PS2 game, PS2 set, match!

Oh well, before I begin, sorry for the lame title...^_^

Hmmz...today had a wonderful time playing tennis again hehe. 3 sets with Meyer leading 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 again...we're gonna wrap up this match sometime this week, probably on a weekend I guess. Well just a brief rundown on the games we played again:

As you can see, I totally sucked in the first set. Let me skip the painful memories and highlight the 2nd set ok? In case you even wonder why, it's cause I won it haha!

For some strange reason, my serving in the 2nd set was on fire sia. I seemed to have been a bit 'enlightened' on the position when I should strike the ball and send it screaming into Meyer's court. Boy those were fantastic! Well actually that was more or less the case in the 2nd set haha; winning points with big serves.

In the 3rd set there were a few interesting rallies which saw Meyer and I playing tennis near the net haha, fast paced and fun I must say :D

And best of all, there was this fluke shot I did when I was attempting another big forehand on one of Meyer's cross-court shots which sent it flying cross court first, then upon hitting the ground it bounced forward but in the OPPOSITE direction mwahaha! Meyer was totally caught by surprise man...even I got surprised by it's erratic motion...real crazy stuff, I should try and master it and then maybe I'd have a chance to go pro eh?

Well anyway, I have to buck up this weekend to prevent another win for Meyer...damn.

Ok, now I'm gonna talk about a game I just completed today too. I totally love it! It's Shadow Hearts: Covenant (Shadow Hearts 2 in Japan) for the PS2.

An RPG in the Final Fantasy mould is probably the easiest way to put it, but that's also selling it short cause this game has enough innovative and unique touches to set it apart from Square-Enix's offering.

I've got other stuff to do tonight so I'll just list some of the more outstanding things about this game, and probably continue to 'review' it in the next post.

This game has a very interesting combat system. It's turn-based, and allows you to take your own sweet time as opposed to the system in FF VII and VIII if I'm not wrong. BUT, everything you execute is via well-timed button presses whilst a hand spins around this 'Judgement Ring' with areas which you must hit. Think of it like a kind of hand-eye coordination exercise, or Dance Dance Revolution with you thumb only haha. The areas you can hit are suitably large, but near the end of them there are 'Strike' zones which grant you a better outcome for whatever it is you'r executing be it more damage for an attack or more health for a healing. Problem is, if you miss it, your turn is over.

In short, it's a bit like gambling! It does serve to make some battles more tense as you desperately need to get all the extra damage in, only to miss and end up dealing less. Suffice to say it's a very rewarding system and I totally applaud the developers for implementing it. I'll elaborate more next time.

The other highlight is the story, which is really dark and sinister, and is actually a big big twist on events which have happened before, most notably World War I. It's not meant to be taken seriously in the historical aspect, but it does have references to ACTUAL people and entities which it claims are purely coincidental. I can assure you these guys have done some research before crafting this story, but of course, they don't wanna get into any unnecessary trouble so they have to include the disclaimer as always; that the game is entirely fictitious.

Talking about serious, most of the characters which you'll end up controlling or meeting all have their peculiar quirks and idiosyncrasies.

The lead 'actor', Yuri Volte Hyuga is kind of like Dante from Capcom's fantastic Devil May Cry series, except that he has a fixed girlfriend. The biggest similarities are his ability to transform into devils and also his bad ass attitude, to the enemies at least.

He seems to embody the kind of people who are tough talking, but actually have a lot of heart. His devotion to his late self-sacrificing girlfriend, Alice Eliot, is simply admirable...especially when you have a really lovely lady whose heart has chosen to love him also, which brings us to...

The lead 'actress', Karin Koenig. A really strong woman (in terms of character, not muscles) who's also very much in love with Yuri. Well, she's like Yuri's best friend, and provides the most support for him in any occasion. Well most of these occasions are the kind which you could say strengthens the bonds between the people who go through them. Her theme song is so sweet and yet heartwrenching. And talking about strength, here's the last character for today:

The supporting 'actor', Joachim Valentine. Well according to the website this fellow is 400+ years old, and he's a vampire to boot! Well don't worry, somehow he doesn't need to suck blood to stay alive haha. In fact, he's more chivalrous than most humans, to the extent that he exposes his rather low IQ hahaha.

He's easily one of the most entertaining characters in a game, and perhaps any game. That says a lot for a game which is so dark and grim...

The voice actor really did a good job with him. So pompous, so ham-fisted is the delivery that you're almost guaranteed a laugh everytime he opens his mouth. His hobbies are wrestling saving the world from the 'forces of darkness' as he so eloquently put it when you first meet him.

He picks up any big object he can lay his hands on and uses it as a weapon. And everytime he finds a new one you'll be treated to some corny music and a short cinematic showing him over-dramatizing the act of finding a new toy to play with. Seriously, I think only the Japanese can pull off such kinds of hilarious stuff without seeming lame.

Oh btw, I think the developers might have taken some cues from William Hung as how to make Joachim move, there's this uncanny similarity, or maybe it's just me hahaha.

I'll end this prematurely with one of my favourite speeches from this superhero-cum-wrestler wannabe:

'If you can face the unfettered fury of my rippling muscles, then come on!'