PixlBit

It's so good, I can bear-ly stand it!

If there’s one thing that Spike Chunsoft has proven, it’s that they know how to make a damn good visual novel. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is their latest title to be localized to America and it stands up to the high standards set by their Zero Escape series. While similar in premise, Danganronpa eschews the puzzle-based design and offers up a unique gameplay style that blends Ace Attorney, Persona Social Links, and a touch of Rhythm Heaven. It all comes together to form a gripping and zany experience that doesn’t let up till the credits roll.

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All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again.

Much like the sequel to Evil Dead, Corpse Party: Book of Shadows opens up to a very familiar scene. In fact, it’s basically the same start to the previous game. Unlike that second Evil Dead, the characters in this story are vaguely aware that they’ve been in this situation before, but not soon enough to seal their collective fates once again. Yep, it’s back to the cursed and deadly Heavenly Host Elementary school. If you're into Japanese culture, you'll notice a lot of plot devices involving déjà vu. This whole game feels like one massive case of déjà vu, and I’m just not feeling it this time around.

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Yo, welcome back to MTV's The Grind!

The word on the street for a couple years has been that the PSP is dead. Just don’t say that to Xseed Games—the publisher has been taking full advantage of the PSP digital delivery method to release some truly unique games to the aging handheld. The last time I fired up my system was for their release of Corpse Party, and now I have Unchained Blades, another Japanese-developed game that normally wouldn’t see the light of day in this part of the world. I’d love to say that Unchained Blades is another absolute must-play game like I feel Corpse Party is, but unless you’re a very particular brand of gamer, this is an RPG best left by the wayside.

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A unique and beautiful swan song for the PSP.

I’ve never been so deceived by a game before, as I was with Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom. It’s my own fault really, since I requested the title for review without knowing anything about it. Which is why, two hours in, I was confused as to why I was stuck reading a gratuitous amount of text. Impatient, I scoured the menus for anything that would clue me into the “gameplay” I was awaiting. Rather than control options I found nothing but text speed, romance animation, and other odd selections. Bewildered, I pressed on hoping for something to happen; finally it did. Suddenly, reading didn’t bother me as much, I didn’t care about controlling a character, and my impatient anticipation for gameplay dissipated. All that mattered was the winding storyline, the fascinating characters, and making choices to define my own in-game destiny.

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I can smell what THQ is cookin', but it needs a little more time in the oven.

I've basically been a wrestling fan three times in my life. When I was ten, I first discovered the (then) WWF, and loved to watch Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, and "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka. I got pulled back in around 1998 with the release of WWF Warzone for the PSX, and came to enjoy The Rock, Triple H, and The Hurricane. Most recently I've gotten back into the wrestling scene, thanks to some entertaining people like John Morrison, Kofi Kingston, and CM Punk. So, while I haven't been a wrestling fan the entire time, I can appreciate what THQ has done with WWE All-Stars: a game that takes all of those eras and allows those wrestlers to go toe to toe.

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