PERSONA 4

Wedged between evening classes, exams and sad club to which he is affiliated at the beginning of the year, the life of a Japanese high school student may seem as ordinary as marked. Except when he himself immersed in the parallel universe of Persona, which combines all folklore demons and master of the house in a limousine. You think living a cushy year leaving the city to the open countryside of Inaba, a small village without a story? A series of unsolved, all on the same procedure killings will put your life upside down. Your life as a player, of course!

Like the previous section that it is largely based, Persona 4 follows a very precise structure, declining day after day events take a turn more and more dramatic. Halfway between a set of traditional roles and games drag with Japanese studios have a secret Persona investigators asked to play while leading a life of high school model, adored by all. The benefits are twofold: through friendships forged at school, at home or at the place of work - Social Links - exploring the parallel world will be even easier. Indeed, awakening the slumbering souls within your private circle, Personas, it will be possible to give birth to ever more powerful mergers once carried behind the TV screen, the key scenario, believe it or not. In the space of a few lines, the concept may seem limited, but as evoked test the original version, all the jubilation of Persona 4 is the quality of writing the script, the sweet-bitter interactions with these characters which have a loophole to hide, and this permanent contrast between a familiar everyday parallel and hostile world. The trademark Atlus.


MIDNIGHT IV

In the Midnight Channel the tab RPG expressed. The PS2 version already stood on ergonomic issues, among the most diverse environments mazes (finished high tower Persona 3), the lack of random battles always nice, incredibly neat and trim at all levels. It is repeated, but the combat system double-edged wonders. Fast, accurate, intelligent, and even scary when things go against you and your leader is about to spend. Once again, we will be surprised to spend hours indoors fusion to obtain ever more powerful invocations, cut to exploit the basic weaknesses of enemies - while limiting the potential Achilles' heels in the team. Personas are rare immune against any kind of danger (none, in fact), the player will have to be a "deck" may fit the profile of the enemy, in accordance with the level of experience of the hero. Fortunately, this version Vita is more conciliatory towards mergers, since the back of his limousine, Igor clearly show the result of associations Personas with filters by type or level. And carrot on the transfer of skills once the invocation validated because of Vita, the player piochera freely among the spells he wants to keep. Truly royal.

Even freedom of choice on bonus cards distributed by the handful after the fighting they were led drum-beating. The player will be more than ever the master of his fate, by gleaning bonus XP bonus stats or better yet, change capacity, depending on the prints. If one adds the arrival of blended attacks and regular interventions characters left back and game over less restrictive, this version Vita clearly some concessions for the transition to mobile format. Good for those who discover the game as the series, with a little ingenuity and a few raids of level-up well organized, they will leave with a Swiss Army knife Persona, as Hokuto-seikun gala Ziodyne fed to us brought down the lightning in the last third of our investigation. Players already lapped the PS2 version will have an incentive to move up one or two notches difficulty, even a little rage when to advance the first real boss of the game


MAKE Risette

Side additions that are fun, this version Vita multiplies touches. The Okina urban neighborhood overview on PS2, and is now fully available scooter, although its inclusion in the script and the sequence of events remains on the surface. Same conclusion unfortunately for Mary, enigmatic character unique, however, that offers an additional dungeon at the end of the game, provided they make a friend. There is also a "TV" mode that list not only the music and cutscenes, but also amount of bonus content related to the game and its development, plus a mini-game at Teddie touch that is unlocked when the console is set to midnight class. The Vita Version finally think to integrate network compatibility, to better display the choices of other players in their management planning - an option that is reminiscent Catherine, another Atlus game or recently The Walking Dead. It is also possible to go to the rescue of an ailing player by going directly into the dungeon to assist him at a distance, with a small refill life and magic as a reward. Given the prohibitive price demanded by Fox at the entrance of the dungeon for the same care, it is always useful to play the Good Samaritan. Even when he makes a pact with demons.

This mobile adaptation of Persona 4 has lost none of its appeal, quite the contrary. More accessible, more balanced for beginners, still mesmerizing in terms of scenario, it even allows the luxury of thinking about his fans by adding previously unseen footage: from the bonus costumes, the ultimate evolution of Persona for each member of the team, class snow and additional month to boost its Social Links waiting to discover the hidden true end - because yes, there are also multiple purposes - you're about to embark for minimum 60 hours of great game . Entirely in English, it is true, at the risk of leaving those who prefer dry during Baudry Mrs. finally touch the baby. One of the few downsides of the game, with the overall aesthetics PS2 which, although reworked, not necessarily leverages the capabilities of the machine (except for loading times, invisible). In fact, the only real complaint might possibly apply to the repetitive nature of the concept, especially on long gaming sessions dint of hanging out in the same dozen screens, see the same onlookers and perform quests without real interest (dosh aside), the player a little claustrophobic may quickly feel cramped. That's why we advise you to enjoy this great RPG prescribed doses, not to be devoured by anxiety of everyday life.

