ClutchFans Video Game Review Thread

Took a little while, but it seems like we can finally get this thread up and running.

As you can probably tell by the thread name, I think it would be a good idea if people on the board posted their own reviews for video games. It would be a good way to recommend games to others on the board, and it also gives some users a chance to maybe try something they've never done before.

Before we start posting reviews though, I'd like to post some general guidelines for posting reviews. This thread won't be as organized as I would have liked, but maybe we can still keep some sort of basic format for the reviews themselves.

1. First, include the name of the game, its genre, the platform(s) it is available on, possibly a small thumbnail image or video of the game if possible, and a couple of paragraphs to summarize your thoughts on the game (what you liked and what you didn't like). For example, in my reviews, I'll probably list some Pros and Cons, and I'll follow that up with a 'Final Comments” section where I give my overall impressions for the game. You should then follow this up with the full review, contained in a spoiler tag. I think that might make it easier to read through the reviews. It seems to keep things short and concise, but still allowing for reviews that provide as many details as necessary.

2. It is up to you whether you want to score the game, and how you go about doing it (A+, 5/5, 10/10, etc). You can use this when summarizing the game if you want, although you probably should include more than just numbers when briefly explaining what the game is like.

3. There aren't really many guidelines for the actual review (found within the spoiler tag). Just include as much information that you think is important in helping people make their decisions. I don't know if it should be a requirement, but it would obviously be a good idea to cover the usual aspects of a game, such as graphics, sound, gameplay, replayability, story (if applicable), camera, controls, etc.

4. I think it would be best to be as broad as possible when it comes to reviewing games. A lot of the focus might go to 360, PS3, and Wii games (this includes downloadable games for each), but we also want reviews for handheld games, PC games, PS2/GC/XBX games, and even older games from the PS1/N64 era. Maybe even older, although that's probably the point where I'd draw the line.

5. Only accept bribes from Electronic Arts, Take Two, Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, and Ubisoft.

I think that should be about it, although if I missed anything or if anyone has some good ideas, let me know. Drexlerfan22 made an example of how most of this would look in the following thread:
http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=3679383&postcount=12
It is a bit off since we're not going with the same type of thread (linking to everything in the OP, a review summary instead of an overview, no standard for ratings, etc), but that might give you an idea of how things should look.

Additionally, I think a few posters, including myself, will post a few reviews pretty soon, so if you're unsure how a review should look, you can check out some examples there (although my Persona 3 Fes review might be a bit unusual). This is a bit of an experiment, so things could change. But I think this is a nice way to start things off.

I think requests could also be a good idea. This hasn't really been talked about, but I'm sure a lot of people would mostly just post reviews of games they really enjoyed, leaving out a lot of games that others might be curious about. We'll see how this goes, but I think it should work out fine.

 

Persona 3 FES
PS2, RPG
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(credit to Laharl93)

Pros:
-Incredible bang-for-your-buck (150+ hours for $30).
-Unique narrative with some of the best characters in a video game
-Good voice acting, art design, presentation and soundtrack
-Calendar system works well in several different ways
-Addictive gameplay mechanics that offer a nice challenge
-Daytime activities help to keep things fresh when not dungeon crawling (or vice versa).
Cons:
-The AI used to control teammates can be horrible, particularly when playing The Answer
-Game over if the main character dies...and unfortunately instant death attacks are common.
-Music starts to get repetitive, even if you do like the music
-The dungeon aspects of the game are relatively simple and repetitive

Final Comments:
Despite a number of flaws, I came away incredibly impressed by the game (if I played Persona 3 last year, it would have been my GOTY easily). For the most part, the flaws weren't really anything that would break the game (except for maybe the AI). On the other hand, the game excels in terms of its narrative, addictive gameplay, originality, art design, soundtrack, production values, etc., which all come together to form something really special IMO. While others may not think as highly of the game as I do, at $30, it is difficult to come away disappointed. Well...unless of course you hate the usual things you find in JRPGs (lots of cutscenes, emo teenagers trying to save the world while wearing stylish clothing, J-Pop, etc. I'm exaggerating a bit, but you get the idea). The game might not be for everyone, but it will probably be one of my favorites for a long time, definitely one of the best RPGs on the PS2 IMO.

