Slightly Dimmed Down - What Did I Expect?

So finally here's the last review - of "Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings". It's a little toned down from the old heyday of the brilliant "FFXII" but what did I expect? Absolutely amazingly realistic graphics on a console that can't handle that many pixels?

Actually, the CGI cut-scenes are pretty special. You have to kind of hold your DS about a foot away from your own body to get the full impact but it's there and it's special, possibly the most realistic graphics of all the games that were there.

I have to admit though that it took me a while to get into this. The whole idea of it being set in a world away from Ivalice seemed a little strange, since that world worked so well and was so diverse - there was a million and one things you could do with its wonderful landscape. Once you get used to the new floating world of Lemures though, it grows on you as well. I just wish there were more towns and quests - new quests are available after every chapter you complete (so for me I've been able to complete two sets of missions, since I've just completed Chapter 3 - Chapter 1 doesn't count). Although you do have access to the Sky Saloon after a certain point in the game, there aren't enough towns and people to interact with! I enjoyed the fact that there were so many people to talk to and little mini-tasks to complete in cities like Rabanastre and Archades on FFXII. Maybe I'm just not giving this one enough time to heat up.

Gameplay is a little fiddly and a little bit difficult to get a hold of. Your characters also level up very very very slowly so in order for them to be strong enough to progress, you have to undertake a lot of Monster Melees in areas that you've completed. Luckily you do have the power of little monsters known as the Yahri to aid you, although even for them to come to your aid you have to collect Auracite from the various missions in the game.

Simply speaking: it's difficult. It's a bit long-winded. But it's really fun, if not frustrating at times when your little Yahri die for no apparent reason when a massive dragon comes out of nowhere and breathe fire on them... The story is a lot less political and violent than FFXII although the DS is marketed at younger people, so they had to tone down some of the violence (FFXII was full of wars, killings and murders, so much different to the previous installments)...

Stylus Trouble... Blame Producers...

Okay so ages ago I said I'd review the three games I bought for my new DS, and here's the second about a month overdue (what?).

"The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass" is a return to the controversial days of "The Wind Waker" where everyone was up in arms about the fact that the producers had moved away from the realistic Zelda world into a cartoonish land coloured in by cel-shading. Nevertheless, it made the whole experience rather unique. It was the funniest Zelda, and this promises to be the same. Once you got past the "dodgy" graphics, it was brilliant.

Basically, it's a follow-on story from "Wind Waker" and Link is sailing the high seas with his pirate friends, including Tetra. Tetra is curious about the ghost ship and so orders her crew to go and look for it - with disastrous consequences. She is abducted and Link washes up on a far away island after he falls in the sea trying to save her (he should be used to that after washing ashore on Windmill Island after being catapulted over the Forbidden Fortress by Helvinek at the beginning of "Wind Waker". What luck). So begins a massive quest to find and invade the ghostly ship.

Everything you do is controlled by the stylus and this is incredibly difficult. The reason why this game is taking me so long just to complete the second (yes, second) island is because the controls are so fiddly. I still haven't grasped how to make Link roll, although I'm quite good at killing the jelly-like ChuChus. Also, I was stuck at sea for a while when I couldn't work out how to make the ship move (major problem!).

I just think that the other buttons could have been used more to make it easier to control. I never want to buy easy games but then I don't want ones that are so hard I can't fathom for a month. I'm a master at the other Zelda games (although anyone who knows the locations of all the poes on "Twilight Princess" should alert me) so I won't let this beat me. The characters are funny, the story, though simple, is completely engaging and the world is rendered to the same quality of "Wind Waker" - don't let the stylus put you off. Just try your best. That's what I'm doing.

Tactics People!

So yesterday I was ecstatic over the fact that I am now the proud owner of a Nintendo DS. Now I'm going to start reviewing, or at least commenting on, all three of the games that I bought (because of course one game is just not enough for a gaming freak like myself)!

Let's talk about Final Fantasy Tactics A2. There's really only two things you need to know about this game. Number one: it's absolutely massive with over 300 missions, more than 50 jobs and tons and tons of job combinations, and ways that you can evolve your clan members - it'll keep you occupied for hours. Number two: it's addictive from the moment you start playing it.

Your main character is Luso who is sent, on the last day of school, to clean the library as a punishment for turning up to class late nearly every day of the term. While there he finds a mysterious book that contains mostly blank pages. When he writes his name in the book as hero of Ivalice, he is transported to that world and must find a way home. On his way he meets different races and tons of different people, and must complete certain missions to write pages in the book so he can reach home safely.

It's really hard to train your chracters up because unlike most of the FF series, there are no random enemy encounters. Instead you have to accept a quest in order to fight. Basically, if you want to be powerful then you're going to have to complete lots of quests - nearly all of the jobs can only be accessed this way (for instance, I've just gained the Assassin job for completing a quest).

I love this game. It has a simple premise but is none the worse for it. Just trying to make your characters powerful enough to win a fight is hard enough - and I'm hardly any way through the game!

Wahoo!

Yay! I've wanted a Nintendo DS for ages! Now I finally have my greasy mits on one! I'm so happy... So, the games I bought for it were:

• Final Fantasy: Revenant Wings
• Final Fantasy Tactics A2
• Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

I think I'm going to need that cooking one where it takes you through the different stages of cooking a meal little bit by little bit. I'm a rubbish chef. I need something like that to keep myself from either burning down the house of making a blackened mess on the plate. Okay, I'm not that bad but still... A little assistance would be nice.

I think I'll review these games in time... So far I've played "Tactics" the most, but that'll change. Oh, and did I mention that it's red, just like my hair and the colour of my team's strip? Oh, happy day!

Thanks to i2.iofferphoto.com/img/item for the pic!