Review #99: Little Big Planet (PSP)

 Could've been worse. A lot worse

 Little Big Planet is Sony's staple platformer series ever since Crash jumped ship and became multi-platform. I don't own any Little Big Planet game, yet, but I got this one after PSN got hacked, and since I have a PSP now, why not give it a whirl?
 For starters, I like platforming games, I'm not necessarily good at them, but I enjoy them, Little Big Planet is a big odd, for instance, it takes place upon different planes(3 planes on consoles, but, luckily, reduced to 2 in the PSP game), and has some very, very floaty physics. The game is incredibly floaty, fans of tight, pixel perfect jumps that test your reflexes might want to look elsewhere. LBP makes up for this by focusing more on puzzles, you may need to carry objects from place to place, or travel from vine to vine while avoiding incoming hazards. Honestly? I don't like the mechanics, I dislike having multiple planes, and I dislike that your jumps may be hindered by small bumps on where you are standing. Everything feels loose, and I don't like it. Even worse, the game has a fair amount of glitches, I found myself stuck at least three times, which made me kill myself in order to progress(You can kill yourself at will, in case you want to try a jump again or what have you), and the level creator crashed on me, and from what I read on forums, it's quite a common occurrence.

 LBP is a very forgiving game, there are numerous checkpoints throughout each level, and once activated, death will make you respawn at the last that's been activated. Death comes at a cheap price, points, points are but bragging rights, having no impact on unlockables. And unlockables there are plenty, they come in the form of pieces for the level creator, levels, stickers or customization items, and they are hidden throughout each level, there's a lot to find and collect. While most of the game is pretty easy, some of these hidden levels can pose a decent challenge.
 LBP's most touted feature is the level creator, not only can you create your own levels, with a very easy to use and fairly deep creator, but you can download levels created by other players, which can extend the life of the game considerably, if you enjoy its physics. Regardless, as previously stated, the level creator likes to crash, so save often(Even if it can crash during a save, fun). You can also download additional tools and costumes fro Sackboy on PSN, some are free and some are paid(Albeit on the cheap), if you are the creative type you are bound enjoy this.

 Charm is something that this game is made of. Sackboy is impossibly cute, and so is the whole world crafted on the main game's levels. NPCs look as if they were made of wood or other similar materials, and so does most objects on the game. Everything looks as if it was made, built or crafted which is very, very cool. To make it even better, you can customize Sackboy with all sorts of different costumes and pieces, and he looks adorable with everything. Furthermore, the soundtrack is absolutely phenomenal, with many different types of music, and they all fit the overall game perfectly. Basically, both visually and soundwise, the game manages to pull you into it's world, sometimes, it's hard not to smile. Until you get stuck on something, that is.
 Little Big Planet on the PSP is not awful, but unless you can get over the physics, you won't have much fun, and even then, it's a pretty glitchy game. The game does have a fantastic presentation, and sometimes levels have some pretty entertaining set pieces or obstacles to get through, but they weren't enough for me to enjoy the game.
 5.0 out of 10.

Gundam Extreme VS Full Boost Impressions Wing(EW), X-chapter.

 Gundam HeavyArms Kai(EW)

 Clearly a unit to be played at long range, his overall ammo was decreased since vanilla, so now you've got to manage your resources more effectively. HeavyArms only has two melee attacks, and one of them is devastating, but good luck landing it!

Gundam Deathscythe Hell(EW)

 Feels very similar to his vanilla counterpart, but with shorter cool downs and better tracking on his beam, Deathscythe performs best at mid-close range, and has the tools to engage more or less safely.

Tallgeese III

 Tallgeese III is a fantastic unit that performs well at any range, making it adaptable and easy to pick up and play. While it is a bit slower than before, it's mobility is pretty good overall, and for a 2500, you can't go wrong with Tallgeese.

After War Gundam X

 Gundam Double X

 Has a new Assist attack! Double X received a couple of mobility buffs and a couple of negligible nerfs on the properties of its beams, but nothing too major. Double X is a unit that can do well at any distance, but excels at mid range. And it has, in my opinion, the best gerobi beam in the entire game.

Gundam Virsago Chest Break

 Virsago got buffed across the board to match its new 2500(from 2000) cost. Regardless, it more or less plays the same, it has a variety of tools for zoning, and a pretty neat assist that locks the enemy in place, for just the right amount of time to unleash its gerobi beam.

 NEW Gundam X Divider

 I wasn't expecting much from the new Gundam X, but oh boy, it's incredibly fun. X has plenty of projectiles that work better at medium range and cover a very nice area, they even do a respectable amount of damage! Futhermore, it has a one-off assist that summons two units that perform a nuclear gerobi beam. And its burst attack? A massive Gerobi beam that covers a very wide area. Pretty fancy for a 2500, its only flaw, that I found, is that while dashing on the ground, it takes a couple of seconds for it to break, as it slides through the ground.