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ROCKETBIRDS : HARDBOILED CHICKEN

Available at the base as flash game, Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken has been the honor of a release on PC and PSN at the end of 2011. Developed by Ratloop in collaboration with Gamma Games, which run & gun sprinkled phases of reflection and platforms now dematerialized arrives on Sony's latest portable console format. Remains to determine whether the specific PS Vita may or may not give it a second life.

PVP: CHICKEN VS. PENGUIN

Wellcome Albatropolis to a kind of North Korea where authoritarian penguins are penguins as they terrorize the symbolized here by nice people chickens. Tired of letting them feathers, they place their hope of rebellion not in a vulgar gallinacé but rather a real tough guy, the Dolph Lundgren the henhouse: Hardboiled Chicken. Putzki to kill the leader of the totalitarian regime, the hero can count on various firearms (pistol, submachine gun and shotgun) with almost unlimited ammo crates since cartridges are often available, not counting those that enemies leave a drag Once cooled. In addition, we also offer two free throws weapons: grenades and "cérébugs" that control an enemy to operate a switch hitherto inaccessible, for example. Failing to be as rich and heady than Hard Corps Uprising, the gameplay of the title Ratloop has the merit of letting off steam as he plays the card of one-upmanship. Thus, the body-to-body, we can give a kick to send him flying a rebel penguin and then to administer dozens of balls in the air. And to vary only the recipe phases of reflection (bring a crate to the right place, "cérébuguer" good penguin, etc..) And shoot in jetpack intervene from time to time.

In terms of handling, this version lets the player move or the analog stick or the directional pad, one or the other for a shortcut to the selection of weapons depending on the choice. As for the tactile features of the PS Vita, they do not justify this new version but still substantial. In fact, the cover display also serves to change weapons while the rear pad to adjust the angle of throw grenades and "cérébugs". For its part, the gyroscopic function is simply there to change perspective and thus between-see the danger lurking. For the rest, we are left with the same content on PSN, or almost. In fact, the title is neither long - have less than three hours for the single player mode - not difficult, the developers have added an additional difficulty to give a bit of trouble to those who finish the Metal Slug in one credit. Mode hardboiled, ammunition is finally limited, a little tougher enemies and our mercenary gallinacé knife has an extremely effective in close combat. Moreover, Brno, the final boss, is more durable and the confrontation itself differs from the normal mode, which is always good to take when you've already made the PS3 version.


CHICKEN LITTLE?

Big missing from the previous version, the online compatibility finally enriches the multiplayer section. Will enjoy ten specific missions in this mode if they have a friend in the list that has the game, no living worthy of the name being present in order to play with the first comer. Note in passing that the multiplayer mode allows you to understand the different levels, but the gameplay is more limited, grenades, "cérébugs" and other rolls being irrelevant. Or how to play with a capon rather than a chicken ...

Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken nevertheless suffers from long loading times between each of the 15 stages and contains the rumbling very pleasing to the ear, nasal tones not. Not enough to mute either, especially since the band's electro rock New World Revolution, it blends perfectly well with the quirky universe of the game late enough in his writing (we include the scope of the museum glory penguins financed by taxes chickens), the game has to Ratloop during a reworked localization fixes including some nasty mistakes in French. Finally, note that the English voice acting in the cutscenes are correct; hard to judge the authenticity of the language of our friends the penguins and chickens at the same time ...

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DOKURO

Available for several months in Japan and the United States, exclusive Vita Dokuro finally rears his nose last week on download services from Sony. Mix of action, platforms and reflection, as developed by Game Arts (Grandia) has caught the eye of some players with a sleek and 2D graphics rendering effects rather cute lines in chalk. But the game is it the road beyond its seductive art direction?

THE PRINCESS IS IN ANOTHER CASTLE

Worthy heir to a tradition known to all, the game offers free GungHo a Princess Peach from the clutches of a Dark Lord Bowser. However, unlike the saga of the mustachioed plumber, the hero does not run after his bride throughout the adventure, but must escort him to help him find the exit levels. To do this, the player must constantly change the shape of the main character: Dokuro skeletal demon can perform a double jump in exchange for a ridiculous attack while Prince Charming, in spite of a simple jump can be beautiful and use a powerful foil as Raphael in Soulcalibur. In practice, it's easy because tapping the touch screen twice to become the handsome prince while a dual pressure on the back pad snaps back to its original shape. It should be noted that we can not stay in human form indefinitely since hourglass indicates the time remaining in a corner of the screen time. Finally, the powers of the little skeleton, too limited in duration, can draw lines using the touch screen to fix a rope to a barrel explode, light a candle ...

