Final Fantasy: Dissidia

omg so far this game is super amazing. i havent beat it yet so i cant give you a score. but wow the fighting is awesome. if you have seen Advent Children, yea the fighting is just like that. give me a little bit of time and i should have the full review up. this is a new thing we are trying, letting you know what we are doing as we do it so you know what is coming. when i get the full review done it will replace this one.

Mario Kart: Wii

Mario Kart: Wii

Have you ever wanted to throw turtle shells at people?  Make them slip on banana peels or fake blocks?  Perhaps you’ve wished to run over them as giant speeding bullets?  And maybe you wanted to do all this while racing around wildly through crazy tracks?  Then Mario Kart: Wii is most definitely for you.

This latest iteration of Mario Kart comes to the Wii, bringing with it 3 possible control schemes, 8 grand prixs, a mix of new tracks with popular old ones,  the ability to use bikes as karts, and a good selection of Mario characters to play as- as well as the ability to race with your Mii.

The three control schemes are Nunchuk and Wiimote, Gamecube controller, or use just the Wiimote, horizontally.  If you choose the horizontal Wiimote configuration, you have the option of using the Wii Wheel accessory.  Now, if you’re willing to put the practice into it, the Wii Wheel is a lot of fun.  However, it’s definitely a tricky at first, especially if you tend to get into your races and start trying to turn it like a real car steering wheel.  The Wiimote can’t handle this, and you will inevitably over correct yourself, making it difficult to get on track and win.

That aside, there is little negative to say about Mario Kart: Wii.  I had not had the ability to test Mario Kart: Wii’s online capabilities at the time of this review, so I will not comment on it.  Mario Kart: Wii is plenty of fun for all ages, and will definitely satisfy Mario Kart fans.  Mario Kart: Wii gets 6 speeding Yoshis out of 7.

Genesis

Heavenly Sword- PS3

Heavenly Sword- PS3

Upon completion of this game the first that that popped into my head was “that’s it?” Yes this game was rather short. I’m not saying that is a bad thing. Short games can be a good thing. Anyway let us get on with this review

You start off in the spur of battle. The game is teaching you the controls as you go through the battles, a very nifty way to start of a game if I may say so myself. The game has a wonderful combat system, best I have seen in quite a while. It’s a bit like God of War. Two buttons of attacking an action button and another action button, well kind of. You use the right analog stick for dodge rolling. The only camera options you get are the ability to pan the camera to your left and right. It’s pretty useless if you ask me considering most of the action is right in front of you. You don’t get a jump button. That depresses me. I like to jump. It makes me happy.

The combat is great. It’s kind of like they took the fighting mechanics from a fighting game. square and triangle are your basic attacks very fast and fairly strong. L1 is ranged attacks, very very weak but it gets them off of you. R1 is the heavy attacks slow but really strong. I actually used the heavy hits a lot. They aren’t as slow as usual.

5 out of 7

Buzz

Buzz

Have you ever wanted to blow up your friend for getting a question wrong? How about throw a pie at somebody because they took points in the last round? You have got to try Buzz. I was skeptical at first because I have never been one for game shows but you can really have a blast with this one

It’s simple you get 4 buzzers, one for each player duh, and you have a pick of 5 different categories: Brainiac for all you big brains, TV and Movies for you couch potatoes, Sports for you crazy people, Lifestyles for you wrapped up in the world, and Music for you tune freaks. Now each one is broke down into 4 sections. Spreading across a wide variety of questions. There is also a “channel” that allows you to mix it all up and get random sections. That is a Ninja House favorite. You have the ability to create your own quizzes. Unfortunately you have to be online to do so. The Ninja House doesn’t have the connectivity at the moment but we do plan on doing something about that.

Of course they aren’t going to make you just answer questions and that’s it, they make it into a big mess of games. Your first game is Point Builder, they just throw questions at you and you answer them within the time limit and that’s all the rush you have. It’s a point builder and that it. Next is the Fastest Finger and its just as it sound. Be fast and get the most points. The first one to get the answer gets 400 points the second gets 250 and the third gets 100. It can get pretty hectic out there so be careful on that one. Next is the Pie Fight. This one is like Fastest Finger but you have to be the first to answer. The one that gets the cake, or pie I should say, gets to throw the pie at a contestant. However you can also throw it at yourself. The crosshairs flash down the line and you have to click on the person you want and if your not careful you can smash yourself. Each person gets two hits before they are out. The person coming in first place gets a big 1,000 points, the 2^nd gets 500 and the 3^rd gets 100 and last gets none. Next is Point Stealer. This one is as simple as it sounds you get the question right and you get to steal points from another contestant. 300 points to be exact. But this one is a bit different because he asks questions about pictures that pop up. I think this may be the hardest one if you don’t know your stuff. Next is High Stakes. I guess this is your chance to regain what you lost in the last round. Buzz gives you a hint on the next question and you bet 50, 100, 250, or 500 points and hope you know the question. You get to take your time on this one like you did in Point Builder. Last but certainly not least is The Final Countdown. I love this part of the game this is the one that can turn the whole game around. Depending on how many points you have is how much time you have to get through each question.

