Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (1988)

Genre: Action, Platformer, RPG | Players: 1 | Developer: Konami

This review is an experiment. Or, more precisely, this playthrough was an experiment. It had been decades since I last played Simon’s Quest, in any serious capacity, and I wanted to judge it as objectively as possible. Were the virtually universal problems with the game actually legitimate complaints? I was determined to find out. There were some solutions that I could not remove from my memory, however. In those cases, I set about determining if there was ANY way to intuit those things in the course of normal play, bereft of Nintendo Power and the strategy guide of its era that I had back then. I fully admit that there was an obscene amount of nostalgia in play, but I did my best to not let that determine the score.

No matter the outcome, I knew a singular truth would remain, one that outreaches its success or failure as a playable and enjoyable experience: this is the kind of game that I like. Honestly, it’s the first game I encountered that won me over with its ATMOSPHERE. I do enjoy the original Castlevania and Dracula’s Curse, and I now believe that those are very successful at creating atmosphere in their own right. This is because of my latter-day experiences with Castlevania IV. However, none of those are the type of game that I innately prefer. Simon’s Quest has you visiting towns, exploring the countryside, finding secrets, and collecting a set of special objects. The engine is very similar to the other two games in the franchise that were released on the NES, but the execution is almost wholly different. You aren’t traveling a fixed path. You have to backtrack and explore the world. Your progression is dependent on finding, buying, and trading items; it’s the first step towards Metroidvania! I love the world and I love the mythos. As a kid, I pored over Oriental Trading catalogues to find exactly the right toys to be Dracula’s body parts. As much as a ring can be a body part, at any rate… I still have my two copies of Christopher Howell's Worlds of Power adaptation! I even had the Tiger Electronics handheld.

Right, onto the game itself: Hearts act as currency and seemingly allow you to level up. There's an experience meter, but in my...experience, I've always leveled up when actually collecting a heart. You have three lives but this only really matters when you’re grinding to buy something. I.e., when you’re trying to buy something, park yourself on the closest screen with enemies and BE CAREFUL until you’ve reached your goal and made the purchase. Okay, okay, continuing does affect the ending you'll receive, as well. I'll get to that in time.

Frankly, this does everything right that Zelda II does wrong. Yeah, you're moving back and forth and up and down levels, but the areas look different. They're colored diversely. Different colored woods, different colored skies, different colored towns. There's as much back and forth in the entire game as there is in, I dunno, the first two palaces in Zelda II? That game is out of its mind. I should have scored it lower.

It is similar to that game in that if you're playing on an NES, you'll be placed back in Jova when entering the password you can ask for when you Game Over. They’re a little lengthy (16 characters), but they aren't the worst I've heard of, and Jova is fairly centrally located. If you're playing on the Virtual Console, just exit to the Wii Menu when on the Game Over screen, without resetting. That way, you can pick up exactly where you left off. You don't even have to write down the passwords thanks to this de-facto save state!

Alright, moment of truth: In my opinion, it's not badly translated. It's deliberately cryptic. The manual even says that some of the townspeople are tricksters! I had one problem, and it was the result of a lack of exploration and an assumption naturally made by the human brain given the specific visual stimuli on display. However, that decidedly is NOT the result of mistranslation. I was able to completely fill out the menu and do EVERYTHING, except proceed to the endgame. I acknowledge that not being able to find Castlevania is an intensely significant act with which to have trouble. However, it is nice to see that the greatest challenge was the final one. Someone more clever and thorough than me could easily manage it. I'm just over the moon that it didn't involve the translation or any of the puzzle-solving!

It was partially MY fault, and partially the designers being intimately aware of the intricacies of human perception and thought processes. I think it's a fair and intelligent challenge. You're free to disagree all you want.

You’ll have to play for speed if you want the 'better' endings, but that’s no different than other games on the system (e.g., Metroid). Also, the ending you’re almost assuredly going to get the first time is completely fine! I like it better than the 'middle' ending, to be frank. Also also, this really is obviously all about the journey.

I'm not sorry, guys; this is an ambitious, fully fleshed-out NES game, whose clue-dependent puzzles can be solved with the text as it was presented. If you'd like to see my justifications for the ones that I couldn't forget the solutions to, please check below the cut. More than anything, though, I'd like this to serve as evidence for my belief that, if you're truly interested in something, you should judge it yourself.

Buyer's Guide: Originally an NES game. It seems it was re-done for the PC. I know for a fact that it was on the Wii and Wii U Virtual Consoles. It's also on the NES mini. It is not, however, on the Famicom Mini. They included Final Fantasy III, instead. Not VI, the real III. What were they thinking!?!?! There's a redacted version out there, available on actual carts, but it should be obvious that I don't think you need to bother with that sort of thing.

4 Deliciously Bloody Tears out of 5

Silent Hill 2 Expanded Editions (2001-03)

Genre: Survival-Horror / Action | Players: 1 | Developer: Konami

Maria’s sub-scenario was never released individually. However, I’m going to argue that because of it, the variously titled augmented release of Silent Hill 2 is significantly different from the original and is therefore worth addressing in detail, in the service of aiding potential or subsequent purchases. 

