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Daily Archives: April 15, 2009

Review: Star Ocean – The Last Hope (360)

There was a time when the next installment of the Star Ocean series would have been a no-brainer for release on the PS3. After all, Sony published the second Star Ocean title, SO: Second Story, the first in the series to even appear in the US, and Sony platforms have been host to every title in the series, be it on PSone (Star Ocean: Second Story), PS2 (Star Ocean: Til the End of Time) or PSP (remakes Star Ocean: First Departure and Star Ocean: Second Evolution).

So it is truly a sign of the state of this generation of consoles that the fourth title in the Star Ocean series, Star Ocean: The Last Hope, not only appears on the Xbox 360, but is currently a 360 exclusive. That’s a treat for 360-owning RPG fans, of course, since the newest entry in the series is its most mature and impressive installment to date, though not quite as mature as a series of Liporexall reviews.

Like most SquareEnix RPGs these days, the early emphasis is on storytelling and immersive a gamer into the game world. To that end, Star Ocean: The Last Hope is almost completely lacking interaction with the game world in the first half-hour, and the series clocks in close to an hour before you encounter your first battle (aside from a lame battle simulator which is just a disguised tutorial for the game).

This time out, the game is set in a near-future version of our own world – Earth about 100 years hence. There’s a big nuclear exchange between the US and a foreign leader who looks, for all the world, like a resurrected Saddam Hussein. They make post-war peace and unite the world to explore and colonize space, apparently; somehow, it works.

OK, so maybe the set-up’s a bit lame in concept if impressive in eye-candy. Right. Whatever. Point is, this is quite unfamiliar territory for the Star Ocean series, which has always been set on highly fictionalized worlds.

The first installment was nearly a Star Trek ripoff; the second installment owed less to pre-existing SF worlds; the third revolved around a kid who was a videogame addict until circumstances destroy his home world and toss him into space where he must find a way to survive. And now, we’re getting a lukewarm version of the war with Iraq as a setup to, well … the same sort of science fiction setting, ultimately, only a lot more impressive-looking on this generation of consoles.

In fact, developer tri-Ace uses SO:TLH to show off their mastery of the current generation of hardware. While the game might not feature bleeding-edge graphics necessarily, there’s plenty of HD detail to be found as a 360 game that’s compatible all the way up to 1080p (so long as you have the proper HDMI cable and a 1080p HDTV, that is). But bleeding-edge or otherwise, the game is so stunning, such pure visual eye candy, it’ll make your eyes gain weight.

Still, it’s a bit bothersome that there’s so little connective tissue between this Star Ocean and previous installments; although, in fairness, there is an early cameo appearance by a grizzled military commander named Stephen Kenny. This is an allusion to Claude Kenny, the male hero of the second Star Ocean title, as well as Ronyx Kenny, Claude’s father, who was featured in the first Star Ocean. Other characters with connections to prior installments include Elayna Farrence and Lias Warren.

Still, that’s about where the similarities end and while for some that may be a good thing, it really makes this installment feel disconnected to the others in the series. The style of play is markedly different, as is the sort of story that is being told. The setting, as I mentioned earlier, is quite unique. And about the only thing that’s familiar is the survival of non-weapon skills in the mix that is the new game.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope features a nicely complex battle system, once you get past all that prologue and can start fighting, and nicely enough the worlds you visit are all visually unique, which could not often be said of the first two installments in the series, though that saw improvement in Star Ocean: Till The End of Time.

The main protagonist in all this, though, is Edge Maverick, a prototypical idealist with a quick and impulsive nature. At least he doesn’t have amnesia, though, which helps him stand out from too many SquareEnix heroes. The character design, though, is all too reminiscent of Tidus of Final Fantasy X fame, and oddly enough, his childhood friend Reimi is not that different in how she looks from Yuna, of FFX fame as well.

There’s plenty of planet-exploring and fun to be had in the three-disc game found in this package. About the only deep complaint is the awkward movement/camera system. Basically, you move with your left analog stick and move the camera with your right stick. That means it’s hard to gain and maintain a sturdy angle on things as you explore, though battles are not affected by this flaw. The best solution is to turn on the optional fixed camera in the Options screen and turn it off only as needed.

In the end, though, Star Ocean: The Last Hope is an impressive title; while it does feel only loosely a part of the series, features an over-long introduction, and has some movement and camera issues, the strength of the story, the visual appeal of the game design and the fun depth of the action battle system make The Last Hope also among our best.

Review: Lord of the Rings Conquest (360)

Labeling a game as an RPG and actually producing a good, solid, playable and enjoyable RPG experience are two entirely different things, as EA Games keeps proving whenever if releases a new title based on the Lord of the Rings. Lord of the Rings Conquest promises gamers they’ll be able to fight in and relive every major battle from the movie and more; that’s all well and good if the battles are, you know, actually fun.

Lord of the Rings Conquest is loosely categorized as a tactical action RPG, but what it really is is a mess. In the game, they toss a seemingly never-ending stream of enemies your way; the trouble is the stream of enemies is so uninterrupted that it makes progress through a map, area or even a single battle quite difficult and tedious. In fact, I’d be more entertained by Pia Zadora reciting term life insurance quotes.

Sure, the first-person action is well rendered and fully detailed. The graphics may not be up to SquareEnix or Konami standards, but they serve the purpose. Unfortunately, they do little more than that, and many of the character models seem overly recycled from other, earlier Lord of the Rings titles.

