Title: Etrian Odyssey: The Fanfir Kngiht

Developer: Atlus

Time Played: 100 Hours

Story:

The kingdom of High Laggard is the home of two mysterious landmarks: the ruin known as Ginugaap and the ancient labyrinth that towers over the city in the form of the tree Yggdrasil. Our hero and his friend, Flavio, have traveled from the Midgard Library on a research assignment to investigate Ginugapp and determine what it’s true purpose is. In the process of exploring the city they find that someone else is also interested in exploring the ruins and has posted a job request at the local bar requesting assistance from any guild willing to take the job. According to the barkeep the job poster is in the labyrinth doing what they need to do, pass a simple mapping test of the lowest level of the labyrinth so that they can stay in the town and be recognized as explorers.

After some exploration they come across a young woman by the name of Arianna that matches the description of the job poster. It turns out that she is actually a princess from a neighboring kingdom that sends a representative to Ginugapp every hundred years to perform a ritual that “renews” the structure and keeps the lands safe from… something. It turns out that Arianna is not even sure what the ritual is since it is apparently seen as more of a tradition than anything else. After the last ritual the exact details were lost for some reason, but her kingdom sent her anyways thinking it was probably just a ceremonial type of thing. Unfortunately during the intervening 100 years the monsters have taken over the ruin and she is unable to complete her task without help.

Since they have a common goal the group sets out to the ancient ruin where they come across an older knight known as Bertrand and his young charge Chloe. These two also have an interest in exploring the ruins even if they are vague about their exact reasons. Seeing the condition of the ruins, the five decide that working as group will be the easiest way to accomplish all of their goals.

This is where the adventure truly begins. Five strangers come together to form a guild that will change High Laggard forever. The mystery that lies deep within the Ginugapp ruins has it’s origins in the ancient past and it’s answers in the highest levels of labyrinth. It is your task to guide your group through the twists and turns of the towering maze to discover the true purpose behind the ancient ritual and rediscover the lost history of High Laggard.

Game Play:

The game play of the Etrian series is what one would expect from a dungeon crawler. The player explores a maze like floor fighting enemies, solving simple puzzles and finding treasures. The difference with the Untold remakes of the Etrian series is that they have updated the games to include a story and to take advantage of the 3DS’s touch screen. The touch screen allows the player to draw a map of the floor as they explore and note any discoveries that they may find such as treasure chests, locked doors and shortcuts.

The touch screen also allows players that have drawn a complete map, or explored the level enough to unlock it, to warp between levels and to any discovered stair cases in the level. This comes in handy as the player gets further in the game and some of the floors begin to interconnect.

Beyond that the game also features a few different types of crafting. To get better weapons and armor the player must collect various item through slaying monsters and finding harvest spots scattered throughout the levels. These in turn are sold to the item shop to unlock new purchases. The same goes for the food crafting system. As the player explores they will come across various ingredients that can be returned to town to unlock new recipes at the guild hall that will give the player various beneficial effects for their party.

There is also a grimoire system in the game that lets the player boost their character skills or acquire enemy skills. These are earned randomly during battles and can allow characters to use skills they normally wouldn’t be able to use. This can come in handy if the player has built their party in a certain way but is having trouble getting through certain levels or battles.

Graphics and Sound:

Good for the type of game this is. The top screen does a serviceable job of showing the labyrinth as the player explores. The bottom screen lets the player draw their map and has plenty of icons that can be used to note the various things in the dungeon. The enemies during the battles are well animated and various effects are shown on screen if the enemy is afflicted with any status effects.

The story bits of the game are also well done. For the most part the story is well written and well acted through the use of anime character portraits that show various reactions depending on what is going on. The only issue I had was that sometimes the grunts, gasps, and one liners can get a little annoying when the scene is not fully voice acted as each character only has one surprised gasp and one or two one liners. This didn’t happen too often though so it was noticeable when it did. When a scene is fully voiced it is done very well so that makes up for it.

The rest of the sound is great. The background music and battle music are pleasant and generally convey the mood of the game well. If you happen to get the version of the game that comes with the sound track I suggest giving it a listen as it contains the full versions of the back ground songs. The orchestral live version of the opening song is done really well.