BONUS

Turn X

 I didn't notice anything new or any major change, so it more or less should be the same as vanilla. Another mid-to-close-range unit, you really don't want the Turn X to get on your face, else expect to receive a ton of damage.

Now Playing: Mimana - Iyar Chronicle

 Oh god, this game is terrible. This is not what I wanted a PSP for!

 I got through the first dungeon and I've a lot of first impressions, none of them good. First dungeon was a mess, everything looked the same and it was extremely mazey, and to top it off, no music. NO MUSIC. Oh, and the encounter rate is kinda high, which I wouldn't mind if it only wasn't for the long, LONG load times before each battle, they grow annoying pretty soon. And the battle themselves? If everything worked, it'd be fun. If. For starters, the AI is completely stupid, if you don't set them to attack, or if they are out of mana, they'll just stay in place, waiting to be attacked and only then will they move. A little bit. And Magic? It takes so long for it to cast that it's borderline useless, this applies both to you and the enemies, dodging magic is incredibly easy.
 What little music I heard was, it was there, I didn't mind it. Voice acting is really good at least. And the graphics? Sprites are lame and the animation is pretty lacking, the battle sprites however are quite good, at least the main characters. Since we are back on battles again, they are kinda tough? I died on my second random encounter and I had to restart from the beginning since I hadn't saved. And the boss? It seems that just touching him hurt me, either that or he had 1-frame attacks that were too fast to be seen by the naked eye.
 This game is terrible. Little Big Planet(PSP) is boring. At least Darkstalkers 3 was fantastic, but so far my adventures with the PSP have been quite disappointing.

Month Overview: February

Games completed in February:
 Code of Princess                                                                                              7.5
 The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition                                    3.5
 Grandia 2                                                                                                         5.5
 Kirby Super Star Ultra                                                                                     7.5
 Naruto Powerful Shippuden                                                                              4.0
 Soul of Darkness                                                                                              5.5
 Wild Arms 2                                                                                                     8.0
 Darkstalkers Chronicle - The Chaos Tower                                                       8.5

Overview:
 FINALLY GOT A PSP, YEEEEEEEEEEEES. Oh and this month was all over the place, Four Swords was an awful one-player game and Powerful Shippuden was... And I still can't get over of how bad a port Grandia 2 was. At least I got a PSP, right?

Game of February:

 The translation was awful, but the gameplay was fantastic. I'd still take Wild Arms 3 over it any day of the week, but having a transforming main character was fun. Actually, I even prefer Wild Arms 3's cast over 2's, but... but nothing, bottom line: Wild Arms 2 is a great game that's hampered by a poor translation, but you can still get by, even if you are grinding your teeth most of the time. Heh.

Runner Up:

 This port is fantastic, it looks so good that it almost feels like a different game. There are loads of ways to play it, and The Tower adds plenty of replayability. A must have for fighting game fans.

Gundam Extreme VS Full Boost Impressions G, Wing TV-chapter.

 Dragon Gundam

  As per usual with G mobile suits, it's long-range and mid-range game is really weak, but performs great in close quarters. It has two new moves, a support call which seemed a bit eh and a beam attack. All its projectiles have poor tracking and low damage though.

 Master Gundam

 Has a new support call! The Master Gundam has fantastic close-range game, but performs poorly everywhere else. Even worse, it's slower than the God Gundam and with even worse projectiles yet costs even more.

 NEW Gundam Spiegel

 This unit is a ninja! Its proyectiles are Kunai, and his feet move so fast when dashing that you only see a blur, it looks awesome! His main projectiles have this unique property, that by following up with square+any direction makes him shoot its kunais in different ways. Overall it's a fun unit to play as, but not too useful.

Gundam Wing

 NEW Wing Gundam Zero(TV)

 Fantastic all around unit that performs great at any range. Color me surprised, it's not a complete clone of Wing Gundam Zero(Endless Waltz), while they do share most tools, they are used differently(EW's basic beam shot is TV's charge beam shot, the Rolling Beam attack is now a normal weapon instead of a charge move). The Wing Gundam can also hold the charge of the Beam move without needing to hold the Beam button, which is pretty useful, and it possesses Zero System that weakens enemy tracking on it for a really short while. Really good unit.

