Review: Lux Pain

Well, I suppose the visual novel genre isn't for everyone. Fortunately, I rather like it!

First Impressions:If you don't like reading, you probably won't like it either. Well, maybe. Visual novels are a big hit in Japan. Some examples are the infamous H-game and the not-so-innocent dating sim. Thankfully, Lux Pain is neither one. If it was, I doubt there would even be a translation.
So where do I begin with this review...

Gameplay:
Lux Pain starts off at a rather confusing point. You're an agent for this group called Fort which seems to be getting rid of things called Shinen which reside in humans and cause them to have moments of violence. You control a pretty boy named Atsuki who has the powers of Sigma which lets him see these Shinen.
I can see why most of the reviewers were turned off by this game.
It shoves you right into the thick of things with no tutorial, no explanation and no introduction whatsoever. You have to figure out for yourself just what you can do and what happens when you press this button on this here doohickey.
Atsuki ends up enrolling in the local highschool in order to continue his investigation. There, you end up introduced to the rest of the cast who will eventually take part in said case.
Strangely enough, a fortune telling place opens some time by chapter 3 or so and charts how your relationships are going. Hmm.. possible dating sim aspect? Maybe. But a minor and a few males are included in said list.
The mind boggles.
Another charming aspect to the game is a BBS of sorts where people comment on certain things that you uncover during the course of the game. The first thread posted is a rumor about a transfer student. Yes, you. Here, you read about several female students starting to gush about how gorgeous you are and how you made their heart stop.
When interacting with the other characters, at times, you are given the ability to choose your responses, either from a couple of sentences or from a range of emotions, from anger to joy. You also have laughter, sadness and playing it cool. I suppose this sort of thing changes your relationship with them.

Apart from the high school drama you have to endure, there's also the Original and Silent investigation. You go through the usual mess of using your Sigma ability to seek out Shinen which come out as keywords you can use to unconsciously draw information out of your subject. This is timed and you get experience points when you've uncovered all the Shinen. The Shinen reveal to you phrases and fragments of sentences which sometimes make no sense but give you an insight into the character's mind. Some are sad, some are interesting... but there are those that are downright disturbing.
At times, the subject you may have uncovered might be a bit too touchy and you'll be faced with a "boss battle" against a Silent. At the end of the day, you report to your superiors and the chapter ends.
As far as localization goes, I do have a few gripes with the script. There were a few visible typos but nothing so annoying as to distract you from the story. I can't comment much on the voice acting because I had partaken of one option most games have forgotten to give us: the ability to turn off the voice acting.

Last Words:
It seems I have quite a way to go with this game. It's not the sort of thing that turned me away. The story starts off as quite confusing seeing as you start off in the dark but it's half the fun trying to figure out things for yourself. The social aspect of Lux Pain made me wonder if this is the sort of game that ends like a Dating Sim and I'm also rather curious as to who you can end up with.
I fully disagree with what Gamepro and IGN have said about this. With a little patience, I believe Lux Pain is an enjoyable experience for those who prefer to do some thinking and reading rather than mindless carnage.

---
Rating:
Graphics: 3.5/5
Typical graphic novel fare. Characters are static pictures which change every now and then in attire and emotion. The colors are nice but there's something a bit off putting about it.

Gameplay: 4/5
Stylus clicks through dialogue, map and used to battle Silent. Pretty sensible and responsive. There was a relationship meter between characters that didn't really do much.

Soundtrack: 3.5/5
Er... ya can't really hear much often but there is some background music during boss battles and some scenarios.

The Look and Feel: 4/5
Fun little VN. Could use some improvement in the translation department. Scratch that. A LOT of improvement. Otherwise, the story is quite interesting..

Rating: 8/10

Release Dates: 2009

Alright, alright. I know it's a little late in the year but this list isn't quite done yet. Still plenty to look forward to in the coming months.
Note: Some dates are subject to change.

Avalon Code - March 10
Suikoden Tierkreis - March 17
Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume - March 17
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars - March 17
Pokemon Platinum - March 22
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles - Echoes of Time - March 24
Lux Pain - March 24
Tokyo Beat Down™ - March 31
Gardening Mama - March 31

Rhythm Heaven - April 5
The Dark Spire™ - April 14
Dokapon Journey™ - April 14
Steal Princess™ - April 21
101 in 1 Explosive Megamix - April 21
Super Robot Taisen® OG Saga:Endless Frontier™ - April 28

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - May
Magician's Quest: Mysterious Times™ - May 5
Yu-Gi-Oh!™ 5D's Stardust Accelerators World Championship 2009 - May 19

Treasure World™ - June
Mega Man Starforce 3 Black Ace - June
Mega Man Starforce 3 Red Joker - June
Knights in the Nightmare™ - June 2
The Legendary Starfy - June 8
Shin Megami Tensei®: Devil Survivor™ - June 23

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince™ - Summer (Please don't epically fail.)

