on the story alone. They even screw that up. What I mean is that you should not expect to see the ending. Even the special secret ending greets you with a cliffhanger and “to be continued” at the end. This is because Capcom have obviously seen fit to make us pay for the ending via DLC. Capcom cannot say that they did not have an ending planned already so this cheap cash-in is really not acceptable and one of the most detestable attempts at emptying our wallets I have ever seen. So unless you are planning to shell out £11.50 for the DLC I would honestly not bother and wait for Jet Set Radio or something.

My Score: Boring gameplay with a pretty awesome story which is held ransom as DLC. 4/10

The People: I don't really see people enjoying this game even if we didn't get ripped off out of DLC but I've surprisingly heard little complaints from people about it so I'll give it the same score. 4/10

Journey Review

This is going to be a tricky game to review. Not because it's bad, or that it's complicated but the fact that emotions and words are things that do not often go well together I find. Journey was made by “Thatgamecompany” the same people who bought us Flow and Flower. While I have played Flow, I have not played Flower. Flow was basically a little game about eating your way up the evolutionary chain. It was short but sweet and I feel that would be a good way to describe their games in general. The only real problem with Flow is that the concept had been done better before with Evo: The search for Eden on the Super Nintendo. Still, Flow was stylistically superior to Evo and it looks like they get better with each release.

Journey is exclusive to the PS3 so sadly without one there is no way to get your hands on this. From starting the game you play a red cloaked figure in the middle of sand dunes. All you have to your name is a little gong noise which you can hold down to make louder. This will be your only form of communication in the entire game. You can soon jump and float around using your scarf. This depletes when you do and you need to charge it in various ways to do it again. You can extend your Scarf by finding little white symbols on your Journey. I would suggest that you do not worry about anything in the game and just play the way that feels natural to you. Soon you'll meet a random player. They wont have a name and the only way you can identify them is by the markings on their cloak and their shout icon. From an artistic point of view the game can easily be compared to ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. In some aspects it may even be greater than. The music is also astounding and really draws you into the mood of the game.

Thatgamecompany really prove that a minimalistic approach to a game can often be for the better. The only real downfall you could consider about the game is that the £10 pricetag is a fair amount for a 3 hour game if you only intend to play it once. Saying that however, does not change the fact that it's the kind of game that a gamer should play. If any game in the industry proves Roger Ebert's opinion moot, it's this one. I played Asura's Wrath and Street Fighter X Tekken slightly before playing this and I easily preferred Journey.

My Score: Probably the most artistic game that doesn't sacrifice gameplay. Proof that less is more. 10/10

The People: I think many will not get the chance to try that game because of the price but otherwise would fall in love with it. 8/10

Metal Slug: Super Vehicle-001

Well it's been awhile and I just wanna write something. What better way to do that than with Metal Slug for the Neo-Geo. Originally released for the MVS arcade board, it was later ported to the AES console (not that anyone can afford one) and the Neo-Geo CD (with some glaring load times) I'll be playing the game on the metal slug anthology for Wii which has no load times once the game has booted up. They seem to be arcade perfect from what I can tell but unless you have a gamecube controller you may not get along with the controls or the wiimote. Sadly the PS2 version has no 60hz option in PAL regions so the Wii is the only way to go about it unless you dont mind playing on a PSP screen.

There is very little to say about the story. In the 21^st century there are two armies. “The Regular Army” which is basically an anti-terrorist group funded by the government and “The Rebellion” which is a group which aims to turn the government into a military ruled one. The Regular army is pushed to the brink and only you, Marco and run in their and kick their butt. On a side note. The enemy of the Rebellion looks like a mix of Hitler, Saddam Hussein and General Gaddafi so he's gotta be one evil bastard hm? Or maybe I'm just projecting.

Well being a Neo-Geo game. It does not ever pull any punches. With some practice you'd be able to beat the game without a konami code amount of lives but it's still a game that can test you. Marco starts out with a Pistol which can be upgraded to a Machine Gun, Flamer, Shogun, Laser(Correct me if I'm wrong) or Rocket Launcher. All of which are good but the shotgun is probably the best but also the rarest. You also have a number of Grenades or “Bombs” as they call them, which can aid you greatly when taking out tanks or people hiding behind cover. Marco can jump, crouch, shoot vertically or horizontally and jump into the Metal Slug. An all powerful tank which can aim in all directions with the main Machine Gun, fire a limited supply of Tank Shells or throw Grenades by holding down and the Grenade button. The Metal Slug also has a health bar so you wont die in one hit unlike when you're outside.

The game is visually stunning and still is one of the better looking sprite based game series around. Every detail is well animated and it looks great even when running the Wii on a HDTV (Though I am running it through component cables). The only real drawback is that you can't use the Classic Controller to play the game but the Gamecube does the job pretty well as long as you use the analogue stick over the pathetic D-Pad. Metal Slug as a series is fantastic if you love run and gun shooters and no collection is complete without it. I'll probably do a small review on all the games that I have (1 – 6) and I'm looking to buy 7 sometime. I'm not going to do a score as I think they're all good and if you like one of them, then you basically will like all in the main series.

