Eternal Sonata (Xbox 360)

Eternal Sonata

Genre: JRPG
Developer: tri-Crescendo

Publisher: Namco Bandai

ESRB Rating: T for Teen

Price: $34.99 USD (Xbox 360)
US Release Date: September 14, 2007 (October 21, 2008 on PS3)
Equipment: Xbox 360, 32” Vizio LCD @ 720p.

Completion: Completed main campaign in 35 hours.

I know what you’re thinking. An RPG about Frederic Chopin on his death bed… He dies in the end, right? Maybe. Feel free to suspend your knowledge of history for the rest of the review.

The game begins with a remarkably youthful looking Chopin on his deathbed and rapidly transitions to a dream world where we start to meet the actual main characters.

That’s right Chopin fans, he isn’t the primary character in his own game. He is an important character. Being the main character falls to Allegretto, Beat and Polka, who fit right into your Japanese RPG stereotypes. Without getting too far into the plot, it rocks an RPG framework. Your teenage heroes must go out and save the world / their people / something important. In doing so they learn about themselves. It is nothing ground breaking but it is a solid framework to build on.

The combat is reasonable and you are eased into it. You have a choice of regular melee or special attacks, and you can use as many of either, if you have the time. When you reach your first combat instance you are given a tutorial on how to do the basics of fighting. There are several levels of proficiency you unlock as you proceed through the game called Party Class Levels. The higher the Party Class Level, the more you have to contend with during combat. Starting at Level 1 you get an unlimited amount of Tactical Time so you get to stand around and think about what you are going to do for as long as you damn well please. The Action Gauge only runs down while you are moving or hitting things, and that’s about all you can do.

As your Party Level progresses, you run out of Tactical Time and your Action Gauge gets shorter, but you get access to blocking and counter-attacks as well as the Echoes meter and Harmony Chains. Regular attacks charge the Echoes meter up in groups of 4 and 8, up to a maximum of 32. When you use a special attack after charging up the Echoes meter, you get a damage bonus. If you have charged it to at least 24, you can trigger a Harmony Chain. This allows you to execute up to six special attacks in a row, two from each of the characters in combat. Devastating, if you pull it off.

A word about light. This is important to the world of Eternal Sonata, as it determines what kind of special attack you can use. The characters all have a list of special attacks they can use, but you are only allowed to carry two each for light and dark onto the field of battle with you. If you are standing in the shadows, you can use your dark attacks, in the light your light attacks. This has no effect on melee at all.

Controls are easy to use, all you really need are the ABXY buttons and a directional stic. Refreshing. There’s a music mini game where you find pieces of music laying around (no, really) and then play them with NPC’s that are scattered around the world. You get to play composer, which is kind of cool, but the pieces of music that go together don’t always make sense. Once you play the music correctly, the person you were playing with is so happy they give you some equipment.

Saving is done at save points, which are sprinkled liberally around the countryside. I never felt like I was unreasonably far away from where I had last saved, nor were they every few feet. One of the most interesting features that I have never seen in a game before was the ability to turn on more controllers and let other players control characters during combat. Nobody ever really mentions this and when I found it, it blew me away. I do not have four controllers to test this with, but it looks like you could actually have one person control the world map and let three others deal with combat instances. It’s not exactly seamless drop-in multiplayer in the “classic” sense, but it is quick to use and if it gets your girlfriend playing, all the better.

The graphics are really strong. The real world, and you only see one room in the real world, suffers quite badly from the Next-Gens and is basically just different shades of brown. All the way from Auburn to Buff. In Chopin’s dream the world is lush, vibrant and often simply beautiful. The characters are well designed and easily recognizable from one another. The characters clothes however are static and do not change with their armor, though I understand they will have dress-up available in the PS3 version. There is no blood, ever. Even when somebody gets stabbed. The animations have their hiccups. When the characters are moving, in combat or in cutscenes, they generally look great. When just standing around they never seem to put their arms all the way down. They just hang there in space, held out from their body just a little like they’re trying to form an A. I’m not sure if it was a stylistic choice or not.