If trips involve phases of platforms and enemies of the action sequences, the heart of the title is solving puzzles. And on this point, so be clear: we must be armed with a lot of patience because it dies quickly - in a shot or two as enemies - and often repeated. Indeed, the game clearly based on a principle of die & retry, offers no checkpoint system in the current level, the less gifted but can manually move to the next section ten times than during the game. Since a couple of worlds each consisting of ten courses are planned, and that the difficulty begins to be felt in the second third of the game, so be advised to blood players not take long sessions.

Even more frustrating and annoying than the behavior of the princess to rescue, making the AI ​​in ICO Yorda almost pass for a model companion, not a ball. Thus, we must always keep in mind where the beautiful as if nothing is blocking its path, it automatically advances straight. Suffice to say that must be observed to better the environment in advance and anticipate the consequences of Mrs. mechanisms activated: box put on such switch platform that dates back wall explodes, etc.. We can not count the number of levels recommenced - since the beginning so - because of a badly negotiated timing of a particular hitbox or a few annoying bugs collision.


Dokuro Scissorhands

Despite a difficulty that could lift the PS Vita in the proper sense, Dokuro is significant because the puzzles are relatively varied between gravity to reverse a number of mechanisms to be activated in the correct order and so on. Fighting against bosses, which occur at the end of some worlds, are rather original if not drives them. Indeed, they imply some reflection and allow in their own way, well reuse mechanical interviews already in the adventure. A journey that, due to the large number of courses, requires at the very least a dozen hours to complete. Most guests are motivated revive certain levels to collect the missing pieces - at the rate of one per level - and dig up additional trophies.

In addition, if the graphics engine reminiscent of early Burton glue really well in the game world, we can only lament the slow movements of the characters, dissonant sounds and sound repetitive band. Offering a unique theme world, the soundscape would increase the fighting Ni no Kuni for a non-redundant piece is saying. Finally, we specify that the location is correct, still images and dialogues translated into French between worlds to learn more about the universe.

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Earth Defense Force

In recent years, the Japanese studio Sandlot is "against small fortune big heart" by offering players always action-oriented titles and nostalgic pleasures. Today is the PlayStation Vita version of Earth Defense Force, one of their flagship games in Japan that we have the responsibility of taking opportunity through the European version. Close-up.

Vita Version: For his first game on Vita, Sandlot teams do not limit themselves to a single port. One might regret that they did not take advantage of this new adaptation to join the ranks of the monsters, but there are some pleasant surprises, such as new weapons which foreshadow a bit of what will be the basis of the playability of future EDF4. Besides overpowering but bulky weapons, it is possible to get weapons to protect the other players, or to repair the vehicles. The new weapons, one suspects, have been added to enrich the several parties. Because unlike the 360 ​​version, it is possible to play online up to 4 players in cooperative or Battle Royale. Another problem, programmers fit, and rightly so, that players would be delighted to (re) discover the game playing with Palewing the character class that disappeared between 2 and 2017.

Unfortunately, it is delightful to be able to feint enemies in levels that have not been designed with Palewing in mind, however, we regret a surprising choice: unable to select Palewing after completing the game a first time. A little frustrating, I must admit. Another inherent problem with the Vita version of the very clutter screen, the confused and the various earthquakes (the latter fortunately deactivated in options) designed for large screens can quickly spin you a headache action. Especially when we should focus maximum to discern objects that enemies have escaped. Huge black dot Finally, even on the cloud version of the loading time of ten seconds between levels have been optimized and are particularly annoying ..


The 50s brought the Cold War and the miniskirt, but this is nothing compared to the horror films that showcases the giant insects, extra-And Corporate as aggressive that ugly rubber and other monsters. These invaders flanked their equally little credible enemies back to life in Earth Defense Force 2017. In this action game, the player is not an agent to read the meters, but a member of the Earth Defense Force task force to protect the Earth against the alien threats. And even if the uniforms are nicely retro, trend underlings in Spectreman it does not benefit the least formidable arsenal concocted by scholars of the EDF.

Argoli, GET THE ARSENAL!

Too easy access, Earth Defense Force 2017 is a pretty basic action game in which each task should be completed in the same way: destroy all enemies on the screen. Even if the voice is trying to make you believe that some missions require restraint or discretion to add some artificial tension, destroy everything that comes to you will be good enough to win. The player can take with him only two weapons, selected from different categories: assault rifle, sniper rifle, grenade launcher, rocket launcher, missile launcher, shotgun, and the mysterious style special weapons involving a unusual weapons such as guns bouncing balls or auto-aiming turrets that can be placed here and there in the level. Of course, all these weapons have characteristics that make them necessary or unnecessary depending on the type of enemies that you will encounter in the level, giving a nice small aspect strategy in phases inter-mission where you select the equipment . This may also lead to frustrating situations in which the player will realize, sometimes after more than ten minutes, he has no chance of winning with a rifle and grenades as he must descend vessels more than 100 meters above him, recalling again the sweet scent of ruthless games of yesteryear.

