Video game review: Fate/Unlimited Codes


Now then, I have been following the Fate series for a while now. When they announce that Fate/Unlimited Code was coming stateside, I was excited to get my hands on it. Needless to say, I was a bit skeptical when they said it was a downloadable game rather than a retail title. But just because Capcom is experimenting with the new download only format that is starting to become standard with the Playstation Portable, doesn’t mean this game feels less than a full game.

For anyone unaware of the series, here's a summary of the story. Every few years, a secret war takes place between seven magic users with summoned spirits of legendary warriors of the past over a metaphysical object called "The Holy Grail". Whoever obtains the grail is granted any wish they desire, as well as the wish of their servant spirit. However, any wish comes with a price. Most of the story is well explained, but some elements do require you to know the series in order to understand, or you will be at a loss as to what's going on. This will not affect your enjoyment of the game however.

The gameplay itself takes a simplistic approach to fighting systems, as it is very easy for anyone, even those who have never played a fighting game before, to pick up and play. In fact, this game feels a lot like a classic 2D fighter in most aspects. Almost every special move only requires two directional buttons and an attack button, rather than complex rotations of a joystick and holding buttons and such. This works well on a handheld system. But, just because it's easy to learn doesn’t mean it's not hard to master. The game features some very complex combos that are detailed in "Mission Mode". These combos take a lot of timing and effort to master, but it's not necessary to learn them to become good at this game. There are also some mechanics that can counter these combos, but much like the combos, you can get by without mastering them.

The game's difficulty itself is fairly easy. On the default setting, I was able to beat arcade mode without continuing or loosing a single match. This may seem too easy for anyone who has played fighting games before. But for beginners, this low initial difficulty is a welcome change to the punishing "master the system or get left behind" difficulty of some other fighting games out there, making this game ideal to people just getting into these types of games. And besides, more experienced players can just turn up the difficulty anyway if it seems too easy.

The secrets in the game don't take much effort to unlock, and there's not many of them. I only took about less than 20 minutes to unlock every secret character. And extra costumes only require at most just beating the character's "Arcade Mode" without continuing. There are also character models, artwork, and videos you can unlock. Some require beating "Mission Mode", but most can be unlocked during "Arcade Mode".

One of the things I wish was added was an English dub with the voice actors from the anime series. Don't get me wrong, the translation of the dialog is well done. But some gamers would rather hear than read what is being said. The game's graphics might not be as great as other fighting game titles released on the PSP this year (Dissidia: Final Fantasy and Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny came out within days of this game), but it dose well enough to express the anime style of the series. Especially some of the "Holy Grail Burst" super moves (that only take the special meter being full to pull off) that give new meaning to the word "overkill", and are fun to watch.

Overall, if you are a fan of the anime series, this is a great game (and something you would rather have people seeing you play than the Japanese only visual novel series). For fighting game fans, despite it's easy difficulty, there is still a great game here that is worth the $30 you'll pay for it. And if you have never played fighting games before, this is a great starting point. There's not a lot here, but enough to be worth buying.

Overall Score: B+




Video game review: Dissidia: Final Fantasy

This game will eat your time away.

I could just leave it at that, but that's not much of a review, now is it?

When you first start this game, it will ask you what day you will play most often. Why? Well, this game gives rewards out like candy. The day you pick is when you get your biggest rewards (I haven't got to my day yet, but from the modifiers you can buy, it looks like a lot of stuff). It also keeps track of how many days in a row you play, how you play, and who your favorite characters are.

The game itself has a story mode, an arcade mode, and multiplayer mode, as well as a shop to purchase in game items, characters, and modifiers for gaining the numerous points you can earn (EXP, PP, and GIL).

Story mode plays kind of like a board game. You start with a tutorial chapter explaining how the game works, then go into the stories of the 10 characters that can be played in any order, but each character has a difficulty setting on how hard it is to master said character. The story itself is well done for a fighting game, but seems below average for a Final Fantasy game.

Each board has numerous enemy encounters and treasures, with a "Sign of Chaos" that you have to destroy to clear the board. But you have to be aware of you DP (Destiny Points). Every time you move from your home space, you loose 1 DP, and the more DP you have when you finish the board, the greater the reward waiting for you at the end. But, your overall score for each board is affected by how many enemies you fight, and how much HP you have left as well as your remaining DP. At the end of a character's story mode, the total scores from the five boards you clear get added up to a final list of rewards you earn. So there is a bit or risk/reward here.

Of course, getting from point A to point B is not so simple. There are some special rules that will happen from time to time (like a space that cannot be crossed until a particular enemy is defeated, or some spaces being hidden until you check them). There are also chain encounters. A chain encounter happens when you end in a space next to an enemy (usually happens when you fight another enemy, or pick up an item). Chain encounters don't use DP, so use them wisely.

In story mode, every battle gets you EXP to level up (as to be expected). You can also equip items and equipment to improve your stats (again, as expected). You also earn PP (Player Points) in battle for unlocking characters, costumes, modifiers, icons, and difficulty settings for arcade mode.

Now then, as for combat, it plays out as a 3D fighting game, but not like most games out there. Weak attacks drain Brave Points. Brave Points dictate how much damage you do to an enemy's HP with a strong attack. If you drain your enemy's Brave Points to below 0, they enter Break State, which drops their defense, and grants you a bonus in Brave Points (the number between the life bars if the Brave Pool, that you earn when you cause a Break State). You can also dodge attacks, block attacks, and chase an enemy after some attacks (usually ones that launch an enemy quite a distance). But, the tide can turn at any time. It only takes one mistake to turn a sure victory into defeat.

Another thing to keep track of is your EXE meter. Your EXE grows by collecting the glowing energy left behind during attacks, or collecting EXE power ups that can appear from time to time. When maxed, you can enter an EXE state. This state will regenerate your health, have you cause critical hits every time, and when you land a strong attack, start an EXE attack. EXE attacks are different for each character, but can do a ton of damage.

Arcade mode is as you would expect of a fighting game, fighting a group of enemies one by one until you beat them all, with a reward waiting for you at the end. There is also multiplayer, but it's only local. Online play was excluded. But, when you fight someone, you can download their Friend Card (hence why icons are available) and play their ghost data AI (hence why it records your play style and favorite character). This may all seem complicated, but it’s not hard to learn at all. That and the tutorials, and battle tips you get will have you mastering the game in no time.

Considering how much content available in this game, you can play it for months, and still not unlock everything. If you're looking for a portable game as addictive as Warcraft, this is probably that game.

Overall score: A-