When I first heard about this title, I admit I was a bit curious at how odd the title was for DTP Young Entertainment’s “Cozy Fire”. First off, to my knowledge, fires have never been cozy as if you try to snuggle a blaze, you will burn your flesh off. To my surprise though this title is actually a new simulation “experience” which turns your Wii into a fireplace. Cozy Fire is not a game whatsoever, as the only gameplay consists of striking matches and throwing logs into a fire, so it mainly acts as more of an application for your Wii. If you have ever seen the virtual aquariums that are on the system, this would fall into the same genre.
As well as watching logs burn, players can choose from fire alone, campfire, rustic, classic, elegant and Zen fireplaces, with of course all of the crackling and popping of a real fireplace. Cozy Fire is now available on the WiiWare Download service for 500 Nintendo points. I could “roast” (fire puns work well here) this title for being a…. virtual fireplace, but instead I am open to the idea of having app like releases on the Wiiware in this case as it actually sounds like something I would try out. With Valentines Day right around the corner, Cozy Fire just may be your own ticket to setting a romantic mood or might just simply add some nice atmosphere to a boring gaming room.
Recently, gaming giant Square-Enix announced that they were releasing Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II on the Playstation Network.
The games will be released on the 16th of February and the 2nd of March, respectively, which is a gap just long enough to have completed one then move straight onto the other. They will be priced at 7.99 Euros each, but consumers that purchase Dissidia: 012 [Duodecim] Final Fantasy and/or Parasite Eve The 3rd Birthday (both titles appearing on the PSP) will recieve a 50% off voucher for Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II from each respective title.
While you expect a straight port of the original titles to the online store, this appears to not be the case with each port containing a new dungeon for players to explore as well as artworks and other special features.
to quote the press release –
FINAL FANTASY Features
The ultimate edition of the game that gave birth to a phenomenon.
The original game in the amazing FINAL FANTASY series that has sold over 97 million copies worldwide returns
Features the extra dungeon Labyrinth of Time.
Art Gallery mode allows you to view the stunning artwork of leading illustrator Yoshitaka Amano.
FINAL FANTASY II Features
Features the extra dungeons Arcane Labyrinth and Arcane Sanctuary.
Art Gallery mode allows you to view the stunning artwork of leading illustrator Yoshitaka Amano.
These features are pretty cool, especially the Amano art gallery, and Final Fantasy die hards should consider whether it is in interests to purchase this edition of these titles.
Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll most likely has been under the radar for most gamers. It’s a game with a weird name that wasn’t advertised very much that came straight out of Japan. What most gamers don’t know, however, is that this is actually the latest game in the Zill O’ll franchise which has, up until now, been only available in Japan. From what I understand this game is unique in its gameplay apart from the rest of the series. Many were expecting this game to be a budget title, but it is far from it. Despite it’s weird name, Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll will surprise gamers with its staggering amount of content, excellent sense of progression and unique gameplay.
Story
The story admittedly starts slow and you initially won’t hold much interest in the characters or their reasons for advancing the story. The main character, Areus, is the (secret) grandchild of an evil emperor, Lord Balor, who was prophesied to be his downfall. As such, Balor had his pregnant daughter murdered. Unbeknownst to him, though, is that his son had already had a child (Areus) who has managed to escape his fate at the hands of Balor’s henchmen.
An adult Areus joins the Arena (a perfect way to present you the tutorial) and rises up through the ranks with his friend, Dorado. On the sly, Areus is using the arena to build his combat skills to prepare for fighting Balor. Eventually Areus tires of the Arena and begins taking on guild quests from various towns. Along the way he meets two other warriors, a Boldan named Dagda (basically giant-people) and a Darkenith named Selene (vampire). The three agree to become mercenaries for the Dyneskal Army (Lord Balor’s army) under General Dorado (Areus’s friend from the arena joined the army and became a high ranking general) in an attempt to get close to Balor to make a strike.
