PS2 Game Reviews - Disgaea: Hour of Darkness

Disgaea: Hour of Darkness

A PS2 Game Review By
Le Chupacabra

The ‘RPG’ genre has a tendency to remain aloof of most ‘deshi gamers with the odd exception of the suitably famous Final Fantasy series. However, there’s a staggering variety of pureblood RPGs (most games contain RPG elements nowadays) that both lack the Final Fantasy moniker yet also happen to be rather excellent; it’s just that us Muggles often fail to notice them.

Disgaea is one such gem.

If you enter this game expecting poignant (read: whiny) protagonists and epic storylines you’ll be better off looking elsewhere. Disgaea places you in the curly-toed shoes of the egotistical Prince Laharl. Rudely awaken from a two-year nap, this heir to the Netherworld finds his father, the nigh-unpronounceable King Krichevskoy, murdered; meanwhile, various demons of noble (and otherwise) blood have been vying for the throne. There is only one way a self-respecting demon can achieve supreme glory – kill off the competition.

The story is charming in its own way, mind you. There are a few predictable twists, but it’s eventually the quirky humour that wins it all. Since it’s set in a rather juvenile version of the Netherworld, sardonic attitudes, witty (read: corny) remarks and much Narcissism is the order of the day. These aren’t the most remarkable characters in the world, but they will offer oodles of amusement at their expense. It’s worth plugging away through the game just to get to the next bit of story where the characters interact. Better yet, the game gets even funnier as it goes on despite how bad a situation our motley crew of loveable demons ends up in!

The graphics are unique to say the least; if you’re looking for a visual tour de force… for the SNES… then you’ve found your game. Disgaea is comprised of 2D hand-drawn sprites superimposed on what appear to be ‘3D’ arenas. Underneath these seemingly ancient graphics lie some incredible anime-style character designs and a lot of personality that is lacking in games with superior visuals. The sound effects are quaint while the music has this silly, carnival-like atmosphere to it. You’ll be surprised at how the voices give a whole new level of personality and charm to the characters! Perfectly over-the-top and over-acted at the right situations, this is truly entertaining stuff.

The true star of the show, however, is the gameplay. Yes, this game is guilty of having a turn-based battle system set on a rigid grid (think Final Fantasy Tactics). However, (like Tactics) it’s also guilty of endless customisation options, unfathomable depth and intriguing strategy.

In combat you have to position all your characters in suitable locations and then order them to do their actions – be it attacking, defending, casting magic, et al. Once prepared, you choose to initiate your stratagems and tactics. After your turn is up, the enemy will begin… and the cycle goes on. This affords you a level of freedom and calculated planning that few RPGs can boast of. As you control your troops to victory (and higher levels), you get a great sense of satisfaction and achievement – this is one of the reasons why this game is so addictive. You can name each character making everyone quite personal to you.

You can also pick and throw people all across the map. In this way, it’s possible set up special attacks or reach greater heights. If you throw enemies into each other they fuse into a more powerful character with a greater level. Then there are Team Attacks. If a character has allies adjacent to him/her/it while performing an attack there is a possibility that they will execute team attacks. Geo Stones and Panels are also distinctive additions. Each coloured Geo panel may or may not give some distinct advantage or disadvantage to you or your enemies. If the corresponding Geo Stones are strategically destroyed you can achieve long chain combos that may help obliterate your enemies in one fell swoop or do insane damage at the very least. Then there’s the fact that each character class has dozens of specific attributes and aptitudes to take into account. A character is also able to have pupils (try not to think about it too much); these pupils benefit their master with unique skills as they level up. Then there’s all the weapons and item customisation and how each and every article can have a domino effect on your characters. Basically this game offers a multitude of ways to earn Experience for and customise your characters. And you know what? These features are barely the tip of the proverbial iceberg!

A really cool aspect that deserves special mention is the Dark Assembly. These are senators of the underworld that have the power to allow or deny your requests (in the form of bills). Requests range from improved abilities to controlling prices at the Item Shop. This is determined by their status towards you which range from Love to a Leaning Yes to Loathe. But it doesn’t stop there. Senators don’t like you? Simply bribe them. They denied your bill? “Persuade” them by force. Remember that higher level senators have more influence than lower ones. This very Bangladeshi-Parliament feature adds more depth to an already fun game and you can spend hours chasing after particular bills, and in making and breaking alliances.

Despite all these complex features, this game is surprisingly easy to get into and once you’ve begun, you will be addicted. However, this is still geared towards RPG and strategy fans and it does require quite a bit of patience and perseverance for reaping the rewards.

If you’ve ever chastised the PS2 for the lack of an RTS, you may want to check the unique brand of RPG-strategy only console games can offer with Disgaea: Hour of Darkness.

Video Games Live - London 2006

By Le Chupacabra

The feverish shouting and incessant babbling hushed down synchronously with the dimming lights until darkness bathed the theatre. Only the softly glowing screen up at the very front and muted spotlights kept the stage in sharp relief. The conductor, Jake Wall, leapt onto the platform, did a quick turn and offered a flourishing bow to the audience. He lightly tapped the holder for the sheets with his baton and all the musicians assumed their positions born of relentless practice and rehearsal. Every pair of eyes, performers and audience alike, followed the tip of the baton as it gracefully rose into the air. The screen faded and bold white lines appeared; it was image instantly recognisable by those present. A furious game of Pong was being played as the orchestra performed a series of blips and bleeps in harmony with the video. This was not going to be your average classical music concert…

Welcome to Video Games Live 2006 in London!

The crowd couldn’t help but titter as the performers turned a simple game of Pong into a musical medley; the minimal sounds became much more than the creators had ever intended. Suddenly the music change tempo again – a distinct Russian influence permeated through: it was Tetris! As the falling bricks came crashing down faster, the tune grew more frantic. It was then, holding onto the theme of freneticism, that the images shifted to yet another classic. Space Invaders had transformed from an arcade game into an important piece in the history of music at that point! As the music became more frenzied, other classic arcade games came into focus. There was Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins of NES fame, followed by the Disney-esque Dragon’s Lair and similarly animated Space Ace, Donkey Kong, Frogger, Gauntlet and finally Outrun… each accompanied with a composition that was far more grandiose than their humble origins. Like the early beginnings of gaming itself, this was but an appetiser teasing us of greater and more majestic events to follow.

Veteran composer and master of ceremonies Tommy Tallarico then bounced on to the stage to give everyone a short yet passionate introduction to Video Games Live. Is gaming just for kids? Hell no! It is for the geeks and nerds? Overwhelming affirmative shouts from the audience on that question... Without further ado, he presented to the audience one of the greatest game developers around, Hideo Kojima. Sadly, he couldn’t be there in person so we got a short video clip of him offering his gratitude and a request to enjoy the orchestrated version of the music from Metal Gear Solid. Being an ardent MGS fan, that was just an amazing moment for me and I wasn’t expecting them to play it so early on! Moving on from the simplistic compositions a few minutes back, a stirring, nostalgic melody resonated throughout the theatre as images of Solid Snake appeared on screen. The famous MGS theme grew in timbre as the audience was treated to a video timeline of Snake from the original MGS game to the upcoming MGS 4. Suddenly the main portion of the theme began as the music kicked into overdrive and the video portrayed likewise. We were offered famous scenes from throughout the MGS series – introductions of favourite (and not-so-favourite) characters, unforgettable fight scenes, et al. As the composition neared its conclusion, the focus was on the supposed last entry of the Metal Gear saga. As the melody started to evanesce, we received a fitting end as old Snake smartly saluted before entering what will probably be his last fight. During this, Tommy Tallarico sneaked on stage in the infamous MGS Box costume and was followed around by a mercenary guard replete with an exclamation mark above his head – great bit of humour there for MGS fans!