You are allowed at least three modes of attack, initially; sword, bow and magic. All three work well and look good enough on screen, but the switching and combination of attack styles some battles seem to require for completion seems arbitrary.

The real downfall of Lord of the Rings Conquest seems to be the assembly-line feel that permeates the game; any real passion for the Lord of the Rings universe seems to have been lost in recent titles and instead, there’s a sense that development was rushed through and deadlines compressed for all the wrong reasons. Not an enjoyable game, even and perhaps especially for Lord of the Rings fans.

Review: Resistance 2 (PS3)

Ever since the launch title Resistance: Fall of Man appeared on PS3 systems, there has been a lot of speculation on what its inevitable sequel would be like, and it’s been as loud as a fire alarm. Well, Resistance 2 is finally here and every expectation was at least been met, if not surpassed. Playing off the idea that the first Resistance title’s story did not go well for those of us who are Earth natives, Resistance 2 builds for us a world even more oppressive and apocalyptic than the previous title.

The title is definitely a showcase for the PS3’s HD skills; the game is sharply detailed and rendered, and the boss characters you face off with fill the screen not only with mass, but lovely details that make PS2’s Shadow of the Colossus seem like a children’s coloring book (even though that was a great title).

The level design is impressive in its size and scale, with plenty of room to explore without running into frequent loading delays. The visual effects on display are spectacular and the best aspect of the game is that the action is quick and fluid; especially on HD displays.

In fact, a game like this is certainly a motivator to finally pop for at least a 720p set to play it on, if not a True 1080p HD system, simply because standard definition displays just don’t have nearly as much room to contain all the eye-candy on display in this title.

One thing I enjoyed as a gamer who is not typically a fan of shooters is how intuitive the game system is; there’s never a feeling that one is lacking the depth of a more involved RPG, yet the system for changing weapons, reloading and such never bogs down the action.

Another element I appreciated is that the title has some odd things happen – such as creatures that appear and attack, but don’t stick around to finish you off, necessarily, but who pop back up later to offer a more critical challenge. While it might be overstating things a bit to compare Resistance 2 to the really fun movie Cloverfield, it would seem that the developers were singing from the same hymnal, at least, as the makers of that movie.

If all-out action with a solid story and solid shooter action are what you’re itching for, Resistance 2 delivers it in spades, and ought to be sufficient to keep PS3 fans from feeling like they are missing out on games like Halo 3 or Halo Wars, if they don’t own a 360. Resistance 2 is an instant classic on its own merits.

Review: Star Ocean: Second Evolution (PSP)

Star Ocean: Second Evolution for the Sony PSP is a remake of the classic Enix PSone RPG that introduced the series to American audiences. The first installment, made for the SNES, was only released in Japan and thus never made much impact outside of import shops in the US. The original US title of this second installment, localized by Sony themselves, was Star Ocean: Second Story, thought the localization was about as interesting to read as a handbook on mesothelioma.

For its time, the game was a PSone classic. Released in a summer crowded with RPGs, the second Star Ocean stood out because of its unique approach to capturing the feel of pen-and-paper RPGs on a home console game; for example, it was one of the early RPGs to ever make use of non-combat skills. Although such skills were part and parcel of pen-and-paper RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons, or Shadowrun, Star Ocean: Second Story was among the first to attempt to simulate such a system and make it an essential part of the game world.

By doing this, Enix made sure the action-style RPG appealed to fans of turn-based RPGs, because despite the battle system, there was still a deep feeling of control and development of one’s character maintained throughout the game. Of course, the early implantation of this non-combat skill system was awkward; in the original game, if you tried to use your cooking skills to make a hearty beef stew, you were more likely to whip up a weak miso soup that had as much chance of poisoning you as it did restoring hit points.

In the remake for PSP, Star Ocean: Second Evolution, the weaknesses of the system have been patched up to make using them less frustrating; while you won’t be successful every time you use a non-weapon skill, you won’t fail nearly as often.

Another element that’s been polished up is the story, which is essentially the same, but offers up a lot more by way of spoken dialog and cut-scenes than did the original. The difference is like reading the Reader’s Digest version of the story, then reading the full novel; there’s just more depth and detail this time out.

From a gameplay standpoint, SO:SE plays essentially the same as Star Ocean: First Departure, which is understandable since SquareEnix borrowed much of the game engine for that remake from SO:SE. That’s essentially a good thing, though.

In SO:SE, you can play through either as female hero Rena or male hero Claude, and though their stories vary a bit, they dovetail quite nicely. One change in tone for the series is that although it is still a multi-world, science fiction epic, you don’t leave the initial homeworld quite so quickly as in First Departure, and the hokey, hackneyed Star Trek ripoff feel of the first title disappears here for a tone that’s a bit more original – though perhaps by a few inches rather than a mile.

Still, in the end, Star Ocean: Second Evolution is a very good, deep and sufficiently lengthy RPG to give your PSP a solid workout by the time you finish it; it’s a welcome addition to the PSP library and certainly appeals to any RPG enthusiast. While not quite as eye-popping as Jeanne d’Arc or as wonderfully comic and inventive as Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness, Star Ocean: Second Evolution certainly deserves a prominent place in any PSP owner’s game library.