Eventually Dorado gives Areus a special request to find and eliminate a rogue group of warriors who are gathering to stop Balor. Areus and crew seek them out, join forces and collaborate to end Balor. Along the way they take down a few stragglers who aim to aid Balor or at the very least impede Areus. Plot twists and drama occur during the length of all of this. The story is nothing new, but it serves it’s purpose. At about halfway the story starts to get pretty interesting and I found myself playing to simply further the story instead of unlocking more of the game.
There is a great deal of backstory and lore (as this is part of a long running series in Japan). The game sports a bestiary that lists the weaknesses as well as a bit of backstory for every monster you defeat. Along with this bestiary is also a journal that records various legends and lore that you find out throughout the game’s taverns and character interactions. There is a great deal of discovery waiting to be had here, though none of it is mandatory. If you desire to learn more about the game world, it’s there to be had.
Despite the decent storyline, the voice acting for the cutscenes can be dreadfully awful for some characters. Areus, Dagda (the boldan) and Dorado seem to hit their mark, but almost the entirety of the remainder of the cast are absolutely awful and can really serve to pull you out of the game.
Gameplay
The combat, at its core, is hack and slash. This was developed by Omega Force, famed developers of the Dynasty Warriors franchise and so you can definitely see its roots and inspirations here. Initially you only have Areus to play as, but as said earlier, you eventually gain 2 more party members. The unique gameplay element for Trinity is that you are able to switch between characters at will, even mid combo. The other 2 characters are AI controlled and will suffer a noticeable hit to their damage but will also become much more resistant to damage.
In addition to fighting while you control one character, the remaining 2 AI controlled characters can grant you a bonus during battle, depending on who is AI controlled. Areus can grant increased attack power, Dagda will make you invulnerable and Selene will grant you life-sucking ability on your weapon. These buffs only last about 30 seconds and are randomly cast at the beginning of battles. They aren’t much but they do help out quite a bit.
Once you gain all three party members, you are able to “break” certain monsters, mainly bosses and mini-bosses. What this means is that after one of these enemies does an attack, a glowing reticle will appear around them and shrink down. This reticle means that they are currently vulnerable and if you hit them with an element they are weak against it will begin to “break” them. Once you initiate this, the reticle will grow larger, giving you more time to break the enemy. Once broken, the enemy falls down for around 15-30 seconds, taking much more damage than usual (this is normally the only way to kill these monsters). If they get down to 20-30% health during a break state, you can initiate a trinity attack, using all three fighters to finish it off and netting you bonus experience.
Combat is real time, much like Dynasty Warriors. You can buy new skills and abilities from the various mage’s guilds across the gameworld or learn certain ones for completing specific quests. These skills and abilities can be leveled up twice by spending souls (experience) that you earn for defeating enemies. These skills and abilities can be freely mapped to either the square, triangle or circle buttons, using R2 to switch to another set of abilities. Unfortunately, there are something like 12 skills for every character and 6 total slots just isn’t enough. I would have liked a bit more room for customization in that area as it does get hard to juggle all of these different elements and attacks for each individual enemy.
The game has two difficulty settings, easy and normal. I played through on normal, and it felt right. The majority of fights against trash mobs (lesser enemies) were often not a problem, though certain enemy types can prove to be a nuisance. There were some fights that were legitimately challenging which were quite apropos, mainly consisting of bosses or new enemy types that can throw you a curveball. Needless to say, unless you spend hours upon hours grinding so you are vastly above the appropriate level, the game has a nice balance of challenge throughout.
Each level generally plays out as “go from point A to point B and find a special item or kill a boss at point B”. As you progress the story you unlock more towns and dungeons (I say dungeons, this really means any playable level), sometimes even unlocking completely new areas within already discovered dungeons. There are TONS of guild quests and honestly they can get somewhat repetitive fairly quickly. You can only do the same level so many times, even if it is for different reasons like finding an item, killing a boss or escorting an NPC (yes, there are escorts and yes, escorts are the bane of video games) it will still wear on your enthusiasm.