You get a choice of about 10 different wacky characters and about 4 different outfits. There are a lot of buzzer noises you can pick from and you can put your name in or keep your characters name.

So all together Buzz is a pretty great party game and not much else unless you just love quiz shows. But Buzz wasn’t really meant for much else I don’t think. I’d say the worst part is not being able to create your own quizzes without being online but other than that it’s a pretty sweet deal and its only 60 bucks on the PS3. Yea Buzz is a Playstation only thing. You can get it for the PSP and PS2. But 60 bucks is all your buzzers and the game you can’t beat that. So the rating system today will be Evil Jeopardy Robots and I give Buzz 6 Evil Jeopardy Robots out of 7 because of its connectivity issues and you will get buzzed out after a while.

Kyon

ZOMBIEPOWDER

ZOMBIEPOWDER

If you’re a fan of Bleach creator Tite Kubo, you may want to check out his first work, ZOMBIEPOWDER.   This short 4 volume series is a mixed bag of sorts.  The story follows Gamma Akutabi’s hunt for the 12 Rings of the Dead, which can raise the dead and grant eternal life, all set against a western background.  He’s accompanied by the young Elwood Sheperd, self proclaimed “Journalist of Justice” Wolfina, and gun man CT Smith.  Elwood hopes to revive his sister, and a Ring of the Dead is slowly killing Wolfina’s brother.  However, Gamma and CT’s motives are unclear.

If you’re reading Bleach, ZOMBIEPOWDER provides interest because you can see influences from the ZOMBIEPOWDER characters in the Bleach character designs.  Also included as extras in the ZOMBIEPOWDER volumes are Kubo’s first works.

If you’re searching for a good story though, perhaps you should look elsewhere.  ZOMBIEPOWDER’s plot, much like Kubo’s early art, is shaky.  The story in ZOMBIEPOWDER is somewhat convoluted in the first 2 volumes, and the start of the 3^rd.  It’s also more gruesome than Bleach, with a torture scene that was apparently edited to make it less graphic.  This could possibly be accredited to rough times Kubo said he was going through.  The story actually settles and takes off in volume 4, but unfortunately, this is also where the series ends.

The bottom line: if you’re a Kubo fan (or fan of cliffhanger endings), then ZOMBIEPOWEDER is at least worth a look.  Otherwise- you can pass on this one.   With a shaky plot and rough art, Tite Kubo’s ZOMBIEPOWDER gets 2 “Tripods of Justice” out of 7.

Genesis

Magic Knight RayEarth

Magic Knight RayEarth

Magic Knight RayEarth is one of the manga artist group CLAMP’s major hits.  This 6 volume series is technically split into 2 separate parts,  so I’ll describe their plots separately.

In Magic Knight RayEarth 1 (the first 3 volumes), junhior high girls Hikaru, Fuu, and Umi are shocked to find themselves magically transported from Tokyo Tower to the magic kingdom of Cephiro.  Here, they are greeted by wise Guru Clef, who informs them that the Pillar of Cephiro, Princess Emeraude, has been kidnapped by the evil Zagato.  They have been summoned to become Cephiro’s legendary Magic Knights and save the Princess.  So the girls embark on a quest to unlock their magic powers and find their Mashin (giant robots the girls can fight in), all leading to a rather unexpected ending.

Magic Knight RayEarth 2 (the last 3 volumes) sees Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu being summoned once again to Cephiro.  This time, however, they have been summoned to protect a collapsing Cephiro from the invasion of 3 neighboring countries:  Autozam, Fahren, and Chizeta.  Each country hopes to become Cephiro’s new Pillar, each for its own reason.   Magic Knight RayEarth also develops a love interest for each of the girls, which occasion overpowers the plot.

Both halves of Magic Knight RayEarth have solid stories and humor for all ages, together with trademark (albeit older) CLAMP artwork.  The only downsides are the fact that the series seems rushed and the sporadic action in the second half of the series.  Magic Knight RayEarth is also an older manga, first published in 1993,  and seems clichéd in some parts.  Nevertheless, Magic Knight RayEarth is a decent, entertaining read, earning 5 giant robots out of 7.

Genesis

Chobits

Chobits

If a forbidden romance between humanoid computer and human sounds intriguing, then check out Chobits, by CLAMP.

Chobits is an 8 volume series that tells the story of 19 year old Hideki Motosuwa and his growing feelings for the humanoid personal computer named Chi.  In the world of Chobits, personal computers have become almost human assistants- called persecoms.  They are commonplace objects and most people have one- everyone, that is, except Hideki.  Hideki lucks out, however- he finds a beautiful persecom laying in the garbage.   He takes her home, turns her on (with an interestingly placed on switch), and discovers that her memory has been wiped.  She is unable to perform even basic persecom functions, like connecting to the Internet.  Nonetheless, he adopts Chi and takes care of her.  His feelings for her begin to grow and he raises the question “Can humans and persecoms be together?”