My Thoughts:

I like this updated take on the Etrian games. I spent about a 100 hours over the last couple of months crawling through the labyrinth and found most of it to be enjoyable. There are a few places where the game can come to halt at a boss monster but that can usually be resolved by grinding out a couple of extra levels or figuring out exactly what the monsters weakness is. Once that is accomplished it’s right back to the mapping and monster bashing. If you like these types of games then this is an easy game recommend. If your new to dungeon crawlers or didn’t like the fact that older games like this required a pencil and a few dozen sheets of graph paper then give this updated version a try. You might be surprised at how much fun it is to make your own map of the mysterious labyrinth.

Bad Chili by Joe R. Lansdale

Title: 

Hap and Leonard get a heapin helping of trouble in their latest adventure.

Summary:

Leonard and Hap have been through a lot together, but every now and again they just have to get away from each other too. Hap has returned from a stint working on oil rig and is looking forward to catching up with his old friend. Turns out that is going to be a bit of a problem as Leonard, not known for his patience when it comes to some matters, is missing and is wanted by the local police for murder.

It seems that Leonard’s lover, Raul, had decided that Leonard was old news and that he fancied the leader of a local bike gang. Leonard went to find his wayward love and after the expected insults, the conversation got personal. Wanting the final word Leonard had also brought his favorite argument, his shotgun. After a bit of ruckus and the cruel putting down of the bar’s neon sign Leonard departed at high speed with the biker gang close behind.

What happened after that is anybody’s guess as Leonard hadn’t been seen since that night and the gang leader was found dead out on a back country road. Which brings us to the present. Hap has 24 hours to find Leonard and convince him to turn his self in or the cops are really going to start looking.

Like a bowl of bad chili though the more Hap digs in the more layers he finds until he’s not sure there is any end in sight.

My Thoughts:

I haven’t read the other books in this series but this entry has made me want to seek them out. The story moves at a good pace and there are quite a few laugh out loud moments in the story. I can’t say the story changes in tone too much throughout as both Hap and Leonard’s lives are pretty much a hard road no matter what situation they are in, which in this case helps the story keep an even pace. I don’t want to give to much of the story away as the banter Hap has with the other characters is what makes the story what it is. So if your looking for an adventure / thriller with a sense of humor give this one a try. m.a.c

 A twisted past and a horrifying present collide

Summary:

This is the story of two women that are brought together by a time in history when they thought that they could change the world. One tried to change it by doing protest marches and participating in sit-ins while the other thought that her and her group could accomplish more with a more hands on approach that included terror and murder. One out grew her protest days while the other had her dream of revolution crushed in a night of fire and bullets.

Twenty years later Laura is married and works as a reporter covering the social scene for the local newspaper. She is also nine months pregnant and is due any day. She also suspects that her life is in a rut and that her husband is cheating on her. Nevertheless she is hoping that with the baby on the way that her and her husband can fix their marriage and things will go back to the way that they used to be.

Mary, AKA Mary Terror, sits in a dingy apartment never quite knowing what is real and what is not real. All she knows is that the enemy is always watching and no one can ever be trusted. She goes about her daily routine, always ready to bolt or kill if she thinks that her cover has been blown; until one day she comes across a message in an underground magazine. In the magazine there is a message that may be from the leader of her old group. Deciding that her old boss might want to get the gang back together, Mary packs her bags and sets out to the old rendezvous point, on the way she also decides that she needs to bring her old boss an offering…

The collision course is now set. Mary steals Laura’s baby from the hospital and what should have been the happiest day of Laura’s life has now become the most horrifying. As the hours and then days drag on it becomes clear that Mary is just as good at evading the authorities now as she was back in her heyday. With no progress being made Laura takes matters into her own hands and begins tracking Mary on her own. Following every lead she can puts Laura on Mary’s trail but, that is only the beginning. As Laura closes in she finds that the only way to track Mary is to think like Mary, act like Mary. Which leaves her with the terrifying question: To save her son, is she willing to go as far as Mary?

My Thoughts:

This was one of those books I had a tough time putting down. This author always writes a good story and like usual I wasn’t disappointed. The lead up to the actual chase is a little slow but it makes sense when the story hits full speed and there are a few surprises toward the end. I didn’t want to give to much away in my description as that would ruin some of what made the story good. The characters are also well developed, even if one or two are kind of one-note and just kind of move the story along where necessary. Those are my only minor nitpicks. If you looking for a good thriller, then give this one a read. You won’t be disappointed. m.a.c

Welcome To My review Blog!

Hello!

My name is Mac. This is my blog for my reviews. I'm trying this out so keep an eye out for my first review! -m.a.c