Sonic and I have had a rocky past. Sure we had our fun in the 16-bit era when I first got my hands on a Sega Genesis and the original Sonic the Hedgehog. As the series progressed to include Knuckles and its crazy snap-on cartridge, I was rapidly losing interest in the little blue guy. Then along came the Dreamcast and Sonic Adventure which hooked me once again. That is until I came across the levels starring anyone but Sonic. When I hit the first Big the Cat section, I left the game for good. I’ve played a few levels from random other entries in the series, but Sonic Generations is the first time since the classic games that I’ve completed a Sonic the Hedgehog game.

I bring this anecdotal history of my time with the franchise up, not to disparage the fans of the game or the franchise itself. I bring it up only because SEGA has made it very apparent that Sonic Generations is for the long time fans of the franchise, and after playing most of the console version, I wanted to see how the 3DS entry stacked up as a modern platformer.

When I first started the game, I was overjoyed to find that it started with a level. I don’t mean there was a big intro followed by a level. I mean, just as if you were putting in its 16-bit predecessor, you hit start and start running. I could not appreciate this more. The classic Sonic felt exactly how I remembered the old games, and that sense of nostalgia they were going for immediately hit me. SEGA won that round.

After the initial stage, it slowed things down with the story. Just like its console counterpart, it revolves around a creature that has broken the timeline, forcing Sonics both old and new to team up and defeat Dr. Robotnik (he will never be called by any other name to me, no matter what you say) to bring the world out of its strange limbo state. Each world is pulled from a different Sonic title and is played first as classic Sonic, then as the hip, new, skinny Sonic. In the 3DS version, a third stage is then played where you recover one of the seven Chaos Emeralds. These take place in a pipe very similar to those in the bonus stages of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, only they are much, much easier.

While playing as modern Sonic on the PS3 or Xbox 360 versions has you running around in full 3D, the levels in the 3DS version are ironically in 2D. I guess it would be more accurate to say they are in 2.5D, since they do often move around corners to give a sense of being less flat. Modern Sonic also has his new moves like the boost, homing attack and eventually the ground pound. These extra abilities are fun to play around with and definitely make his levels feel more speedy than his classic counterpart. Eventually, you will unlock the homing move for classic Sonic as well (modern Sonic creates a paradox by teaching it to himself), which make the Sonics feel a little less distinct, but does allow you more options for exploring.

I was happy to see that, other than Green Hill Zone which must ne included by law, the stages are pulled from different zones and sometimes even different games than the console version of Sonic Generations. Sadly, there are fewer of them (seven to be exact). I had fun running around in and exploring the ones that were there, but that is another glaring difference between the two Sonics. While classic Sonic’s slower pace made it feel like I could actually look around for a second and explore my surroundings, finding alternate paths as modern Sonic felt more about memorizing a specific spot to do a twitch reflex jump to get to a new area. Unlike the console version, the levels didn’t have collectibles within them to motivate your exploration.

One of my biggest gripes about all Sonic games are the bosses. With very few exceptions, I don’t generally find them memorable and always find them tedious. Sadly, this has not changed here. The good news is the final boss. While it is the same character as the console versions, it is a much better designed fight. You can actually tell what is going on and what you are supposed to be doing. There are also races against Metal Sonic, Shadow, and Silver, which were also more enjoyable than their fights on the console.

"Good, you hit him. Now hit him seven more times."

Sonic Generations includes a hundred challenge missions that you can play to extend the longevity of your purchase, but I honestly wasn’t sure when or how I was unlocking them. They use recycled assets from the game’s levels and give you specific goals to accomplish. I played a few of them, but there just wasn’t enough there to grip me when I’d rather just replay the normal versions of the levels.

How does it stack up as a modern platformer? It is little shallow and content light compared to its contemporaries. If you were ever a fan of the Sonic franchise and want a nostalgia trip, Sonic Generations might be right up your alley. It plays well and you’ll have some fun with it, but as I mentioned before, it is pretty short. If you’ve never played a Sonic game, I would recommend grabbing the first two games from one of the myriads of ways you can purchase them these days.