Corpse Party

This should be an interesting game to review. This PSP game marks one of the few times that XSEED has published a game to the UK. It's unfortunately only available in English through the PSN store as quite frankly it's a very niche game at best. So first a little history about the game. Corpse Party was made by a small Japanese group called Team GrisGris. Originally it was made for the PC-9801 in Japan using the RPG Maker Software. It became popular enough in Japan to spawn two remakes. One for Windows and now one for PSP. Now lets get started shall we?

The game makes interesting use of the RPG Maker software as there is no focus on battles. It's a very Japanese style horror but with a conventional RPG look. The beginning of the game starts with a company of around eight friends and their teacher staying a little bit too late after school and at the suggestion of a friend, trying out some occult ritual to stay friends forever. (as you do.) Needless to say that it seems to all go wrong and they wake up separated in the remains of a elementary school building which was knocked down at the site where their current school exists. The friends now have to search for their friends while avoiding death at the hands of murder victims of the now revived school.

Visually the game is a blast for me as I'm a big fan of the 16-bit style and the school setting was never really used back in that era. The game follows a narrative somewhat like a visual novel I guess. There are dead end choices in the game which can net you a rather gross and depressing end to your characters. The game is split into 5 chapters which have their own independent save files and there are some unlockable extra side story chapters too. The game also keeps track of your dead end choices so you can try and see them all if you wish. The game is also mostly voice acted and in Japanese, which probably works better in it's favour. I can't imagine the cheesy screams working with English voices but that's just my perspective.

The main form of action in the game will mostly be escaping from ghosts of children that chase you around the school sometimes and also bits where you must save someone before their demise. It's not always possible to save people which can be frustrating to know which ones you failed to save and which ones you could do nothing about. There is also an interesting element to the game of collecting the ID cards of other people who were trapped in the school and died. Collecting these cards often reveals their fate and it's generally a nice touch to see how they behaved in the situation they were in.

The biggest weak point for some would be it's length. Seven to eight hours for the game without collecting all the endings I would imagine and at an £11.99 price tag, it could be a little much.

Regardless there is nothing quite like it out there and the closest is probably something like Sweet Home for the NES or Famicom Tantei Club I & II for the NES and SNES. Both of which are only in English via a translation patch. While I do recommend this game to anyone who likes RPGs and story heavy games. I only wish it was a fraction cheaper out of principle. 

My Score: An original game which shows just how much you can do with programs like the RPG Maker. 8/10

The People: I don't think there will be an area of people who wont like the pace of the game but fans of Japanese horror films should check it out. 7/10 

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Here we go. This will be the first time reviewing a game that I've not actually completed. I want to mention first of all that I'm playing Skyrim on the Xbox 360 without it installed. If the PC version if better then great but this is based off the console version as I'm not willing to spend a ton of money upgrading. I touched upon the story a little bit and get the general idea of the plot. With that said, lets get down to it. 

This is a given but Skyrim is no game to take lightly. There is tons to do and you'll probably never do half of it, much less all of it. My level is in the late 20's and I feel like I've not really even started. Normally this would be a negative to me as I hate games which pad out the plot with random fetch quests and encyclopedia based back stories. Skyrim improves these areas greatly in that the quests feel far more fleshed out and have exciting sub plots of their own. Nice change from beating up rats in someone's basement. Also the delivery of the main plot seems much better this time with well written dialogue and less emotionless and pointless feeling characters from it's roots. Outside of Fargoth I have trouble remembering any faces from the older games.

At first glance the game does not feel that visually superior to Oblivion. The character models have had a slight improvement but I must admit that the backgrounds at distance are utterly stunning. Facial features feel less abnormal than before and attack animations are improved somewhat again.

Gameplay is another place where it's difficult to say if it's changed much. I'd say it's all improved upon but by how much is somewhat difficult to judge. All the little things are what make the combat far more fun to deal with. They found a happy medium between Morrowind and Oblivion. Having the ability to charge up your sword swings is nice to see again and the shield is no longer your magical block against all and including the apocalypse. Blocking will now chip a little off your health and you can shield bash to create an opening with your weapon.

One thing I will say is that the game still feels too easy for the most part. My Nordic warrior was quite easily dispatching everything including dragons for the length I played. Dragon shouts are another point where the game shines. Really adds a point to this massive world. I cannot seem to grow tired of searching for words and dragon souls to strengthen my character. Jobs are also a great new system which almost feels fable like but unlike fable they do more than just add to your cash flow. Smithing is really the way to go for any warrior. Abuse can easily net you some powerful armour and weapons early on.