Moving on, Tommy called onto stage the French game creator Michael Ancel, famous for Rayman, Beyond Good & Evil and the interactive adaptation of Peter Jackson’s King Kong. After a short introduction, the screen exploded into colour as scenes of Beyond Good & Evil played in rapid succession accompanied by a very grand yet soothing orchestration that reminded me of the Jak and Daxter series. I’ve always wanted to play BG&E but not enough to actively search for it (you can’t find it in Dhaka that easily). However, the intoxicating combination of video and live (and beautifully composed) music gave me glimpses to a game with depth and much substance so here’s a small recommendation from me: get this one if you can find it!

There was also an extraordinary piece to honour none other than Lara Craft, Tomb Raider and gaming legend. The music slowly built up, offering grand allusions of adventure and discovery (that being the point of a TR game…) while the video footage showed Lara Croft giving Indiana Jones a run for his money. I only started playing Tomb Raider from the latest iteration so I can’t say I found this portion particularly nostalgic seeing that it was trying to evoke such (although, my friend would have loved it!) but that didn’t stop it from being a damn good piece! A scene of Lady Croft in a cocktail dress earned a catcall and subsequent roar of laughter from everyone making it a bit of a true highlight.

Speaking of which, clearly this concert was about the high points in video gaming history and therefore, it was appropriate to introduce the one and only Legend of Zelda at this point! Immediately rising to the grand theme of the series, there was yet again a montage chronicling the journey through time for Link. From the original on the NES to the current Twilight Princess on the Wii, one can appreciate how much has changed in the gaming world but one thing remained constant: this is a memorable series that has, is and will stand the test of time. Like with MGS, hearing a well-known theme on such a magnificent scale was quite the experience!

More classics were obviously to follow and the next game in question is obviously as classic and timeless as it will ever, ever get. That’s right… Mario! While the original theme is quite generic and repetitive it’s also addictive and wonderfully playful. Taking it up to the big stage there were subtle permutations that turned the flippant Mario theme into something a lot more majestic. And like the game itself, the montage of Mario games past and present just drew you in and held you. To end it, the orchestra went into the infamous Bowser theme while the videos showed how Mario had thwarted the evil reptile time and time again!

Before the intermission, we were treated to a composition that once heard you’ll never forget: One-Winged Angel from Final Fantasy VII. While there wasn’t any video for this one, it was just magnificently performed. The deep Latin choruses and sombre cello chords were a fantastic combination which goes to show what an incredible track this one was to begin with. I can just imagine the number of FF fans that would have killed to be present for this one!

After a twenty-minute break (accompanied by a cheeky loading screen for “Video Games Live Part II” on-screen) we entered the second and final portion of the performance.

There were other games shown including Advent Rising, Headhunter, Civilisation IV and World of Warcraft. The former two were present since Tommy Tallarico and Jake Wall were responsible, respectively, for the music behind those games. The games were nothing brilliant but the music tipped the scale towards (but not quite reaching) epic. Civ IV had an awesome video spanning the ages and started brilliantly with African tribal music and chants (kudos to the amazing choir) reminiscent of the opening song to the Lion King. World of Warcraft was mostly generic fantasy ministrations accompanied by a finale that sounded a bit too similar to the main Zelda theme. Overall, these ones were actually good but took a backseat to everything else shown.

The final gaming classic portrayed here was the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The upbeat, brisk Sonic theme was performed with a few bells and whistles added to it. Once again, there was a tableau of videos looking through the ages of Sonic from the early days to the most recent title. One thing I didn’t like about this one was how the original theme got somewhat buried under the rest of the composition and it was only near the end that a slower version could be clearly recognized and more importantly, hummed to.

However, the best composition in my opinion was that for Kingdom Hearts. This was the only one not to use game footage – instead it dived right into the source of its inspiration and did something unforgettable. Accompanied by an outstanding and inspiring orchestration of the main theme, the videos showed some of the most memorable moments from Disney history. That was quite a special moment and as someone who’s grown up with Disney films – it was just something that I won’t forget for a very long time. The scenes and the music segued together beautifully and did so more than any other composition I had seen all night!

Since MGS began the main portion of the event, there’s only one other game that has the appeal and lineage to end it. That’s right; it was none other than Halo. The choir started first with the main vocalised theme as the Pillar of Autumn drifted across the screen. Hints of the instrumental theme were slowly heard and then as the camera panned around and found Master Chief, the beginning of the end commenced. The footage was from both Halo and Halo 2 and the music was absolutely amazing. The drums and the heavier instruments kicked in to create an aural experience of legendary proportions. The piece continued and ended aptly with the destruction of the Halo in the first game. Just as the screen faded and the applause began, we were in for a big surprise. Tommy Tallarico raced onto stage and announced that they were going to perform the music from the hugely anticipated Halo 3! The crowd absolutely exploded! The E3 trailer for Halo 3 was augmented by what is probably the grandest rendition of the Halo theme. As the music moved away from the theme and quietened down, the last words of the Halo 3 trailer appeared on screen. Like MGS, Halo will also be finishing the fight in 2007 – the best time to be a gamer, ever!

Surprisingly the true highlight of the night was an impromptu live performance from one Martin Leung – also known on YouTube.com as the one and only ‘Video Game Pianist’. To say that he stole the show would be a severe understatement. He performed some beautiful renditions of ten FF pieces with a great version of One-Winged Angel in particular. However, when he started with the Mario theme – the crowd went ballistic. He performed with a dexterity, speed and passion like no other and clapping in beat with his version of it was certainly a fantastic experience. He certainly got a rousing send-off replete with a standing ovation!

At the end, it made me realise what made this entire event so special were the memories of playing many of these games with others and I wish everyone I knew was there to enjoy this fantastic event.

This is dedicated to all my friends back in Bangladesh, my brother Faiyaz and Arif Dulabhai and all ‘deshi gamers!

Anime Review - Azumanga Daioh

Azumanga Daioh

Anime Review
By Le Chupacabra

GENCO
26 episodes
Ages 8+

Chiyo is just a ten-year old kid but she also happens to be a genius who’s been promoted… all the way to high school! There she meets her new classmates and peers: a wacky bunch of colourful personalities. There’s the hyperactive Tomo (think of a female version of Adnan Fakir who’s just been injected with Tang) and her best friend, the calm and collected Yomi. Sakaki is the athlete of the class whereas Osaka always gets lost in her bizarre daydreams. And then there’s Chiyo herself who’s just absolutely adorable. High school will never be the same again for this bunch!

