Quick Odin Sphere Impressions....2 hours in.

[appaws]

Picked up my preorder today, I am about 2 hours in. I fought the first couple of bosses, including a really awesome looking dragon who was bigger than the entier screen. There WAS slowdown, but all in all I am still impressed. The graphics on this game are just top notch.

So far it lives up to the hype...I can't wait for my wife to go to bed so I can play more tonight.

The drawbacks I have noticed so far are small. You do spend a little too much time futzing around with your inventory and doing alchemy. On the other hand, the alchemy produces some very useful potions/food items, so you gotta do it.

The other one that caught me by surprise is that you can clear an area boss without completing the rest of the area...so of course you want to go back and clear the rest of the area (level up, get items, etc.), but if you wander back to the place where you originally killed the main boss....it warps you all the way back to the starting point and you have to do it all over again. So, if you are going through areas multiple times...DO NOT go near the boss area unless you are finished and want to go back to the castle.

Anyway, I recommend everyone picking this up...it's only 40 bucks and you are not going to get any other beautiful 2D games.

[Overbite]

I picked it up too. It's decent so far, but I hear from people that have been playing the Japanese version is that it's too long for its own good. 50 hours of the pretty simple combat, and you visit the same areas and fight the same bosses for all characters.

[RugalSizzler]

So you wasted $40 American dollars at GameStop and now your playing a game that is going to be worth less then $5 in five years wow pat yourself on the back and continue your random US spending ways.\\^_^/


Thats right it was worth it just to play an abomination that was never meant to be:sob:

There is tons of other 2d games out there and this game is just on a side scroll.:grumble:

Also wow you fought one Dragon..Wow.. I just got up to the part where you fought a huge pre-rendered Dragon in Princess Crown and two other Dragon appeared. What are the Odds:cheers:

Thats right buy a game where everybody is walking around like Metrosexauls with super straight hair and RPG is not what it useted to be. Buy the abomination that should be on Dreamcast. Buy it now and hold it up high and say I BROUGHT A PIECE OF PLASTICE SCRAP THAT I WILL INSERT INTO TO MY REGION BOUND PS2.:rockets:

Thats right your all going to enjoy this nonsense......Also is there another form fo rhtis alreadyX_x

[klausien]

So you wasted $40 American dollars at GameStop and now your playing a game that is going to be worth less then $5 in five years wow pat yourself on the back and continue your random US spending ways.\\^_^/


Thats right it was worth it just to play an abomination that was never meant to be:sob:

There is tons of other 2d games out there and this game is just on a side scroll.:grumble:

Also wow you fought one Dragon..Wow.. I just got up to the part where you fought a huge pre-rendered Dragon in Princess Crown and two other Dragon appeared. What are the Odds:cheers:

Thats right buy a game where everybody is walking around like Metrosexauls with super straight hair and RPG is not what it useted to be. Buy the abomination that should be on Dreamcast. Buy it now and hold it up high and say I BROUGHT A PIECE OF PLASTICE SCRAP THAT I WILL INSERT INTO TO MY REGION BOUND PS2.:rockets:

Thats right your all going to enjoy this nonsense......Also is there another form fo rhtis alreadyX_x

Uncalled for. So they started a new thread. Big deal.

[Overbite]

So you wasted $40 American dollars at GameStop and now your playing a game that is going to be worth less then $5 in five years wow pat yourself on the back and continue your random US spending ways.\\^_^/


Thats right it was worth it just to play an abomination that was never meant to be:sob:

There is tons of other 2d games out there and this game is just on a side scroll.:grumble:

Also wow you fought one Dragon..Wow.. I just got up to the part where you fought a huge pre-rendered Dragon in Princess Crown and two other Dragon appeared. What are the Odds:cheers:

Thats right buy a game where everybody is walking around like Metrosexauls with super straight hair and RPG is not what it useted to be. Buy the abomination that should be on Dreamcast. Buy it now and hold it up high and say I BROUGHT A PIECE OF PLASTICE SCRAP THAT I WILL INSERT INTO TO MY REGION BOUND PS2.:rockets:

Thats right your all going to enjoy this nonsense......Also is there another form fo rhtis alreadyX_x

You are an idiot and you don't know how to type.