This review is based on the 3DS version of Sonic Generations provided to the reviewer by SEGA.

Last year, Sonic Colors showed me that 3D Sonic games could be fun again. Of course, this was the very same year that Sonic 4 dashed my hopes of a quality 2D Sonic experience. So when it was announced that the next game in the series would feature both styles of play, I was skeptical of SEGA’s ability to handle the classic stages.

It turns out they actually learned from their mistakes… well, most of them anyway. Sonic Generations, while not perfect, manages to be a rather successful blend of old and new Sonic gameplay that’s fun in spite of its shortcomings.

But it wouldn’t be a modern Sonic game without an attempt to explain why there are two Sonics revisiting levels of the past. And so silly tales of time travel and time eaters try their darndest to make you care about what’s happening. It all feels rather unnecessary, but it’s also fairly unintrusive, so each time a cutscene presents itself you’ll be back to playing the game before you know it.

The worlds of Generations are divided into three distinct eras starting with the SEGA Genesis and ending with the current console generation. At first, it seems like a brief setup with each Sonic only getting one Act per world (18 stages in total) with a boss capping off each era. But 90 challenge stages scattered throughout each world add much more longevity to the experience.

Anybody who played with the incredibly broken physics of Sonic 4 is undoubtedly wondering how classic Sonic controls. While it doesn’t feel exactly like playing the Genesis games, it does manage to feel surprisingly good. Momentum is actually kept properly without constant micromanagement and Sonic isn’t constantly unrolling his body to leave himself vulnerable; two huge problems with Sonic 4. It isn’t without its faults, though. Sonic takes an unusually long time to get up after being hit. But the controls do enough right to feel like a good approximation of the games everybody loves.

Modern Sonic plays about as good as he did in Sonic Colors (minus the powerups). That is to say he plays as well as the levels he inhabits. When it works, you get an exhilarating sense of speed while still having plenty of pathways to explore. But when it doesn’t, your clipping through the environment, getting the camera stuck behind an obstacle, or slowly walking backwards (involuntarily) down the side of a very tall building toward your death.

Sounds awful right? But just like with all aspects of the game, the good manages to outweigh the bad. These faults, though glaring when present, managed to happen pretty seldom in my extensive time with the game. Modern Sonic can still occasionally feel a little too automatic as the levels ping pong you around in a flashy display of speed. They didn’t reinvent his style of play. But it’s a further refinement of the previous games and there are usually enough branching paths and 2D sections mixed in to keep things entertaining.

Challenge stages have a surprising amount of enjoyable features, considering their optional nature. Some have you using the elemental shields from Sonic 3 to get past obstacles, even allowing you to unlock the shields as part of your customizable ability set for use in the main levels. Others have you calling in tails to help you fly through Chemical Plant or hitting buttons to toggle an array of walls and platforms in a psuedo-puzzle platformer stage. But they can’t all be good. With a full 90 challenge stages, there are some real stinkers, too.

Speaking of stinkers, the final boss of Sonic Generations is, by a wide margin, the lowest point in the game. It is a complete mess. It’s hard to believe it was ever playtested. The rest of the game’s bosses are generally decent, though a bit repetitive. If nothing else, they at least don’t reuse slight variations of the same fight over and over like Colors.

And of course, there’s the nostalgia. Ultimately, Sonic Generations is a celebration of the franchise and is jam packed with fan service. Aside from the stages themselves, there are plenty of remixes of classic and not so classic tunes, some of which are a real treat to hear (and some of which will at least give you a good laugh). You can also unlock extra artwork and music from across the franchise’s history that can be used in place of the default themes. Playing a level to Jet Grind Radio composer Hideki Naganuma’s Sonic Rush score certainly put a smile on my face.