Full review:

Spoiler

Brief Overview
Persona 3 FES is a $30 rerelease of the original Persona 3 that was released by Atlus in late 2007. Along with some new content and tweaks in the main storyline (now called “The Journey”), an extra chapter (called “The Answer”) was added to the game that attempts to answer some of the questions proposed by the original game's open-ended conclusion. Note that I did not play the original release of Persona 3, so any differences between FES and the original release that I mention will probably relate mostly to this extra chapter. While this is the third (or technically fourth IIRC) Persona game, it has no direct relation to previous Persona games from a story standpoint, so don't let the number following the name scare you away from trying the game out.

Story
You start off the game as a nameless 17 year old high school student that is transferring to a new high school in Japan. After a few strange incidents at your new dorm, you learn about the Dark Hour, a period of time that exists after the clock hits midnight. During this time, normal people transmogrify into coffin-like structures, completely unaware of any events that occur during the Dark Hour. A mysterious tower called Tartarus also appears during the Dark Hour. This structure seems to have a connection to creatures called Shadows, which feed off the minds of humans. As a Persona-user, you are one of the few that is not affected by the Dark Hour, and it is your responsibility to fight these Shadows while also uncovering the mysteries of Tartarus and the Dark Hour.

I don't want to spoil the rest of the story, but it definitely is an interesting and unique storyline for the most part. It isn't quite as complex or unpredictable as other games (although it does have some twists), but it does try to deliver a storyline with a deep message that everyone can relate to. The message is perhaps a bit cliché, but still nicely done IMO.

Perhaps the best things about the story isn't the story itself, but the characters involved with the story. Persona 3 takes place in the span of approximately one year, and you get to experience it one day at a time. I'll explain the mechanics of this a bit more in the gameplay section, but in terms of plot development, this setup really helps to attach the gamer to the characters in the game. Instead of focusing on one epic, continuous journey to save the world (or whatever), you'll end up seeing yourself and the other characters under a number of different circumstances practically every day. Sure, the main goal is there more or less the whole time, but your focus will always be shared among other things. Some of these things include school exams, summer/winter breaks, club events, school field trips, festivals, etc. These events end up creating different situations for all the different characters, allowing you to see them when they're happy, when they're under stress, when they're confused, when they're depressed, when they're bored, etc. For example, in perhaps one of the most enjoyable parts of the game, you and a few of the other male characters partake in Operation Babe Hunt while vacationing at a local beach. Of course, this fails miserably and hilarity ensues.

Seeing these characters everyday, under different situations, really fleshes out their personalities. In my opinion, there's really no comparison to it out there in terms of video games. A better comparison would be more like a TV show or something along those lines. Of course, it might depend on the gamer, but in my case, I felt like I understood and really cared for virtually all the main characters in the game and even some of the minor characters. Additionally, at least 2-3 characters undergo some pretty noticeable changes during the game, essentially “growing up” in some respects (they all do to some degree, but some aren't quite as noticeable). This plays off of the concept of time in the game, and again, it really works well IMO. This attachment to the characters ends up making certain scenes in the game much more powerful and effective; I'd like to be more specific, but I'd also like to stay as spoiler-free as possible...although it is probably obvious what kind of scenes I might be referring to.

