I’ve noticed that many of the more ardent collectors often have a focus in their collection; games from a particular platform, genre, or publisher, for instance. I’ve never cared to do this until recently when I was hit with a thought: I want to collect every Megami Tensei game. I’m not entirely sure why I decided on this, but it seems like a good idea. I’ve enjoyed the games I’ve played, and I think it will be a challenging, but attainable, goal.

The MegTen series (as it’s often abbreviated) consists of several ports, remakes and spin-offs, which will make tracking down all these buggers a considerable task. Much of the series has never made it out of Japan, but thankfully, complete Japanese games are often not terribly expensive. After some research, it looks like I’ll be paying around $20 for most of the Japanese games, if I can find them, that is. There are so many, and not all of them appear to be readily available on eBay. The American versions can climb rather high though, as classic RPGs here tend to do. The first two Persona games, for instance, will probably run me close to $100 each.

Thankfully, I’ve already made some progress in this endeavor. I already own:

Shin Megami Tensei (SFC)
Shin Megami Tensei II (SFC)
Kyuyaku Megami Tensei (SFC)
Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible (GG)
Revelations: The Demon Slayer (GB/GBC)
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon (PS2)
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2 (PS2)
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona (PSP)
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES (PS2)
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable (PSP)
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (PS2)
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor (DS)
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey (DS)

I also own a loose copy of Shin Megami Tensei: DemiKids: Light Version for the Game Boy Advance, an American localization of one of the Devil Children spin off games. I do want all of these games complete, however, so I won’t include it in my official count at this point. It’s a sizable dent in the series, but make no mistake, there are still plenty more I do not own.

I’m not too sure what direction I’ll take from here. I’d like to get the cheapest games first, making my way to the more expensive purchases, or snag the harder to find games, such as the Last Bible spin offs, while they last on eBay. Whatever I do, stay tuned for more updates

Metroid: Other M picks up immediately after Super Metroid leaves off. After a breath-taking cinematic recreating the end of Super Metroid, Samus Aran receives a distress call from a “Bottle Ship”, where she meets up with former commanding officer Adam Malkovich and a team of Galactic Federation soldiers. Samus joins the team to find the reason for the distress call, as well as to search for survivors. Featuring full voice-acting, pre-rendered cutscenes, and a supporting cast, the game is clearly quite a contrast from the feeling of isolation the series is known for. That feeling is still present — for the most part, characters only appear in cutscenes which aren’t nearly as frequent as something like the Metal Gear series. They appear at the beginning of the game and the end, and a few times in between, but not enough to feel like it’s interrupting the gameplay too much. While I admit that I’m more interested in the gameplay, the story is compelling enough to keep me interested in the cutscenes and the characters.

The most important aspect of Metroid: Other M is, of course, the gameplay. Despite being completely 3D, the gameplay is remarkably similar to the 2D games. The control scheme is basic — press 1 to shoot, 2 to jump, and A to enter the morph ball. You can move in 8 directions with the D-pad, which feels very well suited for the game. When combined with the game’s auto-aiming system, combat is simple and a blast. As long as you are facing the enemy, you’ll shoot at it. While it’s quite simple, it’s not always as easy as it sounds. As you progress enemies will get stronger and faster and your shots won’t always hit their mark.

Due to the digital D-pad controls, the game often feels just like the classic 2D games.

Samus is as agile as she is in the 2D games. For as many things as Retro’s Prime series did right, Samus never quite felt as quick as I would have imagined. This game rectifies that. She’s quick and agile; she can jump off of walls; and even the newly added melee attacks don’t seem out of the ordinary. There’s also a dodge mechanic, initiated by pressing 1 and the D-pad, which is a big help when things get hectic. Some power-ups which haven’t worked well in 3D in the past, or haven’t even appeared in 3D, work flawlessly here.

Something never seen in the 2D games however, is the first-person view. At any time, you can point the remote at the screen to enter first-person mode. From here you can lock onto enemies and fire missiles, or look around. Unlike the Metroid Prime games, you can’t move when in first person view — it’s used only for finding secrets and for shooting missiles. Fortunately, switching between first- and third-person view is never cumbersome. It’s seamless, and I never lost track of the reticule. When you point at the screen, things slow down for a moment, giving you a chance to get your bearings and to lock onto enemies. You can also flick the remote to dodge in first-person view. It works just as well as the third-person dodge, and is a huge help since you can avoid attacks without switching perspectives.