The giant insects, but little resistance attacking en masse, will be more effectively fought with machine guns, shotguns, while giant robots, for example, or any other slower enemy will be defeated by to snipe rifles or rocket launchers, to keep them away and knock out one by one. This is also one of the first flaws in this 360 version, namely a very few enemies eventually. Ants, spiders, robots, ships, carriers, and two cousins ​​are the enemy armada Godzilla, declined to infinity with weapons or changes color to indicate an increase in power. But nothing really transcendent nor surprising after ten missions. From this point of view then, the previous section on PS2 was more generous.


RISE

When he select a level, the player can decide the level of difficulty from 5 choices, ranging from easy to inferno. And despite all his will or his talent, it will be very difficult to complete even that hard in the first level from the outset because, like a Dynasty Warriors, Earth Defense Force 2017 is a game designed to make and remake the various missions in order to strengthen his character. When an enemy is blind, there is a small chance that it lets out one of these three objects: a bit of life, a new weapon and armor that increase the number of maximum health Character . The strategy will be to complete a dozen levels in easy mode, to find one that pays a maximum of objects, and repeat until the hero is sufficiently strengthened to venture into these levels normal or even hard. Interest? The weapons are recovered on the enemies will be much more powerful and rare as the difficulty in which we play. Particularly taking this aspect of strengthening and improving the arsenal worthy of a RPG take several hours diligently to build a viable character in the higher difficulty modes, giving players demanding challenge and eager to Oasis they would not have found so far.

Difficult and decidedly old-school, Earth Defense Force 2017 is nonetheless an ambitious title that will please the elite, but will probably find it difficult to attract the avid player HD sensations. It must be said that the basic series EDF output on PlayStation 2, is part of the Simple 2000 Series, a collection of games whose price does not exceed 15 euros. Achievement, usually low, so fast "difficult watchable" on PS2 "visually bearable" for eye player accustomed to graphical prowess of the bestsellers of the two consoles. Here Sandlot manages to hide a glaring lack of graphic by judicious use of textures that make rough and disgusting insects simplistic as should be true giant monsters, while compensating fairly simple buildings with a height of impressive levels. Apart from some missions like anthills, each course is easily the size of a city. I must say that given the size of some enemies, these gigantic levels will not be too much to put a safe distance between you and them. Yet will he have the patience to go through these large areas with his character so typical of the process, one of the many technical problems this game Finally, note the presence of completely anecdotal vehicles. Aside from the exoskeleton winded impressive firepower, we still wonder what are the non-handy helicopter and the tank explodes after two shots.


RETRO-REALIZATION

The graphics are quite watchable, the rest of the execution does not always follow, and the mercy of the player will be more important to enjoy the edutainment digital experience offered by this title. For despite the pleasure to knock anything that moves with a varied arsenal, we must admit that the technical problems are quite numerous. The first of them is of course the character animation. Victim of a weld of the spine, as well as motor disconnecting the torso and legs, it gives us a laughable approach would mean a zero points in 3D animation schools in many video games. Ridiculous, the hero is also extremely slow, which ultimately makes use of huge levels rather unpleasant, even if sometimes it offers a very bike (too) fast and unwieldy, which ultimately will prove useful Later in the game Second Blackhead this version, loading times painful, sometimes exceeding 20 seconds between the time the choice of the mission and its beginning. Finally, another problem: your teammates with a not so artificial stupidity that shoot at you if you go to them or commit suicide by throwing himself in front of your gun, the fault of a miserable pathfinding. For some missions confined space, it will also sometimes advised to avoid killing one of them will make you fall off a ledge by an unfortunate missile, or block your shots at a decisive moment.

And however, these defects do not diminish or almost fun to play Earth Defense Force 2017. Fault to a great concept, to blow giant ants bazooka. So absurd and enjoyable at the same time, this activity will prove to be a great stress relief, and as long as there is an experienced player, you can hang this antithesis of Gears of War. Here, the technique gives way to a fun old fashioned way, in which the options are few, but the pleasure felt at the handle came from another age awaken the basest instincts of the amateur arcade struggle for survival, a bit like a Smash TV or Serious Sam clearly intended for an informed public and amateur action games to the old, Earth Defense Force 2017 fulfills his contract game sympathetic action destined to become cult in some niche players, while leaving others completely indifferent. Finally, besides the notable absence of online mode, we also regret that this output after EDF2 PlayStation 2 version provides fewer enemies and especially one playable character, against 2 on PS2, which allowed two completely different styles. Here we will simply enjoy viewing 16/9 to play more clearly in cooperation with two players split screen, which can be as much fun as frustrating. I must say that friendly fire is not deactivated, and the action sometimes becomes confusing. Although a little cheap, but as it's good ...

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