Sometimes the choices of what to represent is a bit questionable. One of the worlds is taken from Sonic 2006 which is hated pretty unanimously and the rocket powerup used in the Planet Wisp stage is arguably one of Sonic Colors‘ least interesting items. But trips through stages such as the Chemical Plant (Sonic 2) and Speed Highway (Sonic Adventure) make up for these odd choices.

Aside from a few framerate issues in small sections of certain stages, Generations is delicious eye candy.  The modern version of Planet Wisp in particular is absolutely gorgeous as you make your way through the alien vegetation in the early part of the stage. No matter which version of Sonic you’re playing as, there’s always a lot to look at to the point where it can occasionally be distracting. But one thing it is definitely not is boring.

The same can be said about the game itself. Even after finishing off the main game, it still had its hooks in me. The brief nature of the challenge stages have a powerful “just one more” effect. I found playing through the main stages a second time arguably even more enjoyable as I had a better grasp of how to effectively navigate them as fast as possible or take more time to explore and find hidden red rings.

Sonic Generations may not be as creative as last year’s Sonic Colors. It doesn’t really have any new mechanics to spice things up and all the stages are reinterpretations of existing material. But what’s there manages to feel tighter than its 3D predecessors and the inclusion of 2D stages that actually work are a welcome change. Is it still flawed? Sure. But I’d be lying if said I didn’t have a damn fun time playing through it.

This review is based on the PlayStation 3 version of Sonic Generations provided to the reviewer by SEGA.

To make something fresh, you don’t always have to start from scratch. Sometimes you can take something that’s very well established and simply put it in an entirely different context. Suddenly, what is old becomes new again.

This is something Aliens Infestation does in more ways than one. In it, you’ll find a combination of many things. While the most pronounced is its Metroid “Lite” structure, it also borrows elements from cover based shooters and even has a tinge of survival horror. Everything comes together to form a game with its own strong identity, never feeling like a clone of any of the games it takes inspiration from.

You’ll start with four marines tasked with exploring the Sulaco, but these four might not be the ones who make it out alive. Every marine that dies is dead for good. Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean you have to beat the entire game with only four lives. There are fifteen additional marines scattered around the map who, provided you don’t already have a full party, will join you in a heartbeat.

Each marine plays the same, but has their own unique dialogue and personality that make you want to keep them alive. Sure, some of them are meat-heads that are hard to care about (and will probably end up being used as boss fodder), but others are more quirky and endearing like the cowardly rookie, the man cursed with luck, the toothless old man, and Bonesaw (no, not that Bonesaw).

As if this system of living, breathing, extra lives wasn’t interesting enough, marines can also be captured instead of killed when their health is depleted. They’re then marked on the map and you have a very limited time to reach a xenomorph nest to save them before they’re gone for good.

This sense of urgency works very well with the game’s high tension. You aren’t super soldiers. Xenomorphs are much faster than you, even when you use your depletable stamina gauge to run as fast as you can. And the more you run, the more likely you are to encounter packs of enemies simultaneously, which is exponentially more dangerous than taking it slow and fighting enemies one by one.

But while the tension feels expertly crafted in the earlier moments of Aliens Infestation, more powerful (and upgradable) weapons and increased familiarity with the limited types of enemies and their spawn patterns diminish it somewhat. Walking forward slowly is far more effective than it should be as most enemies take a second to jump out at you allowing you to fire first. You’ll never get to a point where you can run and plow through aliens without a care, but the sense of dread as you explore during the game’s later portions is definitely lower than it could have been.

Despite its 2D presentation, there is a cover system with blind fire, though you’ll likely only use it when fighting human enemies. But it’s the use of limited ammo and having to reload clips that really help the game to differentiate itself from the average run and gun. It’s odd to think of something as simple as having to reload as an interesting mechanic, but in the context of a 2D game it feels new and even terrifying as you find that your incredibly slow shotgun is completely empty after noticing an enemy dropping down from the ceiling.

