Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift (DS)

So Yuuki was supposed to review this awhile ago, but I'm guessing his comp troubles prevented him from doing so. Either that or I'm gonna have to hunt him down. Let's get down to it.


Story: You're a young boy in the real world. You get sent to the library as punishment, and apparently you think it's perfectly reasonable to start writing in a book because it was there. This done, you are sent into another realm with moogle and baanga and viera, oh my! Various adventures ensue as you join a clan and provide services to the people of Ivalice. Not bad, but certainly not the deepest plot ever. 3/5


Graphics: The graphics are ok. Not terribly impressive but not bad. The dual screen is utilized, but i don't think to the best potential. Overall, average on the visuals. 3/5


Audio: The sound isn't bad. Music and sound effects match the mood, but battle tracks are only so long, so it's a lot of the same. 3/5


Gameplay: As the name suggests, this is a tactical game. There are a number of different races, each have different jobs that are available. Certain jobs are unlocked by leveling other jobs. Other jobs are learned by getting skills in them, which you learn through equipment. Besides the storyline, you can take missions to earn items, AP, and maybe exp. These missions can be battle or dispatch missions. You can also do clan trials which earn you more clan rewards. Clan rewards are bonuses you get during battle as long as you follow the laws set by your clan judge. If you break the law you lose the clan priviledge and character who die in battle cannot be raised until after the battle is over. Another area of importance is the bazaar. You take items earned in battle to a shop. If you have all of the items needed, you can make new weapons or armor. Once you have made this new gear, you can then buy it from the shop. The gameplay is fun and easy to understand. my only problem is that opponents do not have to follow the laws like you should, so if you're law is to not target allies, then you can't do anything for your friends, but they enemy white mage is most likely curing up a storm for them. 4/5


Replay: There's no real point to replay. It's all a matter of how much you want to play with the story again. 2/5


Overall: It's a good tactical RPG worth picking up. The story isnt going to move you, but that's not why you pick up the game. You pick it up for some fun strategy. 4/5 It was a debate between 3/5 and 4/5, but I decided to round up.

Lego Indiana Jones (all Systems except PC)

I apologize. We've been really lazy about getting the reviews out. I'm going to try and get back on schedule, but I make no guarentees. So today I'm going to review Lego Indiana Jones.


Story: The game follows the story of the original Indiana Jones trilogy. If you liked the movies, you'll like the story here. Plus, the cutscenes are entertaining. 4/5


Audio: Sounds taken from the movies. 4/5


Graphics: Nothing amazing, but it looks good. The environment is very lego-riffic. 3/5


Gameplay: Gameplay is very simple. Each button does one thing. Each character has a special item that lets them do whatever action the item specializes in. Sometimes these items are lying around letting anyone do the actions. The game features drop in and out co-op, which i highly recommend. Though AI is not as completely useless as in the Lego Star Wars, the computer controlled characters still cannot defeat enemies, leaving it all up to you. Overall, very simple to pick up. You go through story mode, and then can return to stages in free mode being able to switch between different characters to unlock hidden areas. 4/5


Replay: Once you've beaten a stage and unlocked everything from freeplay, there's not much left to do. 3/5


Overall: The game is fun and worth picking up. 4/5

Summon Night: Twin Age (NDS)

Yay a Summon Nights game! I'm a big fan of Atlus and I've rarely been disappointed by them so let's see how the new installment in the series did.

Gameplay: The game handles like most action RPGs on the DS. The top screen displays maps and other information while the lower touch screen controls and shows all the action. You'll move fight and manage party related abilities and items. The touch controls handle well as you move between the 2 main characters. Its fun and interactive. 4/5

Story: The story differs slightly depending on which of the 2 characters you choose as your main. The main plot goes along the lines of the spirits that exist in the world and their relationship to humans and to the more spiritual clan of what I can only assume are rabbit/wolf people. The Humans subjugate the spirits causing them to eventually go berzerk sending the world into turmoil and its upto you to fix it. 4/5

Graphics: The art is attractive if not a bit fluffy, but the general graphics of the game feel a bit lacking. There's a lot more they could have done. Areas look attractive but they start to all bleed together and stop really popping out as you progress through them. The spells and special attacks are good but there really is only a few of them just recolored or slightly altered. 2/5

Audio: The game has the occassional voice acting and some good music but it also seems to lack. The music flows well but quickly ends up more fluffy and annoying than anything. After a few to many squeaks and war calls from the characters you'll most likely turn the sound off all together. 2/5

Replay: The game has a pretty good story and a good game system and despite some unattractiveness its still fun, but I wouldn't say beat it more then once. 3/5

Overall: The game is fun and is definitely worth picking up, but I don't see a reason to add this to any collections, but if you like a fun light heart RPG with low difficulty and you can forgive a few audio and graphic errors its a pretty god game.