[BHvrd]

So you wasted $40 American dollars at GameStop and now your playing a game that is going to be worth less then $5 in five years wow pat yourself on the back and continue your random US spending ways.\\^_^/


Thats right it was worth it just to play an abomination that was never meant to be:sob:

There is tons of other 2d games out there and this game is just on a side scroll.:grumble:

Also wow you fought one Dragon..Wow.. I just got up to the part where you fought a huge pre-rendered Dragon in Princess Crown and two other Dragon appeared. What are the Odds:cheers:

Thats right buy a game where everybody is walking around like Metrosexauls with super straight hair and RPG is not what it useted to be. Buy the abomination that should be on Dreamcast. Buy it now and hold it up high and say I BROUGHT A PIECE OF PLASTICE SCRAP THAT I WILL INSERT INTO TO MY REGION BOUND PS2.:rockets:

Thats right your all going to enjoy this nonsense......Also is there another form fo rhtis alreadyX_x

Wow, so you hate the game cause it's on ps2 and wasn't on Dreamcast, I don't get it.

Sounds good, I'll be buying it. 50 hours....niiice.

[RugalSizzler]

You are an idiot and you don't know how to type.

I am an idiot I save $50 on a game that does not even belong on that system and will buy it later for $5. Yes I am an idiot for waiting it out an letting the price drop.

Yes idiot has an addiction problem to games wow idiot runs out naked just to buy game that could be on the GBA but is on the PS2 wow.

[BHvrd]

that could be on the GBA



http://marge.uvm.edu/sdempse/wave/weirdal/weirdal.gif

[GaijinPunch]

I got this on release day (last week, Thursday) but was out of town on the wekeend so am only about 6.5 hours into it (starting of Valkyrie, chapter 5). I like it, but it took a while to get the hang of the leveling system.

It rocks. Buy it. The sad thing is, there will not be a 2D game this pretty for a long time, if ever.

[appaws]

Jeez man, calm down. What got you so upset about this game anyway? Yes, I started a new thread now that the game is out. That other thread was kind of old and now that the game is out and a lot of gamers really care about it I thought it deserved a new thread. Sue me.

Look, if you don't want to buy it and you want to wait for a price drop....that's great. Go for it. We all do that all the time with games we are unsure of. If this game is one of those for you, thats cool. So leave us to play our GBA level "abomination" in peace.

[appaws]

I got this on release day (last week, Thursday) but was out of town on the wekeend so am only about 6.5 hours into it (starting of Valkyrie, chapter 5). I like it, but it took a while to get the hang of the leveling system.

It rocks. Buy it. The sad thing is, there will not be a 2D game this pretty for a long time, if ever.

Yeah, playiing this makes me really want to see what kind of sweet hand-drawn sprite-based 2D they could do on the 360 or PS3. Sniff. I'm not holding my breath on that. Thank God for the handhelds, where we continue to get good 2D stuff like Castlevanias, etc. If Sizzler knew how much I was looking forward to the Dracula X Chronicles for PSP, he would pass out.

[RugalSizzler]

sweet hand-drawn sprite-based 2D they could do on the 360 or PS3

You mean all the sweet drawn sprites that they already did on a SNES?

[klausien]

You mean all the sweet drawn sprites that they already did on a SNES?

Seriously. Get a life.

[CartCollector]

How many of you have heard the phrase "Please don't feed the troll?"

[Xexyz]

I got this on release day (last week, Thursday) but was out of town on the wekeend so am only about 6.5 hours into it (starting of Valkyrie, chapter 5). I like it, but it took a while to get the hang of the leveling system.

It rocks. Buy it. The sad thing is, there will not be a 2D game this pretty for a long time, if ever.

GrimGrimoire anyone?

Same developer (Vanillaware), similar art style, all 2D hand drawn sprites, and a new gameplay style for RPG's (RTS based). It comes out in June for the PS2. My only gripe is that since NIS is publishing it, they'll more than likely stick a $50 price tag on it...

[MegaDrive20XX]

http://marge.uvm.edu/sdempse/wave/weirdal/weirdal.gif

My exact thoughts on this thread.

[VACRMH]

Can't wait to pick up my copy, I'll swing by Game Crazy on the way home from class. The alchemy seems like something i'll have to force myself to get into, but the whole thing looks like a blast.

How Alchemy heavy was Princess Crown? If I enjoy this I wouldn't mind tracking down the import, but all of the item names could be a problem.

I'll just shake my head at RugalSizzler and move on ;)

[udisi]

anyone else hear the little red angry faces coming for rugal?

