Front Mission 4 (2004)

Genre: Turn-based Strategy | Players: 1 | Developer: Square Enix Product Development Division 6

An assault is undertaken on a series of German military bases by an unknown and powerful wanzer force that all but cripples the German military's capabilities. As quickly as they appeared, they disappear into the night. The collective European allied nations known as the European Community (E.C.) send in the Durandal, a team of pilots and researchers specializing in wanzer combat including new recruit and protagonist Elsa Elaine, to help with the investigation and uncover who is behind the attack. Meanwhile, a half a world away, Venezuela declares independence from the United Continental States (U.C.S.) and is now embroiled in a conflict between UCS troops and the state army forces. 2nd protagonist UCS sergeant Darril Traubel and his 3-man wanzer squad are slacking off on their rear guard duties as usual when a state army plane is shot down and they are the first to the crash. The plane's only cargo is a crate filled with gold; the funds embezzled by the corrupt Venezuelan governor from the people. Darril and the squad, unhappy with their career trajectories decide to steal the gold, go AWOL and make plans to abscond with the cash out of the country which proves much more difficult than expected.

Gameplay takes place on some rather large battlefields with possibly daunting tactical depth. There are many stats to be aware of for both the pilots and the wanzers and also how they interact with each other. There are prebuilt wanzer models for players who don't get off on all that number crunching, but deep customization is the only way to get the most out of your units. There are AP points that dictate how many actions a pilot can take in a turn, EP that can be spent to learn skills and boost stats and Link points that can be assigned to friendly pilots so they can act in tandem providing they have enough AP and are in range.

Weapons are in 1 of 3 categories of Melee, Ranged and Long Range. Melee weapons only hit once and can only be used adjacent to an enemy, but only cost 1 AP. Ranged weapons cost more AP to use and are limited by ammo and accuracy, but hit multiple wanzer parts. Long Range weapons have huge attack range and power, but cost large amouns of AP to use, have very limited ammo, and are extremely heavy so only large, slow wanzers can carry them. There are also 3 different types of armor; Impact, Piercing and Fire. Only 1 type can be used at a time (at first), but if it is the counter to the enemies' weapon then damage will be cut by a third. There are also support abilities with new backpacks that can be used to carry items, inflict status ailments, extend missile range and call in air support. Using all of these factors in tandem along with optimizing wanzer parts will let players tear through the opposition. The only problem with it besides its daunting depth is it isn't entirely necessary until later in the plot because of enemy A.I. that is pretty unchallenging. Enemies don't often work together, leaving damaged easy kills to attack another pilot that they have a fixation on and also not using Links effectively, often being linked with a unit on the other side of the map. Although once enemies figure that out later, it is a whole different ballgame.

The graphics are pretty, though bland. Colors are washed out and lots of textures are flat and uninteresting which might at least be in theme with a mech game I suppose. The cinematics are top notch as is expected from Squeenix. There isn't a whole lot of replayability. You can start a new game with all your EP and money from a previous game, but only the hardcore will care to use that boost to try different setups and unlock all the hidden Simulator battles which are the only way of grinding.
For those who like it, incredible depth of tactics and a suspenseful political plot with some decent voice acting outweighs the easy difficulty curve and serviceable, but bland visuals.

Buyer's Guide:
Available for the PS2.

4 Everything explodes out of 5

Ace Attorney: Phoenix Wright — Trials and Tribulations (2007)

Genre: Adventure, Visual Novel | Players: 1 | Developer: Capcom

Trials and Tribulations concludes the Phoenix Arc of the Ace Attorney series with aplomb and miles of grace to spare. In terms of gameplay, it is as similar to Justice For All as Silent Hill 2 is to Silent Hill 3. I.e., completely, functionally identical. It is worth noting that the introductory trial is actually part of the main storyline this time and the two stand-alone trials organically contain elements and themes present in that central narrative. They also house two of the most adorable and fulfilling one-off characters in the franchise. On top of all that, you actually get to play as two attorneys whose names aren’t Phoenix Wright, in three of the five(!) trials.

Because more of the Fey family’s story is presented in Justice than the first game, T&T works in a number of brief flashback-esque monologues about those events, throughout the proceedings. I have been told by a fellow Nut author—who has only played T&T—that this summarizing is effective and didn’t make him feel chided for not having experienced the other games. Good show.