Unfortunately, there is no “travelling”. There is no overworld. It’s simply a map that you look at and move a cursor around to select where you want to go. Towns are not a playable space, only a menu. From the map you select a town, the town background loads and you are able to select where to go in the town, be it the adventurer’s guild, mage’s guild, tavern, shop or other areas. All character interaction is done through text with the characters portraits appearing on screen, much like RPG’s of yore. I do wish that there was more polish in this, like actually being able to visit towns and move around, physically talk to the NPC’s but honestly the way they do it evokes a great sense of nostalgia for me. I can understand that this won’t happen for other people and can see how it would be a great let down.
Presentation
Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll was once advertised to use a unique and innovative art style to make it look as if the game was a moving oil painting. It’s actually just a filter over the screen that is instantly noticeable. Not that it looks bad, but this is not an art style. It’s simply 3D graphics with translucent filter over it. Zelda: Wind Waker was a completely new art style, this is not. Again, it doesn’t look bad but it’s nothing to get excited about.
There is no armor, but you do change bracelets, rings and necklaces. What I’m saying is, visually, you do not change aside from weapons. You DO unlock one new costume/outfit within the game, simply an upgrade of their basic clothing, but this does nothing for your stat-wise, it’s just for looks. Japan got a great deal of DLC, ranging from new areas, dungeons, quests, items and outfits, but it seems that the West is not getting any of this. Peculiar that it wasn’t included on disc, as most if not all of it was free and was already made (as this has been out in Japan for months) but hey, whatever.
There are a handful of weapon models, making finding a new weapon fun to see what it’s going to look like. Weapons follow a pretty traditional style, randomly generated bonus’s. Examples would be “rapier of heroism” or “fists of stone” or “daggers of venom”. There are special weapons and items that you can get from quests or very rare drops that are unique and often have a unique model with way above average stats, so it’s not just all generic crap.
For a game that is easily 30+ hours long, you would expect to not be fighting the same 5 enemies over and over again. The game does re-use models, but there are enough unique types so that you don’t get bored. Each level and environment will be home to a plethora of creatures that can change based on what quest you are on, so you never need to worry about getting bored in that sense. Even 20-30 hours in you are still discovering completely new types of enemies.
If you frequent taverns and guild halls you will eventually unlock hidden sidequests for yourself and your teammates. Completing these will significantly upgrade that character, unlocking a completely new set of skills and abilities they are able to learn. This simple mechanic of rewarding the player for exploring and discovering new things is present throughout the entirety of the game, so you should always check the towns any new things that might have popped up.
Constant checking of the taverns and towns will serve to unlock not only quests for your characters but a plethora of other sidequests. You can eventually unlock a casino later in the game to win special equipment as prizes, progress through the arena to unlock powerful weapons from defeating the bigger bosses and discover a great deal of smaller sidequests from random NPC’s.
The game’s pacing and sense of progression is absolutely astounding. I can’t write this review without emphasizing this. The game will take around 35-40 hours to complete, longer if you want to platinum it and unlock everything. ALL along the way you are being introduced to new core game mechanics and discovering new things. Around 20 hours in you unlock a new method of combat that will completely change how you fight bosses. It’s really great to see things like this because games normally introduce most if not all core mechanics in the tutorial or very early in the game, it’s quite refreshing to find new stuff even 20-30 hours in. Just when you think you’ve peaked and are just going to spend the rest of the game grinding on the same enemies, the game switches it up to keep it fresh.