Right off the bat, I have seen this expanded version of the game advertised as containing new weapons. While undeniably factual, it sadly exists as a marketing machination and nothing more. They’re weapons for Maria, not for James, and they are simply variations of standard ones found in the main game, and the series at large. Put no weight into this bullet point.

The new endings are of course Maria’s and the UFO ending. It’s retroactively hard for me to believe that they initially left that out, but they did. If you’re the sort to shoot for the 10 star ranking, it’s a bit easier to do on the vanilla release as you don’t have to spend time doing a UFO run. One less available ending is one less ending to achieve. Maria’s is done well and cannot be divorced from her journey, hence it is a legitimate selling point.

That journey is the crux of the entire issue. Do I think her scenario is worth purchasing the enhanced edition of the game over? I personally feel it IS a worthwhile use of one’s time. However, I am very aware that I am a diehard fan of the game and consequently biased. It exists as part of Silent Hill 2 and gels with themes of the franchise and specifics of the game proper, so of course I would feel that it’s indispensable. To someone new to the game, I would objectively say: if you can find a version of it containing the extras for up to ~$5 USD more than the standard release, grab it to avoid having to double-dip, should you end up loving the experience. If you have the original and adore it, go ahead and double up. I cannot see a big fan of it being disappointed.

 

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.

I’m not going to lie to you, it’s short. Incredibly so. However, the atmosphere is unique in the scope of the series and it’s even given nods in other entries. All of the following are the complete version of the game containing the additions covered herein:

Silent Hill 2 for Windows

Silent Hill 2: Inner Fears for Xbox (Europe)

Silent Hill 2: Director’s Cut for PS2 (Europe)
Silent Hill 2: Saigo no Uta for PS2 & Xbox (Japan)*

Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams for Xbox (North America)
Silent Hill 2 Greatest Hits release for PS2 (North America)**

Silent Hill HD Collec.....DON’T. YOU. EVEN. THINK. ABOUT. IT.

3½ NOPE Moments Actually Not Elicited By A Radio out of 5

This score is obviously for Born From A Wish and the UFO Ending

*Listed solely for completion's sake. DO. NOT. expect to be able to play this on a NA or PAL console, or it to be entirely in English.
**Be sure the disc is shown in listings before purchasing. I've seen listings on ebay that are the Greatest Hits case and the black-label disc. Make sure the disc has the red coloring beneath the PS2 branding. If it's the GH disc and the original case, however, I'd say snap it up. Best of both worlds!

Chrono Trigger (1995)

Genre: RPG  |  Players: 1  |  Developer: Squaresoft

Chrono Trigger is arguably one of, if not the most, refined and polished RPGs ever released by Square Ltd. in the 16-bit era.  A game so perfect for its time that it gave the impression Final Fantasy VI was made years before, while in reality only a mere eleven months stand between both releases.

The game puts you in the shoes of Chrono, a young boy from the town of Truce, in the quiet kingdom of Gardia.  On the first day of the millennial fair that commemorates the thousand years of the kingdom he will encounter Marle and start a journey across time to save both the past and the future, making new friends on the way, among which are a frog-knight, a robot from a post-apocalyptic future, and others...

The technical aspect of the game is really great: the graphics make use of all the abilities of the SNES, giving us the abilities to explore a vast and colourful world, and the chara-designs by Toriyama Akira, full of mirth and winks to his career, are very well-rendered on screen.

The music (always one major cool point for Square's SNES games) is very impressive.  Yasunori Mitsuda and Nobuo Uematsu outdid themselves, as it may well be the best SNES soundtrack by Square's team.

Gameplay-wise, the game is excellent; putting you at the head of a team of three that you can select more or less freely, the difficulty is well-balanced, the combat system is an evolved version of the Active Time Battle system that allows for a bit more strategy in using zone attacks and offers the possibility of making collective attacks.  The gameplay also uses the time-travel aspect of the game, requiring you to sometimes perform an action in the past to unblock something in the future.

Finally, the story is exceptionally well-written, full of humour, and explores quite nicely the various aspects and implications of time travel, both good and bad, in a very intelligent and coherent manner.  It's also, at times, pretty emotional and will make you feel involved in the story and the characters' destiny, which is the mark of great RPGs.

If you have to have only ONE RPG on SNES, get this one.

If you liked it you might enjoy: Final Fantasy VI, Lufia II, Dragon Quest VI.

5 luminaire followed by Dark Matter out of 5.

Nutted by Docrate1.