It’s pretty unconceivable that an anime with no plot whatsoever can be so entertaining… but here lies indisputable proof of that: Azumanga Daioh is easily one of the cutest, quirkiest yet cleanest comedies you’ll find!

Unlike other school anime (like School Rumble or Kare Kano), Azumanga doesn’t rely on an ongoing story or complex character relationships to drive itself. Rather it does something unorthodox by chronicling mundane school events like exams and lunch breaks… and then injecting a large dose of hilarity into the proceedings. It’s quite possible to relate with a fair few of these anecdotes! Each episode is split into five small vignettes that are somewhat independent of each other. It’s a weird format, but it really helps in keeping events contained and in retaining a crispy freshness to the anime.

The comedy in Azumanga is quite brilliant as well! It’s a winning combination of absolute randomness and perfect timing with the jokes. The dialogue is also really funny and humour that’s derived at the expense of the characters is even more so. Regardless of the fact that these jokes are reused throughout the run of the anime, they somehow never get stale; rather they seem funnier the second time around! Another feature I appreciate is that Azumanga has very little in the way of toilet humour or crude jokes making it suitable for younger viewers as well.

The characters play a crucial role here since all the wackiness is credit to them. Particularly brilliant is Yukari-sensei; I’ve yet to see a teacher so utterly selfish, arrogant and immature! Then there’s Kimura-sensei who’ll make you smile even if he just stares blankly into open space. (NB – he’s always staring… you’ll get the point once you’ve started watching). The constant sparring between the characters is really entertaining and isn’t too far removed from real life. With that said, their interactions, thoughts and dreams are all quite believable and despite a lack of characterisation, they come across as real people. In fact, it’s possible to see many of your own classmates among this group!

There’s also this discreet, almost latent genius to the events and people in Azumanga and that’s something that hit me after some time. I can’t explain it but whatever magic is woven makes Azumanga feel remarkably genuine and closer to the heart. That’s probably why – beyond the comedy – this anime is truly wonderful.

The last episode of Azumanga Daioh is a beautiful testament to school life everywhere around the world! When it (school and this anime) ends, it does so with emotion. If you’ve graduated school, you’ll really be able to empathise with the characters and there’s this strong sense of lump-throated, teary-eyed nostalgia that the ending of Azumanga will evoke.

The intro song “Goodbye Sadness!” is really catchy and does well in setting the tone for the anime. Equally brilliant is the voice acting, particularly Chiyo’s – she sounds every bit as utterly lovable as she looks!

Despite such a wonderful premise, Azumanga isn’t for everyone. The jokes are of a pretty unique nature and they will not segue with some people. If you don’t find yourself laughing early on… you will fall asleep during the later episodes, trust me! Some portions also rely on knowledge of the Japanese school culture but it’s still possible to enjoy the rest of it.

Azumanga Daioh is a pretty niche comedy with its unique brand of humour and unusual format. However, it manages to be effortlessly entertaining and it’s one anime that you can watch over and over again!

Anime Review - FullMetal Alchemist

FullMetal Alchemist

Anime Review
By Le Chupacabra

Studio BONES/Square-Enix
51 Episodes
Age Rating: 10+

FullMetal Alchemist is the shocking, emotional journey of the two Elric brothers who broke forbidden ground when attempting to revive their dead mother through the powers of Alchemy. As a result, Ed loses his arm and his leg, while Al's soul is bound to a suit of armour. Now the brothers begin their search for the Legendary Philosopher's Stone whose power will allow them to set things right…

Now, I know Lancer has already reviewed this but since they’re showing it on Animax, I thought I’d leave my review as a tribute to anime fans all over Bangladesh before I fly off abroad.

I started watching FMA without knowing what I was getting into – no hype, no rants, no recommendation, nothing. And I was suitably blown away…

The true beauty of FMA lies in its character cast. Each individual is utterly compelling and truly gives off an aura of being; they’re such real people. It’s quite easy to connect to them on an emotional level and relate to their thoughts, comments and aspirations. Their interactions are genuine in the way they confide in, spar with and avoid each other in the appropriate situations. In fact, these characters are no different from you or me: they can be selfish; they live for their dreams and stop at nothing to achieve them. All of them are developed beautifully and in the end, you will feel like you were travelling alongside the Elric brothers on their journey of retribution.

The story itself is deep, poignant and dark; it’s a poetic tale of loss, consequence, and life. FMA truly appreciates the melding of the blacks and whites of the world into numerous shades of grey. There are no heroes or villains here – only real people. There are subtle messages in every facet and mesmeric twists that’ll leave you spellbound. FMA gains momentum with every chapter and the last ten episodes will leave you breathless due to the brutal rapidity with which the events unfold; it’s simply brilliance incarnate. Alchemy itself is portrayed in a way that gives it depth and character. And lastly, FMA is a fantastic perspective of life from the eyes of two children.

The dialogue is extremely well-written and there is nary a plot-hole in sight. Everything is explained beautifully within the limits of the world that FMA has created and that only heightens the sense of realism. The comedy is also good stuff that warms the heart. Even the few fight scenes are great because of the way they are presented.

The artwork is a beautiful thing to behold; the use of bright, vibrant imagery contrasts marvellously with the darker scenarios. The animation flows lusciously, making FMA a true visual treat. CGI is used with every subtlety and enhances the scenarios without making one realise it’s being used at all.

The voice acting in FMA is quality stuff, both the English and Japanese versions. The respective voice actors really give life to their characters and the way they play off each other is amusing to watch (or hear). The music is truly memorable. It’s soul stirring and sombre yet light-hearted and flippant when it needs to be. The intro themes (four of them) are fantastically catchy J-pop themes whose exclusion in the English version is a severe oversight on Animax’s part. The outro songs are also great. Truly unforgettable is the way that the second one (‘Tobira no Mukou he’) segues from the ending scene into the song itself. In my opinion, it’s the definitive ending theme!

There are things that people will nitpick about, but I am not they. For the sake of parity, the story can threaten to confuse casual viewers and some comedic moments don’t gel. That’s all, folks.

In the end, I love FMA. It’s definitely my favourite anime and you could accuse me of bias because of that. However, put your scepticism aside and you’ll find an unforgettable, engrossing and emotional viewing experience like no other.

PS2 Game Review - Kingdom Hearts II

Kingdom Hearts II

A PS2 Game Review
By Le Chupacabra

Kingdom Hearts started as a chance collaboration between the Japanese offices of SquareSoft (now Square-Enix) and Disney. Flitting between various ideas, Square finally handed the reins to a concept artist named Tetsuya Nomura. It was an unusual choice for a game director and it was certainly an unusual premise: the cutesy, iconic world of Disney colliding with the sombre realms of the Final Fantasy series. However, the game went beyond expectation: it was an imaginative, epic adventure that was a whole lot more than the sum of its parts.