Final thoughts
For a franchise that is seemingly out of the blue, this game absolutely astounded me at its sheer amount of content and (adequate) level of polish. The game isn’t perfect, the voice acting is pretty bad in parts, quests can become very repetitive and the game seems to run a bit too long when you near the end. It’s also a bit disappointing to see so many unique characters throughout the story who are unplayable. You would think that with a developer like Omega Force who make a game like Dynasty Warriors with dozens of playable, unique characters, they would allow you to play with the other characters in this game, but nope. You are always stuck with the same 3, the other characters will come in as guests but you can’t control them, which is a bit of a shame. But despite these flaws, Omega Force has pumped out a pretty great action RPG aside from their usual Dynasty Warriors (which are also awesome, by the way). Gamers will be hard pressed to find another game with this level of content and excellent sense of progression that rewards the player for exploring the game’s lore.
For its debut appearance in the West, the Zill O’ll universe has surprised me a great deal. Here’s to hoping they localize more of this franchise down the road. If you are a fan of action RPG’s and are looking for something that will gives a good “bang for your buck”, then check out Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll.
NIS America has released a fully english trailer for Ar Tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel and shows off not only the anime-styled cutscenes that we will be treated to while we play through the game as well as bits of the gameplay as well. But what is really interesting is the fact that there is a lot of information given out about the game itself.
As you can see when you watch the trailer you will notice that this game will bring an end to the Ar Tonelico series apparently and also features plenty of singing girls and JRPG fun that NIS America is known for. Also the game will come with a dual audio option which means you can choose to hear the characters sing in either English or Japanese depending on which one you like.
Also shown is the Premium Edition which is currently up for pre-order now from any of your standard retailers and of course from the NIS America store itself which has a Purge Party calendar that you can order for a few dollars more. But regardless of that, the game will be arriving on shelves on March 15th exclusively for the PS3.
When Sony Ericsson does a smartphone announcement, they do it right. They have uploaded a multitude of videos that range from being your standard commercial type videos to interviews with the heads of companies already announced to be developing games for the Xperia Play. Besides the interviews however you can get your first look at what the games will actually look like when they are played on the phone. Nothing very pretty but the fact that you will be able to play PS1 games is still a huge factor for me.
You will be able to catch all of the videos below without having to try to navigate Sony Ericsson’s YouTube page.
So you have just announced one of the biggest smartphone releases perhaps since the iPhone itself. What do you do next? Release the specifications of course so that everyone can pick through them. Sony Ericsson has released the Xperia Play’s official specs and will include what appears to be a battery life of over 5 hours which is a significant increase compared to what has been said about the NGP and the 3DS.
Also included in the specs is the fact that the phone will be using a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and an embedded Adreno GPU graphics processor. Sure these specs may not sound like a whole lot but it means that the phone will be able to easily run some of the best PS1 games with little trouble, and be as if you were playing on your own TV at home, if not better. Catch the full specifications below:
At Sony Ericsson’s MWC 2011 press event today, the company announced their new phone that has been under much scrutiny as of late, the Xperia Play phone. While this phone is called something different, it is in fact the PlayStation Phone that many people had been clamoring about for months as bits of information were leaked out by companies in China and other leaks.
The Xperia Play is the first smartphone to get the PlayStation seal of approval and will use Google’s Android platform Gingerbread. The good news is that despite being just announced the Xperia Play will be available in March of this year with users in the United States that follow a Verizon Wireless cell phone plan getting first dibs on trying it out.
The Xperia Play won’t be your standard smart phone. No in fact it will be the first Android phone that comes with PlayStation Suite which was announced just recently at Sony’s press event when the NGP was announced. This means that Sony will be able to let users buy PSN content and various PlayStation 1 titles. You won’t even have to buy a certain game because according to Sony’s Kazuo Hirai, the phone will come preloaded with what they are saying is a “Legendary PS1 title.”
Play’s Software will also include a Xperia Play game launcher which will allow players to buy content that as been designed specifically for the Xperia which means that you won’t always have to play PS1 titles on your phone. Companies already announced to be developing games for the Xperia Play are Electronic Arts, Gameloft and Glu Mobile.
So there it is folks, the PlayStation Phone has finally gotten a name and a release date. No sign of a price however but it definitely looks like an interesting bit of technology. Also, what could that legendary PS1 game be do you think?
