Lunar Knights: A review (and I'm not even asian....Nor am I a confused white teen who wishes he was)
Having just bought and played Lunar Knights, I am pleased to say that it was much better than I had expected after having seen it here on GameSpot during their coverage of the The Last E3. The Game has a lot of unique little touches that really add to the over-all feel of the game, for example if you've managed to catch fire, alternating between on the D-Pad quickly will put you out, or if your poisened, any movement will pixilate the screen. Despite the 11 year old anime style of the game, the game play can be surprisingly difficult. You're constantly having to organize your inventory (cos it wouldnt be a Kojima game if food didn't spoil!) while using what little you have to revitalize your characters from the ass kicking they'll take in battle. to help you with the hordes of enimes jumping at you is a weapon uprgade system, leveling up, and the "Trance Mode" will also assist you in your efforts to kill everything. But as only one whose ever watched a Steven Segal movie on mute would tell you, no matter how many asses your kicking, without the sounds to back it up, its just kinda...well.... lame. BUT DONT YOU WORRY, this games sound department it one of the best things going for it. I was really surprised by the level of depth, the amount of voice overs, and the soundtrack for this game. hitting different materials, makes different noises, there is more than one character who speaks, and the music is isnt 1980 synth shit so why the 8.3 and not a 9 or 9.5? well its simple, although I am the kind of gamer who cares less about graphics and more about gameplay my personal preferrence doesnt mean that graphics dont account for something in the rating of a game. needless to say, much of what's seen here feels very out-dated. the top screen which shows off the mini-magic weather system (ohh Shenmue, you were good for something weren't you?) the bottom screeen (where all the action happens) is set at the old school diagonal ALMOST birds-eye view angle (just look at the screen shots and spare me from any more embarrassment derived from my inability to discribe the shot) in a 2D environment. what bothers me the most about 2-D games on the DS, is that there is no real need to have them anymore(I mean, yeah there IS such a thing as that GOOD OLD SCHOOL feel but, you wont find it here)! look at games like Final Fantasy III or Metroid Hunters, those are games that really look incredible and prove that the DS can handle itself with a 3D environment. also the space missons (which are actually 3D) well, strange..... You Shoot the enemy space ships by clicking on them with the stylus BUT to move your ship you have to Touch it and drag it to where you want. its almost like Resident Evil 4, where leon couldnt move and shoot at the same time. not this wouldnt be so bad if there wasnt an onslaught of Enemies just dying to **** you over, and your ship takes up a considerable amount of the screen. its not the difficulty that bothers me, but instead, the "clumsy" feel of it. also another point against this game is the cliche / predictable plot, now dont get me wrong the stories presentation is rather nice, but it really lacks a "where is this going next?" feel that it tries to accomplish. overall the climate control features, the combat's polish,and the music really make for a great game.