Kingdom Hearts II continues a year after the ending of the original and directly after the Gameboy Advance title, Chain of Memories. Since it does so, it is strongly advised that you peruse www.gamefaqs.com and check out the game script for Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. Otherwise, many interesting plot points will be lost on you.

One of the first things this game does as a sequel is break away from the confines of the first game and take steps into its own unique territory. As a result, we have a far more original narrative that happens to be more immersive than the first; it’s a little darker, a little more mature and it’s all very good stuff. There’s an initial MGS2-esque character twist (it’s the other way around here) that builds up the story from a different yet equally entertaining perspective. One key flaw of the plot is that after the first bit you’re essentially revisiting Disney worlds to play out their tales and their tales only. As a result, questions regarding the fierce Nobodies and enigmatic Organisation XIII are put on hold for a very long (read: around 10-12 hours!) time; as a result one’s desire to keep going starts dwindling after a while. However, once you plough through the plot-drought you are rewarded with a tale that’s quite brilliant.

Like its predecessor, Kingdom Hearts II boasts a voice-cast that rivals most Hollywood feature films. A now-matured Haley Joel Osmont reprises his role as the plucky Sora while all the classic Disney actors are back in full force. A particularly inspired addition was having Christopher Lee (you know, the guy who plays Count Dooku and Saruman… not at once, mind you) lend his authoritative tones to the enigmatic DiZ. The Organisation members get some brilliant actors too, each one matching their avatars personality quite faithfully. Axel is definitely my fave. Besides a few awkward moments, the dialogue is polished and well-written and the actors do it supreme justice.

The music is equally an aural treat with memorable tunes and an epic score that lives up to the grandeur of the game’s premise. If you’ve played the first game, you’ll recognize many of the remixed Disney tracks. There are also fresh tunes for the newly added ‘worlds’ in this game. I also liked the battle theme in this game better than in the first; it’s got a lot more tempo and it’s quite catchy! In this game, the world of the Little Mermaid - Atlantica - becomes a rhythm-based level. The first song is grating and the latter few uninspired. However it’s the second one that’s just bloody brilliant; it’s a cute remix of Under the Sea and the writers did a great job with changing the lyrics but maintaining the nostalgia this one evokes!

Visually, Kingdom Hearts II is quite pleasing. Some locations come off as rather unimaginative while others are truly awe-inspiring. Fortunately the latter holds true more often. The variety of the Heartless has been downgraded but on the other hand the individual designs surpass the artistry of the original. There are plenty of little touches that add to the immersion wonderfully. In the Pride Lands, you take the guise of a lion and have to hold the KeyBlade between your jaws! At the Timeless River, all the characters move with exaggerated motions reminiscent of the black-and-white Mickey Mouse ‘toons of old. The Pirates of the Caribbean themed world (Port Royal) looks stunning with realistic characters and animation that captures the drunken swagger and mannerisms of the Captain Jack Sparrow perfectly. And the world of Tron? Just jaw-dropping.

The gameplay is in many ways hugely improved over its predecessor while some previously great parts have been unnecessarily tinkered with; “ten steps forward and two steps backward” to quote my friend. The fighting is fast and frenetic and the combination of the fantastic graphics leads to some visually mesmerising sequences. New additions include Drive forms that let you merge with various characters, thus imbuing you with enhanced fighting prowess or magical dexterity. The forms not only look awesome but the power they afford you is amazing - you become a badass warrior of the highest degree. Reaction attacks form yet another portion of your repertoire of moves. When prompted, you have to tap Triangle and this initiates a real-time action sequence that would be otherwise impossible with standard attacks. Whether it’s slick dodge-counterattack combo or a an entire chain of flamboyant maneuvers, these scenes look fantastic. Think of God of War’s killing mini-games minus the brutality. Another addition is the Limit Break, with which Final Fantasy fans should be familiar.

However, much of the exploration that gave the first game an adventure-esque feel has been undermined to criminally disappointing proportions. The levels are more linear than Kingdom Hearts (which was also linear, but had some neat bits that rewarded curious players) and the worlds are somewhat smaller. The gameplay is also much easier mainly due to the use of the Reaction commands and Drive forms. Fortunately, playing on the ‘hard’ (called Proud) difficulty setting makes up in spades with the gratifyingly increased challenge. While Drive forms are optional, the way in which the Reaction attacks are presented seems to suggest that you should use them rather than as a possible attack variation. Minor grievances, but they tend to add up.

One thing that really deserves special mention is the Gummi Ship mode. From being a slow, headache-inducing chore (in the first game), it’s become a fast-paced, frantic shooter mini-game that’s actually fun to play. The last Gummi Ship level has a great Star Wars-esque feel and many portions of that segment recall the famous Death Star trench run from the films.

While no longer as novel as the first, Kingdom Hearts II remains a wonderfully charming experience that not only tells a beautiful story but is also chockfull of luscious graphics, evocative music and entertaining gameplay. If you have a PS2, you have no excuse to pass up such an adventure! So go get your copy and make sure you pick up the original Kingdom Hearts if you haven’t already!

Anime Review - School Rumble

School Rumble

Anime Review By
Le Chupacabra

Studio Comet
26 Episodes
Ages 15+

Harima Kenji, former delinquent and all-round street thug, returns to resume his education at school. Why the sudden change of heart? You just named the reason: his heart. Smitten by Tsukamoto Tenma after having saved her from muggers once before, Harima rejoins school so he can try to win Tenma's (incredibly short-spanned) attention. Tenma on the other hand has her eyes set on the equally oblivious top boy (and resident weirdo), Karasuma Ohto... Let's get ready to rummmbbbble!

School Rumble actually starts off somewhat seriously, making you think for a few moments that it's an intrigueing romance series under the veil of comedy. Kare Kano… eat your heart out!

Okay fine, that's a blatant lie.

It's actually the other way around. Whereas Kare Kano is a more sophisticated, thought-provoking romantic-comedy, School Rumble is its polar opposite. It's all about the laughs in a somewhat asinine, Johnny Bravo kind of way. While the love triangle between Tenma, Harima and Karasuma allows quite a lot of mirth at their expense, the individual characters inevitably steal the show. Class 2-C is comprised of a smorgasbord of (superbly exaggerated) classroom personalities. You have everyone from cup-size comparing perverts to mind readers to ultra-strong female wrestlers and all sorts of other zany characters. It's a great recipe for hilarity with any hint of normalcy being hurled out the window.

Of course, while they're not considering inane schemes to get one to notice the other, Harima and Tenma's day-to-day antics will have you splitting your sides. Harima is uncharacteristically serious about his feelings for Tenma but his IQ (or lack thereof) is what has him falling into awkward situations. His daydreams of getting Tenma's attention away from Karasuma are the highlight of the show with pop culture parodies of everything from The Matrix to DragonBall Z being liberally thrown into the mix. In fact, it's Harima that brings in most of the laughter. He usually ends up getting into trouble with many of the characters and as a result you've got some genuinely funny moments; there's the one where he has a mistaken identity crisis with a guy named Harry McKenzie (which sounds a lot like Harima Kenji in Japanese), gets into a brawl with the resident black belt Hanai (cue lots of obscure Street Fighter references; HariKen Uppercut anyone?) and of course, as a budding manga artist Harima manages to confuse the viewer with an entire episode where he essentially makes Karasuma an alien. Surprisingly, that incident actually makes sense given how peculiar Karasuma is.