Graphically, Metroid: Other M is a great-looking game. It clearly looks different from the Metroid Prime games. That’s not to say it looks worse, because both are great looking games, but stylistically they look quite a bit different. Unfortunately, a lot of the time there isn’t much music. While it adds to the feeling of isolation and certainly isn’t a bad thing, I was disappointed because when there is music, it’s fantastic, such as during cutscenes and boss fights.

Enter first-person view at any time to blast enemies with missiles.

While I’ve listed a lot of positives, the game isn’t perfect. For instance, while you traditionally search for power-ups and there’s a sense of achievement in finding them, Samus has all of her powers from the start. Rather than using them, she agrees not to until Commander Malkovich permits it. While it makes sense in the context of the story (early on power bombs are implied to be devastating), it’s still a bit frustrating at times when you run into an area you should be able to access but you can’t. However, it’s simply a plot device to explain why Samus doesn’t have all of her power-ups, and I’d rather this than have her start with nothing and find Chozo power-ups on a Galactic Federation ship.

Another concern is that the game is more linear than some would prefer. The game takes place entirely on the Bottle Ship, and your map tells you exactly where your next destination is. There are several different areas designed to mimic natural areas, such as a lava area and a jungle. While there are still plenty of hidden missile expansions and energy tanks to find, your main mission is always fairly straightforward. However, the game does open up towards (and after) the end of the game. Beating the game took me around 10 hours, and there’s still a bit more to do after the credits roll. Without spoiling it, it’s definitely very cool, and if you’re a Metroid fan, you won’t want to miss it. This part is also less linear than the rest of the game, and some of the collectables actually can’t be found until after you beat the game, so even after the game is “over”, it’s not quite over.

My biggest peeve with the game however, is with a couple of forced first-person moments. Occasionally the game will put you into first-person perspective and force you to look around for something, generally with very little hint as to what it is. You can’t exit first-person, or do anything until you point your cursor at a specific point. I can see merit in the idea, but it’s badly executed and can be very frustrating if you don’t know where to look. Fortunately, these moments are few and far between, but they can be very annoying.

Metroid: Other M switched things up quite a bit for the Metroid series. Combining the quick, third-person action of the 2D games with the first-person view of the Metroid Prime games, along with some beautiful cutscenes and a more prominent than usual story, Nintendo and Team Ninja have created a fantastic experience. While it isn’t without its flaws, it’s definitely a game that everyone should check out.

As a modern third-person shooter with a cover system, comparison’s to Microsoft’s Gears of War series are not only inevitable, they’re also quite apt. More than this, Vanquish offers players an incredible acrobatic skillset. Aided by a powerful battle suit, the lead character, Sam, can flip, slide and pummel his way through the battlefield. Additionally, the suit will automatically slow time upon taking too much damage, allowing the player to find cover or sneak in a few desperate shots (this “bullet time” effect can also be manually activated).

These feats are simple to execute, and not only make battle more interesting and fun than your typical shooter, but also more visually appealing. They come at a cost, however. The suit can only take so much before it overheats, requiring venting. While I felt these abilities depleted resources at a fair rate, I also felt the suit took a couple seconds too long to vent. While venting, the suit’s arsenal of moves are disabled, leaving the player with only the ability to walk and shoot. The game’s design isn’t broken, but perhaps could be a teensy bit more reasonable. Or maybe I’m just really bad at video games. Whichever.

Weaponry encompassed the standard fare; assault rifles, shotguns, grenades and the like. Interestingly, guns could be upgraded by collecting power ups or weapons of the same kind. This system isn’t given the time to fully bake in the demo, but could be cool in the retail game.

The demo took me through some cut scenes without context (not that I’d care anyway, I just want stuff to kill), a slew of easily dispatched peons, a hail of gunfire and rockets, and a massive, multi-stage boss fight (including a brief QTE segment). It was packed with action, a load of fun, and in the end, I was scored on various criteria, further cementing the game’s arcade aspects.

Vanquish feels like a perfect melding of both Eastern and Western sensibilities, offering something for fans of both styles. While there are big military guns and male characters dripping with machismo, there’s also ridiculously absurd dialog and an attention to subtle color use.

As a fan of both the Gears of War franchise, and the Eastern approach to action, I find myself excited by Vanquish’s potential. I assume this demo to be but a small taste, and if the final product can expand on the concepts I’ve played, count me in.

