Status Quo

Well, the Genshiken pic is only an excuse for my mizugi theme (and cuz Kohsaka plays games). It's not really about the recently announced OVA (which I AM excited for). The official Genshiken site did update today. Anyways, i'd thought i would make an update since it's been almost a week since i updated (again). I've been busy w/ school (of course) but i've also been busy playing a lot of games. I'm trying to get most of 'em done before midterms and assignments hit (which start/due next week XD). Because i've been playing consoles, it's been almost a month since i've hit the arcade! So here's the status of the games I've been playing (all on PS2 of course):

Okami: Finished it today, been playing it nearly non-stop. yes, i did need to eat, sleep, take a crap, work out w/ my gf, and drink some beer. It took me about 3 1/2 days. Called in sick on the weekend too :D. Maybe THE BEST game on the PS2 this year. Graphics are just beautiful and gameplay is just SOO FUN, though it's not anything too original. Controls is awesome and love using the Celestial Brush. The soundtrack is gorgeous and a must get (5 CDs!). If you own a PS2, it's your duty to get this game and encourage Clover to make more awesome games!

Metal Slug 6 (JPN): A great old school game. Finished this in a day (took about 1 hr. and a 1/2) w/ a buddy. Fun stuff and i dug the unique moves some characters had like Ralf's vulcan punch and Clark's Super Argentine Back Breaker from KoF Series.

God Hand (JPN): Finished this game almost two weeks ago. I remember playing it non stop as well. Finished it in about 3 days after it's release (9/14). Since this is another Clover game, it's bound to be a hit right? Well almost. Those who remember that i posted the Famitsu review, know that it got a shitty score right (26/40)? Well, i personally would've given it a 32/40. It's definitely Clover Studio's weakest game but it's so downright fun and very deep. There's a ton of moves you gain and can later mix and match, thus giving a lot of depth in the fighting departmentThere's also a ton of strategy to be used w/ the moves as the game is very difficult, though not DMC3 difficult. I did manage to beat the game in about 12 hours on Normal ^^ (though i must admit continuing quite a few times). The game is a lot of fun and there's so much humour, though i found the humour pretty gay (pun not really intended) . It gave me a chuckle once in a while (the game is entirely voiced in Eng. ala RE, DMC). Gene's God Hand would kick Nero's Devil's Right Hand :P. The game IS hard and is one reason why Famitsu would've knocked it. The graphics are also sorta bland and backgrounds have little life and animation to them. There is camera issues and i encountered slowdown when there were quite a few enemies. Controls isn't the best, though you do get sorta used to them after 30-40 mins. Is it worth the buy next month? maybe, depending on how you like your action games. I'd say give it a rental first as some ppl may have trouble w/ the difficulty as apparently, it's hard on easy mode too, i personally never tried. Though I'd imagine it'd be too easy for me since i know how to play the game now. As for hard mode? maybe.

Dirge of Cerberus FFVII: Finished this game a while ago as i was almost done anyways. Since i already played through the JAP version, i sorta breezed through this as the game is still easy but made a bit more fun w/ the improved US mechanics. I played it again to understand the story and to listen the the dub. Is the game worthy? like i said before, only if you're FFVII fan.

Xenosaga III: I'm still not done this game ;_;. I think i'm almost done. So far, the story has been great. The cutscenes are even better than ever and i love T-elos. Currently 30 something hours in and i'm in the cathedral. Hopefully, i'll get this done soon.

Rurouni Kenshin Enjou Kyoto Rinne (JPN): Finished it once in between playing GH and shortly after that. Game is a basic hack and slasher game (similar to Dynasty Warriors in a way) and pretty easy. It's fun though, if you're a fan of the anime (which i am). The game is awesome cuz of the combinations and moves it allows you to pull w/ the characters (kenshin's list of ryu moves...just awesome). Since it's basically the Kyoto arc, you know the story is awesome and brings back sweet memories of the anime + intense fights. Worthy to buy? if you're a Kenshin fan, yup. I felt like playing the Kenshin PSX fighting game after playing this, as crappy as it may be ^^.

NHL 2K7: The game came out today (which i so happen to get as games released today don't actually arrive in stores until tomorrow) and it was cheap too (20 bucks CDN). I always liked the 2k sports hockey game more than the EA hockey games (especially this year's right analog stick/shot control...WTF...how am i supposed to do one timers?). Anyways, since i just got it, i haven't really played it. Been buliding my team in Franchise mode and i'm impressed w/ all the management that can be done (though a little tedious). It awesome they got minor league players. I'll probably play this game in spurts as i'm hyped for hockey season as it starts next week!

KoF 2006: It's my current game next to NHL 2K7 right now. Y'know I love fighting games as i can always play in spurts. So i've been playing this game now that i'm done Okami. I've played basically been going thru Challenge mode in an attempt to unlock all the stages and colour outfits. I've unlocked all the charas already. Game is a improvement over MI in terms of balance (but it's still far from being balanced), whichi isvery good. The new counterstrike (parry) is sorta effective. Still, this game is too easy and shallow for my taste. It's fun nonetheless and I love Lien (her new DOA Thrashing is awesome but abusable and should do less damage for balance sake). Graphics are a bit better than MI but still can't touch T5 and maybe VF4E for that matter. The game has been getting decent reviews that are above average and it certainly deserves it. If you're a KoF fan or enjoy a casual fighter, I'd say go buy this game to support SNKP so that they may bring over more games.

in other news the My-ZHiME Zwei OVA site is OPEN!! the main My-Otome site has the OVA pic on front. the chara section has Arika in meister uniform and mashiro in new outfit. storyline and 3 screenshots of the ova can be seen. the staff and cast are also up so one can see which characters will be returning for sure.

as for games news...don't feel like posting 'em really. i will mention that gametrailers put up more vids from TGS (ie. DOAX2 chara bios, Genji + DMC4 gameplay vids etc.) Don't be fooled by the Naruto Wii trailer though, as it's just an announcment and contains footage from GnT games. Not particularly impressive news i want to note is the FF/GD battle archives 2 (showing the Real Bout games) for PS2 and FF/GD Special for Xbox live arcade. Check on famitsu's page for other game info announced earlier today like It's a beautiful World art.