[Hawksmoor]

You guys are killing me here. I preordered the game from Amazon and they still haven't shipped it to me! I want to walk around as a straight haired metrosexual killing dragons and enjoy all the gba/snes/dc quality sprites! Since I ordered it online I can't run out naked to buy it, but I'll try to remember to be naked when I finally get to play it.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Got mine today and only had time to fire it up and watch the idle demo. I can't wait to play this... I'll get to it in the morning. When I dropped by GS to pick it up I talked with the clerk for a bit. Apparently, someone had offered said clerk a cash bribe to sell him my preorder copy (last copy in store and they only got enough copies for preorders). :o Glad I paid in full before it shipped.

[heybtbm]

How many of you have heard the phrase "Please don't feed the troll?"

Exactly.

[slip81]

Alright, who turned the clocks back to April 1st? Gary Shandling?

Back on topic, I'm glad to hear something positive about this game, as all the review sites seem to be bashing it because of it's length and slowdown.

I'll pick it up sooner than later though, as I can't imagine a 2D game released in 2007 faring that well in the consumer market. This one has "hard to find" written all over it.

[geneshifter]

So you wasted $40 American dollars at GameStop and now your playing a game that is going to be worth less then $5 in five years wow pat yourself on the back and continue your random US spending ways.\\^_^/


Thats right it was worth it just to play an abomination that was never meant to be:sob:

There is tons of other 2d games out there and this game is just on a side scroll.:grumble:

Also wow you fought one Dragon..Wow.. I just got up to the part where you fought a huge pre-rendered Dragon in Princess Crown and two other Dragon appeared. What are the Odds:cheers:

Thats right buy a game where everybody is walking around like Metrosexauls with super straight hair and RPG is not what it useted to be. Buy the abomination that should be on Dreamcast. Buy it now and hold it up high and say I BROUGHT A PIECE OF PLASTICE SCRAP THAT I WILL INSERT INTO TO MY REGION BOUND PS2.:rockets:

Thats right your all going to enjoy this nonsense......Also is there another form fo rhtis alreadyX_x

Time to unplug for a little bit my friend. Much ado.

[Azraelscross]

guys are killing me too. i preordered it a EB and it still hasn't come in yet..... i was hoping to play it on my days off but i work tonight now so even if it comes in today i have to wait 4 more days before i can play it

[walrusmonger]

I picked it up yesterday when my preorder came in, and I'm a little let down. I didn't expect that much because the reviews were so off the wall (100 from play and 60something from somewhere else), but I was still hoping in the back of my mind that it would be the Jesus of video games or something.

It's an interesting game, I will need to put more time into it though- Thank god sony just updated the PS3 so I can play it in 1080i :)

[MarioMania]

Any pics of the game..is it a RPG or a Action Game

[Icarus Moonsight]

Official website: http://www.atlus.com/odinsphere/

Has screenshots, wallpaper, video clip and song sample. To answer your last question, yes. :P

[RugalSizzler]

Seriously. Get a life.

A life where I saved $50 on a game that I can walk steal shop at Wal-MartLOL


It's an interesting game, I will need to put more time into it though- Thank god sony just updated the PS3 so I can play it in 1080i :)

Yes you brought a PS3 to play a SNES game. Wow just pat yourself on the back.

[The Shawn]

I am an idiot I save $50 on a game that does not even belong on that system and will buy it later for $5. Yes I am an idiot for waiting it out an letting the price drop.

Yes idiot has an addiction problem to games wow idiot runs out naked just to buy game that could be on the GBA but is on the PS2 wow.


Well you could wait and pick it up for $5 and then resell it in your "Phantasy store" for $50 on-line.LOL

[walrusmonger]

Yes you brought a PS3 to play a SNES game. Wow just pat yourself on the back.


Wow....

[djbeatmongrel]

I'm loving the game despite it being 2D *sarcasm*. Its very interesting take on the hack'n'slash/beat em up style but its very refreshing to see something like this on the market.

PS Rugalsizzler: Given the fact this is an Atlus RPG theres a good chance its going to hold its value in the future fairly well. I highly doubt you'll be able to see it in stores in a few years with the $5 price tag.

[Cryomancer]

A life where I saved $50 on a game that I can walk steal shop at Wal-MartLOL



Yes you brought a PS3 to play a SNES game. Wow just pat yourself on the back.


I think you have the wrong forum.