Vanquish is published by Sega, and will be released on October 19 in North America and on October 22 in Europe for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

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Ubisoft didn’t skimp out on Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game. With art direction from Paul Robertson of “Pirate Baby’s Cabana Battle Street Fight 2006″ fame and chiptune music from Anamanaguchi, Scott Pilgrim is quick to pay its respects to those that came before it, and in style.

A retro-styled beat’em up in the vein of Streets of Rage and especially River City Ransom, players take control of one of four characters from the Bryan Lee O’Malley comic series (in addition to some hidden characters) to fight off droves of anonymous foes with no context. The going is tough; Scott Pilgrim is incredibly unforgiving, so anyone looking for an old-school challenge, step right up.

As the game progresses, your character will level up, learn new moves, and trade in hard-earned cash for stat-boosting items. As the difficulty spikes, it’ll become necessary to return to previous levels to grind for experience points and cash. The boss battles in particular can be quite trying (especially when you’ve burned through all your spare lives just to make it to the boss in the first place).

Scott Pilgrim supports four player co-op, but only locally. The lack of online multiplayer is the biggest disappointment associated with the game. In multiplayer, players can taunt foes, execute coordinated attacks, share money and resuscitate fallen allies. Even with these benefits, the game still remains difficult as it scales the number of enemies to the number of players.

The game very loosely follows the plot of the comic series, wherein Scott must defeat 7 evil exes so that he may be with Ramona Flowers. Fans of the comic series will no doubt find clever nods.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is a terrific beat’em up. It’s intelligently stylized after retro games, but doesn’t come off feeling dated or contrived. The difficulty and lack of online multiplayer may turn some folks away, but for the rest of us, this game is a real treat.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game was reviewed using the Playstation Network version.

Developed by Creat Studies, Mushroom Wars focuses on outnumbering the enemy. You build houses that multiply your forces, allowing you to attack enemy bases. If you outnumber the enemy’s forces at a given base, you take the base over. Each base has number over it displaying the bases population.

Eventually, you have the ability to upgrade bases to towers that include missile and bomb launches that protect the perimeter of your bases. If towers aren’t your thing- although they should be-, you can build forges that increase your attack and defense ability. Villages are the only base that can multiply your forces, so don’t convert every village into a tower or forge or you won’t stand a chance in battle.

Upgrading your bases comes at a price, though. In Mushroom Wars, not only are your soldiers used to attack other bases, they are also used as currency. If you wish to upgrade your tower for better defense, or turn your village into a tower or forge, you must sacrifice a certain number of soldiers. Doing so takes strategy, because more times than not, the enemy will jump on a base you have recently upgraded due to the fact that there are now less soldiers stationed in the base, making it easier to conquer.

Although most levels consist of just trying to capture the enemy’s forces and bases, others have specific objectives, whether it be capturing specific buildings marked with stars, or eliminating enemy bases in a given time period. These change things up a bit, due to the fact that the general objective of just conquering enemy-bases can get a bit stale.

Although the game is fun and is considered to be simpler than most RTS games out there, it does come with its fair share of difficulty. There were several levels- especially those where you had a time limit- where I almost through the controller down in frustration. Later levels become trial-and-error missions, forcing you to see how the computer will start out each level and coming up with a plan to counter-act it.

Mushroom Wars is a great entry-level RTS. Although it does pose difficulty, it is very in depth past just upgrading villages and buildings. The game can sometimes turn into a roller coaster in terms of how difficult it gets, with an easy level being followed by a very difficult level, and vice versa.

Europe, Canada and Mexico will also see price increases for certain plans.

“Since launching Xbox LIVE in 2002 we have continually added more content and entertainment experiences for our members, while keeping the price the same,” the blog entry stated. “We’re confident that when the new pricing takes effect, an Xbox LIVE Gold membership will continue to offer the best value in the industry.”

How does everyone feel about that? Will you pay the extra couple dollars a month for XBL Gold access?

[From: Major Nelson]

The game stars Capell, a whiny failed musician who bears a striking resemblance to the renowned hero, Sigmund, and in a turn of events, Capell finds himself wrapped up with Sigmund and his band of Liberators. The motley crew of party members are all recognizable from RPGs past. There’s the fiery and brash bad ass, the female archer, the creepy children, the sexpot with an impossible chest, the nerdy magic user, the brutish tank, the lithe female warrior, and so on. That’s not to say these fine folks all don’t have sparkling personalities; they do, and you’ll likely become quite attached to a number of them by journey’s end. Just don’t expect any surprising character development. You’ve seen it all.

