A NEW WAY TO PLAY FF GAMES.

LIke many other GamePro users, I have been eagerly waiting for this game to come out for the PSP for two to three years. Was the two to three year wait well worth it? After playing through the game, I have to say it was well worth it.

First of all, let's start with the new battle system. I have not played Final Fantasy XII yet so this was my first time with the real time system with action RPG elements. Like many other Final Fantasy diehard fans, I was not sure how this would play out because the most recent Final Fantasy game I played was Final Fantasy X for the PS2 which was the last Final Fantasy game to include a turn based battle system. Turns out that I really did enjoy the new battle system although there is only one character in this game that you control and that is Zack. With the X button, that is the action button in battle where you can attack with the Buster sword (Zack does not start out with that sword but will get that sword eventually), attack with magic, or use items. The square button is to evade attacks which is awesome when you get the hang of it. The triangle button is to defend with the Buster Sword. You can select that attack command with the circle button but I prefer to use the L and R buttons because in real time, speed means everything. This game feels more of a beat 'em up game except you can develop the character. Anyone remember The Bouncer? It feels a bit like that and if this is indeed the direction that Square Enix wants to take the Final Fantasy series, I will be thrilled!

The graphics are the best I have seen on the PSP to date. You get the CG stuff as well which is freaking awesome. Some of the CG stuff are even from the original FFVII game on the PSone. The way the environment and the battle system blends just shows you how much effort Square Enix put in making this game for the PSP. I'd say this game would have looked pretty good on the PS2 as well. Way to go SE!

One of the notable differences in this game compared to the first 10 FInal Fantasy games is that there is no world to explore and this takes away the exploration aspect of past Final Fantasy games. The game seems to be pretty linear but this is where the missions come into play. Since there is no overworld to make Zack into the biggest badass character, the missions provide a way to level up Zack and there are 300 missions which is quite a lot and I completed just 15% of the missions when I beat this game just recently so the replay value really kicks in with the missions. After expriencing the missions, I do not miss the overworld or exploration aspect of past Final Fantasy games and this makes me much more excited for Final Fantasy XIII which is supposed to have a similar story structure as FFVII and FFX and those two are my most favorite FF games so I am looking forward to that game if that game follows the blueprint of CC:FFVII.

This is a must get if you have played the original FFVII and for JRPG fans that want a RPG that is not turn based. This game could very well appeal to action game fans as well.

If I could give this game a 6 out of 5 rating, I'd do it!

One of the best side scrolling games ever for the GBA

I know this review is way past its due but I wanted to post this review because it is a terrific game!

M:ZH is basically a remake of the original Metroid for the NES. A lot of remakes do end up falling short because of the changes that are made to the game itself. Sure there are changes made to this game but they are very positive changes.

M:ZH's graphics are pretty much similar to the Super NES smash hit Super Metroid and that is nothing short of amazing for a handheld system and that includes the PSP and DS.

The big changes that I said were good were the addition of a map instead of the password based system, a few other weapons such as the charge beam and the ability to run fast which came from the SNES hit game.

And when you beat this game, the original Metroid game is unlocked and you can play this game which makes this GBA game a two games in one package that is GREAT!