[agbulls]

A life where I saved $50 on a game that I can walk steal shop at Wal-MartLOL



Yes you brought a PS3 to play a SNES game. Wow just pat yourself on the back.

Yup. Definitely in the wrong forum. You might want to go here: www.gamefaqs.com. I heard the Madden 2010 forum is riveting.

[heybtbm]

Yup. Definitely in the wrong forum. You might want to go here: www.gamefaqs.com (http://www.gamefaqs.com). I heard the Madden 2010 forum is riveting.

Sweet.

On topic...Anyone see this game at Best Buy/Target/Walmart yet? My local Gamestop/EB stores are out.

[Xexyz]

Why's Rugal still babbling about a $50 price point? The game's $39.99. If you're going to troll, at least get the real facts down.

[RugalSizzler]

Nevermind great game and that is just my facts your opinion whatever. Buy it you have a PS2 however I strongly suggest holding out. Play the Viewtiful Joe for awhile or something until prices drop. This game is not going anywhere and Xmas is right around the corner.:popcorn:


Any pics of the game..is it a RPG or a Action Game

The game is in the Zelda class of games. You can also relate this game to Dragon Slayer Dragon slayer family. Your on a 2d like backdrop in one of those or exactly like a WAW or DAD Arcade game.

However the game suffers from Inuyasha fever and Japanese influnece. You could relate this game to the game Sheep for GBA where they took the original Sheep game and put Anime figures over the original drawings as with this is just DAD with Anime influence.

In terms of a Action game the game should allow you to go back and forth and fight certain enemies if not major enemies over and over agian for example in SMWorld you would press L+R to
renter a Kastle. Think of it as a RPG fighter but you only control the main characters and not the enimies.

[djbeatmongrel]

Excuse the vulgarity Rugal but are you a fucking retard? Where is your info for your facts? Your facts are your opinion and besides a few minor points most of the statements made by the others in this thread are opinions. The only difference is that most of us are proven knowledgable collectors and gamers. If i were you I would listen to the popular opinion on certain matters, especially when it comes to comments made on the worth and future estimated worth of games.

You are allowed to have an opinion. you are allowed to like modern 2D or not. You are also allowed to be a blowhard douche bag as well and you have excersized this right excessively. Just learn to not troll and state an opinion without a condicending asshole over tone. It will make your days here much more pleasent.

[Sothy]

Odin Sphere raped Rugals mom

[slip81]

Nevermind great game and that is just my facts your opinion whatever. Buy it you have a PS2 however I strongly suggest holding out. Play the Viewtiful Joe for awhile or something until prices drop. This game is not going anywhere and Xmas is right around the corner.:popcorn:



The game is in the Zelda class of games. You can also relate this game to Dragon Slayer Dragon slayer family. Your on a 2d like backdrop in one of those or exactly like a WAW or DAD Arcade game.

However the game suffers from Inuyasha fever and Japanese influnece. You could relate this game to the game Sheep for GBA where they took the original Sheep game and put Anime figures over the original drawings as with this is just DAD with Anime influence.

In terms of a Action game the game should allow you to go back and forth and fight certain enemies if not major enemies over and over agian for example in SMWorld you would press L+R to
renter a Kastle. Think of it as a RPG fighter but you only control the main characters and not the enimies.

what the fuck? this is almost as bad as calm the beef min.

anyway, i'm still convinced this is a gag account.

[The Shawn]

Odin Sphere raped Rugals mom


No.....Odin Sphere raped Rugal.


This is definately not a real account, as I know for a fact that your not allowed to use the internet when your in detox....

[dairugger]

was it a good touch or a bad touch??

[Snapple]

I've actually been having trouble finding the game so far. The first four places I went were all sold out. I guess word of mouth combined with a low-production run is making copies evaporate quickly. It's like Puzzle Quest all over again.

[Xexyz]

^ Don't worry about it too much. Yes, Atlus is notorious for creating low print runs, but nowdays they seem to sell out of their first shipments well enough to warrent a couple reprints. I'd expect more store orders in by the middle of the week.

NIS on the other hand... anyone notice all the Gust RPG's they publish just flat out disappear after 3 or so months on the market? I wish I hadn't of waited on Ar Tonellico. By the end of April new copies are nowhere to be found in my area...

[appaws]

Just thought I would update for anyone on the fence about this game. I don't want to geek out too much, but I am really having a great time with this. I think if this was not seen as "nichey" we would be talking about a game of the year candidate here.

