It's been a while bloggers but I'm back with a back to school update. I hope that your summer has gone swell and dandy. As you know, I'm sure you spent all that time playing video games...ya admit it lol. Anywho, I have 2 really good games to review...bought both a month ago, didn't want to miss an opportunity that these games will be rare (well not Metroid). Here is my mini review of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii) and Persona 3 (PS2). Of course light spoilers are included.
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is the latest and final game of the Prime storyline. You still play Samus, that hot space bounty hunter who has traveled to the far ends of the galaxy and back. The new title features voice acting which is a total first for the series, along with the power of the Wiimote and nunchuck (more on that later) but first the storyline. It's one thing to say the story is cliche, but Prime 3 does it well. After traveling through the galaxy, Samus makes a stop at the galactic federation spacecraft, which was only talked about in Metroid lure if I'm not mistaken. The ship gets boarded by space pirates and cause havoc on the ship. After defending the ship, the federation planet is being invaded as well. After navigating through the corridors, you and your fellow bounty hunters stop a huge meteor (I guess you can call it lol) from crashing on the planet, Dark Samus reappears and corrupts them with an overload of Phazon, a very harmful element which gives Samus and the bounty hunters superior power at a price.
Controls take a bit getting use to due to moving your character with the Wiimote and analog on the nunchuck. It took me about 30 minutes to get the controls spot on and it's a blast! Aiming at targets and watching them blow up knowing you killed them never felt as good as this. Also your ability to use the grappling hook not just for spots on the wall, but to take enemy's shields and killing monsters, giving it a very nice upgrade through the Metroid years. My only complaint is not having to cycle through your acquired buster gun modes. For example, the regular beam gets upgraded to the plasma beam and you cannot cycle back to the regular beam, the Wiimote still has the D-pad's up, left and right, not used at all. This would have been ideal. After playing for like 6 hours, I started to get a cramp in my hand, I guess that's the price you pay for playing a good game, but every time you get something new, you want to try it out and that's what kept me going last Tuesday.
Graphics I'll be short on. It could have been better. When I explore it feels like I'm playing with a Gamecube game instead of a next gen Wii game. Also those dreaded doors that won't open are back, not as bad but you'll see when you want the door to open desperately while enemies attack you and all it does is just sit there laughing at you. Trust me, it got me frustrated. However, the loading transitions in air are better than seeing a "now loading" screen.
All in all, MP3: Corruption is a must buy for the Wii and a must get for your son/daughter for Christmas if you got them a Wii secretly (hey it's like 3 months away).
Next game I've been a fan of since Blockbuster put it on their shelves. To me the Persona series has been vastly superior to Final Fantasy in every single way (and Jack Frost being a better mascot too). Atlus has given us another masterpiece in the Persona series with Persona 3.
Storyline is short and simple, you are..well you , an unnamed character and you get recruited to a dorm. You go to school, hang out with the kids, solve math problems, and fool around the mall. Once a few weeks go by, you'll notice a place called the "Dark Hour" which occurs every night at midnight. People unaffected remain the same and people who are sleep in coffins and don't know it exists. You are woken up and the dorm is under attack and you go up to the roof and fend off the monsters with your inner being, A.K.A Persona. The objective is to go to a place called Tartarus, the source of the monsters and the Dark Hour and find what's on the final floor (of course the final boss and possible creator of the Dark Hour).
Gameplay is where it shines. First of all, you can go to the Tartarus and fight monsters on 100+ floors, level your characters, get gear but also you can go to school, meet people, date them, and get bonuses for your Personas. It's almost like playing a superhero, only not. There are also mini games where you can acquire more personas and money. You can except quests, fuse Personas and a whole lot more which cannot be explained in 2 reviews.
Graphics and sound are top notch except for the dungeons. It can get a little boring seeing the same textures over and over again as well as the monsters just being color palette swaps. The game is in full 3-D and lets you explore the world map similar to Final Fantasy X's map. Full voice acting by top actors like Vic Mignogna of Full Metal Alchemist and Bleach and Karen Strassman of Rurouni Kenshin fame.
In terms of which is better for your money, I'd go with persona 3 just because not only is the game included but also an art book and soundtrack from the game. It felt kinda weird looking in the Metroid Prime 3 instructing book since its in...3 languages...I dunno Retro, last I check I lived in America and everyone spoke ENGLISH! Fuck man, even the back of the game case is like 1/3s of Samus and the rest is like different languages. I can understand if they did a worldwide release but yeah...I look at other ones and they are 90 times better. (of course this can't be a blog without some kind cuss from me lol.) Both are great games, if you have the cash buy both.
