So what's good to you right now? It's time for capsule reviews, in no particular order, of my top five for the past few months:Shadow Hearts 2: I just finished this game for the first time last night. Perhaps the most endearing RPG series I've ever played, it's got charming characters, an engaging system, and epic music, all against the backdrop (loosely) of historical fiction with a fantasy twist. While I like the original Shadow Hearts just a touch better, these games as a whole succeed where so many other RPGs have failed.
Zelda: Twilight Princess: A good Zelda game is best enjoyed slowly, each massive area savored like a lozenge. I'm nowhere near done with this game yet, and I don't mind-- it just means that I can flick my wrists at all the bright-washed and black-flecked vistas for some time more. I never get tired of Midna's sweet nonsense-babble voice. Besides, really-- what else is there to play on Wii?
Puzzle Quest: Every rotation needs an addictive time-waster to throw massive chunks of downtime into an abyss with. Level-grinding is fun again! Plus, with its completely generic, tabletop-throwback peripheral elements, it's to geekdom what the Kamikaze is to the bar scene-- complete, stupor-inducing overkill. See how many times you can say "Orcish Mang" with a straight face.
Harvest Moon DS: It's nowhere near as good as Mineral Town, and one of the few DS games where the touch-screen interface is actually a detractor. But the seasons pass, festivals come and go, children get older and my cows have babies. Adorable, fat little cow babies that I can pet. What's not to love? Well, maybe a maddening touch-screen interface. But, y'know.
Odin Sphere: Simple, captivating and innovative-- I've said it before and I'll say it again: amid console wars and the constant onward march of technology and graphical evolution, there's something to be said when a 2D sidescrolling melee game can hold its own as this season's must-play.
So how about you guys?
The fab Joachim and Anastasia fan art, by the way, is by Pablo. Dude can draw-- dig his stuff at Pablo's Cafe.
