Its sure a lot of hard work getting to that new level...but getting a new badge added to my list...makes me happy. Anyway. here's an August review follow up:
Batman: Arkham Asylum (definite 9/10): The graphical presentation is amazing. The controls are very adaptive, and the story is good. It just makes you wonder how it ends...it's like an animated movie in the works that pulls you in, wondering 'How is Batman going to get out of this situation?'... And just like any good movie, it's about the story. Batman thwarts the Joker's latest caper and hand delivers him to Arkham Island to the island's criminal asylum for the insane. However, the Joker somehow has planned on being delivered to Arkham and escapes, taking control of the entire island. And it is up to Batman to stop his archnemesis...and all the bad guys in between. Yes, bad GUYS. The game also has appearances from villains such as Bane, Victor Zsasz, Harley Quinn, the Riddler, Poison Ivy, and Scarecrow. The story mode is a few hours long, especially if you manage to tackle the Riddler side quests. Accomplishing things in game unlocks character trophies (not PS3 trophies, but more like still models of characters), challenge maps (the first map alone can't be beaten unless you unlock a good portion of your combos and gadgets since it'll give you better opportunity to chain and vary your combos for a higher score), and special bios of various characters in the Batman universe.
Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (9/10): Has anyone played the first game, Professor Layton and the Curious Village? Get to it. It's good. It's a simple adventure story focused around Hershel Layton, who is a university teacher and avid puzzle specialist, and Luke, his apprentice. This game picks up where the first one left off, involving the two in the murder of one of Layton's fellow colleagues. This same colleague was studying an artifact known as the Elysian Box, rumored to kill whomever opens the box. When they go to visit him, they find his body, but the box has vanished. Instead, they find the man clutching a train ticket for the Molentary Express with no destination inscribed in the ticket. Therein begins the adventure. You get over 150 puzzles to solve in the progress of the game. Add in the fact there are more animated cutscenes and even more voice overs available in the game, the second installment of the Professor Layton series delivers on what made the first game great, and brings in some new blood. And did I mention that Level 5 (the guys who did Dark Cloud 1 and 2, Rogue Galaxy, Dragon Quest 8, and the upcoming White Knight Chronicles) produced these games, or that Studio Ghibli did the animations?
Crystal Defenders(8.5/10): Now, I am a big Final Fantasy fan. But I am also a fan of the Ninjatown game that released on the Nintendo DS last year. When I saw Crystal Defenders available on the PSN, I gave it a shot. My first thought: "Hey, Square Enix ripped off Ninjatown!" It's basically Ninjatown set in the Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2 Universe. And graphically it's the same kind of game right down to the pixellated avatars. Each map has a winding road set up that various enemies will tackle in order to get from Point A to Point B. Your goal? Keep them from getting from A to B. How? Spend Gil that you accumulate with killing enemies to buy and upgrade various classes. Place them in ideal positions on the map, and hit Square. Watch the simplistic mayhem ensue. Enemies come in Waves, with each wave having higher HP levels and sometimes various attributes that make them harder to kill (like resistant to magic or physical attacks, or airborne enemies, or they move so quickly that weaker soldiers might not kill them quickly enough...) Anyone who's played Final Fantasy Tactics or Ninjatown will probably like this game. Everyone else? Play the demo and make your judgment. Plus, it is only 10 bucks. The drawback? It would have done better as a DS game. But the people who made Ninjatown might not have liked that. Hah.
Yes, I know. The August lineup's been pretty slim pickings. I assure you though...that'll change. I'll post a September blog for some monthly reviews for the following:
-For the DS: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Scribblenauts, Laevatain Tactics (RPG coming out from Aksys, the guys who ported Hoshigami: Ruining Blue Earth Remix for the DS), and maybe Mini Ninjas. Not many September PS3 releases...well, maybe if they announce any new PS1 classics coming out for the PSN.
Anyway, anyone who likes what I contribute can feel free to send me a friend invite and spread the love around.