The cast actually becomes quite large, there’s 18 party members in all, which is different from your traditional Final Fantasy RPG with a more intimate cast, or even a series like Suikoden, which features over 100 characters, many with interchangeable personalities (or none at all). Having played quite a few RPGs, I’ve always wondered why only 8 or so people were ever willing to save the world. You’d think such a pressing concern would attract more freedom fighters, but this is rarely the case. Infinite Undiscovery’s cast is sizeable, but rarely feels unwieldy. While it is occasionally difficult to maintain the best equipment for everyone, a party this size offers a nice ensemble cast and seems more like a genuine liberation group.

Prepare to spend loads of Fol to keep these freeloaders equipped.

Capell can only have three other members in his own party, but the game often asks you to form a second, or even third party of four each. When this happens, Capell’s party often has their own objective, while the other parties focus on other matters. As your party makes progress, it often intersects with other parties. You’ll see secondary parties hold off forces as your own deactivates force fields, or fight waves of foes on balconies above you in castles. It gives the feeling of large scale battles in a way I’ve seen few games accomplish, especially RPGs. It’s quite thrilling, and even a little more than just eye candy: Constructing well-made secondary parties yields bonus experience and money.

Battles occur in real-time. Genuine real-time, that is, the game doesn’t even transition to a battle screen in the same way the Tales or Star Ocean games do. If you see an enemy up ahead, feel free to pull the R Trigger to unsheathe your sword and proceed to beat on it. Combat relies heavily on the A and B buttons, tapping different combinations of either results in multi-hit combos, while holding either button activates an assigned skill. Very simple, perhaps even a little mindless, but it’s also accessible, satisfying and fun. While you generally cannot control other party members, the Right Bumper allows you to “connect” to other party members and manually utilize their skills. This isn’t all that useful in combat, but can be utilized to solve puzzles or interact with NPCs outside of battle. The AI handles situations competently, and I never felt the need to babysit. Simple AI routines can be set, and in a brilliant design choice, the Y Button’s sole purpose is to call for the party’s healer to get to work, usually wisely choosing to use magic or an item, and on the appropriate party member. Not only does this make things a lot easier on the player, it also cuts down on having to heal party members yourself. The menu system also runs in real-time, and trying to fish out a restorative item in the midst of a heated battle often means death.

Battles are laced with color and other appealing visual effects.

By now, you may be wondering what exactly this battle system is good for, and what these Liberators are liberating. Well, you see, they’re liberating the moon. Literally. The celestial body is chained to the earth in a selfish plot by the Order of the Chains to harness its power, and only Sigmund bears the power to sever the enormous chains. It’s a compelling concept, and while there are a few interesting twists, the story is largely your standard fare. The imagery of the moon chained to the planet is fantastic to witness, however. It’s stark and oddly disconcerting. You can even see the remaining chains left to sever off in the distance flowing upward, binding the moon. Although the plot is unremarkable, one aspect of the character development that I enjoyed was Capell’s journey to becoming a hero. Capell rises to the task when in need, and awkwardly grows into his role, but he never betrays his whining, doubtful personality. This is in contrast to many stories wherein an unlikely hero becomes a very likely hero. Somehow, Capell’s constant complaining, right up until the end, seems real, and makes his heroic moments all the more poignant.

The world of Infinite Undiscovery is vast. Environments span the typical plains and forests and deserts, but these locales are huge. It makes exploration and discovery a treat, but making actual progress can be tedious. Infinite Undiscovery is fairly linear, but it rarely points you in the next direction. It just sort of pokes you. Even side quests, most of which are of the fetch-quest variety, are often less than obvious. It’s actually kind of nice that the game doesn’t hold your hand, but figuring out the direction you should be taking can sometimes be irritating, and having to backtrack across such expansive maps is not ideal.

Not everyone is going to dig Infinite Undiscovery’s visuals. The art is admittedly a little bland and uninspiring, but I really enjoyed the great character models, appealing use of the color, and a nice attention to detail. I also found the music to be quite good. I can’t say I actually remembered any of the music after turning off the game, but there’s nary a bad tune in the soundtrack. Even the voice acting is passably decent for most lines from most characters, though the lip syncing is completely awful.