Anyway, as you get farther in...the item use really starts to pick up. You don't have to be really focused on it, but it helps a lot. Having to balance your use of stuff is really great, complex but fairly intuitive to do after a while. Balancing your use of "phozons" to keep your magic meter up and level your magic, or using them to grow stuff and level your HP. Using the alchemy in different ways to create different stuff, all of which seems to be pretty useful in specific areas.

The battles are really great, the difficulty picks up fairly quickly. The game lends itself to hack and slash if you really want, or you can use your "psyphers" to activate spells which are pretty useful.

The designers did a great job in making it so you would WANT to go back to previous areas to get stuff. Especially when you get to use the restraunt and cafe to get some big EXP boost items, you will want to go back to earlier areas to scout out the ingredients that you need. The money is fairly scarce in the game, at least early on, so you can't just buy everything. So for example, maybe you are getting ready for a tough new area. So you want to go back and make a couple healing potions, so you have to go get "materiel" and carrots, then some onionnes to make napalm which is pretty good against bosses. The "painkiller" is an awesome potion for boss battles, so you might want to make some of that. And for a great HP refill in a tough area, you can get some eggs on toast "take out" from the cafe and it refills 1000 HP. NICE!

I was going to buy Forza on release day....but I think I might wait a few weeks, or at least until I am done with this, before I do. It's really, really good!

[c0ldb33r]

I got this last night - the local EB only received 4 copies in total (I got the last one). It's pretty fun, but seems to have a high learning curve.

I've only played about an hour, and just defeated the large dragon boss, he was pretty hard! I used almost all my items (killed him with Napalm).

All considered though, I'm glad I picked it up :)

[-^Cro§Bow^-]

Spoiler alert!!!



































Right, now that, that is out of the way. coldb33r. Killing the Dragon is dead easy. All you do is run around the other way until you come up on his back side. Then start attacking the crap outta him. It takes him a long time to actually turn around and face you again. When he does...just run away again and come up upon his back from the other direction. I literally took him out without loosing any health at all in this manner and scored an "S" ranking. Give it a try.

[mailman187666]

I picked this up a week ago and I'm enjoying it also. I got it playin' in 1080i on PS3 and the detail is great. I seriously doubt it will be considered hard to find, but I too buy a lot of new atlus RPGs hoping it will be rare. I'll be picking up Persona 3 as well cuz you know what they say about games at the end of a system's life cycle.

[PS2Hawk]

So you wasted $40 American dollars at GameStop and now your playing a game that is going to be worth less then $5 in five years wow pat yourself on the back and continue your random US spending ways.\\^_^/


Thats right it was worth it just to play an abomination that was never meant to be:sob:

There is tons of other 2d games out there and this game is just on a side scroll.:grumble:

Also wow you fought one Dragon..Wow.. I just got up to the part where you fought a huge pre-rendered Dragon in Princess Crown and two other Dragon appeared. What are the Odds:cheers:

Thats right buy a game where everybody is walking around like Metrosexauls with super straight hair and RPG is not what it useted to be. Buy the abomination that should be on Dreamcast. Buy it now and hold it up high and say I BROUGHT A PIECE OF PLASTICE SCRAP THAT I WILL INSERT INTO TO MY REGION BOUND PS2.:rockets:

Thats right your all going to enjoy this nonsense......Also is there another form fo rhtis alreadyX_x

the f*** ???

[Richter Belmount]

So you wasted $40 American dollars at GameStop and now your playing a game that is going to be worth less then $5 in five years wow pat yourself on the back and continue your random US spending ways.\\^_^/


Thats right it was worth it just to play an abomination that was never meant to be:sob:

There is tons of other 2d games out there and this game is just on a side scroll.:grumble:

Also wow you fought one Dragon..Wow.. I just got up to the part where you fought a huge pre-rendered Dragon in Princess Crown and two other Dragon appeared. What are the Odds:cheers:

Thats right buy a game where everybody is walking around like Metrosexauls with super straight hair and RPG is not what it useted to be. Buy the abomination that should be on Dreamcast. Buy it now and hold it up high and say I BROUGHT A PIECE OF PLASTICE SCRAP THAT I WILL INSERT INTO TO MY REGION BOUND PS2.:rockets:

Thats right your all going to enjoy this nonsense......Also is there another form fo rhtis alreadyX_x

LOL @ Rugal

[FantasiaWHT]

Ok I'm stuck... this is sad... I'm after I beat the first dragon and I'm learning how to alchemy. I was just given Alchemy Mix N, which is Material 2 + Onionne to make Napalm. I have 3 Material 0's and a bunch of Onionnes. But I can't mix anything- it won't allow me to mix the Material 0 and an Onionne as if I were making Antidotes, and although the manual tells me to mix Materials together to get higher numbered materials, When I select the first Material, trying to select another one has no effect.

