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Before you begin Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, be sure to look into some term life insurance quotes. The PSP game is far more of an action RPG than the traditional turn-based affair that made the Final Fantasy VII universe so universally appealing, to be prepared for the change.

That said, the game is everything one could hope for on a gameplay standpoint, except that it’s a bit short on the main quest. A lot of hours can be added via optional missions, but the main quest is complete in only a handful of hours of gameplay, rather than the 50-plus hours the original Final Fantasy VII game delivered on.

I’ll be doing a full-on review soon, but I’m enjoying what I’ve played thus far.

If you enjoy insomnia, have I got a game for you.

It’s a little gem for the Xbox 360 called Lost Odyssey, and it’s everything that Blue Dragon wasn’t; epic, moving, serious, enthralling. It’s the perfect sleep wedge to keep you up well into the wee hours. Even my wife has lost countless hours of sleep since bringing the game home with us from the local GameStop.

While some folks have said the game relies too heavily on text for Kian’s dreams, the stories told are so evocative that anyone taking the time to read them will be moved and forget about the inconvenience. Face it, Lost Odyssey is an instant classic.

Sony has finally delivered a true next-gen controller to the gaming public; the DualShock 3s arrived at retail last week, and not a moment too soon. With a bit more weight and a great feel, the return of force feedback to the Sony platform is like welcoming back a long-lost friend.

I’ve used them at in-store displays, but haven’t landed my own just yet. But tell all your friends in their alcohol rehabs that they can give up the bottle and return to PS3 gaming the way it always should have been.

Anyone want a couple slightly-used SixAxis controller? I’ll, umm, start the bidding at $10? $5? $1, anyone?

Ahh, forget it. They’re worthless crap anyway.

It wasn’t long ago that the videogame world had never even heard of an attorney simulation game, at least in the US market, but it hasn’t taken Capcom’s little series long to catch on and become a popular series on the Nintendo DS. Filled with all the intrigue of a mystery novel come to life, the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney games did well initially in Japan, where they appeared on the GameBoy Advance, before making their way to the US market via the DS.

The previous three games, Ace Attorney, Justice for All and Trials and Tribulations, all featured Phoenix Wright as the series’ main protagonist; Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney introduces an all-new protagonist and Phoenix Wright appears as a defendant accused of murder in the opening case of the new game.

Graphically, the game hasn’t changed much from its GBA origins. About the only improvements in the way the game looks is a mildly richer color palette and some smoother-looking textures; other than that, the signature art style of the series is largely unchanged. While the game looks fine by DS standards, however, it doesn’t look quite as nice as the Harvey Birdman attorney sim Capcom recently released on Sony’s PSP platform.

While the opening sequence that places rookie attorney Apollo Justice on the defense for Phoenix Wright is a shocker, the biggest changes to the series come in how one interacts with the game. Like the notorious fifth case on the first Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney game, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney was built specifically for the Nintendo DS platform, rather than being ported up from GBA. As such, all the exciting investigative tools so enjoyed in that fifth case are now present and accounted for in all four cases that comprise the Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney game.

That means the game takes full advantage of the DS’ microphone and touchscreen; you can once again rotate items via touchscreen to uncover concealed clues, or use the microphone to shout “Objection!” during the course of a trial. AJ:AA also features several new features.

One is the perceive system, which helps Apollo pinpoint nervous body language that helps him identify when a witness is being deceptive. A crime recreation mode is also introduced for the first time, and is utilized to help pinpoint new evidence. With all these new DeWalt tools in his arsenal, one might think it would be a snap for Apollo Justice (and gamers) to solve the four cases in front of them. However, it’s not quite so easy and gamers will need all these tools to get to the truth of the matter, since the Capcom scribes behind this game are quite good at plot twists, rabbit trails and big reveals, to keep things interesting.

As before, each case grows increasingly challenging, making solving the final case a significant achievement. More of an interactive novel than a true videogame, Apollo Justice may feature a brand new main character, but everything DS fans enjoyed about earlier Phoenix Wright games has returned – in spades.