 NEW Gundam Epyon

 Epyon is extremely fun to use, with a incredibly strong and unique melee system(You keep on pressing attack and different directions to slash in different directions, mashing the attack button won't produce a combo as it has no natural combos!)... but it hasn't got a single projectile tool. Probably the worst suit in the game since Ranged combat is very important in Full Boost, it's still fun to use. It also has a Super Mode, that doesn't need to recharge and can be turned on or off at any moment, that grants it more range and, I think, attack power, at the cost of consuming more fuel. I love using the Epyon, but it's not an useful Mobile Suit.

BONUS

 Wing Gundam Zero(Endless Waltz)

 Has a new support assist. Behaves just like it did before, good all around unit, while it's not as easy to use as the TV Version, I actually like this one a bit more.

Review #98: Darkstalkers Chronicle - The Chaos Tower

 My first PSP game, yay!

 First things first: since I reviewed Darkstalkers 3 last year, and this game is more or less the same, this will be more of a comparison review so to speak. I will delve into the specifics of this game, of course, but I won't detail gameplay and what have you.

 Darkstalkers Chronicle is not just a Darkstalkers 3 port, oh no, this is more like a mash up of sorts. Y'see, you can actually choose to play under Darkstalkers mechanics, Night Warriors(DS 2 basically) or Darkstalkers 3, this translates to either two rounds, two rounds and keeping your energy gauge intact from round to round or just one battle with two life bars. Even better, you can use whichever iteration of the character you prefer under any mechanic, and if a character wasn't present in previous versions, he or she gets reworked versions of himself/herself. All of this translates to a lot of different ways to play the game, which is very, very neat.

 The game also contains every opening and every ending from each version of the game, alongside a good amount(88 pieces) of unlockable official art, which is extremely high quality and looks very crisp. Sadly, endings are hidden away in the Chronicle mode, for some reason beating Arcade mode will present you with a generic ending, so you must go into Chronicle mode if you wish to see whichever ending you unlocked, it's a minor inconvenience but it's worth mentioning. Speaking of Arcade Mode, the game doesn't have a lot of features, you just get Arcade Mode, Versus Mode, Tower and Training. All but Tower is self explanatory, Tower mode has you picking 3 characters and taking them up the aforementioned tower. Each battle has a different set of rules, depending on which rules you follow you'll take a different path and unlock a different piece of art. Your three characters restore a miniscule amount of health after each fight, so you must choose carefully how to proceed and which character to use. While there is a undeniable lack of modes, Tower mode is very fun and very replayable.
 Now, for the bad, the controls. The PSP's digital pad is not a good fit for all the complex motions required to perform the moves. The game offers a compromise in the form of "Easy" mode, which allows you to set a button to memory so that you can use any special move you set to it just by pressing it, among other niceties, but it comes at the loss of Medium Punch and Medium Kick. Speaking of special moves, there is no way to see a movelist anywhere but on the instruction booklet, very annoying, characters have loads of special moves and many don't follow the basic quarter circle forward/backward motions, a movelist would've been much appreciated, especially since trying out motions with the PSP's digital pad is annoying.

 The game looks beautiful, it always did, but coming from the PS1 version that had missing frames, this looks like a whole different game. The difference in the quality of the animation is undeniable, which makes this port look fantastic. Even better, it's uncensored, meaning that the blood is red and not white. Lastly, you can either play in full screen, which stretches the screen to match, or play with borders, but keeping the correct ratio. Honestly, the stretched image doesn't look bad at all and I chose to keep it that way.
 And that's about it, Darkstalkers 3 on the Playstation 1 was a fantastic game, but Darkstalkers Chronicle is even better. Sure, the controls are annoying, but that's the PSP's fault and not the game's, and I doubt you'll be playing tournaments on a PSP. I might've called the PS1 version the definitive version of Darkstalkers 3, I was wrong. This is the definitive version of Darkstalkers 3, and if you are a fan of the franchise, you owe it to yourself to get this version.
 8.5 out of 10.

Gundam Extreme VS Full Boost Impressions F91, Victory-chapter.

 Gundam F91

 A bit on the frail side, but then again it's a 2000 unit. I didn't play much of it on vanilla, but it's an alright unit, has tools to battle at every range, but it's a bit slow. Overall? It's alright but I don't myself using it any time soon,

Mobile Suit Victory Gundam 

 Victory 2 Gundam 

 They nerfed him! Basically, less ammo and longer reload times. Victory 2 is a unit that shines when it comes to long range skirmishes, and he really needs to, as his melee is bad and it's mobility is on the slow side. While the overall tracking of his long range weapons is fantastic, it can temporarily engage into an Assault Mode that grants him a new Beam attack, but the tracking on this one is bad and the start-up is slow, his basic long range beam gets stronger though.