Bastion (2011)

Genre: Action Adventure | Players: 1 | Developer: Supergiant Games

The protagonist known only as "The Kid" wakes up in his bed to find an apocalyptic event called "The Calamity" has shattered the land and only random pieces of landmass float around as he makes his way to the titular Bastion; an emergency evacuation place for the city of Caelondia. Only one other person survived to make it to the Bastion; An old man known only as "the Stranger" who also provides the wonderful, low growl narration. The Bastion can be enhanced by finding Cores; huge crystals that used to power the city. The more cores that are found makes the Bastion larger and more functional. It also allows the Skyway that shoots him to remaining landmasses to send the Kid to farther landmasses. While exploring the wild, the Kid will fight various monsters with a variety of upgradeable weapons and search for cores and survivors while the Stranger narrates about the background of the places visited and sometimes snarks about what the Kid is doing (usually something the player did).

The Kid runs around in an isometric environment with the maps revealing themselves as the player explores in a beautifully rendered, highly colorized artstyle that somewhat contrasts with the downer scenario. The combat follows the old adage of "easy to pick up, difficult to master". It is fairly straightforward, but with nuance and the various weapon combinations add more as players progress. The Bastion can also be upgraded to add a forge for weapon upgrading, a distillery that allows for equip-able potions that offer a variety of passive buffs, and a shrine that adds more challenges when the various gods are invoked. The soundtrack is a wonderful new mix of old time western tunes with some more modern electronic and heavy bass. The controls were at first obtuse and janky on the PC since aiming with the mouse made a weird disconnect with attacks especially with melee weapons were The Kid would attack where the  cursor was instead of the direction he is facing which feels unnatural and is probably different with a joystick. Having gotten used to it though it still worked pretty good and eventually I couldn't put it down. With the great story, wonderful fresh genre soundtrack, and a fair amount of replayabilty with different weapons, modes and New Game Plus makes this one an easy recommendation.

Buyer's Guide:
Available on Steam, Xbox Live Arcade, iOS, OnLive and as a browser game for Google Chrome.

4½ Level-starting Faceplants out of 5

Silent Hill Downpour (2012)

Genre: Survival-Horror, Action | Players: 1 | Developer: Vatra Games

As scary as it is, I have a needlessly long history with this game. A history characterized by allegations about the mechanics and dread regarding the future of the franchise. I finally faced those fears, however.

The new, titular mechanic is the rain cycle. Stay outside long enough and it will begin to storm. This is positively correlated with enemy spawns. Escaping into buildings will usually reset the weather and elicit an auto-save. I would complain, but we’ve always been at the mercy of save points, so it isn’t a huge deal. Side-quest accomplishments also grant saves, keeping this new “open world” take on the town tolerable.

Only one such quest requires you to have previously cleared the story, but there is no New Game+ feature to help you if you missed any others. The nature of Silent Hill would have easily justified spitting you back out just before the point of no return.

Several saves are held in memory and load easily for scumming purposes, as this isn’t Homecoming. No auto-circling, no dodge rolls. Your melee weapons can break, but it’s only noteworthy on higher difficulties. It should also be said that the method of choosing what guns to stash can be a little obtuse.

In general, Murphy needs to run to both fight effectively and advance the plot. Yes, Shattered Memories’ chase mechanic returns. The paths are much tighter and require both trial & error and observation to overcome being lost in a loop. I found it simply different, not better or worse.

Its return is actually telling of the game’s intentional design. This, and the lack of traditional boss battles, facilitate an optional mode of play that is appropriate for Murphy’s character. In the end, that’s a huge part of what a successful Silent Hill game needs to do: Atmosphere must be married to gameplay decisions that inform and correctly suit the protagonist.

Ultimately, Downpour’s only great crime is its tendency to stutter briefly on occasion. This can occur when the game is trying to micro-load, is preparing to award a trophy, or is switching to a rare, fixed camera angle. It’s a legitimate problem, but it never happened as I was fighting or during the chase sequences; it never got me hurt.

I’m playing apologist. I adore this series; I will never be sorry about that.

Welcome to the fold, Murphy.

Buyer's Guide: Cheaply available on both PS3 and Xbox 360. 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.

3½ Todd Manning Scars out of 5

Silent Hill Homecoming (2008)

Genre: Survival Horror | Players: 1 | Developer: Double Helix Games

Silent Hill, whoever came up with the name is ok in my book; the title always sends chills down my ass crack. Homecoming was not developed by Team Silent but by Double Helix, and I think they did a pretty good job with handling the game. It certainly had the Silent Hill feel to it but at the same time it didn't.

The game stars Alex Sheperd, a soldier, coming back to his lovely home in Shepherd's Glen. We hereby crown Alex the first protagonist with combat experience, but how hard is it to swing a steel pipe or shoot a gun, right?

Upon arriving things aren't really what they seem to be. It’s pretty much deserted. He discovers that his younger brother, Josh, has gone missing. So we now have something to look for!  Oh, and other people in the village have gone missing but who cares, Josh is what Alex is really after.

The puzzles are very simplistic at first but get a bit tedious later on when you pretty much have to put the right item in the right spot, and in the right location.
Pyramid Head, or Boogeyman as he is called in this game, makes an appearance, looking a lot like how he looked in the Silent Hill movie. Silent Hill Homecoming takes more from the movie as far as look, and it isn't necessarily a bad thing in my opinion. I thought the change to the dark or rust world animation was pretty cool.