Naruto fans will be doing air kicks in excitement once they see the latest trailer for aruto Shippuden: Kizuna Drive for the Playstation Portable!
Taking place in the Naruto Shippuden universe, this title will be an original adventure featuring a mysterious clan powerful enough to create a new Jinchurriki. Players can battle alone or can team up with mates with co-op gameplay, and is set for a Spring 2011 release. A demo is available now, and anime fans should definitely check it out, or at least watch the epic trailer below, as it is filled with lots and lots of ninja goodness!!
Overview:
Various anime have taken references from other media to help build themselves up. There is your usual source material of being created from a manga or a light novel but what if that source material featured heavy references to another source. Pandora Hearts the anime was created from the manga of the same name, but what is really interesting is the fact that they draw upon the world of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass to base itself around. Now we’ve already seen episodes 1-13 and what they have to offer. How does Xebec Anime Studio and NIS America close out the story of Pandora Hearts in Volume 2?
Art:
Before I go into the artwork it is good to mention that, as with Volume 1, Xebec has used a film grain effect that will make some people believe that the production values are low, but in fact is a choice by the production company. Now this film grain can cause some people to not enjoy the way that the anime looks if they prefer a crisp image but in fact the film grain actually fits perfectly with the themes of the anime, especially during the fights that take place. Plus after watching a few minutes you will not even realize that there is a grain effect on the image.
Once you look past the grain, you will find a well done, Victorian gothic styled environment. The character designs are well done and the environments that they explore, both the dimensions and the real world are animated well enough. As I said before in my previous review, the characters are designed with a more Victorian England style of clothing and have appearance relatively similar to that time period. Also I must say that the Will of the Abyss is one of the best looking characters in the anime itself, short of Alice of course.
Audio & Subtitles:
The spoken language for the anime is Japanese which means that watchers of the anime will be forced to read the subtitles, unless they know Japanese of course. This is either a good thing or a bad thing depending on whether or not you prefer English dubs or listening to the original Japanese voices. The Japanese voice work though is really well done and matches the characters perfectly.
Junko Minagawa provives the voice of Oz while Kosuke Toriumi provides the voice of Gil. Perhaps the best performances are done by Ayako Kawasumi as Alice and Kana Hanazawa as Sharon. These voice actors are perfect in their roles and will be pleasing to the ears, regardless of whether or not you know what they are saying without the subtitles.
As far as the musical aspect goes, Yuki Kajiura handles most if not all of the original sound track. The dramatic themes that she uses are very well done and can draw out the emotion of the scene perfectly. The songs themselves may sound familiar if you have heard her work before, but if it is your first time then you are in for a treat. The opening and ending music is suitable, but not worth much praise or notice on the other hand.
Now the subtitles themselves are white lettered and unobtrusive which is exactly what viewers are looking for in regards to subtitles. On most screens they will appear just under the black line of the widescreen viewing area which means that they will not be in the way of what is happening on the screen. I didn’t encounter any translation issues either from what I watched which is a plus.
Story:
The story picks up immediately starts where the last volume left off with Alice being captured by Cheshire Cat and Oz and Gil attempting to rescue her despite the fact that they will be at the mercy of the Cheshire Cat in his own dimension. Oz suffers the attacks of Cheshire cat continuously, both mentally and physically until he is saved by what is left of Jack Vessalius. Jack shows him the Tragedy of Sablier which began much of the mystery that the series holds within itself.
During the events of the Tragedy of Sablier Oz finds Alice murdered and this causes him to truly lose his mind and causes him to use the power of B. Rabbit through his contract to Alice and starts to destroy the Cheshire Cat’s dimension until Gil snaps him out of it by reminding him that the whole reason they came here was to save Alice.