Chobits is cute and humorous.  The romance story holds up well, and most will enjoy it.  However, if you are looking action sequences, Chobits has none, so don’t get your hopes up.  CLAMP’s artwork is gorgeous as always and their storytelling good.  Don’t be mistaken though- Chobits is first and foremost a rather mushy love story, so if that’s not your style, don’t read it.  Romantics out there should be fairly satisfied with Chobits however, so it gets 4.5 cute robot girls out of 7.

Genesis

xxxHolic

xxxHolic

Are you looking for adventure in the occult?  Then check out xxxHolic, by CLAMP.

XxxHolic (pronounced “holic”), follows Kimihiro Watanuki, a high school student plagued by the ability to see- and attract- spirits.  One day, not quite by choice, Watanuki wanders into a mysterious shop run by Yuuko Ichihara, the Space-Time witch.  Her merchandise?  She’ll grant your wish- for a price.  Again, not quite of his own free will, Watanuki makes a deal with Yuuko:  he will work in her shop, and she will remove the ability to see spirits when he’s earned enough to pay the price.   Thus begins Watanuki’s journey from the weird to the even weirder.

The artwork in xxxHolic is traditional CLAMP style- the people are gorgeous, tall, and lanky.  However, the backgrounds, while still nice, seem very plain.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, though, it removes the overcrowded effect sometimes experienced in other CLAMP works.

XxxHolic’s plot is formulaic in the first several volumes.  After the introductions of Watanuki’s friend/enemy Doumeki and his oblivious crush Himawari,  the manga settles into a familiar pattern:  Yuuko gets client, sends Watanuki and usually Doumeki to do whatever wish needs granting.  It gets better though;  the plot takes a deeper turn around volume 7, shifting focus from the clients to the changing Watanuki- and the darker events in the world.

XxxHolic also serves as a sort of melting pot of CLAMP works.   There are several references to other CLAMP works, like Chobits and Cardcaptor Sakura,  that gives the story an extra zing if you’ve read the other works.  XxxHolic is also deeply intertwined with CLAMP’s Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle.  Reading Tsubasa and xxxHolic  both will give you a complete understanding of the two story’s events,  but it is by no means necessary to read Tsubasa to enjoy xxxHolic

In general, xxxHolic  has a solid plot (especially later on), along with “Easter Eggs”  from other CLAMP manga, and topped off with CLAMP’s gorgeous art.  I give xxxHolic  4 Mokonas- out of 5.  (Wonder about Mokona?  Read xxxHolic )

Mario Kart DS

Mario Kart DS

It can be pretty rare to get a handheld as good as its “big console” counterpart but in Mario Kart DS did it to the max. Giving you 12 different characters to choose from and about 36 different karts each character gets 3 of their own karts and later you unlock all karts for all characters. You get your basic modes: Grand Prix, Time Trials, V.S., and Battle. But Nintendo threw something new at us this time around, the Mission mode. You go through a series of tracks in different levels and at the end there is a boss of course. Most of the trials you go through are like a wacky version of the Grand Turismo license tests. Be warned these little missions aren’t so easy. The first bits are a breeze but after that it can get tough.

The Grand Prix is just as great as ever. You have 8 different cups to choose from, four of them new tracks and four of them retro tracks. Each cup has four tracks so umm do the math and that is 16 new tracks and 16 of the classic tracks. Wow that’s 32 tracks all together. Hmm that seems like more than any other Mario Kart ever! You still have the usual 50 cc, 100 cc, and 150 cc, plus one more tasty surprise but I can’t give that one away to you so easy.

This game gives you the really neat option to create an emblem of your choice, sort of like the emblem in Halo, but in this one you make it from scratch. Unfortunately you can’t save a sketch. If you start over you lose it FOR EVER!!!! Or at least till you make it again. The emblem thing is really cool though. You can make a nickname to but most games let you do that so it’s no big deal anymore.

So if you have a DS and like to have fun you need to get this game if you haven’t already. If you don’t have a DS this is a good reason to get one and if you don’t like to have fun well then you need a DS. I give Mario Kart DS 7 angry banana peels out of 7

Kyon

Super Mario 64 DS

Super Mario 64 DS

So if you played the one on the 64 you pretty much played this one with a few exceptions, an added room and the ability to play as Luigi, Yoshi, and Wario. When you start off you are playing as Yoshi and as you go through the game you unlock the other characters each with their own abilities. Yoshi has his tongue for attack, Mario is of course well balanced, Luigi has that insane jumping ability and Wario is super strong. You have to go to a room near the front entrance to change characters. Some of the levels require the ability of another character to get through to add some flavor to the game. However, once you go through this title you really don’t have much else to do. The mini games can add a bit of fun to it and can be extremely addicting until you have just played them way too much and they get old. The multiplayer on this one is kind of lame if you ask me. You get 4 levels for you and your buddies to collect coins on. The best one is the one with the slide its pretty fun but when you get to the bottom you take the last seconds to punch everybody and steal their coins. It’s ok for a while.

You can’t help but love a Mario game and you can’t complain about a remake of a great game with a little more oomph added to it. I give this game 5 sticky Yoshi tongues out of 7. I give it 5 because once you go through it it will probably sit on you shelf for a while until you’re in the mood for some 3D platforming.

Kyon