So where does the romance part come into play? It takes more of a latent role since it's essentially the Harima-Tenma-Karasuma love triangle that is the catalyst for much of the insanity. There is a particular point where Harima almost gets his feelings across to Tenma but unfortunately, Eri Sawachika (one of Tenma's best friends) ends up with the message… and returns the feelings. It's an awkward beginning that leads to a pretty interesting relationship. However, events like that are somewhat rare. The problem is, once you've stopped chortling and started to follow the plot, you'll realise something: there is no real plot. The characters, save very few, also don't get developed all too well. Basically, there's a nagging lack of substance which the show covers up, sometimes barely, with the comedy.

Another issue with School Rumble is that its best attribute can also become its biggest detriment. While there is a lot of generally brilliant slapstick to go around, many of the gags are of a greatly esoteric nature while others rely on some knowledge about Japanese school culture. In the fight between Harima (as part of one of his daydreams) and Karasuma, Harima's hair turns yellow and they have a 'power' battle. If you haven't watched DragonBall Z, that bit is completely wasted. There are plenty of examples like that and it's not encouraging for casual anime viewers. Lastly, School Rumble ends up reusing many of jokes as the show wears on. What may have seemed funny at first may end up tasteless after multiple times.

However, with all that said, School Rumble was still brilliantly entertaining. It doesn't take itself seriously at all and at its best, it's outrageously funny. It's still with a bit of caution that I recommend this anime. If you don't like some of jokes initially, chances are you won't like the latter ones. Plus, this anime is quite skewed towards male viewers. If you're a casual fan of anime, you can try this out but also know that there are finer romantic-comedy anime out there. If you've been watching anime for quite some time and are willing to try something that doesn't require you to think too much, you'll certainly enjoy this one at the very least.

Fiction - Live from Baghdad

Live from Baghdad

By Le Chupacabra

The watery Sun slunk slowly over the vast dunes and crumbling ruins, bringing with it a pale twilight and a sharp drop in temperature.

Hamid let his rifle sling loose as he cupped his hands and lit a cigarette, the flame from the match illuminating alert yet blood-shot eyes; he hadn't slept in three days. Just as he began savouring the coarse graininess of the smoke from the burning tobacco, a gnarled hand deftly snatched the treat from his lips.

“You do not want to give away our position to the Americans… and especially not after what happened a week back!” barked a low voice. The speaker then took a quick puff and then flicked it downwards. The second the cigarette hit the ground, it was covered in a shower of sand kicked by the old man. Khaleef glared lividly at Hamid, his eyes looking as dangerous as the AK-47 he cradled in his wiry arms.

A scathing, nasal voice came out of the crumbling mud hut the two guards stood in front of: “Yeah, kid. Saddam Hussein will be incarcerated, held in trial and then… who knows what. However, even those Capitalist dogs need testimonies despite what he's done. Information about the subversive militant groups is also a bonus for them. I'm a man with both. So feel free to light a beacon for the Americans.” The man finished with a nasty laugh.

It was soon after Saddam Hussein's shocking capture that Hamid and his fellow militants were mobilised. They had to abscond with and protect a man who possessed much sensitive information. Hamid didn't quite understand why the man deserved to be kept at bay from the Americans; after all, whatever happened to their once-omnipotent dictator wouldn't be anything he didn't deserve. When Khaleef quietly pointed out how the man's information could reveal essential facts regarding the resistance groups to the invading forces, Hamid slowly began to appreciate the true weight of the onus upon him. Most of his friends were part of such groups, and having them captured or killed without a fair fight was a thought that greatly angered the proud young man.

With the knowledge that their risky mission would be ended the next day and the tempting coolness of the desert night beckoning him, Hamid found himself slumping lazily against the wall of the hut.

“Hamid get up you fool, we have company!” Khaleef's vice-like grip on his shoulder jerked Hamid awake.

With a sudden gasp and a violent surge of anger at himself, Hamid's eyelids flew open. He quickly bore the rifle to a firing position and made to surge forward, his heart hammering and head pounding. Khaleef had not let go and he forcibly shoved the lad back onto the ground.

“We're not supposed to have any contact with anyone yet. It's the American hounds sniffing for Yasser!” spat Khaleef into Hamid's ear.

Hamid focused his eyes towards the expanse of desert in front of him. Sure enough, there were five hazy figures cautiously making their way towards the hut. Battle lust slowly creeping into every fibre of his body, Hamid fought the urge to burst forward. He looked at Khaleef for orders. The old gaffer had puffed his cheeks and started rocking his body back and forth, his eyes glassy and distracted. He suddenly blew out the air, nodded at Hamid and quickly whispered: “Stay low and hold until I open fire. I informed Yasser and the other two of the situation while you were sleeping.” Hamid bit his lower lip at the words.

Hamid slowly crawled towards the heaped pile of sandbags in front of him and followed the stealthy progress of the soldiers with immense distaste. The tension was slowly mounting to maddening heights; Hamid's hands grew numb with his increasingly tight grip on the rifle. Despite the chill of the desert night, he was sweating profusely in anticipation.

Mere thoughts turned into reality.

The advancing soldiers stalled briefly and then without warning, shot forward spreading themselves as they did. The men on the extreme ends dispersed further and further; they were going to flank the defenders. However, seeing no opposition greet them, the oncoming Americans held their fire. Hamid found his head snapping back and forth as he glanced at Khaleef and then towards the soldiers and then towards Khaleef again. Just as the three attackers reached the sandbags, Khaleef sprang up and fired his AK-47 in a sweeping arc. The Americans quickly dropped, rolled and began retaliating with their automatic weapons. One of them remained on the ground. From the backside of the building, there came shouts and more gunfire. With the sounds of battle echoing all around him, Hamid quickly peered over the sandbags and took careful aim. The attackers had little cover and yet another fell where he stood. Just as he began to draw a bead on the second - Khaleef was reloading - Hamid heard a bloodcurdling yell behind him. It was quickly followed by more shouts and a sickening gurgling noise. He stood up, ignoring Khaleef's yell and whipped around to run towards the back. He only remembered how warm his left shoulder felt before he passed out.

Hamid awoke to find a pale light growing in the eastern sky. He made to rub his bleary eyes but found out that he couldn't move his left arm. He pushed himself to a sitting position and saw that his arm had been clumsily bandaged in a blood-sodden old rag. The events of the night came flooding back to him and as the nausea overtook him, Hamid found himself staring at a pool of his own vomit.

A dull scratching noise came from behind the hut and Hamid slowly stood up and made his way towards the source of the sound. Old Khaleef and a whipcord thin man in black were digging the ground behind the hut. Hamid trudged drunkenly towards the duo and as he reached them, they quickly whipped around. The thin man had a serrated knife in his hands which he hastily stowed away as Hamid approached; however, the young man still caught a glimpse of the dry blood on the blade.

