TwiddleGeek

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If you’ve played Melee, there’s really no point in asking if you’ll like Brawl. Brawl basically is Melee, only sporting a fresh coat of gfx paint, a handful of new characters, Subspace Emissary, and online play. If you dislike the core gameplay, Subspace Emissary is not going to be a reason to buy this game. Otherwise, though, it’s a lengthy and enjoyable 10 hour adventure with cutscenes that look like something from Square Enix at times.

But SSE is just a fun bonus compared the heart and soul of any Brawl game: the battles. New characters like Pit, Metaknight, Pokemon Trainer, and Sonic are all fun to play as and easy to pick up. Olimar is nearly worthless, while Snake takes a lot of skill to master. Dedede is a slightly more versatile heavy fighter than Bowser or Donkey Kong, while Diddy isn’t terribly impressive but passable none the less. Zero Suit Samus feels, sadly, weaker than I’d like… but Samus in her power suit is still one of my favorites.

Final Smash moves add an exciting dynamic to an already hectic game. For those worried they break the gameplay, they can be turned off easily enough. I would contend however that they are no more broken than scrambling to get the hammer item, and a whole lot more fun. Many can be dodged, some require aiming, and some are just worthless. Unfortunately that’s the most broken thing about them — they’re just not equally useful.

Brawl still plays more or less exactly like Melee, but with a few tweaks to the system. All the mechanics are the same, but some say it feels faster, while others claim it’s a bit slower. Items are now much easier to grab in mid-air, smash attacks have been added, and veteran fighters’ moves have been tweaked. With more characters than ever, more items, assist trophies, and more new stages, plus the stage builder to play with, Brawl can easily breath fresh life back into the series if Melee has gone stale.

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When Hour of Darkness first hit on the PS2, many hailed it as the best SRPG to date. It’s in-depth mechanics and practically unlimited room for character growth left many players absolutely addicted. For some reason however, the craze passed me over. Perhaps it was just the depth of the mechanics creating such a steep learning curve, but I just didn’t find myself hooked. Giving it another look on the PSP however, it’s clear I missed an incredible game.

First of all, Disgaea has a wonderful style, storyline, and humor. More than anything else, this alone really helped to draw me into the depth of the gameplay mechanics. It’s much easier to get hooked in a deep, extensive game if the basics are simply fun to begin with. While you don’t really have to spend much time in the item world or with the Dark Assembly in order to win, they’re there if you wish to use them. Sometimes I wanted to power up a rare equipment item just a bit, sometimes to improve a character, and sometimes I just wanted to explore. Learning to exploit things like totem throws, merging monsters, and +EXP geo-squares becomes part of the fun of getting to the end of the game. Disgaea loves to stack the odds against you and practically taunts you to figure out how to get around the rules.

My one complaint with the whole battle system is just that the only character to gain any EXP is the one who deals the killing blow, unless it’s a random -initiated team attack. I would be much happier if everyone fighting, or everyone who had dealt damage, or even everyone attacking in the final chain gained some exp. While current system is certainly not unworkable, I certainly found it to be annoying and a bit of a drag in leveling. Otherwise, Disgaea is an incredibly lengthy, enjoyable SRPG all around. The main quest took me a whopping 38 hours, and many will spend far more doing everything and completing the bonus stages. Even the PSP bonus Etna mode clocked in at an extra 10.5 hours for me. Perfectly suited to quick play sessions on the PSP, if you missed this the first time around there’s no reason not to pick it up now. If you’ve already played it out, Etna Mode probably isn’t enough reason to rebuy, though it was quite an enjoyable extra.

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Umbrella Chronicles is my type of game. I love light-gun shooters, and the Wii is perfectly suited to them. What surprised me though was just how good Umbrella Chronicles turned out to be. The lengthy 22 mission game took me just over 17 hours to complete, and that’s not even counting the time I could spend going back to upgrade guns or try to get higher ranks.

Aside from the insane length, Umbrella Chronicles has an excellent story pulled straight from the series’ past, including Resident Evil 0, 1, 2, and 3. There’s no RE4 in here, but you’ll be seeing plenty of Leon, Ada, and Wesker again from the events leading up to RE4. Playing as Wesker is simply awesome, and his narrative throughout the game is always great. The graphics are always good, feeling true to the originals but obviously upgraded. Nothing is terribly stunning, but the atmosphere makes up for that completely.

There’s a lot of challenge here as unlike most light-gun games this isn’t simply a matter of being able to shoot the targets on the screen. Zombies take real strategy, including shooting them in the legs to stun them, using close-combat techniques, using grenades at strategic times, swapping between multiple weapons depending on the situation, and head-shots that are only critical if they hit right on the forehead itself. Bosses take incredible patience and concentration rather than simply spamming bullets, sometimes taking me over 15 tries to get it right. Whether it’s a nostalgic trip down memory lane or you’ve missed much of the RE storyline, Umbrella Chronicles is one of the best on-rails shooters I’ve ever played.

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Overlord is kind of a mediocre title to me. It’s good, but it’s not great. I enjoyed playing it start to finish, but it just could have been a lot more than it was. Some genuinely annoying design flaws annoyed throughout the game, such as the jester’s constant prattling, Gnarl’s constant and repeating advice, and the lack of any real consequence for your actions. Sicking your minions on a village or setting it ablaze with a fire spell (Inferno is awesome!) just doesn’t seem to make any real difference.

On the more positive side, controlling your small horde of minions is just satisfying all around. Launching forth 30+ minions to destroy everything in sight is always quite satisfying, and the humor of your minions coming back with pumpkin helmets and riding sheep can’t be underestimated. Once you’re powered up with the 3rd tier armor and spells, bashing down everything in your path becomes a lot of fun. The story generally clicks along at a good pace and takes you through a decent range of locations, and the ending events are simply excellent. Surprisingly excellent, actually.

I can only say that Overlord is a good deal of fun overall. It’s not a AAA title, but if you can find it on the cheap and you’ve got nothing else particular to play, I’d recommend giving it a shot. If you like RTS games but want a little more hands-on control, Overlord might appeal to you. If you’ve ever played the PC gem Sacrifice, you’ll feel somewhat at home here. It’s not perfect, but it’s quite a good rental at least.