The release of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney catches the US market up with the Japanese market. The future looks bright for the series, however. It is well-known that Capcom announced the fifth game in the series about a year ago, in May 2007; that game is expected to release next fall. Also, in February 2008, a spinoff title featuring life on the prosecution’s side of the courtroom, featuring Miles Edgeworth and Dick Gumshoe, was announced as under development by Capcom, so with at least two more games on the way, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney is definitely a new beginning not a final swan song, for games of this genre.

It’s a bit sad when a once-solid franchise falls behind the pace, and that the only way, really, to regard MLB 2K8. The game isn’t bad, but the problem is more one of coasting while others are revving ahead. For Sony gamers, there is an alternative in the company’s MLB 08 The Show, but for Wii and 360 owners, MLB 2K8 is pretty much the only game in town.

Much like having an exclusive lock on football titles has made EA Sports’ Madden series lazy and uninspired, so too has having a third-party exclusive on MLB titles made 2K Sports’ baseball titles seem lazy and uninspired. Not having any legitimate competition tends to do that.

The nihilism kicks off almost from the word go; the graphics seem barely touched from last year’s edition, which wasn’t that great to begin with. Even before the 2K8 edition, even before the PS3/360/Wii era had begun, the series was troubled by freezes, glitches and graphical dead space; that hasn’t changed and eventually one has to wonder if 2K Sports and developer Kush Games even care about fixing the game visually.

While Ben Brinkman of Kush has been quoted from several sources saying that 2K8 is the “middle act” of a three-year plan to make over the franchise, that does little to comfort gamers who are shelling out hard-earned bucks for this year’s version. The franchise needs a top-to-bottom graphic makeover using an all-new game engine to really deliver the goods, and that’s not a position 2K Games is in; under their exclusivity agreement with MLB, 2K Sports is obligated to deliver a new iteration every year, which shortens development time, making a complete makeover difficult.

Yet the progress this year seems merely incremental, not revolutionary, especially from a graphic perspective. The new Swing Stick interface is actually harder to time and master than last year’s version, and the all-new pitching system is very realistic, based on analog stick interaction, but also is quite difficult, especially for less experienced hardball gamers, and ultimately many folks will end up choosing an older, alternate control scheme – which, at least, 2K Sports had the courtesy to include several of within the game. Mastering the pitching control scheme is ultimately rewarding, but extremely hard, kind of like buying car insurance online.

On the 360, the graphics lack the fluid animations of other sports titles on the market and feel like they are chugging along; I’ve seen the PS3 version in action and it’s no better, so it’s not a platform issue, it’s a developer issue.

While the new pitching control is a highlight (if you can ever get the hang of it), it’s not the only aspect of the game that’s strong and praiseworthy. Responding to long-term criticism, support of minor league teams has been vastly expanded. The game features no less than 90 real-life minor league teams, as well as 20 authentic minor-league stadiums, with more periodically released over the course of the season via Xbox Live for the 360. Those minor league teams even have some of the real-life players on them, although this is limited to those players who have at least spent some time in the majors.

I also appreciated some of the refinements made – to my complete surprise, since I usually suck at fielding – to the fielding controls. Even baserunning has improved, thanks to smarter baserunning AI. These refinements are not major new features, but have long been needed and offer some much needed relief from a problem that has plagued the series for a long time.

In the end, though, the “room for improvement” areas are critical and more numerous than the nice improvements and new features. Sadly, since Microsoft long ago stopped developing their own first-party baseball game, there is no alternative for 360 owners looking for an MLB game this season. It’s not a terrible game, but it could and should have been a whole lot better. Here’s hoping 2K9, allegedly the year in which 2K Sports and Kush will complete their makeover of the franchise, will finally deliver the goods on all levels. At the moment, however, I’d suggest saving your shekels this year and keep on playing 2K7.

It’s ironic … and shocking. It wasn’t that long ago that Sony’s in-house sports development team, previously known as 989 Sports and now just referred to generically as SCEA, was an industry laughing stock. But as the PS2 era wound to a close and the PS3 era dawned, Sony reinvested in reinvigorating their sports game lineup, and the results have been increasingly improved reviews, although none of their games have yet eclipsed the industry big boys, 2K Sports and EA Sports. Until now.