Looking back on Justice For All from the finish line, this time, it’s clear that it derives its unique personality in the canon from a profound sense of tragedy. There’s nothing wrong with that. This game, however, is imbued with something outreaching of the humor to counterbalance the damage it wreaks upon its cast. There’s an almost shining aura of joy and life surrounding all involved, even the ancillary villain characters. For the central cast, redemption and release radiate beyond even the deepest shadows cast.

Trials and Tribulations simply feels like the most complete package of the trilogy in terms of presentation, content, and resolution. Like Final Fantasy VI, it exists in a space transcendent of its genre and overarching lineage of games. It is one of the most resoundingly successful, humanity-affirming pieces of fiction I have personally experienced and I unabashedly adore it.

2023 Update: Given that this franchise, or at least Phoenix's arc, exists to exalt tokusatsu, I can no longer recommend this game, or series.

Buyer's Guide: As usual, it was originally a Japanese GBA game that was ported to the DS, PC, and eventually the Wii (as WiiWare). It's also on iOS. There is a trilogy version available in the west as a download in the 3DS eShop. According to the AA wiki, there are some changes to the text, in addition to the fixes for the incredibly small number of typos that the series contains.

5 Refreshingly Bitter Blends out of 5

Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD (2014)

Genre: Action / Adventure  |  Players: 1  |  Developer: Ubisoft

Ass Creed got its first playable female protagonist in AC: Lib. The creation of Aveline de Grandpré, an assassin of African and French heritage, may well have been to address criticisms from gamers up to that point, but to Ubisoft's credit both aspects play a key role in the game. It's not just a cheap cosmetic change.

It uses the AC III game engine but does interesting things with it. Aveline can change her clothes to best suit the task at hand. Hold back the cries of Women + Video Game + Clothes = Sexism for a second because there's a good reason for her frequent visits to the clothing store. The 'guise' she wears gives her a persona that makes it easier to infiltrate certain areas and affords to her a level of camouflage; e.g. few people will look twice at a slave carrying a box into the servant's entrance of a rich Lord's house. But once in the house the box can be dropped and the hidden blades revealed.

The same applies to the opposite end of the societal spectrum. When dressed as a lady of leisure Aveline can gather information from people in power during their rich-folks garden party, etc. It enables the player to get right into the heart of the action instead of having to constantly hide some place and eavesdrop like a creep.

It takes place in America during the second half of the 18th Century. The astute among you will notice that that's the same era that AC III is set. Indeed, while Ratonhnhaké:ton was fighting Templar control in the colonies, Aveline was doing her part in New Orleans amid the transition from French to Spanish control of the city. However, while AC III was from the perspective of Desmond and his useless cohorts, AC: Lib is a virtual environment provided by Abstergo Industries, so the legitimacy of events is questionable - the assassin might not be perceived as the good guy (or gal) all the time. Is it enemy propaganda?

Some good: being on the HDD means it loads quickly. Aveline is a better thief than anyone that preceded her. Play the trading game properly and money will roll in easily. It's much easier to avoid detection from enemies; it's arguably too easy. Chain-kills are fun. Another returning feature from previous games is the glitches. I had to reboot the game four times, which was the second-lowest ever (hey, it's a kind of improvement). And best of all, there's no Desmond!

Some bad: you can’t skip FMV if you restart a Memory. The emptiness of many handheld games is carried over. The autosave sometimes doesn't work. It feels short in comparison to the others in the series. It tempts you with the idea that missions can be approached differently depending on which guise you adopt, but that rarely happens; it more often than not restricts you to one specific persona, even going so far as to automatically change it at mission start, meaning the game has a lot less freedom and certainly less replay value than it could've had.

3 unwashed scabs out of 5

Silent Hill 3 (2003)

Genre: Survival-Horror / Action | Players: 1

Developer: Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo

For a game that presents practically nothing different in terms of gameplay and design from its immediate predecessor, Silent Hill 3 sure accomplishes a lot. It manages to adeptly continue the narrative thread running through the original game, while also wrapping the second game into the fabric of the franchise through its joke, UFO ending. Verily, it proves that the characters of the franchise are not only loosely strung together in terms of emotional resonance, but that they can also be laughed at and adored in spite of their gravity.

Heather takes the promise shown by her father’s prowess with a katana and parlays it into becoming the first entirely effective melee combatant of the series. That isn’t to say she is lacking in the firepower department, however. Indeed, a good balance of special weapons are on display here for those who only want to complete the game, and for those seeking to unlock its full, glorious arsenal. Weapons aren’t the only unlockables, though. A robust wardrobe is at Heather’s disposal, as designed by numerous gaming publications and Konami itself. One of the required codes is available in the game, and you can unlock certain others, but a trip to the interwebs is required to properly fill out her closet.

