|
Okay
people, time for a Kingdom Hearts II review, Jake O style.
First off, I have to say that I know that quite a few people don't like
this game. If you look at it from a technical point of view and
analyze it a bit, it seems like, well, a crap game.
The fighting has been criticized quite a bit, and for good reason
because if you equip the right abilities, you can tap the X button
without looking and still win almost any fight you get into. The
"Worlds" are MUCH, much smaller than in the original Kingdom Hearts,
and they don't seem to add much excitement. Plus, you have to run
through most of them twice just to beat the game, which may feel boring
and/or repetitive. The tutorial is semi-engaging and lasts—I
kid you
not—three hours. Haley Joel Osment's voice acting for the
main
character Sora seems, to me, to be good only half of the time. Jack
Sparrow's voice actor is...odd, at best. Yes, the problems are easy to
spot and may just make some people put it down.
Thing is though, it's just plain fun.
So, I chose to go with it. Instead of nitpicking about the hoards of
little problems, I just played the game.
And it rocked.
I know I say this a lot, but I love this game (well, that might be
obvious because I don’t play games I don’t like,
and I don’t review games I don’t play). I actually
played through it twice because I had such a good time. The trick,
along with not getting too caught up in the details, is to make sure
that you don't go too far overboard and make the game too easy. If you
do play it, play it on Hard Mode, even Normal is way too easy. Always
monitor which abilities you equip, too, so that you're not impossible
to beat (I know that sounds stupid, but the game isn't much fun if you
can just blow through 1000 Heartless in no time).
Some people might be bugged by the fact that the main story arc
involves countless Disney characters (everyone from Pooh to Hades shows
up in their own separate "Worlds," and Donald and
Goofy accompany you for about 95% of the journey). I recommend you just
go with it. If you look past the Disney fluff, it actually is quite
good, with Villains that aren't quite of the "Take over/Destroy/Enslave
the world" stereotype, with some nice touches here and there,
particularly in the character design department.
And it's all absolutely frighteningly good looking. KHII might be the
best looking game on the PS2 (or so I thought—I may have to
eat my
words in my Okami review...).
Battles are loads of fun if you play them the right way (the wrong way
being making them too easy), and trying to level up your new "Forms" is
surprisingly tricky fare.
Gorgeous game, good story, fun battles, with a few problems here and
there...
Bottom line: if you're going to be obsessed with the tiny details, stay
FAR away, but if you'd rather just relax and have a good time, this is
a near must-play.
9.5 outta 10.
Good day, and good gaming to ya,
—Jake
|