Speaking of style, this game is clearly from the land of anime. Everyone has giant eyes, skinny limbs and is cell shaded. This is done very well and is scaled with age. Chopin looks more like he’s in his late 20’s but Allegretto and Beat both appear approximately the age they’re supposed to be – 16 and 8, respectively.

The sound is excellent. The soundtrack is beautifully put together and fits into the game well. It is unsurprisingly based on Chopin’s works. Sounds in combat and in the world are crisp. The American voice acting is good, most characters have voices that really seem to work with their bodies. There are a few exceptions to that, such as Salsa and her magical changing accent. It’s no deal breaker, but it just doesn’t stand up to the quality of the rest of the game.

Shini Says:

All in all, I enjoyed this game. I like me some JRPG and it filled that niche really well. The combat was occasionally frustrating but the first time you do 250,000+ damage and heal everyone in the party in a single turn it is well worth it. If you like anime and RPGs then this game is for you. If you are a music nerd this game will make you feel really clever because you get what Claves’ name means. The Encore Mode, while ratcheting up the difficulty noticeably, maintains playability of the game without becoming unreasonably hard. Encore mode is probably in the 50-60 hour range to complete and has a few extra side quests and weapons. Good news for anyone who wants all of the gamer points or achievements the game has to offer or wants a longer game.

There are interludes between the chapters where you are shown a slideshow of places Chopin lived and a narrator… narrates his life. I found it interesting. A little depressing, too. The photography is excellent.

That said – I am still not sure exactly what happened in the ending. It was a good ten minutes of confusion before you get to the real ending of the ending. You just need to keep watching until it tells you to go away. It does tie everything up pretty well, but I still feel confused by it.

If you’re hankering for some JRPG, get this game. I give it a four out of five.

Dead Rising (Microsoft Xbox 360)

In honor of Zombie Jesus Day, I present the Dead Rising review.





Genre: Third Person Action
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
ESRB Rating: M for Mature
Price: 53.99 USD
US Release Date: August 8, 2006
Equipment: HP 23" widescreen monitor with component cables in 720p, standard 360 wireless controller.
Completion: Approximately 15 hours.


"Willamette, Colorado. Population: 53,594. Distinguishing characteristics: Jack shit. About the only thing to do in this town is kill time at the shopping mall."


If you've seen George Romero's Dawn of the Dead, you know the setup for Dead Rising. There's a mall in a small town that's filled with zombies and a handful of survivors. Your job, as freelance photojournalist Frank West, is to survive for 72 hours until the rescue chopper returns. Along the way, you can take pictures, bring survivors back to the safe room, take down nutjobs who've lost their minds after seeing the dead walk, and kill a shitload of zombies.

Frank's not alone in his endeavor. His primary contact is Otis, a mall security guard equipped with a two-way radio. Otis calls you on this radio. A lot. Some of his information is useful, but most of it isn't. There are also a couple of Federal Agents on hand to deal with the zombie outbreak. Everyone else in the game falls into three categories: zombie, survivor, or psychopath. Zombies and psychopaths are there to kill you, or be killed. Survivors are there to be saved, or be turned into zombies.

What better way to deal with a zombie outbreak than being trapped in a mall? Almost anything on screen can be picked up and used as a weapon. From benches to trashcans to CDs to bowling balls to shotguns to nerf guns, there's always something handy to take out some living dead. Who hasn't wanted to knock someone's head off with a home run swing? Or crack them in the face with a 2x4? Or bisect them with a chainsaw? Dead Rising lets you do that to any zombie you meet.

The game looks beautiful. The character models are quite detailed, and the cutscenes show them off really well. Hundreds of zombies can be shown on screen at once, all looking and shuffling differently, and the frame rate remains silky smooth. Blood and viscera in HD is stunning.

Voice work is well done. None of them are recognizable names, but they're all good. There's not a bad one in the bunch. The music fits the action without being overbearing, and sound effects are solid. The sizzle of a zombie's face being burned off with a hot frying pan is spot on.

Controls are nice and tight, although the camera can get a bit wonky in certain spots. The camera has been a problem in every third person action game ever, though. The melee combat controls are perfect, but the ranged combat controls are not. Throwing an item or shooting a gun requires entering a targeting mode, which means Frank can't move and shoot at the same time. In a game that is otherwise extremely polished, the somewhat sloppy ranged controls stand out that much more.