He looked at the freshly dug ground and saw a body in military fatigues being buried in the sand. He couldn't help noticing how the pants did not match with the jacket, but the sudden question put that observation out of his head.

“You're making graves for the American dogs?” spat Hamid.

“Them and for Ali and Omar as well. In death, we are nothing but flesh and bone.” said Khaleef sombrely. “Here, Ali would appreciate it if you could return this to his family.” With that, Khaleef chucked a shiny object at the shock-stricken Hamid. Hamid bent down to pick up a blood-covered tasbih from the ground.

There was congealed blood on the chain which looked like it had snapped; there was also a deep gash on the tasbih itself. Squinting back tears, Hamid slowly stood up. As he did so, a glitter caught his eyes. There was a shiny metallic object protruding from the balaclava-clad American's neck.

“Is… is that a tasbih?” Hamid exclaimed, his brows furrowed and his face contorted.

The thin man, Yasser, turned around and as he did so, blocked Hamid's view of the corpse. He bent down and seemed to be examining the object. His head gave the briefest of flicks towards Khaleef's face.

“The bastard was probably keeping it as a battle token after killing an Iraqi brother.” he said slowly, looking at Khaleef as he did. Hamid thought his face looked quite strained, even from the side. Yasser's eyes briefly glanced at Hamid and for that fraction of time, there seemed to be an impalpably oppressive feeling of uneasiness in the air.

Khaleef turned towards Hamid and gave him a wan smile.

“They should be coming to move Yasser to a safer location soon. Our mission is a success. You go rest inside the hut, you're injured after all.”

Hamid did not return the smile and headed back.

Hamid's dreams were increasingly punctuated by a dull, rhythmic noise that slowly melded into the events of last night. In his sleep, Hamid watched as Khaleef unloaded his AK-47 on the enemies; the repetitive report of gunfire growing ever louder. In the midst of this deafening din, he heard someone shout behind the hut. It wasn't Ali, it wasn't Omar and it wasn't Yasser - it was one of the Americans. Except he wasn't yelling in English, he was yelling in Arabic. Hamid had caught one word before he passed out: traitor.

With a violent jerk, he sat awake. A dull beating noise reverberated around him, interspersed with intense whirring; the ground seemed to be rumbling slightly. A sudden fear of the unknown gripping him, Hamid looked for his rifle. Not finding it near him, he quickly crawled to the door and peered out a crack near the bottom. It was a sight beyond his wildest nightmares.

It was Yasser and Khaleef shaking hands in turn with what looked like an American soldier. Behind them was a large black helicopter with formidable looking machine gun on the left side of the cockpit. Hamid barely managed to catch the American's heavily accented English of which he understood a little.

“The President of the United States and I'm sure, the people of your country, are grateful for your hard work in order to help us bring about peace. I personally extend the hands of the White House by thanking you and your men for protecting Mr Yasser for us. He will be invaluable in leading the coalition to help secure the country for you, the people.”

Already stunned, Hamid craned his ears to hear Khaleef's lilting English: “Yaas. It was pleasure to help. Unfortunately, men from our village accidentally found out. They attack us in American army uniform. Two of my men realised it. Sadly, we had to sacrifice - sadly, brothers' blood was spilt. And…”

But he was cut off by the American who raised his hand sharply.

“Of course. You will be compensated provided you hold onto the agreement. We were never here and this never happened. Your fellow men died valiantly in a skirmish with some of our soldiers. They killed five before they died.” It was an order, not a suggestion. The man quickly called over two soldiers and whispered something urgently to them. The soldiers grasped inside their shirts and took out shiny pieces of metal and handed it over to their commander. The commander handed these dogtags to Khaleef. “There's some proof of their jee-haad!” The commander sharply saluted and barked an order to everyone. Yasser followed two of the soldiers and boarded the helicopter, a sly smile playing around his lips. The commander saluted to Khaleef once more and climbed into the cockpit. The pilot nodded and the vehicle lifted off, showering everything with a small sandstorm.

Slowly, the swirling sands settled and then there was silence.

Anime and Bangladesh: The 90's Connection

Bangladesh and Anime:

The 90s’ Connection

By Le Chupacabra

A quick glance at the wall clock shows the time as 5:30pm. Outside, the summer Sun has sunk low and casts cool shadows all over the place. The sky is a bluish-purple and the clouds are still white and fluffy; the chance of rainfall is quite slim. Ah, perfect conditions.

It's time to prepare yourself then. Call your cousin (or heck, cousins) over and ring up your friends…

… Robotech is about to begin on Star Plus.

What, you were expecting, cricket or something? Well, not for me.

During the mid-1990's, my (and certainly many others') evenings were characterised by half-an-hour of blistering fast fighter jets that miraculously (I was six) transformed into sleek robots armed with all manner of laser rifles, mounted machine guns and of course, an infinite stock of missiles with wonderfully ceaseless smoke trails. Robotech was its name and despite being a pretty old anime series already, it was rather brilliant. Granted, most of the story and characterisations zoomed over my head, but what bits I caught could be deemed 'ultra cool' for me. And even if all the plot pouting lost me, there was still some very awesome fighting as the consolation prize. Watching the Veritech jet fighters pirouette through barrages of gunfire to emerge unscathed from the smoke and then slickly transforming into the Guardian mode and unleashing their own salvo of heat-seeking missiles - the warhead count numbering in quadruple figures, it seemed - that was entertainment like no other. Back then, the now-ancient artwork was considered incredible and how could one not like it with all those superb robot designs? I'd wager that even now Robotech could hold its own - heck, if Victory Gundam can do it, why not? But best of all was the music; call it outdated, call it pointless… but the music was (and still is, in my opinion) the very definition of memorable. A decade on from the ending, and I still recall some of the tunes. A particularly unforgettable moment for me was when the story arc made the huge leap over to the bit with the Cyclotrons and the alien Invid. I simply didn't understand how or why back then, and I was so disappointed that the Veritech fighter parts were over that I decided never to watch Robotech again. Fortunately, curiosity got the better of me and the good times rolled again - the last arc of Robotech was still brilliant.

Within the next few years, Star Plus started degenerating into yet another pointless Hindi channel. At first, the shows were dubbed in the language (Small Wonder, we will never forget) but later they were completely replaced with the forerunners of today's never-ending serials beginning with the letter 'K'. Anime, it seemed, was being snubbed rather badly. Even early morning showings of Sabre Rider and the Star Sheriffs slowly vanished. However, it was replaced by G.I. Joe which was much better, so no big loss. However, waking up that early made it a bit tasteless. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ran for a while during the afternoons, but that didn't last too long either. Pity, because that was my favourite cartoon when I was younger. (Okay, so both of those weren't anime, but you know… I'm kinda being washed over with nostalgia while writing this - work with me here!)

Salvation came after three years and two house shifts in the form of a little channel called AXN aka Action TV.