After successfully saving Oz is completely engrossed in trying to find the truth behind the mystery of what happened at the Tragedy of Sablier. There are many different things which occur however that continues to delay his quest for finding the truth behind what happened, including the fact that the Citizens of Baskerville continue to pursue him and that the Will of the Abyss is continually hunting Alice to kill her once and for all.
Those who have watched the first Volume will already know the depth of the mysteries and the plot twists that compound on top of one another as the story progresses. While these mysteries are intriguing, the best parts of the anime are the character interactions. The characters are some of the best that you can find in any anime and has plenty of character development. I can’t imagine how many times animes have introduced the characters of a story, only to leave it at that. Pandora Hearts looks into every characters’ past and delves into different facets of their personality.
Unfortunately, the story does have one downturn and that is in the ending. The manga that it is based off of is still continuing today in Japan, which means that the story has to have an anime original ending which leaves a lot of mysteries unanswered and can leave watchers wanting more or at least have some more questions answered for them. Despite all of this though, if you enjoy plot twists and character development then you will definitely find Pandora Hearts to be one of the best to fit that category.
Premium Edition:
As with Pandora Hearts Volume 1, Volume 2 comes in an oversized hard black box that has the Pandora Hearts title and Volume 2 Premium Edition on one side with white ivy designs on the top and bottom of the box, while the other side shows off a very impressive portrait of three characters from the anime. Rather than a more gothic styled portrait like Volume 1, Volume 2 has a portrait that shows the Will of the Abyss, a cat (name withheld), Jack and Gil in a very cheerful looking atmosphere, minus Gil of course.
The two slim DVDs that are included in the package feature Jack on one cover with Break on the other and with the first disc holding six episodes and the second disc holding six as well. Of course the best feature of the second disc is the fact that it contains all of the special omake (bonus scenes) that feature the main characters acting completely different than they would normally and are often very hilarious and show the funny side of most of the characters. Of the four omake included, I found 9th Time’s the Charm?! to be the best, but it will be up to you to find your favorite.
Perhaps the most interesting bonus that comes with the Premium Edition is the hardcover art book which reads right to left as if it were from Japan itself and features information on certain characters in the story and explains their backgrounds as well as provides a more detailed description of certain events in the story such as the Tragedy of Sablier. Personally I would recommend reading the explanations until after watching the show to avoid spoiling parts of the storyline. But after the character explanations are beautiful pieces of full colored art work which shows the characters in a number of different situations that are a sight to see. Also at the end is the second half of the Gilbert in Wonderland which takes a fun turn compared to Gil’s usual serious side. The small manga is a nice addition but people who haven’t read the first half from Volume 1 may be a bit confused about what is happening despite the short length.
Overall:
Yet again Xebec and NIS America have delivered a great anime to US shores and have done so with plenty of extra bonus features wrapped up in a great looking package. Even more bonus features than were in Volume 1. Pandora Hearts Volume 2 is much more serious than the first volume though as the series tries to wrap up many of the mysteries involved in the storytelling and some may call it even better than the first volume because of this. Despite a lukewarm ending Pandora Hearts Volume 2 definitely belongs on your shelf next to Pandora Hearts Volume 1 and will not disappoint viewers.
Devil May Cry 4: Refrain Platform:iPhone (Reviewed), iPad, iPod Touch
Publisher:Capcom
Developer: Capcom Mobile
Genre: Hack n’ Slash/Beat em’ Up
Release Date: February 3, 2011
Price: $5.99BUY NOW!
Even though this port has had so much taken out and downgraded for the iPhone, DMC4R is actually still a real blast to play.
The Devil May Cry series is proudly standing near the top of Capcom’s mountain of A-listers, right up there next to Street Fighter and Resident Evil. Now making cameos in games outside the franchise and even sporting its own anime, the saga saw a major change recently with lead character Dante not being the main protagonist in Devil May Cry 4 on the Xbox 360 and PS3. Now the title comes as Devil May Cry 4: Refrain on the iPhone to blow us away all over again. Thanks alot Capcom, we’re still trying to recover from the original title! However the question stands clear: can DMC4 still be as awesome when downgraded for a mobile phone?