On a related note, whenever Otis calls, Frank is rendered impotent. He drops whatever he's doing in order to answer the call. While Otis blathers on, Frank can't use any weapons or his camera, he can't lead or carry survivors, and he often gets gnawed upon by zombies. Of course, this interrupts the call, prompting Otis to call back and reprimand you for cutting him off. Otis is such a bastard.

Saving is something that has been maligned by other reviewers and players. There's only one save slot, and Frank has to go to the restroom in order to save. If Frank ever dies, the player is given the option to load the saved game, or start the storyline anew while keeping Frank's current stats. This is practically necessary in the early game, because Frank simply doesn't have enough health or item slots to progress very far. The argument could be made for starting Frank out at level 10, which would lessen the amount of restarts. On the other hand, restarting the game allows for correcting earlier mistakes, like saving more survivors, or taking out more psychopaths. That said, there's nothing inherently wrong with the save system.

If there's one place where Dead Rising falls down, it's the boss fights. Zombies are human. Or at least, they once were. So it follows that Frank can take their heads off with a sickle, or slice them open with a katana. That makes sense. What doesn't make sense is a supposedly regular human who is nearly immune to every type of attack, whether it be a sledgehammer, lead pipe, pistol, or shotgun. It doesn't matter who you are, if you take a rifle round in the forehead, you're dead. If you take a full load of buckshot in the chest at point blank range, you're dead. If a ten pound sledge slams into the side of your skull, you're dead. The bosses don't follow those rules. If the bosses were challenging for some reason other than the fact that they cheat, Dead Rising would be a perfect game.

Multiplayer is nowhere to be found, but there are rumors about co-op play being included for a Greatest Hits version. After the 72 Hour mode is complete, there are options for Overtime and Survival, the latter of which where Frank tries to stay alive for 5 days straight, without saving.

For 360 owners looking to add a solid title to their library, they can't go wrong with Dead Rising.


Heath Says:

Since I enjoy picking out the bad in games, let me reiterate the bad in Dead Rising. Ranged combat sucks. Bosses cheat. I can't kill survivors once they get back to the security room. Otis is the bane of my existence. However, it's way too much fun to spit in a zombie's face and then burn it off with a red-hot skillet. Dead Rising was in my collection until I got rid of my 360. It's so good, I'll probably repurchase it (the Greatest Hits version anyway) when I get a 360 again. That's the best endorsement I can give it.


Final Verdict:

Keep On A Rockin' Me, Baby

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of the Guitar Hero games. If I didn't already own a PS2, I'd buy one just so I could play them. They're unlike any other rhythm game I've ever played, mainly because they're filled with rock classics instead of new pop bullshit. Plus, playing guitar is hot shit, even if it is made of plastic.

But what if you're not a guitar enthusiast? What if you've always dreamed of being a drummer (god help you) or a flamboyant front-man? Sure, you can get Beatmania, or SingStar, or some other new pop bullshit game, but there's no love for the rock. Until now.

Thanks to the tremendous success of the Guitar Hero games, developer Harmonix was bought by MTV Networks, which will work on Rock Band, to be published by EA. Instead of just lead and bass guitars, Rock Band will use drum kit and microphone peripherals. No word on songs or artists, but Alex Rigopulos, co-founder of Harmonix, says, "We'll be covering a great breadth, from metal to classic rock to Southern rock to everything in between."

Here's the awesome part: you don't have to get four people in the same room to rock out. "You could have one guitarist in Germany and another one in Texas, a drummer in New York and a singer from somewhere else, and they can play together online," EA's David DeMartini says. Not to mention that in addition to the songs on the disc, downloadable tracks will be available.

There's a lot of things that aren't talked about in the press release, like whether all four peripherals will be included with the game or available separately, how much it'll all cost, how much additional songs will cost, how many tracks will be on the disc, and how many will be covers or how many will be original recordings. As long as it doesn't cost 200 bucks, though, I know what I'm getting myself for Christmas. Look for Rock Band this holiday season on 360 and PS3.