Record of Agarest War 2 review

You play as Weiss, a dude suffering from a nasty case of amnesia after slaying a raging god. Unfortunately, killing such a powerful being comes with a price. The world is pretty much ending at this point, and it's up to Weiss to fix the problem. The story starts off fairly okay, but then it just spirals into a convoluted mess of long-drawn out character interactions and long-winded dialogue sequences. Seriously, there's a lot of spoken dialogue in Agarest War 2 (all of it in Japanese), so be prepared for that. I made the mistake of playing this game late at night a few times, and I had to stand up off my chair so I wouldn't nod off. It's not that the story isn't slightly interesting, because it is at times. The problem is that there's way too much talking and not enough action.

This line of dialogue was preceded and followed by several walls of text.

Where Agarest War 2 shines most is in its battle mechanics. The game takes an interesting approach to tactical RPG gameplay, giving Weiss and the party of characters he meets along the way plenty of methods for attacking enemies. While engaged in battle, you can press one of the four main face buttons to initiate some offense. Before you can really dish out the punishment, you need to break your aggressor's guard. After you do so, you have several options such as continuing the same attack, juggling your enemy in the air, and perform powered up combos. The battle system in Agarest War 2 is definitely engaging and highly satisfying. That's why it's a shame that the story bits get in the way.

Progression consists of traveling between towns and dungeons. Along the way you'll be thrust into several random encounters. A lot of folks have reportedly had an issue with this because all of the randomized battles can become a nuisance. Personally, however, I wasn't bothered too much because I felt that these battles kept my party at a consistently decent level whenever I encountered stronger enemies in dungeons.

When Agarest War 2 isn't talking you to death or providing you with bits of rewarding combat, it tasks you with maintaining relationships. Characters in your party will frequently talk to you, asking you questions along the way that will either improve or hinder your relationships. You can't please everyone, though, and your responses have a direct impact on your bonds with people. Additionally, Agarest War 2 throws some dating sim elements at you. The female characters you encounter on your journey play a major role in the game's story as you're essentially trying to woo them as part of the whole "save humanity" deal.

At least battles are interesting.

It's not all conversations, though. Agarest War 2 features some sexy interactive mini-games. Without spoiling too much, there are sequences where you'll have to give the ladies a massage using various oils (and sometimes even ice cream). You follow that up with cleaning the characters up (cleaning 'em up good!), and you can even use the Move controller if you want. You know, anything to put that blasted peripheral to use.

Agarest War 2 takes place across several generations, which means you get to play as a variety of characters with different personalities. It's fun seeing the world unfold and different character interactions shaping the countless bonds you'll form. Unfortunately, it all goes back to the dialogue, which is constantly overbearing and can get ridiculously tiresome. I almost feel as though the developers should have toned it down on all the talking, because that's seriously the main aspect that kept me from enjoying Agarest War 2 as much as I could have. And while you can skip story sequences, doing so means you're pretty much playing a story-less RPG and missing some pivotal plot details.

Visually, Agarest War 2 is pretty boring. While I can appreciate the anime-esque character models, it bothers me that these games are still relying so heavily on static backgrounds and characters that move ever so slightly while conversing. Damn it, add some more cutscenes to your games, JRPG developers! The overworld and battle screens are equally unimpressive. I definitely dig the stocky, cartoony look that the characters sport during these instances, but their surroundings are just plain drab and absolutely dull to look at.

Hahaha!

As far as sound design is concerned, Agarest 2 is fairly underwhelming in this department, too. There are no grand themes, and the soundtrack is just there to provide you with music to play the game along to. There's nothing that really stands out about it. As previously stated, the game features Japanese language voice-overs, so prepare to do a lot of reading if you don't know the language and want to understand the story. I suppose that's better than having to listen to horribly dubbed English voice work.

