Star Ocean PSP in a nutshell: Suffers from pretty much every problem Star Ocean 4 had, only the plot is dumber and the combat isn’t as good. I only played it for about two hours. Though it is prettier, at least in the cutscenes, and the voice acting is better. Plus it has the excuse of originally coming out on the SNES. (1/5)

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The Halo Trilogy, by and far, receives entirely too much shit over the years for a lack of really and truly evolving as opposed to simply perfecting a formula that was a hit so many years ago. So now I, Mirai, will take you back through the years and show those who are less informed what Halo is, was, and always has been. And there’s a score of some sort too but ah fuck it, I wanted to talk about Halo this week before I review ODST.

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In a nutshell: Batman: Arkham Asylum is a fantastic treatment of the Batman license, featuring a roster of his rogue’s gallery, expansive collection, flowy combat, and some of the most perfectly Batman stealth-predatory segments known to gaming. Tragically the shallow and pathetic here-is-my-weak-point-please-don’t-shoot-it-repeat-three-times boss fights, easy combat, and the constant blue wash of Detective Mode keep it from being perfect, but taking control of Batman is, for the first time, appropriate, and it earns every gold star it gets. 4/5

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I hadn’t really been following the news streams for Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood developed by Techland.  Perhaps this is a good thing, however, because it meant I had no set qualifications when I powered the game on besides “I sure hope this is a good game.”  I’m a relative fan of the western [...]

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FFVIII in a nutshell: Great premise, great character design, but when a JRPG tries to be a not-JRPG and has a plot that would put a middle schooler to shame, there isn’t much that can be done. 1/5

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Raven Squad in a nutshell: Raven Squad is an unfinished abomination that begs for apocalypse, with no remotely decent qualities to disguise the fact that this was slapped together and rushed out the door halfway through its morning shower. Graphical errors, godawful AI, crummy mechanics, hilariously awful writing and other mean words attached to every bit of this irredeemable trash, but none are as awful as the voice acting, and I daresay it challenges Star Ocean for worst voice acting this year.

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Final Fantasy Dissidia in a nutshell: A teetering mountain of fanwank and bad design, miraculously saved by some solid combat, unlockables worth unlocking, and Kefka. (3/5)

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One important part of absorbing a review to me is getting some idea of the author so I can tell if he’s a good judge of a game for my personal tastes.  With that, let me begin by saying I’m not much a fan of Halo.  Aside from the early addition of co-op and casual [...]

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Shadow Complex in a nutshell: A wonderfully rendered Xbox Live Arcade love-letter written to Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It combines excellent exploration, gorgeous graphics, tight combat, worthwhile powerups, an enormous map, and four years development to create the best 15$ you could spend, even if it only has one autosave slot, odd level-up mechanics, and some bosses are ass. 5/5 Friction Dampeners.

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Star Ocean 4 in a nutshell: SO4 is everything I’ve ever hated about JRPGs, a genre I happen to love, and tries to prove true every bad thing people who don’t like them say. Everything but the combat made bile rise up in my throat, and the characters are impossible to like. 1/5 Loli Catgirls

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