Clone Wars

 In my endless hunt for games old and new, I've jumped from one genre to another as my growing tower of carts and discs becomes a leaning tower of carts and discs.  One such genre is the "hunting RPG" that tasks players with killing giants.  I've only got a taste from the Monster Hunter series and haven't touched it since.  But these demos have left me hungry for more.

Soul Sacrifice (PS Vita)

Up till now, what I knew about this game since seeing it in the wild was that it's basically a Monster Hunter clone, with a darker tone.  Once I started the demo, I was proven right.  Having only ever played Monster Hunter, however, what sets Soul Sacrifice apart becomes clear.

The game's story is told through the eyes of a living book as it runs the basics by the player.

 

As a sorcerer in training, you're tasked with ridding the land of monsters that'd send Milla Jovovich running scared.

 

 Once the monster is defeated and reverts to its original form, the player must choose between saving and sacrificing it, and boost his own life and magic respectively.  Those you save will become your allies in battle, worth nothing now that online multiplayer is no longer available.

 

Like in Monster Hunter, you can customize your appearance and upgrade your gear as you level up.  Though the aesthetics give me the creeps, the demo kept me invested enough to download the upgraded title Soul Sacrifice Delta.  I hope to transfer my progress from the demo.

 

 

 

Of course, the monsters get tougher from here on in, at which point your NPC's aren't much help.  So you're stuck grinding for the next big smackdown.

 

Toukiden: The Age of Demons/Toukiden: Kiwami (Vita)

Following the delayed delivery of another game, I checked out the demos for both Toukiden and its upgrade, Kiwami.

 

In both games, giant demons called Oni rampage through feudal Japan, and a band of hunters called Slayers must eliminate them.

 

After customizing your Super Slayin' God . . .

 
 

You're thrown into the fray, fighting Oni alongside your AI teammates while harvesting Oni parts to not only forge new weapons and armor, but to complete side quests.  If that's not enough to show how Toukiden blatantly rips off Monster Hunter, notice the health gauges on the left and the world map on the right.

Getting farther in the original Toukiden than in Kiwami, I've gathered the parts needed to create a new suit of armor and gained added boosts in the process.

 

The Kiwami demo not only includes special missions and rewards that can be carried over to the full game, but also a sneak peek of the 8th chapter of the story.

 
 

 Freedom Wars (Vita)

As I was writing this post, the next game on my to-play list had arrived.  As with every used game I buy, I played this for a minute to make sure it works and then decided not to keep playing, for the moment.

 

Adding a sci-fi spin to the hunting RPG, Freedom Wars has you playing as a prisoner serving a surveillance society to reduce an absurd sentence.
 

 

To do just that, you're tasked with destroying bio-mechanical giants called Abductors . . .
 

 

And rescuing the civilians trapped inside them.
 

 

What I like about Freedom Wars is, though lacking the option to create and upgrade armor like in the other titles, players have access to more modern weaponry--like submachine guns and rocket launchers--to take the enemy down.  You can also offer certain materials you collect to shave a few years off the ol' sentence.  With tons of DLC already available, I hope to get back to this one once I've had my fill of my other games.

 

That's all for now.  Next time I just might finally step away from video games to focus the blog on my toys and plastic models, depending on my schedule and other factors.  And if you haven't noticed before, numerous errors have been popping up on recent posts; some I've missed and others created by the system.  But let it be known that I take great pains to ensure that every post comes out perfect, and I hope to bring the issue to the administrators for a timely solution.

 

Till we meet again on the path to the Top of the Heap, keep safe out there.