The controls in this game are far better (but not the best) than in previous instalments. I have been known to accidentally use first aids because I was trying to back out of the menu.
Changing weapons can be done quickly by pressing right or left on the D-pad; it helps a lot when you have a couple of enemies in sight that you need to clear out.

Homecoming is neither the best nor the worst in the series for me, but everything works. If you are picky with "lore" this might not be the game you are looking for.

Hey, this is Neg popping in to relate the game-breaking glitch, if for some reason you aren't already aware of it. Join me below the cut, so you can avoid it entirely.

Buyer's Guide:
You can find the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions for about $15-$20, maybe even less. PC is going to cost you a bit more, ranging in the $20-$40 mark but if you have a Steam account you'll probably see it on sale for dirt cheap. Oh my friend, you sweet summer child. You had no idea what the world (and corporate entities) would do. When you're done laughing, reader, click here.

3½ warm welcomes out of 5

Nutted by ASH

BioShock (2007)

Genre: FPS/RPG/Horror | Players: 1 | Developer: Irrational Games

Jack is enjoying a nice plane ride when it suddenly crashes into the ocean. As the only survivor, Jack swims to a mysterious tower and the elevator inside takes him to the undersea city of Rapture. What was supposed to be an objectivist paradise has become a crumbling ruin of violence as the citizens fought each other over the substance ADAM which is capable of giving superpowers when administered. The few remaining sane individuals will guide you through radio transmissions. There is Atlas; a revolutionary fighting against the tyrannical leader of Rapture; Andrew Ryan; said tyrannical leader who will send enemies to kill you to maintain his vision of and control over the city; and lastly Dr. Tenenbaum; a scientist who makes the welfare of the Little Sisters her top priority.

The Little Sisters are little girls who were infected with the slug that is responsible for making ADAM and who now roam the city to extract leftover ADAM from the scattered corpses. They are protected by large armored bodyguards called Big Daddies which must be killed before Jack can choose to either save the girls from their infection or kill them and harvest the ADAM for himself. This is the crux of the moral choice system. Killing the Little Sisters will net Jack more ADAM which can be used to purchase Plasmids that provide a variety of attacks like Pyrokinesis and passive abilities like stat bonuses and more effective healing. Saving the Little Sisters will earn Jack less ADAM, but also gain the gratitude of the girls and Tenenbaum. There are also a variety of firearms that can be upgraded and ammo that can be rotated for maximum efficiency against different enemy types. Jack can switch on the fly between firearms and plasmids as well as between weapons and ammo types which takes a little practice, but players will eventually be switching from plasmid to armor piercing rounds with ease.

The game's dystopic, steampunk aesthetic is both pretty and unsettling. The atmosphere and enemies are often genuinely scary, but are undermined somewhat by the game's easy difficulty. The horror is dampened when ammo, money and medkits are all readily available and even new plasmid abilities are just lying around out in the open for free. This makes the whole moral choice aspect somewhat irrelevant as players realistically don't even have to bother with the Little Sisters if they don't want to get stomped by Big Daddies. Hacking the various cameras and turrets is also extremely easy and the vita chambers that revive Jack when he dies are plentiful and there is no penalty for using them. This makes dying a momentary annoyance and so any challenge can be overcome by sheer perseverance rather than dynamic choices and tactics. The game is still genuinely fun and the myriad of choices offers much for different playstyles as well as philosophical musings for any literary fans and some scares for horror buffs.

Buyer's Guide:
Available on Xbox 360 and PS3. Also available for both retail and digital download on PC, Mac and cloud service OnLive.

4 Those big fuckers can move like ninjas when they want to out of 5

Deus Ex: Human Revolution (2011)

Genre: FPS, RPG, Stealth | Players: 1 | Developer: Eidos Montreal

Eidos takes the reins for the Deus Ex franchise with some help from Square-Enix who have begun to make a push towards publishing since they have recently forgotten how to make games and are now buying up other developers to make games for them. In the case of Eidos, it has paid off with an entry in the series that more than lives up to the franchise's pedigree.

Adam Jensen is the new head of security of Sarif Industries who produce biomechanical augmentation technology. Just before an important congressional hearing, a group of soldiers storm the laboratory complex killing scientists and destroying equipment and research during which they brutally put Adam down. Adam is then augmented to save his life from his massive injuries. 6 months afterwards, Adam is healed and called back to look into who is behind the attacks as there are a number of suspects including rival companies and purists who object to augmentations among others.

Like the rest of the series, players are given a great amount of freedom in how they approach mission objectives. Cover-based gunplay and stealth can be used and enhanced with a wide array of choices in augmentations to suit either play-style. Augmentations can be gained with points by completing objectives or buying upgrades at clinics which is where the RPG part of the game comes in as well as extensive weapon modification. There is also a great emphasis on character interaction. Players will often have multiple conversation choices and characters will react differently based on what players choose versus the character's personality. Depending on the person, players can flatter their vanity, appeal to their reason or just plain coerce them into giving up information. Also whether the player uses lethal force or not can affect gameplay.