The dialog for the most part seems to fit the situation well. As with other Japanese-developed games that aren't named Final Fantasy (or whatever), you'll still end up with some weird lines that seem out-of-place to Western audiences, but it doesn't seem nearly as bad as other games (although some characters are bigger offenders than others). Besides those instances, the dialog at times actually seems pretty clever and well-written, representing what high school kids would probably be thinking or saying during particular situations (see Operation Babe Hunt ). Some characters seem to discuss certain things over and over, but if you're into the story, it probably won't bother you too much (you might even enjoy it). All of the important conversations are voiced, and some of the more important scenes are presented via animated cutscenes, such as this one that starts off the game (credit to Takeshi1589):
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All in all, the game has an excellent narrative, succeeding in some areas that few games do.

Gameplay
You'll be playing this game for a while, around 150 hours or so before completing both "The Journey" and "The Answer." Being a JRPG, most of this time will be spent doing the stuff you'd expect to do in a JRPG. This includes fighting the occasional boss battle, buying new equipment for you and your team members, completing side-quests, leveling up by fighting enemies and getting money/items from them, etc. Fortunately, there are no random battles in the game, which is a recent trend in some JRPGs. Enemy Shadows are on-screen, and you initiate combat whenever you come in contact with them (if you initiate the contact, you get an extra turn in battle). A lot of the game will be spent dungeon crawling in Tartarus. There are about 263 floors to explore IIRC (not counting the optional dungeon), most of which are randomly generated. The actual act of dungeon crawling is pretty simple. You enter a floor and try to find the stairs to the next floor, fighting enemies or picking up treasures along the way. About every 10-15 floors or so, you reach a checkpoint and must fight a boss to advance further up the tower before you eventually reach a dead end (these dead ends go away as you progress through the game). Since there aren't really any puzzles or other things to keep this fresh, it can get a bit repetitive. What you're doing on floor 5 is basically what you're doing on floor 255.

After a certain number of fights, you and your teammates will begin to get tired. Generally, your friends will leave Tartarus once you regroup back at the entrance to Tartarus, which is the only place to save, change party members, and restore your HP and SP (basically like MP) fully. You can continue to explore Tartarus as long as you want, but being tired will decrease your performance in battle, not to mention affect your performance in the upcoming days. For the lazy, you can split the team up and have your friends look for treasure, the stairs to the next floor, a warp to the exit, or you can just have them fight shadows on their own. Note that if you spend too much time on a floor, The Reaper (AKA Death) will appear and begin to chase you down. This enemy is one of the most powerful enemies in the game, and 95% of the time, you won't want to fight it. The sounds of its chains dragging against the floor can be really unnerving.

The battle system is similar to other Shin Megami Tensei games. You can have up to 4 characters in battle, and you'll generally be relying on the powers of your Personas to aid you in battle. There are 9 elements in the game: 3 are physical attacks (pierce, strike, slash), 4 are magic attacks (fire, ice, wind, lightning), and the other two are light and dark attacks (used for instant kill attacks). Every enemy in the game has some sort of reaction to some or all of these elements. They can be weak to a particular element, they might be strong (reduced damage) against an element, or they might null or repel the element. When using an element against an enemy that it is weak against, the enemy will be knocked down, effectively taking away its next turn, and you'll get an additional turn. If all enemies are knocked down, you'll have the option to do an all-out attack with your teammates. This is a powerful attack that will do MASSIVE DAMAGE to all enemies, although note that it will get rid of their “knocked down” status (generally doesn't matter, but maybe 5% of the time, you won't want this). So in a way, it is kind of like rock-paper-scissors. It is just a matter of finding which attacks will work against a particular enemy. Of course, this same system applies to you and your teammates as well. If you're using a Persona weak against fire and an enemy uses a fire attack against you, you'll be knocked down and the enemy will get to act again. There are also status effects, some of which are pretty common (poison, sleep, stun, etc.), and you can also use fusion spells which become available if you have the right combination of Personas in your arsenal (EX: if you have Orpheus and Asparas, the fusion spell Cadenza is available).