While the story is decent, its executed and told poorly, however the very seldom still images like this one look beautiful and are nice eye candy, but sadly most gamers will just skip through these.
Presentation
Devil May Cry 4: Refrain Is filled with style and is just bursting with ‘cool’. From the fonts to menu screens, this game is bursting with character. Its dark demonic focusing on dark colours but throwing in a lot of bright crimson and red to freshen things up. From character designs to the music to the game play, everything is about style and looking cool, and it hits the mark with ease. The only major set back presentation-wise is the unfortunate telling of the story. While a decent storyline does exist, it is executed poorly through a mix of in game animations which are decent at best, to a bunch of really nice art work and uninspired narration. The mix of the 2 styles really seems out of place, and honestly the story is almost impossible to follow, and anyone except a hardcore DMC fan will more than likely just skip the cinematic all together, which is a darn shame.
The combo and ranking system really makes pulling off combos feel very rewarding, and preforming stylish kills can become easily addictive!
Gameplay
The engine behind Devil May Cry 4: Refrain is by far the highlight of the game, and Capcom has done its best to emulate the high adrenaline rush for the iPhone provided by the superior console games, and its come pretty close. The analog stick is at most times good, and depending on which option players choose they can have 3 buttons jump, devil bringer, and attack-which automatically decides if you should slash or shoot, or two separate buttons for guns and sword. Neither really change the game too much, but its still a nice option to have included. What makes the gameplay shine however is its epic combo system. A bar is shown which can be built up with each hit, and when filled you achieve a new grade-either D for Deadly, C for Carnage, B for Brutal, A for Atomic, then S for Smokin! Gaining these grades is alot of fun as to link hits together to create combos requires a mix between taking on multiple enemies at once, and using combinations between all buttons. After a certain amount of hits, opponents will be sent flying either away or upwards, when sent upwards, one can jump to land a few mid-air hits, or when sent flying away, the devil bringer attack can pull them closer to you for a few more hits like Scorpion from Mortal Kombat’s harpoon ‘Get Over Here!’ move. Also, guns can be used to shoot far away enemies which help links chains of attacks, and it can also be charged up among a few other techniques. This depth is really easy to master and is alot of fun, and with the ranking system-very, very rewarding.
Refrain has many flaws, but its gameplay, soundtrack and style are so great it truly makes up for the aspects it lacks in.
However not all elements of the game are as spot on, unfortunately the camera angles are often pretty terrible and are often so far away you can occasionally feel disconnected from the action and you can sometimes be surprised by enemies that are off screen, making it hard to find who to attack. Sometimes with only a few enemies on the screen at once combat doesn’t feel as chaotic as it should, but this reviewer doubts the iPhone in most cases can’t take too much more so it’s not that big of a deal. Possibly one the games biggest flaws is it’s level design. While there are a few interesting ideas thrown in here and there which do their job of breaking up the action and keeping the system fresh, its easy to get lost in levels as they arn’t all so straight forward, and some puzzles arn’t explained or implied very well so they are a bit more difficult than you’d expect for a game you don’t wanna think with-just button mash. However, this isn’t so bad it gets rid of the gameplay.
In video games, a bullet to the head has always been not that big of a deal. I suppose bullet-proof vests cover your face too somehow, maybe?
Hardcore Devil May Cry fans will be disappointed to hear that Dante isn’t a playable character, however word is he will be a downloadable character in the future, and this is just one of a few things missing in this port. However since it’s gone from the most powerful home console gaming system of all time to a device that’s been built for text messages and calling people-it’s actually pretty impressive what Capcom has managed to squeeze into this game. One of the biggest highlights as well as the combo system is the boss battles though. No exaggeration here- these are some of the best boss battles you will play on the iPhone. These are epic, amazing and will blow you away. Its really surprising how climatic these feel on an iPhone game, and you really get that stylish cinematic Devil May Cry feel to it, truly breath taking, and comes close to competing with it’s original source title. Whats nice to see is there is quite a bit of replay value to the game, as you can unlock extra features which can really switch up the gameplay as well as customisation options which really make up for the short ten levels of Refrain, a nice bonus.
