Jeff Pannell's Reviews
Monster Monpiece is certainly not the average digital card game. Upgrading cards requires players to rub down their would-be monster girl soldiers and it features a heavy dose of visual novel style storytelling. It is, however, an okay story at best and a decent card battler. It doesn't stand out much from the field other than its "Crush Rub" upgrade system but, hey, at least it's uncensored.
Atelier Shallie Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea makes amends for the mistakes of the original by wrapping up the Dusk trilogy nicely. The addition of Ayesha and Logy to the mix is not only fun for combat but vital to the entire narrative. Longtime fans will find plenty to love here while newcomers will find the item synthesis engaging and the combat dynamic.
World of Final Fantasy is a love-letter to the entire Final Fantasy franchise and its diehard fans. This is pure uncut Final Fantasy directly injected into your veins. Newcomers to the franchise will find an accessible battle system to work with but a completely convoluted and, frankly, bad story to deal with. The soundtrack is worth sticking around for, though.
God Eater 2: Rage Burst sets itself apart from its counterpart, Monster Hunter, with combat that is fluid, fast and fun for a gameplay loop that is addictive. The crafting is deep; the story is engaging, and fans of the genre should pay attention.
Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse is one of the absolute best JRPGS for the Nintendo 3DS this year. It improves upon SMT4's systems in definitive ways while addressing many of the nagging issues that served to hold its predecessor back.
Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness is a great visual novel that is slightly diminished by its lackluster antagonist. The iteration on the rich world developed by the original anime is solid and well-paced. A fine addition to the genre on both home consoles and handhelds.
King of Fighters XIV brings one of the genre's longest running franchises to the current generation with mixed results visually. The gameplay is deep should players want to explore it and friendly to newcomers just jumping on with the series. The soundtrack is fantastic and the net code is far improved over its predecessor. We have a winner folks.
Gal*Gun: Double Peace is a humorous and risque on-rails shooter that features rubdowns, schoolgirls shot with euphoria and even some tentacles to boot. It is far less offensive than it will be pegged to be but quite funny and featuring a great localization from PQube. Lock and load, lewd dudes.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven delivers a truly authentic visual representation of Hirohiko Araki's work. CyberConnect2 nailed it visually but failed to iterate on their past works with other licensed anime products to produce, instead, a forgettable 2-on-2 fighter. JoJo deserves far better.
Zero Time Dilemma is a more than fitting end to a series already known for its gripping narrative and compelling characters. Director/writer Kotaro Uchikoshi has outdone himself here and delivered, most assuredly, his magnum opus. This is narrative risk-taking and some of the best storytelling available in the medium that manages to overcome its presentational flaws to offer a must-play experience.