You’ll never find the same level of openness as a Metroid game here, but you will find a handful of things to help you reach new areas including various key cards, a wrench, and the keys to the Power Loader to name a few. New weapons on the other hand exist almost exclusively for their killing power, with the exception of the flamethrower which allows you to burn off the alien resin covering certain doors. Paths aren’t exactly hidden, so if you’re even moderately persistent in your exploration, you’re likely to obtain 100% completion like I did (something I almost never accomplish in Metroid games).

Bosses are an unfortunate low point. Each consists of a giant bullet sponge hell bent on performing annoyingly repetitive attack patterns. What should have been a much needed crescendo feels more like a chore. Luckily, boss fights make up a very small portion of the game.

Aliens Infestation earns its spot in the list of licensed games done right. A few rough edges hold it back from being an instant classic and it can be completed rather quickly, but what’s there is a game that manages to feel unique despite what it borrows from other titles. Don’t let the fact that it’s “last gen” stop you from enjoying this successful blend of retro and modern ideas.

This review is based on a copy of Aliens Infestation purchased by the reviewer.

It’s so tough to take an objective look at Sonic games these days. The series seems better known for the arguing and turmoil following a new title’s announcement than the games themselves (which, in fairness, are more often than not mediocre). I haven’t even been looking forward to Sonic Generations, if anything for a want of staying out of the muck. But while strolling through SEGA’s setup for the title, which I’ll admit was pretty nice with its little museum of Sonic memorabilia over the ages, I spotted an unattended demo on a 3DS system and gave it a whirl.

The demo was split into three segments: an Act I, an Act II and a boss battle. Act I has you playing in classic Sonic the Hedgehog style while Act II was built as the speedier, reflex-oriented modern Sonic. This confused me a little; I wasn’t sure if the demo was implying that each zone would be split into an act of playing classic, then an act of playing modern. This would be really disorienting since both Sonics have different control schemes. Sadly, I couldn’t find a SEGA rep nearby to clear this issue up.

Selecting Act I, the first thing that struck me was the immensely long loading time before the stage began. It was a good 10-12 seconds, and I’m really hoping this was just a symptom of being a demo build. The stage was the typical Green Hill Zone-esque affair, with trademark fish, bee and chameleon robot enemies (if Sonic and Mario have anything in common in lieu of their being rivals, it’s that their classic revivals reuse far too much content). The frame rate also seemed just a little bit choppy, and this was with 3D off (I played the majority of the 3DS games without 3D on).

Classic Sonic seemed to control alright, and I didn’t notice any of the weird physical gaffes Sonic the Hedgehog 4 had save for one. If you curl into a ball and spin up a ledge, you’ll roll out of ball form as you fly into the air, making you completely vulnerable to anything that happens to be in your way. For the life of me I don’t know why this continues to be an issue. Other than that it felt alright, although the stage was pretty short to allow a good look at things.

Act II’s modern Sonic played what I would suppose is fine; I have very little experience playing these types of Sonic games. Immediately following Act I, I tried to make modern Sonic crouch and spinball forward, but he simply boosted ahead instead, owing to the changed controls. Targeting attacks and rail grinding were also present, and surprisingly the stage kept a fairly 2D perspective for the most part. I don’t think I even recall any fast time situations. Despite my unfamiliarity with modern Sonic, the stage was pretty easy to clear.

The boss stage was a battle with a Robotnik mecha called Big Arms, which I recognized as the last boss from Sonic the Hedgehog 3. The battle returned control to classic Sonic. It got a bit drawn out, however, since after the initial phase of the battle, Robotnik spent a lot of the time hanging out in the background where he couldn’t be hit.

All in all, I was unimpressed with Sonic Generations, although that may owe a little to the version I played. A friend who tried it on one of the HD consoles didn’t report any issues with long loading times or choppy frame rates, and remarked that the game looks gorgeous. I imagine the gameplay, both the good and the bad, is more or less the same, though. With some polish and work, and maybe a clearer direction, I could see Sonic Generations not being so bad, though SEGA doesn’t have a lot of time. Sonic Generations is set to release this holiday season on Xbox 360, Sony Playstation 3 and Nintendo 3DS.