Review: Mario and Sonic At The Olympic Games

Now I've been in the gaming industry a LONG TIME and have played a fair share of Mario games and Sonic games but... Mario and Sonic. In the same game. Now THIS I have to see. This was made in the sudden Olympics rush during the Beijing Olympics. Word has it that we'll be seeing Mario and Sonic at the Winter Games next. The mind boggles.

Gameplay:
This is interesting to say the least. XD;
You use both stylus and key controls to move your character through the various sports games. I think you've got almost every sing athletic event covered here though some have to be unlocked through playing other events first. There are several modes under single player:
Single Match where you get to play one event
Circuit where you have to compete in a series of three events and
Mission where you have to compete in an event with a specific goal (Not to let Sonic pass you, gather all the stamina icons, etc.)

As for character selection, your choice of 20 characters from both Sonic and Mario fame are divided into four:
the Power type (Knuckles, Wario, Bowser and Vector)
the All-Around (Mario, Amy, Luigi and Blaze)
the Speed type (Sonic, Princess Daisy, Shadow and Yoshi)
and the Skill type (Tails, Princess Peach, Waluigi and Dr. Eggman)
Yes, you heard me right. EGGMAN.

The games play out in 3d and in differing camera angles depending on the event. Controls are responsive though some games are a bit frustrating at first but once you get the hang of things, they're rather fun.
Of course, it doesn't really last very long. There isn't really a point to the game and when you look at it, it's a minigame collection with a sports theme and two large names.
Some games can take some time to learn and some can be downright frustrating but thankfully, fun outweighs frustrating.



Last words:
Well, the impossible has happened! Sonic and Mario are in the same game. So ends the rivalry between the two. This game's a good time waster and.... *evil laughter* If anyone manages to beat Sonic in the 100m Dash using Mario, I would SO like to see a video. :D


---
Rating:
Graphics: 5/5
I was pretty impressed! The stadiums are well rendered and the characters look pretty good.

Gameplay: 3.5/5
Some of the games take some figuring out. Most of the events are stylus controlled and are pretty fun.

Soundtrack: 4/5
The soundtrack's fine but I do kinda wonder about the announcer/host guy though.

The Look and Feel: 4/5
It looks good and it plays good. All in all, pretty fun. A bit frustrating sometimes but fun.

Rating: 7.5/10

Review: Summon Night Twin Age

This was one of the first reasons I wanted to buy a DS. Being a fan of the Summon Night games for the GBA, I was stoked to see a sequel for the DS! Lo and behold, it was NOTHING like the first two games I played but who's to say I was disappointed?

This was one of the first reasons I wanted to buy a DS. Being a fan of the Summon Night games for the GBA, I was stoked to see a sequel for the DS! Lo and behold, it was NOTHING like the first two games I played but who's to say I was disappointed?

First Impression:
The opening sequence was just recycling the stills they use in game. A full motion video would have been nice, really. When I first saw the screenshots on DSFanboy, I was a little nervous. Would this game disappoint me because they changed the battle system I oh so loved?

Gameplay:
Summon Night Swordcraft Story: you find yourself choosing which character to be: male or female and you end up picking a Summon Beast who grants you magic, helps you forge your weapons.
Summon Night Twin Age: you can STILL pick who you want to be, male or female but it doesn't matter as you can switch control to either one on the field. Perhaps the only thing that changes is points of view. You can't pick a Summon Beast this time because... the male character you have liberty of choosing IS the summon beast. This time around, you can't really forge weapons like you used to. You can have them made at the store by providing the raw materials.



You start off with a knife, an axe and a lance. I've gone through half the game with the knife which becomes a sword eventually as you upgrade your weapons. You also have a TON of healing items (50 MP restore pots that restore 200 MP?!) which probably won't run out until much later. There are also monsters to be summoned that can aid you in battle and the game gives you two level 10+ ones to start with. Drop rate in dungeon crates and urns is REALLY high. Methinks the American release got dumbed down.
The battle system reminded me of an MMORPG. You run to the enemy, click them and your character attacks it until it falls. On the side is a command list where you can put ability icons for use. Yep. Definitely MMORPG like. Sure, they got rid of the best part of Summon Night for me but what they replaced it with was rather satisfying nontheless. Kinda.
Dungeons seem short and as long as you try to beat every single enemy in it and keep your weapons and armor upgraded, they won't pose much of a challenge.
Heck, even the skill tree reminds me of an MMORPG! You spend skill points (earned during a level up) to upgrade skills or buy new ones. Upgrade a skill enough and you max it. Buy enough skills and you unlock new ones. All in all, this leads to a deeper level of character customization.
Characters join your party as events unfold but you can only have three at a time. The boy and the girl can NOT be removed. The third member of the party can be chosen from the rest of the motley crew following you around.
As Gamespot said, the AI seems a little shabby. Your party members can get caught in corners and you'll have to backtrack to get them.

Story:
This Summon Night seems to be set somewhere different from its two predecessors so don't expect to see the same thing. Sure, there are some factors that bear similarity (Summon Beasts) but it's not quite the same. Maybe it's an AU of sorts.

