Gamefly Sent It Back Synopsis

Now that I've got a PS3, I've been able to add in a bunch of games to my Gamefly queue that I've been hearing about, but previously unable to play. Here's some random thoughts on some of them:

Last Rebellion, published by NIS America, who seldom do wrong, this is one of those seldom times. I'm sure there's a good game in there somewhere, for someone, but either I didn't find it, or it's not for me. The story and voiceacting were so terrible that I actually skipped all of the cut scenes, just because I stopped caring what was going on. Which is unforgivable for a JRPG, it's okay to have a cliched storyline, but if you're going to be spending a lot of time listening to the people talk, at least make the story or the characters interesting. Combat was kind of interesting, with you being able to attack numerous different body parts for each creature. Each attack leaves a "mark", and if you attack the body parts in the right order, the marks will last for more turns. The point of the marks is that when you cast a spell, the spell will attack every mark on the screen. This alone might have been enough to keep me interested in the game for a bit longer than I was, except for the fact that you have a number of points that allow you to perform actions, but they don't replenish at the end of battle, or each turn, they replenish as you get attacked. This means that if you mop the floor with an enemy, the next battle might have you at a disadvantage because you don't have enough points to do all of the necessary attacks. It was very frustrating.

Cross Edge, also published by NIS, this is one of those titles that I'll love, but I don't think many others will find as charming. It's a crossover RPG, featuring Capcom, Gust, and NIS characters all mashed together into an interdimensional brawl quest. There's something about souls being used to build a new world between new dimensions, with powerful souls being drawn across with their bodies as well. Really, none of that matters, what matters is that the dialogue features all kinds of great characters from different series, and is the kind of writing that I've come to expect of NIS's localization team. It's old school, with 2D sprite graphics, and lots of grinding, and it allows you to level up every aspect of your characters and equipment.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, this is one of those titles that people swore up and down that you needed to buy a PS3 just so you could play, it plays very similar to Tomb Raider, although the main character is one that I'm less preoccupied with staring at their ass. I have trouble pinning down what was wrong with this game, because I couldn't tell you anything that didn't seem solid, but it just didn't feel fun either. I can't explain it any further than that, it just didn't do it for me.

Infamous came out at roughly the same time as Prototype, and it has more than a few similarities with it. They're both essentially superhero sandbox style games, with the player being mysteriously empowered to do incredible things, on an island metropolis which is quarantined by the military for some related reason. The primary difference in Infamous is that your powers are electric-based, instead of shapechanging. Your abilities are still upgradeable through points you earn for defeating enemies and completing missions. I had a lot of fun with Prototype, but it was definitley very flawed, Infamous seems like a much more rounded narrative, even though the powers just don't seem as fun, I can actually somewhat relate to the protagonist, and the cutscenes are presented in a stylish motion comic sort of format which really adds to the atmosphere. I've only played it for a couple of hours, but it's definitely going on my buy list.