Agarest War 2 is a game for JRPG nuts. This title will not appeal to causal fans of the genre because too many flaws hamper the experience. For as interesting as the combat and relationship systems may be, there's an overabundant amount of dialogue that really interferes with the experience. Agarest War 2 is also too messy as far as its presentation is concerned. If you can ignore its glaring flaws, this RPG may provide you with some reasonable entertainment. Just don't expect anything too compelling.

Oh yeah, there's also this. Seriously, what the hell, you guys?!

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Via: Record of Agarest War 2 review

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Tekken Tag Tournament 2 review

First off, the game is visually impressive. In all fighting games, framerate is very important, and I only sparingly experienced a slight hiccup. The animations are all smooth and shifting from one combo into another is visually satisfying. Character models are beautiful for the entire roster of over 50 characters. Stages, which span the world — from the enchanted North Pole with tons of Santas to a creepy swamp of purple goo that covers your fighter — each brings a different atmosphere.

Now that you know the game looks pretty, what are your options for play? Of course there's online and offline, and I spent all of my time offline. As 'Tag' is in the title, the fighting revolves around 2v2 matches that have you swapping between two fighters. Let me tell you, you can pull of some really cool combos and juggle your opponents once you become well-versed in the game. You can also do 2v1, 1v2, and 1v1. These variations are available for play against both human and computer opponents. Four players are also able to play 2v2, which is a welcome bonus when all of your friends are over. There's also the timed attack, survival and practice mode, all of which add some variety.

If you've never played a Tekken game, there are two punch buttons, two kick button, multiple combos and grapples. That's the basic gist of it, but you can unleash so much more than what you think. I'm still discovering new, cool combos and moves with characters, and with 50 characters, there's a lot to learn. For each of the 50 characters, there is an ending movie that you unlock at the end of arcade mode. They're not long, but they're often humorous and each character has their own.

The main problem I find with Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is that it's one of the most exhilarating and fun fighting games when playing with other people, but it gets frustrating when playing solo. I'm basing this off of Arcade mode. I feel like the whole game teaches you to play a certain way. But then you get to the bosses and the game changes drastically. The difficulty ramps up significantly, to the point where I couldn't tell the difference between playing on easy, medium or ultra hard. Bosses start using special moves that feel out of place, with abilities that brings one of your fighters down to no health in one hit. Pro fighters probably fair a lot better, for for gamers like me that hold their own in fighting games, I feel the game just gets out of hand.

I mean, I played against a friend that regularly wins fighting game tournaments, and I won half the games. Yet it took me quite a while to beat the final boss... to the point where I felt like breaking things in the room. I couldn't imagine having to go through this 50 times. This is why I feel Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is an entirely different game when played against humans. I don't know — maybe it's just me.

Lastly, a huge addition to the game is the Fight Lab. Acting as part story mode, part training, it's a great mode for newbies and veterans alike. While teaching you the ins and outs of Tekken's combat, you play as Combot and experience the story around him. There's some sexism and back and forth jokes made between the inventor of Combot and his assistant, which are pretty funny. It adds a nice element to the standard training mode that some fighting games have. And it's all definitely goofy. You also earn money the more you play, which lets you customize Combot with fighting moves from the entire Tekken Tag Tournament 2 roster. You also earn these coins playing other modes, like as you play through Arcade mode. With this, you can also customize the appearance of fighters by buying different hair and articles of clothing. It's just a way to customize the characters to look the way you like. I have a funny feeling that most of the female characters are going to end up barely clothed in a lot of male's games.

After my time with Tekken Tag Tournament 2, I feel that it's a strong fighting game that has the basics down pat and does a ton right. When playing against other people, the fighting is both calculated and ferocious, sure to illicit cheers from people watching. I definitely see how the game will fair in pro play. And while the Fight Lab is great for both story and getting players used to the game, I feel that Arcade mode ends up unbalanced towards the end — which is a bit of a turn off. Even with those problems, this is one of the prime fighting games you can pick up, and I recommend that you do so.

[Reviewed on Xbox 360]

You can follow Movies and Culture Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ

Via: Tekken Tag Tournament 2 review

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