If you haven't played any other SMT or Persona games, it might take some time to get used to some of these mechanics and the names of the skills (EX: “agi” for fire). Like some other SMT games, if the main character dies (not the whole party), the game is over. While this is bad enough as it is, the SMT games also make use of spells that can instantly kill any character, and they're actually relatively common. The light and dark spells I mentioned earlier do nothing but instantly kill their targets (or try to). This means that you and your party could be overpowering the enemy, but if they're lucky, they might instantly kill you, even if you're incredibly powerful. The chance of this happening is probably pretty low (never really happened to me IIRC), but I personally don't like this reliance on luck to win/lose battles. As you advance in the game, you should gain items and skills which help to negate the effects of these instant death spells, so it becomes less and less of a problem.

This brings me to another interesting gameplay mechanic. While you control the actions of the main character, the other members in the party are AI controlled. You have the ability to give them basic commands (attack a single target, conserve SP, act freely, heal/support, wait, etc.). I was originally skeptical of such a system, but I was surprised to see that it rarely hurt me too much when playing The Journey (note that I didn't play it on Hard). However, once I began playing The Answer, the AI really began to frustrate me (note that The Answer is only playable on the Hard difficult level). Basic concepts such as turn order seem to have no influence on the AI. If one ally is hurt, you may have two characters attempt to heal the same character, the latter one using a spell that fully heals the character. This basically wastes the turn of one ally that didn't need to waste a turn healing. And I'm sad to say that this is just one of many horrible issues that might arise when playing the game, especially The Answer. Generally speaking though, if you spend some time leveling up, getting better equipment, and using good strategies (at least for the main character), you'll be able to get past most of the boss fights, despite much frustration. While I can nitpick about a number of things in the game, this is the only major issue I have with the game, and I have no idea why they implemented it this way. Fortunately, this will be changed in Persona 4 from what I understand, although I think AI control will be optional. It isn't a bad idea in theory since it seems to speed up battles, not to mention add a bit more strategy to things. But if this is going to work, the AI has to be perfect, and that certainly isn't the case in Persona 3, especially on harder difficulties and/or when playing The Answer.

If you are able to end a normal battle with an all-out attack or by defeating the last enemy with the main character, you'll be treated to “shuffle time.” This is a card shuffling mini-game that gives you the option of getting extra experience after the battle, extra gold, a new weapon (and equipment in The Answer), a new Persona, or the option to heal the party. Some cards will be cursed, meaning that The Reaper will appear if you happen to pick it.

The main character, unlike all the other Persona-users, is capable of summoning multiple Personas in battle (up to 170 Personas, although he can only have a fraction of them at the same time). This leads to how you actually get different Personas. As previously mentioned, you can get some Personas from the mini-game that occurs after a battle. Besides that, you'll also be able to create Personas by fusing together other Personas. By fusing two (or more) Personas, you'll be able to create a different Persona, which can also inherit the skills of its “parents,” allowing you to customize it to a degree. Each Persona gains experience when equipped in a battle, and they will also gain levels. At certain levels, they'll gain new skills, and some special Personas will even produce a rare item. At a certain point early on in the game (available in "The Journey," but not "The Answer"), the Persona Compendium is available. This allows you to register your Persona, meaning you can fuse them or dismiss them but not lose them entirely. You can simply get the Persona back by purchasing it from the Compendium (note that this won't be cheap). The Compendium also offers a bit of background info on every Persona, which can make for some interesting reading whenever you're bored. Most (or all I guess?) Personas are actually based on religious or mythological figures, such as Vishnu, Ganesha, Satan, Lucifer, Messiah, Gabriel, Odin, Loki, Thor, Thanatos, Seiryuu, Lilith, Titania, Dionysus, Chernobog, Asura, and Anubis just to name a few. Maybe it was just me, but I found it interesting to read up on some of these figures and they're relations to each other. Creating Personas is an extremely addicting aspect of the game, and for people like me, it won't be difficult to spend hours doing nothing but this.

