8
May
2009
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
The long-running Megami Tensei franchise has seen many incarnations, from the stylish detective adventures of Raidou Kuzunoha to the school-sim-slash-dungeon-crawlers action of the recent Persona games. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor, the latest game in the stygian series, is, like many of its predecessors, an odd concoction of mechanisms from a variety of genres. But despite the seemingly disparate styles of gameplay it contains, Devil Survivor is a superb role-playing experience with a surprisingly mutable storyline that hardened veterans and series neophytes alike can enjoy.
In the midst of a hot Tokyo summer, the city is plunged into chaos when a series of mysterious accidents force the government to lock everything down under quarantine. With the military preventing any entry or exit, the people trapped inside are left defenseless against the demonic forces that have begun to run rampant–all except for you. Armed with customized portable computers called COMPs received from your reclusive hacker cousin, you and your friends have gained the ability to summon demons of your own. But even with your newfound powers, escaping Tokyo and surviving what may be the end of the world are going to take time–time that you don’t have much of. Read the rest of this entry »
18
Feb
2009
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
At first glance, Chinatown Wars could be mistaken for a return to the Grand Theft Auto series’ humble 2D beginnings. The action is viewed from a more or less top-down perspective, and of course you still spend much of your time driving stolen cars and causing trouble with firearms. But the similarities between this superb Nintendo DS game and its ’90s progenitors pretty much end there. Chinatown Wars actually has more in common with GTAs III and IV than it does with earlier games, and, remarkably, it even adds to and improves on the formula that made those games so successful. That’s a bold statement for sure, but Chinatown Wars really is that good.
Set in the same instantly recognizable Liberty City as GTAIV (minus one island), Chinatown Wars tells the story of a power struggle within the Triad gangs from the perspective of Huang Lee, whose crime-boss father has recently been murdered. Huang flies to Liberty from Hong Kong to avenge his father, and predictably becomes embroiled in the war between those hoping to step into the dead man’s shoes. As Huang, you advance the story–which should take you about nine hours to play through–by undertaking missions for a number of different characters within the Triad organization, as well as for one or two people outside of it. Many of these missions involve the usual mix of driving fast, killing people, and not getting caught by the cops, but there are plenty of varied and memorable missions as well, a number of which put the touch screen to great use. Read the rest of this entry »