At first, I didn't pay much heed to it - after all, they still showed too many 'reality TV' shows on it. It wasn't until I was really bored that I flicked on to the channel while at my grandmother's house. What a fight scene it was... Himura Kenshin versus Aoshi Shinomori! It was a fantastically tense clash of two great swordsmen and the battle choreography was superb; I was hooked within minutes! After that, I caught every episode of Samurai X (aka Rurouni Kenshin) and I absolutely loved it! The final fight with Shishio was breathtaking but no other scene stayed with me like that one with Aoshi - after all, that was the one that got me interested in Samurai X in the first place! The later episodes spiralled rapidly away from a coherent storyline but back then, it didn't matter; those episodes were entertaining at the very least. The ending song during the Shishio saga (Heart of Sword, FYI) still stands as an all-time favourite. And in 2004, I bought the DVD boxed set of the entire Rurouni Kenshin series - one of the very few anime I have in original DVD form.

Another anime that was shown alongside Samurai X was Flame of Recca. I don't remember too much about it (they are showing it on Animax, so yeah I'm watching it again), but it was a great example of those tournament based anime that keep throwing an endless barrage of increasingly powerful.

Foes. Of course, the hero hovers near the brink of death only to burst forth with hitherto unseen powers galore; a certain Mr Goku can attest to such a formula. However, the fight scenes were still superbly entertaining and it was quite an imaginative show as well. The recent and super-popular anime Naruto owes many of its fight scenes, techniques and what-not to Flame of Recca. Recca Hanabishi, Naruto fans all over the world salute you!

Now, while Samurai X and Robotech retain a certain timeless quality, others faded from my memory. (Kudos to Lancer for the heads up.) One such anime was Ninja Robots. Yes, it of the same fight scene… over and over and over again! And now that I think about it… how did ninja fit into the context anyway? Somewhere in Japan, stealthy masked assassins are taking their own lives. Jokes aside, this has to be said: no matter corny or lame Ninja Robots may seem now, I (and plenty of others…. 'fess up you all) actually, honestly and genuinely liked and enjoyed the show. Besides the blatant copy-pasting of the aforementioned fight scenes, some of them were quite entertaining. The story wasn't too bad (or maybe that has to do with the fact that I reached an age where I could understand 'plotlines' - sorry, Robotech) and the artwork was quite decent. Let's not forget the, bless it, 'catchy' theme song - courtesy of the whole Americanisation process. Still, no matter how many times the Princess ended up being kidnapped (once you realise you can't count off your fingers, it was no longer funny), when Joe, Michael and Jenny (and later, Damien) strapped up into their robots to rescue her, you were rooting them on to victory. Cybertroooooooooooooooooon!

And, you cannot talk about anime in the 1990s without mention (unfortunately, that's all this one gets) of the one, the only… Speed Racer! *cue large-eyed, lopsided-mouth gasps of 'Oh!' ala Speed himself* What can you say about Speed Racer? (Preferably avoiding expletives). Nothing much. Of course, you could do some of those character expressions - they're a great hit when you and a bunch of friends go all nostalgic regarding TV shows. Speed Racer was embarrassingly corny and the constant exclamations made you roll your eyes, but hey, it was somewhat entertaining. Also without that Volcano Mountain race with the whole Snake (or was it Viper?) racing team, you wouldn't get that brilliantly hilarious parody episode of Dexter's Laboratory. Speaking of which, Dexter was at its satirical zenith during that time - the newer version lacks much of what made the old Dexter so bloody brilliant. Sad.

Lastly, and on a more serious tone, was the Anime Fest on Animax during the end of 1999. As a fitting end to that decade (and this article), that week highlighted some great anime films, particularly the subliminal Ghost in the Shell. That was the time when they also released The Matrix (the first, and brilliant, one) which shared much in common with Mamoru Oshii's animated opus; it was a doubly sweet dose of sci-fi centric philosophical musings. More importantly, it was also an indication of the burgeoning International audience for anime. And within a few weeks, we celebrated the New Year… the year 2000.

That golden decade ended on a fantastic note and was a forerunner of things to come. Cartoon Network picked up the slack with the loveable DragonBall Z and rather fun Cardcaptor Sakura. Unfortunately, it also started showing the inexplicably popular Pokemon, Digimon and Beyblade, and so on. One Piece is due to air soon (avoid the English dub, read the manga - bloody brilliant stuff!) The anime channel Animax commenced a few months back and we got access to anime like Gundam, Cowboy Bebop, GetBackers, Inu Yasha, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Ranma 1/2, Samurai X, Escaflowne and other wonderful shows. The sublime FullMetal Alchemist and entertaining Great Teacher Onizuka are due soon. Whoever's writing this piece in 2010 will need all of RS for that article then!

PS2 Game Review - Psychonauts

PsychoNauts

A PS2 Game Review
By Le Chupacabra

Excluding the typical dreams of endless plummets off cliffs or you trying to fight off bad guys only to find that you can’t use your super powers at all, the human psyche can be a pretty weird (understatement of the century!) and scary place at times. A visualization of everything that makes a person who she/he is - their joys, sorrows, fears, ambitions - could end up as something that would make Freud crap his pants. Or maybe not. Who knows? However, one thing is certain - a journey into a person’s mind could become an adventure like no other.

And that’s where Psychonauts comes in.

Born from the ingenious mind of Tim Schafer, Psychonauts is a game that puts you into the boots, or rather, the goggles of a young boy named Rasputin (‘Raz’ to his friends). Raz’s dream is to become a ‘psychonaut’ - a psychic warrior of sorts. The role of a psychonaut is to infiltrate the mind of other people and take care of whatever business is required. While that doesn’t sound too exciting, the possibilities are stupendous.

Here’s a game where you begin by entering the mind of your military-oriented teacher, Coach Oleander, to do some basic training. On the way you’ll encounter emotional baggage which are, brilliantly, actual pieces of luggage! Later you’ll delve into your own mind to literally battle your inner demons. You’ll encounter figments of imagination, mental cobwebs, censors that try to boot you from other people’s minds and basically every psychiatry-related cliché in the book - all realised oh-so-creatively in visual form. That’s where the true beauty of this game lies: imaginative level design. Coach Oleander’s mind is a battlefield full of exploding shells, flying zeppelins and old film slides of his greatest achievements. Sasha Nien’s is a Spartan cube wherein all emotion and secrets are kept under tight lock - only by accident do you find out what sorrows he hides. There are the minds of your fellow students - each one is as unique as they come. Both like and unlike the real world, nothing is what it seems in these crazy locations. You’ll wonder whether what you’re seeing is true, or whether there are deeper secrets behind all the nooks and crannies. Each mind is a maze (pun intended) and presents a whole new set of challenges and more importantly, a perpetual feeling of wonder and amazement. If you think you’ve seen insanity, think again. While you enter relatively few minds compared to the huge cast of diverse, loveable characters you interact with - each one also provides a fantastic vehicle for characterization. It’s the mixture of what you see, hear and unearth during these psychic treks that flesh out the personalities in this game.