While the regular battles and boss battles at Tartarus make up most of the fights you'll be doing, you'll encounter special enemies about every month during a full moon. With the exception of the first enemy IIRC, most of the fights actually involve a twist in some form, meaning you probably won't be treating them like normal fights. There might be a trick to defeating the enemy, or there might something else to worry about in battle. For example, in one battle, you'll spin a wheel every turn, resulting in either a positive or negative effect for you and your friends.

Everything I mentioned makes up only about half the gameplay. The other half occurs during the daytime, before Tartarus even appears. Instead of mirroring other JRPGs, this part of the game is more like a school sim or dating sim. For the days you go to school (which is most of the time, including Saturdays for those of you unaware of the Japanese school system), you may have to answer questions in class or choose to stay awake during boring lectures. After school, you'll be able to partake in one the many clubs at school (Student Council, track, art, music, etc.), although note that generally only a few of these are available in a playthrough (you pick between the track team, swim team, or fencing team). If you don't want to do that, you can hang out with some of the friends you've made at school, or you can spend time with a special girl from school. If none of that is to your liking, you could eat at a restaurant, go to the mall, go do karaoke, go to the arcade, etc. There will be special events on certain days, such as summer vacation or the school field trip.

The question you might be asking yourself is why bother doing this? Besides the satisfaction you'd get from doing something other than dungeon crawling, it turns out that the power of Persona relies on the social links you have with those around you. If you form a stronger bond with those close to you, the Persona you use will become stronger. Or in other words, bonus experience will be given to a Persona once it is created. Additionally, some Personas can only be created if a social link is at a high enough level (usually maxed). IIRC, there are 22 Arcana in the game, and each Persona fits under one of these Arcana. Of course, there are 22 social links that correlate to these Arcana. Some social links are completed as you advance in the the main story, but most of them are optional and require effort on your part to complete. Each social link has 10 levels to it, and in order to get to the next level, you must spend time with a certain person (or persons), answering certain questions that they will occasionally ask. If you answer correctly, you'll advance more quickly. Additionally, if you have a Persona of that Arcana readily available, you'll advance even quicker. Most social links are only available on certain days, and some social links have additional requirements. For example, there are 3 “stats” for the main character: courage, charm, and academics. One social link requires that you get the top score on one of the exams, which is only possible if you have a high academics score (probably maxed out, or close to it). These stats are increased through a number of activities, such as studying at night (academics), doing karaoke (courage), or answering questions correctly in school (charm). Most social links are pretty simple, but dating a girl from school can make things a bit more complicated. Much like in real life, a girl won't appreciate it if you are dating multiple girls at the same time, and you'll be punished if she catches you doing this. While it is possible to max out every social link in a single playthrough, it is unlikely due to the number of social links and their availability. Unless you use a guide and/or received some general advice on how to do them, you'll have to replay the game to go through all the social links (subsequent playthroughs will likely be MUCH easier by the way). Note that if you DO complete every link in a single playthrough (or maybe just max all the social links period, can't remember), you're able to summon a special persona, although I think it is only there for fighting the special optional boss.

Some social links are pretty depressing (imagine hanging out with a guy who is terminally ill and spends his last days with you, questioning fate ), but others are pretty entertaining. Perhaps my favorite is the MMORPG social link, where you spend time with a online user named “Maya.” Some direct quotes from this social link:
Maya: have u ever said "lol" irl on accident? i think i would die! rofl

Maya: hi hi! i was waiting for u! =)
Maya: so ummmmmmm..... i'm drunk! xD

Maya: YA RLY! ^o^
Maya: save me tatsu! i'm sick of my job! no tiem to party T_T
Maya: rawr, i even have to work from homo this weekend... =(
Maya: home** LOL!
Maya: nvm -_-;;
Maya: dun worry, i'm on a break u know =P

Maya: but thats rite, she's got fake t***
Maya: HAHahahahahhahaha!!1 xDDDDDD

Of course, she starts having feelings for you, and in an ironic turn of events (minor spoilers),

Spoiler

she is your homeroom teacher. You can confront her about this near the end of the game and get a pretty interesting reaction.