A good collectors disc for the PSP

21 different games from the 1980's and 1990's all on one UMD disc! All three Mortal Kombat games are included in this disc. It seemed to me that the games do play pretty well with the PSP's button layout. The graphics seem to be pretty good for a MK game from the past. Spy Hunter, Sinstar, Defender, PaperBoy, and 720 round up the single game modes. Out of those games, I'd rank Spy Hunter as the best one followed by Defender, Paperboy, 720, and Sinstar. It seems to me that the trackball based games didn't have a good translation to the PSP itself. The multiplayer games are the 3 MK games, KLAX, Joust, Marble Madness, Toobin', Rampage, Wizard of Wor, Rampart, Xybots, Championship Sprint, Arch Rivals, Cyberball 2072, and Xenophobe. KLAX was a game that I haven't played until I turned the PSP on and I was surprisingly addicted to that game. Joust is a game that I have played but it doesn't hold my interest. Marble Madness is quite challenging...I hope Midway makes an updated Marble Madness game. Rampage...been there done that. Toobin' the same thing as well. Xybots was a game I never played before and it has to be one of the earliest 3rd person shooters that feels like more of a FPS...not bad for a game made in the mid '80's before games like Doom and Castle Wolfstein arrived on the scence. I haven't played Championshp Sprint...is it on the UMD? I'm not sure. Arch Rivals seems to be the precesdor to the NBA Jam series which was all the rage during the SNES days and didn't need Michael Jordan (retired at the time) to sell the game which was remarkable if you recall how the NBA revolved around MJ those days. Rampart was a game I never heard of but it is a cool game (do your own research on that game) that has issues with control due to the trackball not transferring well to the PSP. Cyberball 2072 is a futurstic robot football game. There are only four plays but the game was somehow fun to play. This game is really a mixed bag because some games play well on the PSP while some games should have not made the cut for this UMD collection but I picked it up for just $9.99 at Circuit City so I can't be too disappointed in this game. There are some games that are cool and some that are meh. I'm going to give it a 3.0 because the UMD has some great games that I like to play. If I bought this game while it was still $50.00, I would have gave it a lower score because I like to factor in the value of the game depending on how much the game cost.

Puzzle game & RPG game in ONE!

I saw PQ:CotW for just $20.00 at GameStop and my DS was collecting dust in addition to reading rave reviews about this game so I decided to give this game a try. I could not believe HOW ADDICTING this game is! This is a game that appeals to both casual and hardcore gamers.

The people behind this game just recently announced a sci-fi puzzle game which will be called PQ: Galatix or something like that. I cannot wait to see how that game turns out because CotW is such an addicting game.

This game alone went a long way in convincing me that with companies aiming for more casual gamers doesn't mean that it will result in the death of the hardcore gaming crowd.

The funfactor of this game should not be anywhere below 5.0 for certain and that is what counts about this game.

A new AND FUN way to play Madden

I read all the reviews of Madden 08 (got the game last Dec) and I thought I might as well give this a try. I was not disappointed with the gameplay at all although there are some notable exceptions.

The graphics will not wow you because it seems like it is a port of the PS2 version of Madden 08 but it's not like the PS1 version of Madden which would be weak compared to today's games. With me, it is a question of is the graphics good enough and the answer is yes.

If you have spent years playing Madden on other systems with controllers such as the Playstation DualShock 1/2 or X-Box 1/360, it won't be very difficult for you to pick up the controls on the Wii-mote. I won't go into deep detail about how the Wii-mote plays but with the Wii-mote, you can throw the ball to the selected receiver by pressing the left, up, right, or down button on the d-pad and then throw the Wii-mote (as long as you don't let go..LOL). The 5th person would mean pressing the A button and throwing the Wii-mote. You can barrel over defenders by thursting the Wii-mote forward. With the nunchunk attachment, you control the players' movements with the analog stick and if you move it left or right, the player will juke the defenders out of their socks. Basically, if you are a longtime vet of Madden, ESPN, 2K, or other football games, this is not difficult to pick up. The only problem is you won't have the timing completely down just yet...I was lobbing passes for awhile until I got the hang of it. I haven't dived into the online aspect of Madden 08 for the Wii so I am unable to comment. Now you want to know what features are in Madden 08 for the Wii? You do have the Franchise Mode and you are able to act as the owner just like in the PS2 version of Madden. However, it seems like the ability to build new stadiums were left out but I saw a new 49ers stadium built while I was in franchise mode so it might be possible after all. You have the Hall of Fame mode and it is great as well since you are closer to your rear end than in a normal Madden game, the Wii-mote's greatness does show here especially as a RB. My lone beef with Madden 08 is that I cannot customize my playbooks so I am forced to look for a playbook that fits what I want to do and it's a pain in the ass! This is still a fun game to play but due to Madden 08 not giving you the option to customize your playbook, I refuse to give this game a 5.0. Peter Moore, please tell Tibourn to let us do that so I can give your stinking game a perfect 5.0!