MLB 08 The Show has finally broken through; although it has turned out to be an off-year for 2K Sports “third-party exclusive license” MLB competitor, MLB 08 The Show nevertheless deserves recognition for finally pulling off the unthinkable and besting one of the two main third party sports developers. This year’s Sony baseball sim is just simply better than 2K Sports’ MLB 2K8. How? Let me count the ways as we open the books on MLB 08: The Show.

First is the new, deeper Road to the Show mode, which boasts new advancements, career goals, and position specific situations to play through. No longer restricted to a single season of play, the game allows you to track your players’ career from the rookie leagues on up to the majors, gaining experience and new skills along the way; the mode is basically a baseball RPG, which is a good thing that lends both depth and replay value to the game. To be honest, this is what won me over. I’ve seen similar features in Sony’s basketball franchise, but it is here where the concept has finally come together to create a solid experience in single-player mode, one that is not limited or limiting.

The new progressive batting system is also a welcome innovation; the game rewards players for consistent hitting, but penalizes them for failure, which helps keep the stats realistic and reflects the ups and downs all hitters go through as a 182-game season plays out. There is also a lot more stat-tracking this year, right down to a batter’s history against specific pitchers, which should satisfy the stat fanatics out there.

One feature I treasure, as a busy person, is the ability to save your game right in the middle of a ballgame; many sports games do not include this feature, which means either pausing the game and possibly getting caught up in something that causes you to forget the system is on with the game paused, or perhaps quitting and having the play the game over; neither option is particularly appealing and by allowing the user to save their progress in the middle of the game, MLB 08 The Show gets heartfelt gratitude for their consideration of an adult gamer’s schedule. While such a feature will rarely be needed on the pause-friendly PSP, it is a boon to PS2 and PS3 gamers.

Other convenience features include the ability to create a folder called My MLB Music on either the PSP or PS3 versions of the game, and import your favorite MP3s into that folder so they can be played in the game. This is worlds of fun for folks who want to game and hear their own favorite music playing at the same time. The feature, however, is not available for PS2 owners.

The game’s graphics are nothing too world-changing, but they are decent enough to get by with on the PSP and PS3; on the PS2, however, the graphics are starting to look dated. At least MLB 08 The Show on PS3 comes with out-of-the-box compatibility with the upcoming DualShock 3 controllers. Of course, since Sony made both the game and the new controllers, that one was a given.

The fielding controls are the game’s biggest flaw; the controls are as wonky and un-crisp as ever, and certainly make it worth turning on fielding assistance or auto-fielding whenever possible, though that’s not an option, really, in Road to the Show mode. The pitching controls are improved and the batting mildly improved, though, so at least the results on controls vary from position to position. And anyway, I’ve never liked the fielding controls in any baseball game I’ve ever played, so maybe that’s a wash.

In the end, no matter whether you’re playing on PlayStation 2, PSP or PlayStation 3, MLB 08 The Show is good enough that folks who own Xbox 360s and Nintendo Wiis may just start wishing Sony would make their franchise available to platforms other than their own, especially with this season’s surprising drop-off in quality on 2K Sports’ MLB 2K8.

Director Frank Darabont has made a reputation – and even been nominated for an Oscar or two – adapting the lesser-known works of horror author Stephen King to the big screen. Unlike others who adapt King’s material, Darabont tends to choose King stories more grounded in reality and human drama than in demon-possessed cars and salespeople trying to hawk Branson homes for sale who stop at the wrong small town overnight. His films, The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile stand head-and-shoulders above nearly every other King story ever adapted to film, and, some might argue, were often among the best films released in their respective years.

That’s high praise, especially for a director primarily of Stephen King films, but The Mist is an entirely different beast. The most supernatural-oriented Stephen King film Darabont’s ever taken on, he is in somewhat unfamiliar territory. While the film reflects King’s penchant for creating sharp, recognizable, believable characters and compelling stories, the supernatural content is a bit more B-movie than Darabont has taken on before.