Theres an unwritten law in video games: All games must include either a Ice Boss or a Water Temple. No questions asked!
Graphics
The graphics of Devil May Cry 4: Refrain are a mixed bag. Some scenes like in boss battles and some particular effects thrown in here and there are nice and the character models are decent, especially on the enemies you fight against. However the textures arn’t always as nice or as detailed as I’d like, as sometimes they seem a little basic. Not all models are smooth, especially in levels that arn’t as dark and gloomy and are more bright in colour where the edges can seem a little rough, but it isn’t always the case. While the graphics arn’t perfect though, they are good and they do get the job done, just expect more Devil May Cry 1 than 4 in this department, and to be honest it usually isn’t as good as the first one, but the graphics are still good enough.
No idea why this guy is in such a heated mood, he probably should cool off and chill out!
Audio
The Devil May Cry franchise is well known for its awesome Industrial soundtrack, and this Refrain is no exception. Its dark, its exciting and it feels evil. Very gothic and to be simply put and said, its just very good! Swapping between creepy, quiet and haunting tracks to hard-hitting, fast-paced industrial tracks that really gets you in the mood to slay demons and it stays true to the style of the franchise. It’s probably one of the best soundtracks you’ll hear on an iPhone game. Only problem is often it goes quiet between enemies, but since they appear in every room, the music is going soft to loud receptively and it gets old fast. In most cases, it would’ve probably been nicer to just keep the combat music throughout, since fighting is all you really do in Refrain. Furthermore, while the sound effects and occasional voice acting is done with absolute perfection, they aren’t executed as nicely as they could’ve been with the reuse of lines such as ‘Be Gone!’ repeated what seems to be every 5-10 seconds, and gets really annoying quickly.
Hope you like killing things, cause your gonna do ALOT of it in this game!
Conclusion
While making Devil May Cry 4: Refrain, I believe Capcom knew it was fighting a loosing battle, as it is impossible to equal possibly one of the greatest beat em ups available on a next generation home console. This game has a lot of small things holding it back and it is far from perfect, however it’s combo system is so good it makes up for at least 70% of it’s problems. Furthermore, the soundtrack is memorable and could probably even hold its own on a cd against other soundtracks, has some of the most epic boss battles you’ll probably have on the device (or at least from my experience so far) and the entire game is just over flowing with style.While many fans of the original may really hate this port, keep in mind that the iPhone does not have the capabilities of your Xbox 360, so what Capcom have done to translate it and still keep its signature style and gameplay is commendable. This is all on the same device you call your boss on to say your late for work, or checking your twitter or facebook under the table in class. While many things aren’t done amazingly, at the end of the day this title is really, really fun to play, and is a delight to all button-mashers out there. Easy to enjoy for both hardcore gamers, fans and even casual players, this game is easy to recommend to any fans of the beat em up genre, as it is one of the best options available on the system. However, if you have a choice between the iPhone and the home console versions, I recommend DMC4 over DMC4:R. Refrain is amazing by the standards of an iPhone game, and the original is amazing by the standards of a next gen home console game which are much higher, just keep that in mind.
Devil May Cry 4: Refrain isn’t the greatest beat em up of all time, but its easily one of the best for the iPhone.
PROS
Great Controls
Awesome Combos
Addictive and rewarding ranking system
Epic Boss battles
Amazing soundtrack
Good replay value
It’s Devil May Cry 4-on your iPhone!!!
CONS
Story is told poorly
Some graphics and texture issues are a bit rough
A few uninspired level design and puzzles
I give Devil May Cry 4: Refrain for the iPhone a devilish:
