Strategy/Sim

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.

Remember the little people after you make it big

HIGH Playing a game with no danger in the formula was totally refreshing.

LOW There's no command to tell all the Keflings to drop what they're doing.

WTF Realizing that the most advanced workshop can't make some of the simplest pieces.