The CD will feature ten tracks performed by Australian pianist Casey Ormond. We may not even have the third game in the states yet, but on June 30th we’ll be able to hear select songs from the whole series arranged for piano. There aren’t listings just yet, but look for it at your importer of choice soon!

Source: SEMO

Now, almost five years later, the remix trilogy will finally be complete with The Sound of Speed, an album of new interpretations of the music from the original Sonic the Hedgehog. The thirteen track album marks the community’s 25th project release.

With fifteen different contributing artists, you’ll find a variety of genres including rock, bossa nova, electronica, and funk fusion. As with all OCR albums, you can download it completely free of charge. Go to the official site to grab it or check out the trailer below.

Well, it happened. We got a 3D Sonic game that’s actually pretty fun. Now that we’ve grabbed some sweet rings, saved an alien race of marketable creatures, and spouted off the cheesiest of dialogue, it’s time to pass the torch to you.

That’s right, we’re giving away our review copy of Sonic Colors (Wii) to one lucky reader. Just read the rules below and let us know your favorite color in the comments. It doesn’t have to be one of the colors represented in Sonic Colors. If “Puke Green” or “Neon Brown” is your favorite, go for it (you weirdo). A winner could be you!

Contest Rules:

1. Leave a comment below and tell us your favorite color
2. Limit one entry per person
3. All entries must be made by legal U.S. residents
4. Entries must be accepted by 5:00pm PST on Friday, December 17th. We will then randomly select one winner

Good luck! And don’t forget to check out our review!

"Sonic Colors gets rid of the stuff nobody asked for in the first place."

If you went back in time and asked me if I’d rather play yet another 3D Sonic or a new 2D Sonic on an HD console, I would have definitely chosen the latter. But here we are at the tail end of 2010. Both Sonic 4 and Sonic Colors have released and it’s the 3D entry I’ll be looking back on more fondly.

The premise is simple enough. Dr. Robotnik claims to have changed his ways and has created an amusement park in space to make up for his misdeeds. Of course, Robotnik is still evil afterall (even the characters themselves make light of his predictability) and it’s up to Sonic (with a little support on the sidelines from Tails) to put a stop to his diabolical plan.

The cutscenes definitely have a cheesy, Saturday morning cartoon vibe meant for a younger audience. Occasionally, there will be a mildly amusing line, but most of the dialogue is filled with groaners. In fact, one of the “gags” is literally based around the fact that one of the characters is annoying.

But Sonic Colors doesn’t force its story down your throat. In fact, the moment you select New Game, you will be playing the first stage without seeing so much as a single cutscene. And when the cutscenes do show up (which are very reasonable in both their frequency and length), you can easily skip them if you want.

Getting straight to the point is a common theme in Colors. There’s no hub world to wade through. Instead you’ll have an easily navigable map screen. You also won’t have the hassle of dealing with the crazy ideas nobody asked for. There are no werehogs or swords. Instead, you have speedy, but explorable stages… and lots of ‘em!

That isn’t to say Sonic Colors is devoid of gimmicks. That role is filled by the aliens known as “wisps” that temporarily grant Sonic special powers. The key difference is that the wisps actually serve to enhance the gameplay rather than get in the way of it.

Wisps range in both function and fun. The needle wisp, which allows you to stick to walls and perform dash rolls, as well as the surprisingly fast digging ability granted by the drill wisp, give you a very satisfying sense of freedom and speed. Not all abilities are as thrilling, though. For example, shooting into the sky with a rocket wisp can be useful for getting to high areas, but doesn’t exactly generate the same kind of excitement. Still, the wisps are enjoyable more often than not.