Last words:
As I said, Summon Night Twin Age is a different flavor from Swordcraft Story but it's the sort of flavor that wasn't at all a complete disaster. It wasn't what I expected but I wasn't really disappointed at all.
Maybe this is what it would be like if Summon Night was... yes, you guessed it. an MMORPG.

---
Ratings:
Graphics: 4.5
The character designs and the sprites are bright and colorful, same with the backgrounds. They look mostly like GBA graphics though and that might be a turn off for some people. Personally, I like how they kept the charm of the older Summon Night games.

Gameplay: 4/5
Easy to pick up. Click, drag, click, drag... if you've played an MMORPG, you'll have no problems.

Soundtrack: 3.5/5
It's... cute. Well... kind of. No audio orgasms here.

The Look and Feel: 4/5
It's a nice, clean game. Fun and easy to pick up. As long as you kill everything in sight, you'll be fine. A few missions are frustrating, though.

Overall Rating: 8/10
Rating: 8.5/10

Review: Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings

Tactics was a good game and despite the fact that the recent games in the Final Fantasy franchise seemed to be a letdown (IMHO), I thought I'd give FFXII: Revenant Wings a try.

First Impression:
I saw the screenshots and thought "Uh oh, Squeenix has gone and made a Tactics clone" but thank goodness I was sorely mistaken.
The minute you turn on the DS, you're greeted with a crisp, clean well orchestrated FMV which shows off the DS' graphical capabilities rather well. They didn't skimp on the background music either, it seems. The game itself has moments when you tend to forget that you're actually playing a hand-held console game. The backgrounds are well rendered and the sprite movement is smooth. You won't be disappointed at all.



Gameplay:
From the very start, you're already immersed into a dungeon and combat is the order of the day. The battle system is easy to get used to and doesn't leave you in moments of "OhgodnoI'munderleveledandI'mgonnadie". With Revenant Wings, it's a combination of both levelling and brains. A small tip: As long as you wipe out all enemies you see on the field, you'll be fiiiiiiiine~
Controls are easy enough and are manageable in a pinch. If you have to give split second commands, nothing bars your way and there's no moment of risking your unit's lives because you were busy fiddling with the commands.
I do have one teeny little comment though. Unit movement is so slow, that if you're moving your entire group from one side of the map to the other, you might have to wait a while. This proved to be a hindrance in a much later mission which severely chafed my ass.
Battles are fast paced and are over before you know it. AI for both enemy and friendly units is rather good, your units are responsive and ranged units and healers stay a good distance away from the fray.

Story:
The plot itself is interesting on it's own. For one who has yet to play FFXII, I found myself a bit confused over certain things but nothing that will leave you scratching your head for the duration of the game. A few mentions here and there but Revenant Wings seems to be a completely different kettle of fish from its predecessor.

Last words:
It seems that Square has managed to redeem itself. Revenant Wings wasn't a major flop but then it was engaging enough to keep a fan of the series interested. Unfortunately, some newcomers might be put off by the inability of the game to give us at least a little idea of what some of the hints were. Never the less, it was interesting enough.

Rating:
Graphics: 4.5/5
The characters are easy to figure out on the field even in the midst of battle. Backgrounds are well rendered and show a good level of detail.

Gameplay: 3.5/5
Controls are easy to learn even if you're not a fan of the SRPG genre. My only complaint would be the fact that units move rather slow and in the case of a mission where you have to hurry and sneaking around is choice, this can be quite a hindrance. It follows a bit of a pattern though, with the "build army, rush enemy" thing.

Soundtrack: 5/5
Impressive. As always, Square-Enix gives us an excellent score which is quite fitting for the situations at hand.

The Look and Feel: 4/5
Controls aren't clumsy and the interface is easy to navigate through.

Overall Rating: 8/10

Obligatory First Post!

Hi. I'm Shin and I'll be your reviewer/rambler/updater for the entire duration of this blog. This blog was born when I decided that I've been using way too much of my personal Livejournal account to write down release dates and DS-related babbling that it needed its own space.

Er... about the layout... it's temporary until I can make myself a DS-related theme. I'll get down to that when I'm finally on vacation.

So! What to expect in the coming days?
I'll be trying to figure out the ropes of Blogger and upload the old reviews I've done both on LJ and on Gamespot.
I also tend to post random things... mostly game related here.
Another thing. I'm a bit of an RPG nut so expect that most of my ramblings will be RPG or imported Japanese game related.

For my reviews, I'll be covering a few points:

Graphics: This is how I rate the game's visual impact. I take into consideration the backgrounds, characters and any graphics.

Gameplay: Exactly how it sounds. This is everything from controls to system.

Soundtrack: Obviously, this is my rating for the music, voice overs and sound effects used.

The Look and Feel: This is where I cover the menu system and general look and feel (IE, how it feels like playing the game.)

Overall Rating: This is how I'd rate the game all in all. No, this isn't the average of the scores above.

---
With that out of the way...
I'd like to officially welcome you to Stylus Screener!