Based on a short story included in Dark Forces, a horror anthology first published in 1980, it was later included in Skeleton Crew, King’s 1985 collection of his own short fiction. The original story ran approximately 155 pages in length.

As a movie, The Mist stays close to the King source material, as Darabont’s films often do. Unfortunately, the creatures encountered in the course of the story are far more B-movie in variety than the usual tone Darabont achieves with his other King adaptations. Also, some characters, such as the religious zealot Mrs. Carmody, come off as thinner, more clichéd portrayals on film than the insightful narrative flow of the prose story.

The basic premise is that after a severe thunderstorm in a small Maine coastal village, a thick mist forms and advances on the town. A number of folks are at the local supermarket when the mist hits town and, inside the mist, large creatures exist that prey on any living thing they can find. Some are tentacle, others are lobster-like, some seem like prehistoric-sized mosquitoes and the like. All of them are bloodthirsty.

In essence, it’s a classic horror tale setup, similar in tone and setting to George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead (set at a shopping mall). Romero is a close associate of King’s, by the way. While Darabont carries off the film as well as can be expected, the source material doesn’t ask the deeper questions that his previous efforts asked, such as the durability of the human spirit found in Shawshank Redemption or the morality of capital punishment found in The Green Mile.

No, The Mist is more solidly in the camp of a Saturday afternoon fright fest. Sure, there is a minor theme developed with a trio of soldiers caught in the supermarket and whether government testing and weapons research might be the cause of the current onslaught. But the film simply lacks the depth that made Darabont’s two previous King adaptations such instant classics.

This is not to say that The Mist is unenjoyable, but it certainly is more akin, as King might say, to a McDonald’s Happy Meal, rather than a steak dinner. It’s a darn fine McDonald’s Happy Meal, but in the end, no more than that.

The DVD commentary on the film provides some great insights on the work of adapting King to the screen, and comments on his other attempts at it, from Darabont himself, although it would have been far more entertaining had the discussion included King as well. The deluxe, two-DVD package was plenty of extras and features, included a version of the film in black and white, which Darabont reveals as his initial vision for the flick.

While there is plenty to enjoy, the standard DVD presentation would have been made even more memorable on Blu-Ray HD. Much was made at the time of release about the final five minutes of the film, trumpeted to be a shocker no one should share.

I won’t violate King and Darabont’s wishes by revealing the secret ending, save to say that in it, there is at least an attempt to open up a morality discussion about the decisions made by the characters in the closing scenes. In the classic King story, the ending was indistinct and fuzzy on the payoff; the group of survivors drove into an uncertain future. In the film, there is more of a payoff on the fates of each character; whether this new ending is more appealing or not will be a subject of debate among all who see the film.

Gory and filled with a bit more profanity than some folks will feel comfortable with, the film remains rated R on DVD, foregoing the current trend to released nearly every film ever made only in ruder, cruder Unrated versions. But even as an R-rated DVD, there is never the sense that Darabont and King have held anything back from realizing their vision in this film to the fullest extent possible, like it or not.

Although most folks will rejoice when I say that the Wild Arms RPG franchise has finally arrived on PSP, hold on to your yippee-ki-yays for a moment, cowboy. The US Old West-themed fantasy series may now have a title on Sony’s handheld platform, but this PSP title is significantly different from the popular series that has done moderately well on PSone and PS2.

That’s because Wild Arms XF, developed as always by Media.Vision and published by XSeed is not your standard turn-based RPG, but has more in common with Final Fantasy Tactics than any previous Wild Arms installment. Given an all-new storyline and cast, Wild Arms XF is a full-on tactics-style RPG with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

One benefit is that the title introduces a job system into the Wild Arms universe for the first time; this allows for greater customization and skill acquisition than previous titles, but the trade-off is that the game has no world for you to wander around in and explore; it boasts only two modes – story sequences and battles.