The moon hanging low and chained in the sky is a constant reminder of your quest.

This review is the result of a spontaneous second play through of Infinite Undiscovery. Upon playing it the first time, I enjoyed myself, but didn’t find the adventure worth mentioning, or even playing a second time. I’m glad I gave it another chance, though. The JRPG genre has recently come under fire for being stuck in a rut lately, and while Infinite Undiscovery won’t win converts or break the mold, it offers a great experience in the genre. One of the best this generation, I’d say. Clocking in at a respectable 25 hours or so, its length may be a detriment to fans of the genre who are used to lengthier endeavors, but even this I found to the game’s credit. It’s concise, and never feels bloated or like it is wasting disc space. The game wraps up nicely after a satisfying quest, and doesn’t tie up too much of your gaming time so that you can move onto other titles. Perfect.

If you have a passing interest in JRPGs, definitely give Infinite Undiscovery a go. It’s inexpensive these days, and I’ve enjoyed my time with it immensely.

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From Dust (XBLA/PSN/PC)

Creator of Out of The World and Heart of Darkness, Eric Chahi, debuted the demo of From Dust this year. Being released for Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation 3, this god game allows the player to control nature; thus being the centre of the overall gameplay of the game. The game revolves around a simulated island; the player’s actions decides the destiny of the island’s people. You’ll be able to transform landscapes and the environments creating land, water and fire scattered across the island. When the player isn’t pre-occupied playing god with the island, the main goal of the game is to help the natives survive destruction of nature’s work.

Similar to the previous games developed by Eric Chahi, From Dust uses similar art styles which rely heavily on beautiful structured environments, backdrops and character designs. This could potentially drive this game forward to being one of the best looking games within the god-game genre.

From Dust, previously known as Project Dust, will be available on XBLA, PSN and PC in March 2011.

[From: Kotaku Kotaku and Gamespot]

Knights Contract (Xbox 360/Playstation 3)

Knights Contract is Namco Bandai’s new action adventure venture; merging bloody melee combat with spell casting. The player will control two characters; a warrior and a mage, these characters have to combine brute force with spells to kill their enemies and working as a team to solve puzzles and challenges. Although controlling two characters might seem like a great idea, as we’ve not seen this done well in a number of years, other games such as Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom and Quantum Theory are all using this technique, so this may dry out the idea.

The setting of the game is somewhat of a European Middle Ages era, using historic elements such as hunts and executions as great inspiration; according to the game’s producer Ryo Mito.

[From: Kotaku]

NeverDead (Xbox 360/Playstation 3)

Metal Gear Acid! director Shinta Nojiri and Rebellion Developments introduced crowds to NeverDead, an action horror game aimed at the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms. Published by Konami, NeverDead looks to be a real gritty horror game relying on action gameplay and interesting character and enemy design; particularly the protagonist with his double-gun combat (and like the title suggests, the guy is immortal).
In this third person shooter the hero, Bryce, can quite literally lose limbs during combat, pick them up and carry on. This is said to give the game a very humorous approach and edge.

[From: Kotaku and Computer and Video Games]

Ratchet & Clank – All 4 One (Playstation 3)

In development since early 2009, Insomniac Games presented us with Rachet & Clank: All 4 One, a 4-player online platform experience, with drop in drop out co-op capabilities. Some of the characters available for the game include Ratchet, Clank and Qwark, with rumours that some attacks may be four-player character collaborative which sounds like it could be a very interesting interactive feature for the series. The game is said to be all about cooperative play, and experiencing the game with friends in split screen or through the PSN.

From the trailer, this definitely looks like a Pixar movie come to life, gorgeous animations and some great co-op play.

[From: Kotaku and Sony Blog]

Sorcery (Playstation Move)

After being presented with Sorcery at E3 earlier in the year, it was only time before we’d hear more about this Move compatible game. The Workshop, developer of the game, were adamant at getting this game to run smoothly with the Playstation Move controller, having an intuitive set up but still being able to show off the possibilities of this game. The controller is able to pick up every movement, therefore flicking your wrist to cast spells will instantly have your character casting arcane bolts at enemies and your environment. One movement will even see the character lift his staff into the air, quickly building a charge and then slamming the staff onto the ground, thus causing shockwaves to knock down enemies.
With over 25 spells and 6-8 hours of main storyline, this sure is said to be an enjoyable, fantasy experience.

[From: Kotaku]