Recent reviews by nh.Anathema-

This review will be free of story spoilers because really that's what you should be here for, the story. So far I've played 999 and its sequel and Danganronpa and I'm sitting here writing this waiting on Danganronpa 2 to unlock (5 more hours).

THE STORY

The storytelling is the reason to play any game by Spike Chunsoft. This isn't just a bit of fluff either, where drops of water in a desert taste sweeter, with the trappings of an epic tale (but still lacking some intangible element). No. The developers here have a keen sense for what makes stories compelling and have obviously worked hard to make those guidelines apply within the boundaries specific to the video game as a unique medium.

I used to be in agreement with Roger Ebert who famously once said that video games couldn't be art. The very nature of storytelling itself is at odds with the inherent nature of gameplay -- one demands that we examine choices taken and the other demands that we have some sembelence of choice ourselves. This is what made Bioshock so compelling and successful and indeed the only other example of great storytelling in the medium, because the developers understood this tension between traditional storytelling norms and the specific constraints placed on them by the medium they're working in.

THE GAME

If you're in it for the story then great! The gameplay is fun too, but you should know up front that all the Spike Chunsoft games (or at least the ones I've played) are more like a storybook with a game attached. If you're afraid that might mean the gameplay is a second thought then don't run off just yet. The story is absolutely the prime focus here and takes up the lion's share of 'gameplay' time but the game aspect is crucial and, for my part, extremely well developed.

It's not a secret that Danganronpa was developed as a graphical novel first and then gameplay was developed to add to it but, without giving too much away here, the gameplay seems like it was designed with the meaty aspects of the storytelling in mind. I mean, I don't know, but for the themes that the story was trying to get across I felt the gameplay reinforced those themes in a way that made it more real feeling than simply reading it would (or listening to the voice acting, as it were) and I find it easy to believe that this was every bit intentional.

GAMEPLAY

Practically speaking there are 3 parts of the game: Story time, exploration/friend making, and investigations/trial. If you're not listening to the actors or moving between stages you're walking around the school and "making friends" or you're looking for clues and then participating in a trial. The friendship building sub-game earns you powerups you can use during the trial phase and requires you to find/earn special coins to randomly obtain items that you'll have to figure out which person likes and give it to them at the right time -- overall I didn't like this aspect too much but it's easy enough to look things up online and I found that it didn't venture too deep into spoiler territory; it's forgettable but also interesting to hear the deeper backstories of the different players.

The trial has different phases and mini games. Some are more or less frivolous but not without purpose; they allow for a pacing that lets the trial build and build to a big climax. With decent twitch skills on the PC you could easily set both difficulty settings to high; one makes it a little more difficult to click targets (I think it increases reticle drift and the amount of blocking 'blue text' items that appear), the other gives you more options to select between when trying to resolve a question.

THE MOOD

I figure if you still aren't sure if you want the game or not you're not sold on the gameplay (which, again, is really fun but supportive of the story rather than the other way around) and you may need to know what the game feels like. Some people may find it kind of a spoiler but I figure it's unavoidable if you need to know about the mood, right?

So, -spoiler warning- etc. Although not really.

The setting of Danganronpa is similar to Battle Royale or The Hunger Games -- a situation that pits young adults/children against one another in a zero sum fight to the death. The rules for Danganronpa are a more patient, however, and the game plays out more like a series of whodunit cases where the trial determines the perpetrator of a murder.

Thanks to strong character development you'll find yourself with affections for the characters, carefully developed, until they betray you in some way. The roller coaster of emotions is evocative of Game of Thrones in that it seeks to build you up only to tear you back down again. Only difference here is that this despair is overtly celebrated and you'll find yourself intrigued with how the game invites you into the cyclical trap of hope and despair exactly as it says it will.

SUMMARY

I really can't recommend this game enough. There's a bit of 'made for PSP' to the edges of the game world but like most things it's overcome with tremendous style and a real passion behind the project. You'll be "watching" more than "playing" but the strength of the storytelling is paramount here and the gameplay flows with and (more importantly) reinforces the storytelling. There are precious few games that are like this, you need to play it to truly understand.

If you've made it this far please throw a like on the review .. I appreciate each and every one of them. Thanks :)

With graphics that rival Crysis it's surprising how Metro 2033 didn't get the widespread acclaim its brother-in-polygons did. Despite that, the uniquely immersive quality and difficulty of Ranger Hardcore mode is not to be missed.

Completing Metro 2033 in Ranger Hardcore mode is one of my proudest gaming achievements.