You guys have another review to read. This time it's of Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero? Go take a look.

Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! What Did I Do to Deserve This? No, that was not a sentence with a capitalization problem; that's the title of the game I have just reviewed.

We are to bear witness to yet another historical moment; my first review of a PSP game. It's Dissidia: Final Fantasy, perhaps the best PSP game of all. Go check it out.

I've been playing a PS2 game lately. It feels weird saying that, considering the PS2 is now more or less obsolete. I have played all the PS2 games I'll ever want to play, for the most part, so I parted ways with the rapidly aging console with no doubts in my mind. Then, they released a new PS2 game I wanted to play. Those inconsiderate jerks.

This trend started with Persona 4, and continued with Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon. After I reluctantly played through a bit of Persona 4 (which was nearly identical to Persona 3), I was certain I could finally put the PS2 behind me forever. When that fantasy came to an end with Devil Summoner 2, I was none too pleased. So I put off playing it for a long time... until these past couple of days.

Devil Summoner 2 starts right off from where Devil Summoner 1 ended, and continues in providing everything the first game did, with very few improvements to the formula. The thing that drew me to the first Devil Summoner was the sleuthing detective motif set in 1920s Japan combined with the usual demon summoning of the Megaten games. The other thing was the fact that it was an action RPG instead of a turn-based one, something the Megaten games are not known for. I was sold on these concepts alone. However, I've come to realize that it really isn't all that and a bag of chips. The battle system (in either game) is clunky, and you do so much pausing to use command abilities that it may as well have been a turn-based system. I suppose the biggest snag is that, at the end of the day, this is still your average Japanese RPG, just wrapped in a refreshingly different package. It's kind of a mediocre one, at that.

The best thing about the game, or rather, the best thing about any Megaten game, is the demon fusion system. You "negotiate" with demons in battle to get them on your side. Kind of like catching Pokemon, only far less irritating. Once on your side, you can combine two (or more) demons to create an altogether new one, often more powerful than the others. Unfortunately, it's such a pain to control your demons in battle that the fun ends once you exit the fusion screen.

I have a lot of other ghastly things to say about Devil Summoner, but before I make it seem like this is the worst game in human history, let me specify that it's actually not too shabby of a game. If you're into Japanese RPGs, it wouldn't hurt to give this one a try. It's just that I've had my fill of Japanese RPGs to last me a lifetime, so I can only see myself playing another one if it's absolutely spectacular (like Mother 3).