Sand of Destruction (Nintendo DS)
Games like Xenogears, Grandia and Final Fantasy have been well known to RPG fans for a long time. With many developers from said games working on Sands of Destruction, it has a lot to live up too. Sadly, having a large group of talented developers sometimes does not result in a perfect game.

Sands of Destructions follows the exploits of a young boy named Kyrie Illunis who has the power to destroy the entire world. He finds himself in a bind when he gets involved with Morte Asherah, a leader of the World Destruction Committee. She is fed up with the world enslaved by a furry race called Ferals and has decided the only way to fix things is to end it all and bring about Armageddon. Other protagonists includes the teddy bear badass mercenary Taupy and Agan Mardus, a wisecracking friend of Morte who, like a certain movie hero, fights with a whip and wears a fedora.

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger

Developer: Arc System Works

Publisher: Aksys games

Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3

Review by: Joshua Valencia

 
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is the latest game by the developer Arc System Works, best known for the popular Guilty Gear series. Based upon the foundations that Guilty Gear set out, BlazBlue manages to bring in a more accessible and technical fighting game that is easy to learn but hard to master.

The same rules apply as in other one-on-one fighting games: two players pick their character and duke it out. What sets BlazBlue apart are the extremely stylistic anime appearances of the game as well as the plethora of different abilities and technical nuances.

Boasting a four-button layout, BlazBlue’s game mechanics aren’t as daunting as players may think.  Each button is labeled as A, B, C, and D with ABC as weak- medium-strong respectively. D is short for “drive”, an ability that is unique to every character. The grappler character, Iron Tager, uses his drive as a way to induce magnetism on his opponents in order to have the opponent come to him. The vampire, Rachel Alucard, controls the wind as a way to back away from an opponent or push herself towards an opponent, unleashing devastating wind combos. These drive techniques pull off some of the more complex combos in the game.

Suguri: Perfect Edition
Review by: Jd Banks
Developed by: Daidaijiru (Orange_Juice)
Produced by (US): Rockin’ Android, Inc.
Produced by (Japan): Shindenken Electronics Laboratory
Release:  June 30, 2009

 The cute and colorful characters adorning the cover of the game’s manual appear innocent enough. Even the lilac-clad girl at the bottom of the manual seems harmless, though her red eyes peer at the viewer with a menacing aura. It’s no surprise the main character—the girl with blood-red orbs—can demolish any obstacles with a mammoth bazooka gun. Ironically, Suguri: Perfect Edition isn’t a typical shoot-em-up PC game. It crosses the boundaries of video game genres with its infusion of RPG elements and arcade-style fighting.

Pangya: Fantasy Golf

Review by: Joshua Valencia

Platform: Playstation Portable

Devloper: NTREEV Soft

Publisher: Tomy Corporation

Release Date: June 23, 2009

When thinking about video games, a round of golf is usually the last thing on a gamer’s mind. Naturally, there is a bit of skepticism when approaching Pangya: Fantasy Golf. Rest assured, Pangya is actually a fine game. Based on a Korean massive multiplayer online (MMO) golf game released on PCs, Pangya: Fantasy Golf is the first handheld spinoff.

As strange as it is, this golf game has a story. Long ago, a legendary hero defeated the cleverly titled “Dark Lord”. In order to pay tribute to the hero, the game of Pangya (golf) was created. Every year, there are Pangya festivals and the playable characters are all participating. One of playable characters named Scout is the descendant of the legendary hero.

The game is best described as RPG golf—basically taking the foundations of the game of golf and mixing RPG elements in the form of equipment and items that the player can use. Different golf clubs, golf balls and the players’ own accessories can help improve the characters’ attributes, such as more control, accuracy, spin and even curve. Items do the same, but act only as a temporary boost in game. All of these can be purchased in the game shop by way of using the game currency called pang.

Naruto Shippuden: Ninja Council 4

Review by: Joshua Valencia

Developer:  Aspect

Publisher: Tomy

Release Date: June 2, 2009
Purchase This Game from Amazon.com

There is an old saying: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Ninja Council 4 takes the saying and replaces it with “Don’t bother fixing a broken game—just re-release it with a new coat of paint”.

Ninja Council 4 continues the long-standing tradition of an old-school style “beat ‘em up” game starring everybody’s favorite anime ninja, Naruto Uzamaki. The problem here is that ever since the first Ninja Council game released on the Gameboy Advance, there haven’t been any improvements or changes that really set it apart from its prequels.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game
Review by:  Sean "Pants" Mitchell
Developer:  Terminal Reality
Publisher:  Atari
Platform:  X360, PS3, Wii
Release Date:  6/16/09
Purchase the Game from Amazon

"I've worked in the private sector.  They expect results."

It would appear that developer Terminal Reality took that famous quote from the classic movie, Ghostbusters, to heart when they tackled the task of making Ghostbusters: The Video Game. 

Ghostbusters: The Video Game feels familiar. The names of achievements are quotes from the movie.  The characters are played by the original cast. The setting and humor are nearly identical to the film.  They even have the player essentially re-enact a scene, almost exactly, from the first film.  All of this is very good for Ghostbusters: The Video Game, especially since Terminal Reality succeeded in making the game fresh and new in spite of all the nostalgic fan-service contained within.

Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny Hands On Preview
Review By: Jd Banks
Platform: PSP
Release: September 30, 2009
Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Developer: Namco Bandai Games

One of my favorite games in the world is Soul Calibur. The next installment in the Namco-developed 3D game series is Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny.

 Every aspect of the fighting-genre game is captivating; its detailed aesthetics, its unwavering creativity, and its fixated game play.

 From genesis, the Soul Edge series defined a superb sense of fighting that other fighting games lacked. Similar to past Soul Calibur games, Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny pools together gravity-defying slams, unique weapons borne from different cultures—for example, Tira’s ring blade is similar to an Indian chakram—and the return of character favorites like Talim and Taki. Although most characters are not based on real-life people, many of the movements in the characters’ fighting actions are inspired by real martial artists. With the quality of combining realistic components and bewildering moves with unreal dynamics, Soul Calibur redefines the ability to depict a new realm of the fighting genre.

Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All Stars

Hands-on Preview by: Joshua Valencia

Developer: Eighting

Publisher: Capcom

Platform: Nintendo Wii

Release Date: Winter 2009/2010

It was said that it couldn’t be done: licensing issues restricted Tatsunoko vs Capcom to be released anywhere outside of Japan. The unthinkable has happened. Tatsunoko vs Capcom, abbreviated TvC, will be brought over to the United States, and Anime 3000 was there to play it at Anime Expo 2009.

For those living under a rock for the past few months, Tatsunoko vs Capcom is the latest game in the Vs. series of games that was originally established with X-Men vs Street Fighter. Unlike the previous releases that had American comic book characters, TvC has the Japanese animation company Tatsunoko Production famous for such anime as Speed Racer and Tekkaman.