I played for a good amount of time and I never encountered one game breaking glitch...A massive change from Bethesta's track record of having to pray to make it to the end. I've bumped into the off cosmetic glitch of enemies floating a few feet into the air and being killed from a long distance away but nothing that stops you from being able to progress. Skyrim does not really reinvent the elder scrolls series but rather greatly streamlines it to be more practical. Away are with all of your stats besides Health, Magicka and Stamina. Away with the silly major,minor and misc skill system.

If you had asked me before Skyrim was release if it needed to reinvent itself I would of said yes. I loathed Oblivion and all it stood for and Morrowind, though better, was not really much fun for me either. Skyrim is still not totally my kind of game as I still prefer a strong story and character development. I don't see why the Skyrim can't have the same system as Mass Effect and Dragon Age in which you pick out of multiple backgrounds to begin from but even so, I'm nitpicking. Skyrim is fun for even someone like me who'd fond of JRPGs and generally non PC gaming.

In a generation with such lack of quality in the industry, this is a much needed change.

My Score: Elder Scrolls finally reaches the point that I can enjoy the experience. 8/10

The People: I think most people are gonna to find this game nigh on perfect if not perfect. 10/10

The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Better late than never I guess. I must admit that I was a little bit worried about Skyward Sword I sort of kept myself separate from it about from watching an odd trailer or two. I mainly did this as this will be my first motion controlled Zelda game as I played Twilight Princess on the Gamecube. As much as I am often behind Nintendo in their attempts to innovate the industry. (the DS being nothing short of a total success, PSP fans be damned.) Motion control is a fickle little beast and without well thought out design. It can often cripple an otherwise great game. Thankfully Nintendo have always treated their first party games with total respect and it shows again with Skyward Sword.

I admit that it took me a few hours to get used to the game under trial by combat but it often works best to take your time. I heard that twilight princess plays somewhat random with motion controls but you have total control here when you get to grips with it. The motion control plus really is more than just a worthless add on. I would say it would be nice to have a controller option but it's obviously not possible with the way Nintendo approached the gameplay.

You have nine basic moves in the game. 8 from all the different angles and a thrust. For the most part the combat is a reflex based puzzle in attacking slowly and precisely to get through an enemy's guard. Flailing the remote will seldom work unless you create an opening large enough. Most of the time the motions feel natural and you wont often be doing the wrong move if you take your time. Your items on the other hand can be a little bit more tricky to grasp. The game focuses the centre of the screen based on where your remote is pointing at the time so if you're pointing up when you pull out your slingshot the game will think up is centre. The game thankfully has a built in option to recentre the controls with the down button so you can recalibrate on the fly. Most of the items are really fun and as usual Miyamoto thinks of fun and interesting ways to solve puzzles with them. It's like the guy never runs out of steam.

I would say one of the biggest problems with the game is one that is a matter of preference. I feel the game does not try too hard to show many interesting places and dungeons. Also you feel like you are backtracking a whole lot considering how little else you've done. It's not fair to say that they just reuse the same areas because they don't but you do find yourself going through them to a smaller and slightly different area often. The formula for Zelda has not been so different since Zelda 2. No joke. That being said it's still fun to run through these areas and due to their smaller size they tend to be more richly thought out. The overworld is pretty much just the sky and it seems to attempt to draw upon the great sea from wind waker and in my opinion to not so great an effect. The islands you can visit are tiny and mainly just for grabbing treasure. It does not really feel realized.

On the story however. It's fantastic. They put a lot of effort to give it a more cinematic feel and the characters have far more emotion. Even though Link is still a blank slate kind of character. He feels more alive than ever before. The plot is great and adds a lot to the Zelda timeline. I don't want to spoil a thing so you'll have to play for yourself but you see how everything falls into place now. It's quite a long game...I think I clocked about 35 hours and I didn't even do everything in the game. There were a few side quests left to do and a few items to get.

One of the newest features to the game is the crafting system. You can now upgrade a fair few of your items. Though none of required to complete the game, it's fun to get stronger. There are many misc items in the game which boost things from drop rates to money obtained from enemies. You can also upgrade your various bags, in case you need more arrows or bombs. Also any increases to your item limit take up a slot but there is a storage system in the game and it's a life saver.

I guess that in short. It's not the best Zelda by any means but it's probably the best for me since wind waker. I stand by the fact that I've not played a bad Zelda game in the main series. Despite the slightly more non-linear gameplay and slight adjustment time to the controls. This is a quality Zelda game. Though I feel that any non fans will not find anything that grabs them here but then it's best that Zelda stick to doing what it knows best. Fun.

I want to change then rating system here now as I feel too many reviews out there are hard to grasp in the reasoning behind their scores. I want to add a score out of ten for my personal opinion on the game. What I think are flaws are subjective to other people. Finally I wish to add a score out of ten on what I think other people will think of the game.

My Score: Despite it's very minor flaws it's still a great game and every Zelda fan should play it. 9/10

The People: I think the flaws in the game are going to rattle more than a few out there but they should see a decent game under it. 7/10