 Gun-EZ

 Gun-EZ was a unit that I've always liked for support, since it can send grunts to cover his ally. Sadly, the rest of it's tools feel samey, meaning it really doesn't have much answers to different situations. Oh, and engaging Burst Mode makes Uso and his V Gundam swoop in and provide beam support! Very straight forward, lots of beams, not bad but there are better 1000 units out there.

 NEW Gottrlatan

 I don't like Katejina as a character and I don't like Gottrlatan's design, but this is a very solid 2500 unit. Has good close-range capabilities and excellent long range tools, it can cover wide or narrow areas, very nice. It's mid-range game is a bit lacking however, as it's beams have a bit of a start-up and can't be cancelled once the beams/missiles are out. Still, very solid unit.

  NEW Victory Gundam

 It can shoot its body parts as proyectiles. I repeat, it can shoot it's limbs. The V Gundam is impossibly fun to use. It doesn't have many different tools at its disposal, and shooting the legs or arms seem to function basically the same, but it's fun, plus they deal a lot of damage. Engaging Burst Mode grants it a new charge beam attack, it's slow but powerful. Lastly, while you can respawn legs and arms at any time, if you shoot a pair of limbs without respawning the other, you'll engage into a ship mode. I've yet to discover its use, as it feels really useless, and you can cancel it at any time, so what's the point of it? Fun unit, might not be to useful, but really fun.

Bonus:

 God Gundam

 I played my fair share of God Gundam in vanilla, and he feels just as good. The vulcans have been removed in favor of an assist, I'm Ok with it. The Burst Attack was changed, actually, he now has two Burst Attacks, I'm Ok with this as well. I dunno, I like the new changes. God Gundam, as a unit, is probably one of the faster ones, and it needs to, as its long-to-mid range combat is quite lacking. Its basic beam attack is really strong, but hard to hit with and with mediocre range, its only long range attack must be charged and the tracking is not too good. On the flip side, hitting an enemy with the basic beam attack stuns them, leaving them open for a good melee combo or another shoot. I recommend the combo.

Now Playing: Little Big Planet(PSP)

 Oh boy

 I kinda played this game by accident, kinda, and got through the first level, so I might as well do this. I was never a big fan of LBP, the three-plane system never clicked with me, luckily, it's only two planes now, still annoying though. And since it's on a portable, no "traditional" co-op, which sucks unless you know someone else that owns a PSP.
 While I'm not a fan of LBP, I can appreciate the amount of charm that SackBoy has, and customizing him might be fun. Well, let's see if after going through the game my opinion changes, though I'm not hopeful, at least it was a freebie!

Now Playing: Darkstalkers Chronicle - The Chaos Tower

 You can never have too much Darkstalkers, right?.... right?

 Not gonna lie, so far it ain't nothing special. It feels like a souped up port of the Playstation DS version, you get to pick from every mode(Every iteration of Darkstalkers), but you also get every ending... shame it's hidden under a mode, which name's I've forgotten.

 I'm still trying to get used to the directional pad, something tells me that the PSP isn't a good fit for Fighters? Even though everyone would tell me otherwise, heh!

Archile's Grab bag, Portable Wednesday edition

  Two boxes!? HAPPINESS.

 Let's cut'em open.

 FILLED TO THE BRIM, I'M LOVING IT.

 Shadow Madness: I think I didn't particularly like this game, but I've been wantint to replay, and finish it, for a while now.

 Final Fantasy VIII: I loved this game as a kid, but something tells me I will find the Draw system a drag now, ah well, it has to be played again, my childhood demands it.

 Crisis Core - Final Fantasy: People say that it's good, but Squeenix track record as of late is pretty sad, still, I must play it. Please, don't ruin Final Fantasy VII anymore, they were meant to be stand alone games.
 Mobile Suit Gundam VS Gundam Next Plus: I've been a fan of the franchise since Gundam: Federation VS Zeon, so I just had to get it. Now I just need to get Rengou VS Zaft....

  Darkstalkers Chronicle - The Chaos Tower: There's no such thing as too much Darkstalkers.

 Mimana - Iyar Chronicle: I've no idea what this game is all about, but gameplay seemed interesting.

  Gods Eater Burst: Seemed like a pretty good Monster Hunter Clone, so might as well give it a spin. So many PSP games, if only I had a PSP...

  What could be on the other box?

  Kirby's Return to Dream Land: I wasn't planning on getting this one so soon, but the game's price was skyrocketing upwards, so I took a dive.

 COULD IT BE?! A PSP!?

Gundam Extreme VS Full Boost Impressions ZZ, Char's CounterAttack-chapter.