Once you beat the game, you'll have the option to replay the game with certain things carrying over. The main character's stats will carry over, your equipment will carry over (but not items IIRC), the items available at stores will carry over, your money will carry over, and the Personas you registered in the Compendium will carry over (might be more things that carry over, but that's what I noticed). Depending on how much time you put into those things on the original playthrough, replaying the game could possibly be much easier (especially if you unlocked the bonus dungeon, which is available on your replay as soon as you enter Tartarus). As previously mentioned, you might want to do this to check out all the social links or do other activities that you might not have been able to do in your original playthrough (perhaps try fighting the optional boss?). They're really isn't much to do since the game is pretty linear, but if you really like the game, it might be be worth playing over to check out some new dialog and scenes you missed (some of these scenes can be a lot of fun). I believe there are two endings (good and bad), but since you don't start walking towards one path or the other until late in the game (and it is pretty obvious what decides the ending), it isn't really required that you replay the entire game to see the other ending. I actually haven't checked this out, so I don't know if the two endings are really worth getting (I got the good/real ending of course).

As for “The Answer,” social links are dropped and the game plays more like a dungeon crawler. IIRC, there are 7 or 8 “areas” that you must complete. While completing these areas results in a cutscene, most of the important storytelling won't be done until the last 10% or so of the game. So if you're wanting some answers to the events that played out in “The Journey,” be prepared to wait a while for it (but they are there). The chapter can only be played on hard, and boss fights are generally more difficult from a strategic standpoint than they were in The Journey (mostly due to the combination of enemies and their strengths/weaknesses). This extra chapter took me about 30 hours, although I might have beaten it quicker if I didn't feel like trying to race through it....or if I could control all the characters in battle instead of the AI.

Graphics
Persona 3 is far from impressive from a technical standpoint. Even by PS2 standards, the graphics aren't particularly great or anything, certainly not comparable to God of War 2, MGS3, FFXII, etc. But for the most part, you won't care, even after playing some PS3/360 games. This is partly due to the art design, which can still allow for some good visuals despite the fact that the game doesn't push the PS2 to its limits. Any scenes that would be hindered by the graphics were usually not presented in the in-game engine but with animated cutscenes, so while the graphics don't really help the game, they certainly don't hurt it either. The game uses pretty detailed portraits of the characters which change depending on their reactions, so most of the time you'll be focusing on them instead of some weird mass of colored polygons. It seems like a minor thing, but I wonder if perhaps my opinion of the graphics would be different if the portraits weren't used.

Note that I did play this on the PS3, so I did get some graphical enhancements.

Sound
The soundtrack is a bit unusual compared to other RPGs, consisting of J-Pop, hip hop, techno, and other types of music. For reference, here is the main battle music for the game:
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Some other tracks you might hear pretty often (not necessarily the best tracks though):
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(Credit to Slayer0 for these)

You'll end up either loving or hating some tracks. But for the most part, the soundtrack is one of the game's strong points IMO. Unfortunately, the game could have used a few more tracks to keep things fresh. Even if you like the music like I did, it starts to get a little repetitive to hear the same songs over and over (usually about 5-6 songs you'll hear a lot of, and that doesn't count battle music). IIRC, the game does change some songs about halfway into the game, and some of these repetitive tracks change during the last month of play as well, which is actually a really nice touch IMO. You also get the chance to pick between 4 different songs when dungeon crawling after a certain point in the game, which is a nice addition as well.

The voice acting is surprisingly very good and partly what made me enjoy the story so much. As I mentioned in an earlier section, a large part of the game's appeal is the personality of the characters, and the voice actors did a great job of giving these characters their personalities. Some are certainly better than others, particularly during certain scenes, but I rarely found myself laughing out loud due to horrible voice acting that is very common in other games.