The depth of story and themes of trans-human ethics give a rich experience along with solid gameplay. There are only so many character models, but Eidos tried their best to cover it up with mixed results as players may notice a lot of the same faces running around. The levels are surprisingly big given the detail put into them and while shorter than the original, the length is surprisingly long for a modern game. At least 20 hours depending on player skill and sidequests chosen. There were some technical hiccups like NPC's sinking slightly into the pavement and such, but nothing game breaking. The boss battles were somewhat incongruous with the rest of the game, but that is to be expected when they are done by a totally different studio. Pretty, but not shallow with some replay value.

Buyer's Guide:

Available on PC, Mac, PS3 and 360. There is also downloadable content called The Missing Link.

4 The I.T. guy is an abrasive douchebag, like a lot of real counterparts out of 5

Deus Ex: Invisible War (2003)

Genre: FPS, Action, Stealth | Players: 1 | Developer: Ion Storm

20 years after the events of Deus Ex, the world has been reshaped following a period of global depression and war called the Collapse. Players control the either male or female Alex D. after a terrorist attack using nano-explosives destroys Chicago. Alex discovers the academy he attends is actually a front for bio-augmentation experiments when a group of religious extremists raid the campus. After escaping, players are then free to choose which faction they want to follow.

The open ended gameplay is mostly intact from the first game and several other elements have been streamlined. Skill points have been removed and the skills they affected are now static abilities or are now gained through augmentation. There are now only 5 augmentation slots though with 3 options for each rather than the original 2. 2 regular ability choices and 1 extra that can be gained with special black market bio-mod canisters. Choosing one makes the other 2 unavailable as long as players have the ability, but they can be overwritten if players gain more canisters. Ammunition is also now universal for all firearms with different guns using different amounts. Or players can augment their melee ability and anything they can pick up such as crates, chairs and coffee cups can become lethal weapons.

Players can still achieve objectives multiple ways such as through direct confrontation, stealth or just rubbing elbows with the right people. Though choice feels somewhat less important when it is really hard to make any one faction hate Alex enough to break contact. Directly disobeying an order rarely has serious consequences with usually at most a bit of dialogue saying they are disappointed, but then offering Alex a chance to redeem himself. In fact it almost doesn't matter which path players choose as it can all be undone with one choice near the end.

The game is significantly shorter than the original, there were a few graphical hiccups and combat is a bit clunky with some stiff movement and the enemy A.I. is really easy to overcome. The actual areas are also really small. Still worth the time though.

Buyer's Guide:

Available on PC and Xbox. Can be bought off Steam for $9.99.

4 Players can totally murder the children unlike that wimp Molyneux's game out of 5

Deus Ex (2000)

Genre: FPS, RPG, Action, Stealth | Players: 1, Multi | Developer: Ion Storm

The always dystopian future is one where a plague called the Gray Death ravages the population. The vaccine is in short supply and is rationed for those deemed valuable to society and leaving everyone else to suffer. This causes resentment and an explosive growth of terror groups. To combat them all the United Nations expands it's influence, forming the United Nations Anti Terror Coalition (UNATCO). Players control new agent JC Denton (I see what you did there Ion Storm) as he navigates his missions.

The whole game is full of choices in interaction, character customization and accomplishing objectives. Talking to NPC's gives several dialogue options before Bioware made it cool and each can have a lasting effect on gameplay i.e. being a dick to someone will make them less inclined to help you or flat out killing them will change the story somewhat if they were meant to be in the plot later. Players can customize JC with earned skill points to enhance abilities like weapons proficiency and with nano-augmentations to different parts of the body. There are 18 total with 9 body slots so players must choose wisely as choosing one will make another unavailable. There are multiple ways to complete mission objectives as well. They can be done stealthily with lock-picking and hacking or with guns blazing and explosions. Or be nice and just bribe someone to help you. There is multiplayer though it is a bit tacked on as it wasn't originally intended to be there.

The dark, gritty plot is full of interesting conspiracies, secret agendas and political struggles and changes somewhat based on player choices though a basic story thread is followed. Just how you get there changes based on how players interact with the different factions.

Interesting narrative, complex gameplay and very high replayability for all the choices, dialogue and sub-plots that are sure to be missed on just one playthrough make this very deserving of it's numerous Game of the Year awards.

Buyer's Guide:

Available on PC and as a PS2 port under the title Deus Ex: The Conspiracy. Also recently added to the Playstation Network. Available on Steam for $9.99.

4½ I wear my sunglasses at night out of 5

Corpse Party (2011)

Genre:  Survival Horror | Players: 1 | Developer: Team GrisGris, 5pb

Corpse Party is a horror title game with the most humble of beginnings. While most games, even niche titles, have a large development team and a hefty budget, Corpse Party was originally created using RPG Maker software. The title was such a success that it was given a high quality remake, and was later remade again for the PSP. While full voice acting, new music, and CGs have all been added into the game, it retains its simplistic, SNES level graphics.