What am I missing here?

Never mind, apparently I have to pick the exact right Material 0 and the exact right Onionne for some dumb reason.

[TurboGenesis]

I am finally start this game! I am very happy with it and will be spending some time with it. I had put it off when I picked it up at release but everyewhere I am go peoples are rave about it I just had to play!

Good game :D

[Tron 2.0]

I'm still playing, Odin Sphere i did take a break on it afther i got to the third chapter.

Right now, i started it again and finsh it now i'm on the 4th one with oswald.

This one game you can't beat in one sitting.. since have to step back and do some "leveling when your stuck among other things.

I still like the game but 'it can be to repetitive... when you fight the same boss with each character.

Still props for atlus publishing it here :)

[PDorr3]

Anyone else that picked it up awhile ago still playing it? I am debating buying it from gamefly as with my $5 coupon and free shipping it will come in at only $26. I just recently started FF VI over though so I dont know if I will even have time to devote to another rpg.

[Hwj_Chim]

at that price go for it

[Tron 2.0]

at that price go for it
Agreed 2d games like this don't come offen.

I wouldn't be surpise, if it takes another 4 years or so befor another game like this pop ups again.

[FantasiaWHT]

Man, this game is awesome! With just one complaint (see below) I'm very happy. I just finished the first story thread, and I can honestly say that even if the game ended right now, I would feel that I had gotten my money's worth.

My one complaint tho.... MAN is there some terrible slowdown. Anybody else having this problem? Especially in the underworld; the final boss in there was almost unplayable it was so slow. I'm pretty surprised that the PS2 can't handle however many sprites there are moving around.

[michaelthemovieman]

For the guy who blasted this game, a couple of points:

1. Have you even played the game?! If not, do so; you may like it.
2. If you think this game will eventually reach a $5 price tag, don't count on it. This is and Atlus published game, and they almost always become collectors'items.
3. The 2D graphics in this game are beautiful and far beyond anything the Super NES could do. If anything, they almost make me agree with the people who have complained about the primative graphics of the Nippon Ichi games (Rhapsody, Phantom Brave, and La Pucelle Tactics, for example).

Personally, I love this game. Even with the slowdown (which considering how detailed the art is, is almost understandable; certainly more so than the similar issues of Metal Slug Anthology), I can't get enough of the in-depth gameplay, the great audio, beautiful orchestral score and the lovely art/animation.

From an artistic standpoint, this is certainly the most impressive game to come around since Okami and I hope people check it out before passing judgement.

[Raedon]

I don't mind the slowdown or repeated battlefields and bosses. The only thing that pissed me off was the loading between each field. I'll bet if the PS2 had more memory this wouldn't have been a problem but as it stands that little book Icon in the lower right reminds me why I rarely pull out my Neo-Geo CDZ these days.

[PDorr3]

quick question, say I play the first characters story through and it takes 8-10 hours, will all my work on that character just basicaly go into oblivion when I start the next? so if thats true than basicaly the game is split up into basicaly a couple of different individual games in the same game since you basicaly start from scratch after every character?

[Tron 2.0]

Update i finsh the chapter with velvet.

Still i'm stuck on the final chapter for the final boss's.

My, characters levels are not high enough or well equip to handel them.

Right now i'm trying to figure out how to correct that.

Any suggestion would help.

[sirhansirhan]

I was really excited about playing this game for a month or so before it came out, but when it eventually did I A) was broke, and B) had no time to play video games, so I decided to wait on the reviews. Most of the reviews were mediocre to good, but the really damning one was a 3.5 (out of 5) from Hardcore Gamer, which is my most trusted source for video game reviews. I more or less let it go at that point, deciding to only pick it up if I found it for $20 or less, or if I had a strange windfall of money to blow. But then today, Game Informer of all places gave it a very good review and named it the game of the month. I don't agree with GI nearly as much as I do HG, but still, a great review from an unexpected source certainly renewed my interest.

That and now Grim Grimoire comes out next week, which looks wonderful. And I'm still broke and have no time to play video games.