This naturally leads to one of best parts of the game: humour. The humour ranges from literal, in-your-face clichés (the mind-levels themselves!) to characters spewing innuendo left and right to classic slapstick. All this wonderful comedy is beautifully integrated into the whole experience thanks to some fantastic writing by Tim Schafer. Whether it’s the typical jock/bully Bobby or the adorable Dogen, each has some great dialogue that make them feel more believable than most game characters. You know what a broad spectrum of personalities the typical classroom contains, right? Psychonauts appreciates this (most of the characters are based on Tim Schafer’s schooldays) and you’ll end up finding more than just a few recognizable personas. That’s yet another aspect of Psychonauts that makes it so enjoyable - you can actually relate to and empathize with the people portrayed.

Since the game is all about psychic powers and all, Raz can actually hear the thoughts of the people around him - more opportunity for hilarity and especially so when these precocious kids are thinking ‘inappropriate’ thoughts.

Given the way the game is designed, Psychonauts works best as a platformer - and that’s pretty much how it plays. Raz has to overcome obstacles by a combination of jumping, double jumping, sliding, grabbing onto ledges… you get the point. He’s able to attack by creating a giant psychic hand that karate chops anyone foolish enough to impede his progress. You can even perform the classic jump-smash where you jump up and direct a heavy smash attack below you. All these traditional platformer maneuvers are augmented by various psychic attacks such as Pyrokinesis, telepathy and the such. There’s also a handy Lock-Strafe function ala Ratchet & Clank that makes combat much more enjoyable. As far as gameplay is concerned, Psychonauts is pretty solid stuff although the jumping lacks a grace period - you know, the part in other games where, if you miss a jump, your character can still grab the edge. Some jumps can be tricky and the camera can be somewhat unwieldy; this can cause frustration at times. Besides that, Psychonauts has the fundamentals down pat so it’s all good.

Artistically, Psychonauts is a work of genius. The characters are designed in a very Tim Burton-esque manner with deformed bodies, over-large heads and a certain air of eccentricity. Despite the fact that they look kind of weird, they still exude a lot of personality. But what will really blow you away is the level design of all the minds you enter. Innovative, amazing and truly insane - each one is a visual masterpiece that you’ll enjoy seeing over and over again. That’s the artistic portion though; Psychonauts won’t win any awards for technical graphics. The game suffers from a slightly rocky frame-rate, the loading is quite slow and the draw-distance (how far you can see in a game) is poor. The general graphics are pretty low-quality overall. The artistry makes up for this pretty well most of the time, but occasionally only just.

The sound department is an equal balance of good and bad. The voice acting is extremely enjoyable and recalls the perfectly camp yet loveable voices that characterize classic Hanna-Barbera toons. On the flip side, the music is commonplace to the point of being forgettable.

Psychonauts is a work of creativity and freshness with diverse level design, brilliant humour and truly wonderful characters. Despite some rather glaring flaws, it’s one of those gaming concepts that don’t come around very often so pick this up before it disappears.

PS2 Game Review - Sly 3: Band of Thieves

A PS2 Game Review By
Le Chupacabra

Honour Among Thieves starts from the ending of the previous title. A harrowing battle left the bespectacled turtle Bentley wheelchair-bound. Placing the blame on his negligence, the powerhouse Murray decides to leave the trio, and his life of crime, behind and embark upon a journey of self-discovery. As timing would have it, the master thief Sly was about to pull off the heist to end all heists. How will he manage it now that the brains and brawns of the gang are out of commission?

As you can see, the story treads well-known territory. However, instead of becoming unnecessarily cliché, the plot has enough twists and quirks that ride on the feeling of familiarity and this leads to a warm, fuzzy feeling that only old Hanna-Barbera toons can evoke. The story is predictable in that you know good will prevail over evil yet fresh in that the situations and events are novel and relentlessly entertaining. When Bentley begins outlining the plan to next heist, you'll nod at each word and your eyes will grow ever wider as you realise how ingenious and compelling his ideas are. You only know that this heist is but one on the path to the big event itself and as a result you're always expecting the ante to be upped further - and that's exactly what happens!

The writing and dialogue are witty and humorous and doesn't degenerate towards slapstick or innuendo to provide the laughs. The combination of the zany situations the protagonists find themselves leads to the game encompassing humour that's subtly ingrained into the psyche of the whole experience. This leads to a level of sophistication that few can reach. The voice acting is equally engaging with the actors giving a lot of life and zest to some already compelling characters.

The graphics of Sly 3 follow the Sly tradition with vibrant locations and exaggerated edges and angles befitting of its cartoon atmosphere. The enemy come in all shapes and sizes and it's not unusual to catch yourself admiring the bizarre character designs much like those of the sublime DragonQuest VIII. The piece de resistance of the whole picture is the marvellous cel-shaded graphics that give truly unique definition to the characters. Complemented by some luxuriously smooth animation, Sly 3 looks every bit like a classic cartoon. Given the larger locales in this iteration, the game will slow down occasionally. Sometimes you can shrug it off, but sometimes it can cut in to the gameplay experience. I guess it's the price to pay for such brilliant artistry.

As it is, Sly 3 has all that it takes to create an entertaining and memorable cartoon that's perfect to sit down to when you're having lunch after a hot day at school!

However, Sly 3 is still a game. Therefore, does the gameplay match up to everything else?

Pretty much!
Sly 3 is a fusion of classic platforming and stealth-based gameplay ala Metal Gear Solid. While Sly has some mean combat tricks up his sleeve, his forte is sticking to the shadows and utilising his master thief skills. Sly is a rather athletic creature and this only adds to his formidable criminal abilities. He can balance himself on and run across narrow wires and slip into niches that his enemies can never reach. He can sneak on his tiptoes behind unwary sentries and pick their pockets dry! It's worth the extra trouble since that's the only method of getting keys and rare items. You can sell such items for coins and exchange coins to buy upgrades from ThiefNet which is essentially the Ebay of Sly's world. The fleet-footed Sly isn't the only character though! A successful heist works due to a collaboration of all the members and as a result, you get to play the parts of Bentley, Murray and other characters. Infact, Sly begins the Ocean's Eleven-esque task of enlisting the help of world class thieves so he can pull off the heist of the century. You get to use a diverse range of characters ranging from Sly's rival and love interest Carmelita Fox to the freaky Koala shaman that is Murray's spiritual mentor.

Being incapacitated has done little to dent Bentley's fervour for solving problems! He ends up inventing a wheelchair equipped with all manner of cutting-edge technology like rocket boosters, bombs and other sneaky additions. It's extremely amusing when you tap left or right and see Bentley hopping his wheelchair in the appropriate direction. While Sly and Bentley are more about evasion and tactics, Murray is all-out muscle and his levels involved you smashing around stuff. He doesn't pick pockets like his friends, no. He picks up the enemy and shakes the coins out of them! There's humour in every facet of the gameplay and as I said before, that is what makes it so brilliantly entertaining.

The multi-tiered heists of each level present some great gameplay potential. Carrying out Bentley's wacky plans is extremely fun and you never know what he'll ask you to do next! From cracking safes to donning sneaky disguises to taking part in biplane dogfights - the amusement never dies down.

Sly 3: Band of Thieves is quality gaming entertainment that's as charming as it is funny. If you're into an epic adventure of loony proportions, then you should pick this one up now!