At the start of Corpse Party, characters are transported into a strange, hellish school building from which their appears to be no escape. In every room there are new horrors, with scares ranging from the obvious (ghosts jumping out at you) to slightly more subtle (cabinets filled with hair). One of the biggest impacts are the various corpses that line the school. Every corpse can be examined for a name tag, and many contain a little note that lets you know what they went through before they died. While this is fairly creepy, it's also quite heartbreaking, especially when you come across the bodies of elementary schoolers.

There are no battles to be found in Corpse Party, and the only gameplay consists of exploration, solving puzzles, and running away. In spite of this, it's surprisingly challenging. There were a couple of scenes I had to play over and over again in order to successfully evade death. None of the puzzles are frustratingly hard, and as long as you save frequently and don't get too scared to explore certain rooms, you should be able to make it through without many problems.

Corpse Party's biggest strength and biggest failing is its story. I was gripped by the tale from start to finish, and while I saw some of its twists coming, others took me completely by surprise. Unfortunately, even the game's best ending isn't that satisfying. The story is continued in a sequel, Corpse Party: Book of Shadows, but the game has yet to be translated, meaning that English speaking gamers may be left frustrated.

Corpse Party offers an incredible amount of content for its price tag. There are a massive amount of endings and additional content that can be unlocked, and it's the sort of title I can see myself going back to again and again. If the sequel does get an English release, it's a game I'll be able to recommend wholeheartedly.

Buyer’s Guide:
If you'd like to play Corpse Party in English, your only option is to download the title via PSN.There is a PC version of the title, and I sincerely hope XSEED releases it on Steam in the future. This is a terrific title, and I'd love to see it attract an audience beyond PSP owners.

4 eyeballs turned to soup out of 5

[PS3] Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland (2010)

Genre: RPG | Players: 1 | Developer: Gust

Atelier Totori is a rare sort of sequel. It feels familiar, while simultaneously feeling fresh and new, and manages to improve on an already great game in almost every way. Totori is set 5 years after Atelier Rorona, and puts players in the role of Totooria Helmold, a 12 year old girl who is the only person who has managed to learn alchemy from the scatterbrained Rorona.

Alchemy is obviously a big part of the title, but it's not Totori's primary goal. Instead, her dream is to become an adventurer and learn what became of her missing mother. Totori obtains an adventurer's license, and must gain points in order to "rank up" as an adventurer. These points can be obtained in a number of ways, from exploring to taking on dangerous monsters to crafting items. For a goal oriented gamer, the point system is incredibly fulfilling. There's always something to work towards, and always something to check off your list. The battle system is still a basic turn based one, but the alchemy system has become more complex, and crafting items is more exciting than ever. I probably wasted weeks of in-game time just building the most perfect bombs I could.

While Rorona's game was more about the characters than the plot, Totori's title has a simple, but genuinely intriguing story. It takes a lot of work to learn what happened to Totori's mother, but the answers are satisfying, especially if you put in the effort needed to obtain the true ending. Most of Rorona's main cast returns, and while they've all grown, they're still the same lovable, goofball characters they were in the last title. Sterk in particular is a delight, and a couple of his scenes had me laughing so hard I was in tears.

Totori is the second game in a trilogy, but players who've never played an Atelier title should be able to play this with minimal problems. Any important information is recapped for players, and the only thing players will really miss out on is appreciation of some of the jokes and character moments. While I'd recommend playing Rorona first, Totori is an excellent game and a great place to start.

Buyer’s Guide:
If you spot a used copy of this title at your local game shop, snatch it up. Gamestop sells it for about $20, and copies are pricier just about everywhere else. Your next best bet would be to purchase the game through the NISA store, which has it for $39.99 with free shipping.

4.5 bottles of liquor made with alchemy out of 5.

Silent Hill (1999)

Genre: Survival-Horror / Action | Players: 1

Developer: Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo

In my self-limited experience with the Survival-Horror genre, there are two monolithic pillars: Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Resident Evil may have come first and hold the hearts of more fans, but Silent Hill speaks to me in a far deeper way. Rather than crawling through austere mansions and sterile research labs, SH forces one to explore far more mundane environments, coated in a grime that perfectly symbolizes the depths of what you are truly plumbing: the human psyche and soul.

You don’t play Silent Hill for scares-per-minute and non-stop action. The best moments come from the near-constant tension of creeping through an abandoned town and any structure therein relevant to the main plot of the early games, or the past of ALL of the gloriously fractured protagonists. The original game, while focusing a bit too much on outdoor environments, does its best to introduce the small handful of locations that became iconic for the series as a whole.

Far more than in any of the other games, these locales act as home to a large treasure trove of easter eggs paying homage to horror movies, novels, pop-culture, and, strangely, Kindergarten Cop. Unfortunately, environmental and logic puzzles aren’t the only thing impeding your urban exploration. A relatively fixed camera works together with tank controls to conjure horrible memories of that other vaunted series’ early games. Thankfully, the difficulty isn’t horribly high even on Hard. This is good, because you’re going to need all the help you can get to achieve a 10 star rating, which encompasses—among other things—killing enemies in various ways, avoiding damage, making good time, and achieving all the permutations of the endings.


