Strategy/Sim

Cry havoc, and let fly the pigs of war

 

HIGH Capturing the enemy flag with a single scout running and gunning within the first turn.

LOW Leaving my own base totally unguarded allowing a lone enemy Lancer to lumber over and capture it unhindered, 10 turns into a battle.

WTF We definitely needed a cutesy flying piglet in our reimagining of WWII, right guys?

Maybe if I order you to aim better you'll stop missing

HIGH The supremely challenging boss missions.

LOW The horrendously out-of-place "stealth" missions.

WTF Some inexplicable actions by the main character that I can't reveal without spoiling everything.

Ragtag misfits firing guns in the woods

HIGH It's great to see more from characters who didn't get enough screen time.

LOW $5 seems a little high for one brief mission.

WTF Edy's the star of this DLC? Who liked her in the first place?

Spent most of the weekend with Valkyria Chronicles.

Despite having a few misgivings at first, the gameplay quickly won me over and I'm now a complete convert. I've got to say, it's certainly one of the best reasons to own a PlayStation 3, and after having made it through a little less than half of the main campaign, I'm shocked that Sony didn't give it more of a push. It's far better than the majority of what's available for the PS3, it's a system exclusive, and it's got loads of both both style and substance.

I try not to whore myself out too much, but I'm a sucker for a good Atlus game in general, and doubly so for Shin Megami Tensei games in particular. In lieu of my regularly-scheduled blog content, instead nibble on this preview for the upcoming Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor coming to the Nintendo DS.

I'm still catching up with games from 2008 that I never got a chance to get around to… this week, I'm trying Star Wars: The Force Unleashed on the 360. I'm definitely a Star Wars fan (although less so since the new trilogy ruined everything) but I've got to say that so far, this one fits into the canon pretty well and I really like the tone. Playing as Darth Vader's secret apprentice is a neat concept, and LucasArts nailed his character design—his costumes all exude a sort of low-level wraith-like quality, and although I'm sure that there are only a finite number of ways to carry a lightsaber, this new "behind the back" style is pretty hot.

A friendship built on a rotten foundation

HIGH The steady unfolding of plot and character development that makes me feel like I'm watching a movie.

LOW The lukewarm battle system that makes me feel like I'm watching a movie.

WTF One of the witches our hero can be "engaged" to—complete with wedding gown—is 12 years old.