But you won’t have access to every wisp type right away. While playing stages, you’ll see empty slots floating where a wisp would be, had you unlocked it; a method of teasing the player, reminiscent of the colored exclamation blocks found in Super Mario World.  Unlocking wisps requires no special effort on your part, though. Simply progressing through the game will do the trick.

At first, you’ll really feel like you’re missing out on experiencing all that each stage has to offer. Scattered throughout each stage is five red rings needed for unlocking extra optional stages. Your first time through the game, particularly in the earlier stages, you just won’t have the necessary wisps required to access some of them. While it definitely gives you a reason to come back to stages, it results in them being significantly less interesting the first time around. Of course, as you progress and unlock more wisps, this problem shrinks until it disappears completely.

Stages are made up of a balanced (for the most part) mix of 2D platforming, free-roam 3D running, and 3D “Quick Step” running. There are also rare moments where, after hitting a large jump, you’ll need to keep tapping a button for Sonic to perform tricks while the announcer shouts positive reinforcement at you. It doesn’t come up often, but every time it did I couldn’t help but wonder, “Why is this here?” as it doesn’t add anything useful and just interrupts the flow of the experience for a bit. It’s far from being a deal breaker, but it’s an odd design choice none the less.

I found my enjoyment of Sonic Colors fluctuating as I jumped from level to level. Frankly, some stages are just better designed than others; striking that perfect balance between the slower, more precise 2D platforming segments and lightning fast 3D sections. Others rely too heavily on one or the other, even occasionally making use of a cheap death or two.

The boss design tends to be on the underwhelming side, especially when the game starts churning out slight variations on bosses you already fought. By a stark contrast, I found the final showdown very engaging. I only wish the other bosses came closer to that level of quality.

The controls take some getting use to. Sonic’s jump can feel pretty hesitant in the slower sections. You have a double jump when there aren’t enemies to home in on, but it’s more about adding horizontal distance as the extra altitude it provides is pretty negligible. Sonic can also perform a wall jump, but it has to be one of the most rigid wall jumps I’ve ever experienced and is rather unpleasant to use as a result. Fortunately, after playing for awhile, these gripes become fairly easy to forgive, especially when Sonic gets up to speed.

But while the controls feel like they could use an extra layer of polish, the aesthetics are far from lacking. Seeing Sonic Colors for the first time at PAX actually made me forget it wasn’t on one of the HD consoles. The stage themes are no slouch either. Most of them are suitably catchy and have high production values.

There are two ways to look at Sonic Colors. Compared to other modern Sonic games, it’s simply fantastic and definitely one of the best 3D Sonic games out there (if not the best). But when compared to its contemporaries in the genre like Super Mario Galaxy 2, its weaker areas such as uneven controls and level design quality start to become more apparent. Even still, Sonic Colors is a big step in the right direction and is certainly an enjoyable platformer if you can forgive its shortcomings. It displays a winning formula that just needs a little more polish in its execution before attaining that “Must Have” status.

This review is based on a copy of the Wii version of Sonic Colors provided to us by SEGA.

"Bringing back the drama."

It’s a bit strange to think that Valkyria Chronicles 3 already has a playable demo so shortly after the release of the second game. In fact, when it was first announced, I feared this “annualization treatment” the series seems to be receiving would hurt the quality of the franchise. Fortunately, what I’ve played of the third installment has left a very good impression for the most part.

Valkyria Chronicles 3 actually takes place during the same span of time as the first game. You’ll take on role of “The Nameless”, a squad of outlaws that take on especially dangerous missions. Despite it running in parallel with the original, the development staff considers VC3 to be the first true sequel; returning the series to its more serious tone and story driven campaign.

I can’t comment on the content of the various story scenes throughout the demo, since I don’t know Japanese. I can, however, comment on the improved presentation of it. There’s still a heavy reliance on character stills, but the way they’re cutout looks far more polished. This isn’t restricted to to the story segments either. The graphic design is better all around. Choosing characters on the battlefield presents you with much larger character portraits that make telling your squad mates apart far quicker and easier.