 Qubeley Mark II

 Very much improved since vanilla, Qubeley(Puru) is an excellent long range 1000 unit, has plenty of annoying proyectiles to keep the enemy at bay, plus, it's pretty bulky and fun to use.

 Qubeley

 Feels a bit faster than it's vanilla counterpart. Most of Qubeley Mark II's long-range options a gone, but it definitely has a better close-range game. While it's fun to use, there are way better 2500 units out there.

 NEW Zaku III Custom

 A fun 1000 cost unit to use. At the outset there's nothing special about it, but after about 10 seconds you can engage in a Power Up mode that reflects beams and enhances melee for a short while. Plus, it gets a stunner with a huge range. Still, I think it could've used a couple more long ranged options besides the Beam rifle and the supports.

 Char's CounterAttack

 Nu Gundam

 Even though it received a new move, it feels very much the same as before. It's a great all around unit that can fight at any range effectively and it's pretty straight forward to use. The beam shield is pretty useful!

 Sazabi

 Finally became a 3000 unit! The Sazabi is pretty fun to use and a great long-range unit with plenty of tools and options to cause havoc. What's even better, even though his melee is a bit too slow and might leave him open for enemy beams, he can cause some damage up close! Still, he is better at long range-mid range, but shouldn't be scared to engage head on.

Bonus:

Berga Giros

 Berga Giros suffers from having a good melee. 1000 units are supposed to be support units, that stay away but aid the more expensive units. Berga Giros has a pathetic main gun that deals little damage and has poor tracking, he also has missiles that are easy to dodge unless used at mid-range. His stronger long-range option is his support call, but these don't recharge until respawn. Sounds pretty bad, but he has a couple of moves that stun and have pretty low charge/reload time, these can help him get up close and deal larger damage or let the other unit engage safely. As a whole, I don't believe he is of much use, but dunking enemies with the drill is fun!

Gundam Extreme VS Full Boost Impressions Z-chapter.

 I'm liking Full Boost so much, that I wanna write my impressions on all the units. I talked about most of 0079 in my Now Playing entry, so I won't be covering them, instead...

Z Gundam

 A good, all around unit, I didn't notice anything particularly different from vanilla Extreme VS. I didn't hate it, but I don't see myself using this unit any time soon.

Hyaku Shiki

 My favorite Mobile Suit in the Gundam universe. A 2500 unit, it feels a bit weak amongst it's 2500 brethen. The Ion Cannon is as useless as it was on Vanilla, since the start up is too long. I dunno, I know that I used the hell out of this unit in Vanilla, but this time it just didn't click with me. I will be retrying it after I'm done, since it is my favorite mobile suit.

Messala

 The giant cannons on its back make it look bulkier than it is, even though it is quite a tall unit. It's an OK unit with a fantastic long range game and a decent melee.

 New Units
The-O

 This was actually DLC in Vanilla, but since I didn't buy it, this unit is pretty much new to me. As one would expect from this four-armed(He has two tiny arms hidden in it's battle skirt) behemoth, its long-range game is pretty weak, and his Beam Rifle takes a while to recharge, so make each weak hit count. It's melee, however, is quite fantastic, he can make some pretty long and strong combos with devastating results. When I first tried it, I hated it, coming from the Messala, but after getting used to it, he became quite fun.

Hambrabi

  The Hambrabi has both decent long range game and decent close range game, making it quite versatile. One of his attacks has him calling Dunkel and Ramsus, in their own Hambrabis, working alongside Yazan for a long while. Unlike other supports of their kind, Dunkel and Ramsus are invulnerable, so they'll remain alongside Yazan until their time is up. Not only do they provide a nice buff to the Hambrabi's long range damage, but they allow it to use the three-pronged attack that they used on the show! Very nice unit.

Gundam Mark II/Super Gundam

 One of the units I liked the most, so far. It's got a decent mid range/close range game by default, and it can call the G-Defender to transform into the Super Gundam for a short while. The Super Gundam takes a hit on close-range, but gains super beams to aid it in mid-to-long range skirmishes. It's all around fun and pretty decent.

Bonus:

Full Armor ZZ Gundam/ZZ Gundam

 While I didn't particularly like it in Vanilla, FAZZ was my go-to mobile suit in Mission Mode, when the missions got harder and I needed more fire power. Compared to its vanilla counterpart, it seems a bit weaker when it comes to damage output, but it keeps the same start-up as before. Full Armor ZZ Gundam was made for long range, as his movement speed is slow, and his close-game is pretty sad. Long-range is where it shines the most, until you purge the armor and turn into ZZ Gundam. ZZ Gundam gains more speed and a better close range game, bit it should still aim to stay in mid-range.