I personally recommend not tackling that ludicrous challenge. Silent Hill games are best experienced through systematic lingering, to appreciate the creepily rendered environments and superb music and sound effects. Even the b-movie acting and plot can’t dampen the atmosphere manifested in this mostly complete package.

If this review seems far vaguer than the others on this site, your mind isn’t playing tricks on you. It’s intentional. I personally invite you to kick back in a dimly lit room and walk in Harry’s footsteps as he searches for his daughter Cheryl. You might be surprised to find where the journey will take you, and how far down this rabbit hole goes. Happy exploring.

Buyer’s Guide:
Available on the original Playstation and Playstation Network. Expect to part with more cash than you’d like for a black-label original, or even a Greatest Hits-branded copy. PSN is the answer you seek. True enough (assuming the PSN is still functioning). Still, I had no idea what the world (and corporate entities) would do. Click here.

4 'Totally-not-the-Triforce's out of 5

Nutted by NEG (aka: He who knows!)

Silent Hill: Origins (2007)

Genre: Survival-Horror, Action | Players: 1 | Developer: Climax Studios 

Bringing a survival-horror franchise to a handheld is a very thin tight-wire to walk, and Silent Hill Origins does it with a fair amount of aplomb. Still, it does come relatively close to slipping off. Fortunately, its missteps only break the rules of handheld gaming convenience, and not the game itself. If all of the 4 main areas had lasted as long as the introductory trip through Alchemilla, this would have been a perfect on-the-go experience. However, I think this would have also been rather disappointing. The designers must have realized this themselves, as the rest are around two to four times as long.

As strange as it may sound, I really think it works in the game’s favor that it doesn’t feel like it was designed for the small screen. I’d rather suffer infrequent opportunities to save than a game filled with areas explored only on a surface level. Much of the depth here is thanks to a new mechanic that allows players to switch between misty and nightmare sides on command, through the use of mirrors. This is much akin to A Link to the Past and the Constantine licensed game.

Besides this mechanic, the only true gameplay differences between Origins and the original ‘trilogy’ of games are that Travis is a competent bare-knuckle brawler and his weapons, though very numerous, break rather quickly. There are so many littered around the environments, in fact, that this never feels like a hinderance. Even if you break all that you have available (and use up all your ammo), Travis is still perfectly capable of dusting enemies with his own two fists.

Thankfully, for those who find the series’ 10-star system overwhelming, Travis’s achievements are broken into discrete accolades that can be completed over as many playthroughs as necessary. These all unlock weapons and costumes (some with their own tangible benefits!).

On the story-front, Origins—appropriately, given the nature of the number 0—plays like both an Even and an Odd entry. Travis’s interactions with Alessa demonstrate the events leading up to the original game, and yet there is a VERY strong emphasis on Travis himself.

Even if it brings into question the appropriateness of this game being on a handheld, I still believe that a little annoyance in terms of when you can save is a small price to pay to take this splendid trip.

Buyer’s Guide:
Originally available only on PSP, Origins eventually found its way onto the PS2. While the graphics are crisper and have more care put into them on the PSP, it is still cheaper and far more practical to track down a copy of the port if you don’t own the nefarious handheld. From my experience, it’s better to hunt for this game online these days, in either form.

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.

4 Unwarranted Cases of Blue-Balls out of 5

Nutted by NEG

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

Silent Hill 4: The Room (2004)

Genre: Survival-Horror / Action | Players: 1
Developer: Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo

If anything can be said for 4, it’s that games actually can justify their place in franchises they weren't originally meant to be part of. Further, this should be judged for oneself, on the merits of the finished product. Do not let your feelings about it be determined by popular opinion or initial impressions. Akin to Hibiki of Kamen Rider fame, The Room more than earns its spot in the Silent Hill series. However, know that the differences inherent are what both define it, and make it a less than perfect entry.

The limited inventory system, while weakly validated, will not present you with extreme troubles. You will have no need of the scarce firearms and their space-hogging ammo stacks once you’ve tried out the Rusty Axe and its brethren. Indeed, 4 stands with 3 and Homecoming as an entry with a satisfying, varied, and effective melee system. Aside from weapons and health and puzzle items, you are also tasked with collecting spirit-warding artifacts to use in your apartment. Said apartment acts as a hub-world between various sub-spaces, and houses set pieces such as hauntings that must be dealt with if you are to achieve the 'better' endings. This area is experienced in first-person and is effective in how it goes from being a safe-haven to just another part of the nightmare as the game progresses. It also further ties into what becomes an interconnected game world. At first, you will explore individual, discrete areas. Over time, however, you will end up revisiting each of them in a series of threaded experiences. As you do so, you will be escorting someone who can actually fend for themselves to a degree. Ultimately, their biggest impact is that they slightly slow your movement, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The final unique feature of 4 is how the lead, Henry, is hands-down the least interesting character in the game. This, however, can be attributed to what he’s experienced and affords us a (nearly) silent protagonist with which to witness the twisted story of one of Silent Hill’s most compelling denizens: Walter Sullivan. If you have the patience and inclination to try something different, I can absolutely recommend giving this a spin. It can be a bit stilted, but I think it is ultimately rewarding because of its 'ancillary' characters, unique take on the structure of Silent Hill, and loose association with 2.