"Entering the red area on the map caused artillery to fire at me in real time."

The demo features two missions. The first is a fairly open city area composed of a singe map while the second is divided into four separate maps. I’m hoping this is a hint that not every map will have you deploying units in two separate locations as the second game seemed to over-use this concept.

The second mission seemed like it was on a larger scale than most missions in the second game. Aside from the extra land, this was due to the fact that you can now deploy nine units on the battlefield instead of six as in VC2. Three extra units might not seem like a big deal, but it makes a huge difference. I always felt like I couldn’t use as many different characters as I wanted in VC2, so this is a very welcome change.

Each map showed promise. The first, while simple, featured a large vehicle with several mounted guns. The second had half my troops making their way through an underground tunnel while the other half made their way around devastating turrets.

The most interesting aspect, though, was the real-time artillery section. One of the maps had an area marked off in red. If any of my characters entered this area, explosions would start happening all around me. Getting hit would send me flying. It was interesting to see another real-time element added into such a turn-based game.

"Imuka's powered up state allows her to fire at multiple targets for a turn."

The improved deployment rules from the second game are present here. However, I’m not sure if the same branching class development will be in play. Snipers were available right off the bat in the demo, but have to be earned in VC2 by evolving the Scout class. Whether or not you’ll also have to jump through hoops before using the Sniper class in the full version of VC3 remains to be seen.

Besides the availability of the Sniper, the Tech seemed to have some tweaks. They still use the shields and melee wrenches of the second game. The difference is in how they end their turn. Rather than standing around like a dullard, Techs now hunker down behind their shields. Their shields also expand outward, tripling in size. This drastically increases their defensive potential.

A really intriguing new feature is the character-specific, powered up states. Only the three main characters seemed to have them, but each one is incredibly useful. During the entire mission, I only had three of the SP points they require and there seemed to be no way to get more before the battle’s end. Given how powerful they can be, this is for the best.

Kurt (the main character) has an ability called “Direct Command” that allows him to have two other units follow his movement during his turn as well as contribute to an attack. Moving three units with one turn proved to be a valuable skill. Riela is the squad’s resident Valkyrur, so it should come as no surprise that her powered up form has her don a glowing lance and shield. Finally, there’s Imuka. While normally a lancer, Imuka can target a large number of enemies at once, damaging them all.

Each of these powered up states take one of your three SP points and only lasts for a single turn. As much as I was impressed with the skills, I am concerned that they might end up being too powerful. Hopefully the small amount of SP points you’re given will be enough to keep them in check.

Valkyria Chronicles 3 is shaping up to be a great sequel so far. It seems to have kept some of the improvements of VC2, while adding some interesting elements of its own. I’m also happy to see the more serious tone of the first game reappear along with a sharper presentation. As long as the balance doesn’t suffer from the new special skills, I don’t think we’ll have to worry about the quality suffering from such a sort time between sequels.

It has come to our attention that some people still haven’t picked up the excellent action/shooter, Vanquish. With all the great games 2010 has brought us thus far, it would be easy for people to forget to try Platinum’s new IP. But make no mistake, we will… stop that from happening.

We’re giving away a copy of Vanquish for the Playstation 3 to one lucky commenter. To prove to us that you’re man enough to take the game on, read the rules below and give us your best grunty, space marine line below. Examples from the game include “I’m gonna need a bigger gun!” and “This fight is for the men going home in pine boxes!” Just keep you’re lines PG (unlike the game) and make sure to grunt a lot while you type them.

Contest Rules:

1. Leave a comment below and give us your best, gruntiest space marine line (example: “I think I’m gonna need a bigger gun!”)
2. Limit one entry per person
3. All entries must be made by legal U.S. residents
4. Entries must be accepted by 5:00pm PST on Friday, November 19th. We will then randomly select one winner

Good luck! And don’t forget to check out our review!