The standard course of logic and environmental puzzles will lead you to disturbing, creepsome, and bizarre set pieces as well as the best nightmare transitions of the entire series. A staggering amount of care was put into the selection and execution of the environments that house these and ferry Heather along her path. While easy to take for granted, the voice acting conveys with subtle nuance just how simultaneously meek, strong, and human all of the characters can be. Appropriately, 3 delivers on the promise and build-up of the original, while emphasizing character in a manner similar to 2. Even if the chassis is the same, what’s under the hood is entirely unique and demands a play from anyone who claims to be a Silent Hill fan.

Buyer’s Guide:
Available on PS2, PC, and PS3 as part of the Silent Hill HD Collection. That version, however, includes new voices without the option to use the originals, unlike 2, which is part of the same collection. There exists a PS2 release which packages in the OST, as well. It includes everything from the stand-alone release, save the 3 Voices Edit of Rain of Brass Petals. Definitely the version to grab if you find it in a used bin.

Oh Neg, you bittersweet summer child. You had no idea what the world (and corporate entities) would do. When you're done laughing at me, reader, click here.

5 Stinking-Mouth Bitches out of 5

Nutted by NEG

Metroid Fusion (2002)

Genre: Action-adventure | Players: 1 | Developer: Nintendo

Metroid Fusion sees Samus infected during a mission protecting scientists by a parasite called X. To save her life, the infected parts of her suit are surgically removed and she is injected with a vaccine made from a culture of metroid cells which also happen to be the X parasite's natural predator. The parasite has thrived since Samus herself has all but eradicated the metroid population. Now she is sent on her first mission since the incident to investigate an explosion at the lab where her infected suit was sent.

Developed by the same team behind the classic Super Metroid for SNES, Fusion is also of top quality. Controls are smoothed out and using the shoulder buttons for things like diagonal aiming and toggling between weapons makes combat much more fluid now that you don't have to stop and switch. Enemies are standard fare from other metroid games with the added caveat that they are actually the X mimicking the wildlife. Killing them turns the parasite into it's natural form which Samus can use to restore health and weapons since the metroid vaccine has immunized her to their parasitic nature. Samus has lost all of her abilities since the last game (As she always does), but they can be restored by downloading upgrades from HQ or absorbing large parasites that come from defeating bosses.

The game is less open than it's predecessors since there is actually a minor focus on story, but you can still just fuck off and explore for power-ups and hidden areas if you want. Some complained about adding back-story to Samus, but I think it was rather well done and humanized her a bit. You can also use the link cable accessory to connect with both Metroid Prime and Metroid: Zero Mission to unlock bonus content. All the classic Metroid you expect with smoother controls and pretty new graphics.

Buyer's Guide:

Available used on the GBA for anywhere between 5 and 30 bucks depending on the seller. Also available on the Virtual Channel to 3DS owners.

4 She should learn to keep spare upgrades in a closet or something out of 5

Lady Sia (2001)

Genre: Platformer | Players: 1 | Developer: RFX Interactive

A game from the early days of the Game Boy Advance.
Gameplay:
Players control Sia as she battles some anthropomorphic enemies with her sword and some magic while navigating environments to collect gems and health while rescuing prisoners. A pretty basic platformer with some action elements. Regular enemies are nice to fight, but boss fights can be frustrating as there is almost no feedback to tell when attacks are effective. Just old school blinking characters. Also they sometimes devolve into trial and error as there is no instruction on how some enemies are to be defeated. You are also graded on how well you do and top marks unlock bonus levels.
Controls:
B for attack, A for jump. Hold B for special attack. That's pretty much all you need to know to finish the game. Basic, but functional. Sia gains new abilities as you progress that vary in their usefulness.
Sound:
Decent soundtrack filled with standard game music. There are almost no sound effects for enemy attacks which I thought was weird since Sia at least has sword swipes and energy blast effects. The whole game relied almost entirely on the music.
Graphics:
A hand drawn animation style that is charming and colorful. It is sometimes hard to tell what is part of the game and what is just background which can be a huge problem in a platformer.
Story:
All the continents of the world are invaded by beasts called the T'soas. Sia is ambushed and kidnapped during an alliance meeting with the other kingdoms to discuss how to deal with the enemy. She breaks free and must now drive the enemy from not only her kingdom, but also the others.
Buyer's Guide:
New copies go for around $20, but I have seen used copies go for as low as $2 both in bargain bins and online.

2½ Retro gameplay for better or worse out of 5