If you'd like to read my updated thoughts, please head below the cut.

Buyer’s Guide:
Available on PS2, Xbox, and PC. While you can occasionally find it in used bins, I would recommend hunting around online for a good deal, as it is usually pretty pricey, in all its incarnations. Borrowing it from a Silent Hill-obsessed friend is honestly your best course of action.

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.

3½ Abandoned Umbilical Cords out of 5

Nutted by NEG

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (2009)

Genre: Survival-Horror / Adventure | Players: 1 | Developer: Climax Studios

When I heard wind of the first Silent Hill being remade, I was predictably rather excited, as I had always wanted updated graphics and for the tank controls to be taken out behind the meat processing facility and put out of their misery. When I first played what it actually turned out to be—a reenvisioning—I was vehemently opposed to writing my own neuroses and psychoses over a character who shines as one of the whitest knights in all of gaming: the stalwart and stoic Harry Mason.

I chose to stick it out and was highly rewarded for my bravery. Though it may seem mysterious and magical from the outside, the algorithms used to determine the endings you receive and the contents of your psychological write-up are rather simple, and can yield a good variety of results. There are two parts to the ending you will receive and these are determined by things as concrete as your participation in Dr. K’s exercises and as ephemeral as what you choose to cast your gaze and flashlight upon.

Speaking of which, the Wii version of this game stands head and shoulders above the Sony ports in large part because you are able to control your flashlight with the Wiimote. The level of immersion provided by this, as well as holding it up to your ear when listening to voicemails and calls, is rather staggering and I cannot recommend it enough. As strange as it is, this is probably the definitive Wii experience, for me. Plus, the PS2 version takes door opening animations as a chance to load FAR more than the Wii original. Yes, they were all developed at the same time, but it is clear that the Wii hardware is what the game was designed around.

The change from blood and rust to ice may seem controversial as well, but this provides an entirely new atmosphere of dread, especially in the chase scenarios that do an amazing job of conjuring terror as you flail helplessly around confusing and labyrinthine stretches of the town.

The game quietly and unnervingly presents a reality-of-Oz interpretation of Harry’s experience and actually fleshes him out while making him even more worthy of being a Silent Hill protagonist (as strange as that concept may seem the first time you let it flicker across your brain). Controversial, unsettling, and chilling, Shattered Memories forces you to explore your own memories and decisions as much as Harry’s.

Buyer's Guide:
Originally released for the Wii in 2009 and the PS2 and PSP in early 2010. I would assume that the PSP port has the same loading issues as its big brother. The things the world and corporate entities do... Please click here.

5 Sexy Boat Rides out of 5

Nutted by NEG

Silent Hill 2 (2001)

Genre: Survival-Horror / Action | Players: 1 | Developer: Konami

Like Final Fantasy before it, Silent Hill veered off in a new direction following the well-recieved original. It wasn’t too different, however, as this is part of the original ‘trilogy’ of roughly comparable entries in the series. You no longer follow Harry Mason, but are instead put into the shoes of James Sunderland, a man looking for his deceased wife in the titular town, following his receipt of a letter beckoning him to the place they once held dear.

The game follows the same basic formula as Silent Hill, tasking you with exploring a new portion of the misty and foreboding resort town while solving simple environmental puzzles and a few logic puzzles of varying degrees of difficulty. The environments you explore are all easily seen as symbolic after you have completed the game at least once. The puzzles can also be seen through that lens if you have the inclination to place them in its line of sight. The combat is stiff for the most part, but there are enough bullets to go around, assuming you don’t waste them on enemies in the streets.

As always with these games, value is mainly garnered from the story and the atmosphere created by the exquisitely chosen environments. Anyone with a penchant for urban exploration and the deeper corners of the human mind...probably already loves this series! If you haven’t played a Silent Hill game, however, this is a fantastic introduction, as you do not need to have played the original to enjoy this one. It has the strongest story and some of the most memorable music in the entire series.

The game’s biggest strength is that even if you cannot personally empathize with James, you will still have conflicting and sometimes violent emotions roused in you as you traverse the town and his psyche, simultaneously.

Buyer’s Guide:
This game is available in its original release on the PS2. However, there is a Greatest Hits version which adds in the UFO ending and a playable sub-scenario for Maria, one of the characters in the game. This 'complete' version is also available as Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams on the Xbox. The PC port contains these extra features, as well.

Don't bother with the HD remake. If you're curious as to why, AFTER you've played this in its proper form, check out Twin Perfect and Fungo's documentary on the subject, which can be found on Youtube.

The things the world and corporate entities do... Please click here.

5 Special Places out of 5

Nutted by NEG