Like FFT, Wild Arms XF doesn’t take it easy on newcomers; you must learn the game system fast or be crushed by superior opponents, some of whom are designed to be avoided at all costs, so pay attention to your actual mission objectives before entering into each new battle.

Of course, none of this is a problem for me; I love tactics RPGs and that makes this chapter of the Wild Arms saga a welcome change of pace. My wife, however, was not so kindly disposed toward the title, complaining that it was too hard too soon in the game, arguing that a game should offer a few more battles before ramping up the challenge level so quickly. (My wife prefers action-based RPGs.)

The story is one typical of the world of Filgaia. The game centers around a brother and sister, Clarissa and Filius, who start out exploring the world outside their home town, but who are eventually caught up into the political struggled of the day. There are hints dropped early on that Clarissa is either an exiled princess who doesn’t remember her past, or is a dead ringer for the dethroned debutante. Things just kind of snowball from there.

Wild Arms XF isn’t a title that breaks tons of new ground or revolutionizes the genre, but it is a game that’s entertaining, challenging, and possesses few flaws that will bug veterans of the tactics RPG genre. It also fits right into the universe established by previous games, and delivers a Filgaia-based game that you can take with you on the go. The only drawbacks are the steep learning curve for genre newcomers, and the fact that the jobs and skills system are a bit thinner than those found in Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lion. Then again, that’s setting the bar pretty high.

Wild Arms XF is one of the sharper-looking entries in this series, benefitting perhaps from the smaller screen the PSP offers. In the end, it all adds up to a niche RPG that will appeal to most fans of the series and fans of tactics RPGs, but likely won’t draw a lot of non-fans into the fold. Definitely a solid entry, though, and a good addition to any PSP-owning RPG lovers library. XSeed is doing all it can to support the title, too; I’m hoping they’ll offer up some logo pens as part of that effort!

When I heard the God of War franchise was moving from PS2 to the PSP for the Chains of Olympus chapter, I was skeptical at first. Sure, the PSP needs a solid action-adventure title as much as any other platform, but one of the main appeals of God of War as a series has been its larger than life sense of scale. How could the title maintain that appeal on the PSP’s rather smaller screen?

Well, I needn’t have worried. The game still looks sharp on the handheld platform and offers plenty of oversized opponents appropriate to the lineage of the series. Even my wife was impressed with the look of the game on the small screen; it was loaded with detail that only a few other PSP titles have come close to achieving and that makes the game a really fine showcase for the PSP platform.

Not a simple port, God of War: Chains of Olympus is an all-new adventure that serves as a prequel to the first God of War title released on PS2. Developed by SCEA-Santa Monica and Ready At Dawn Studios, the game allows up to five difficulty levels, although the last two have to be unlocked. The game casts you as Kratos in a situation where the gods have been rendered powerless, leaving Kratos with only one choice: he must square off against the most vicious of demonic creatures from Greek mythology. Gamers get to choose between saving his soul or the ancient world from imminent and total destruction, which affects the way the game ends.

The only main complaint with GoW:COO is the typical one; it’s relatively short length. My wife beat the game in under 10 hours and from what I’ve heard and read, some people might be able to even trim that down to under eight hours. While the action is fresh and fast, the load times sometimes get a bit cumbersome and slow down the pace just a bit. The battle system is relatively easy to master and immediately familiar to any fan of the series; and it’s been adapted well enough that you don’t often feel the loss of extra control options.

Despite the minor gripes, though, the game is everything you expect from a God of War title, with all the M-rated content, huge monsters and epic storyline most gamers can handle, and packed with enough action and drama that most folks will be left wanting more. While the extra difficulty levels are appreciated, it’s hard to get much more than one replay out of the game, as there are only two options in the storyline path that can be taken. It might have been more replayable if there was a slightly different storyline for each difficulty level, though that’s probably hoping for too much.

In the end, GoW:COO delivers the goods with surprising effectiveness on the PSP. With some of the best graphics available on any game currently released for the platform, as well as just under 10 hours of playing time, God of War: Chains of Olympus is one title most PSP owners will end up being embarrassed not to own – so go buy it already and avoid the blushing humiliation.