I'm always striving to create new content that might be interesting to the Destructoid crowd. In doing so, I've always had issue with writing up stories about the news or just rehashing something somebody else has written about already.

Today, I hope to introduce to my faithful audience, a new feature that I think is pretty unique and reader friendly. Let's not forget that it could possibly open me up to harassment and comments, after all that's one thing I really think keeps Dtoid so fresh...user content.

I introduce to you: The Search for Booty Episode I, The Devil May Arc the Gungrave



I went out on Saturday to do my normal rounds of relative visiting/shop visiting with my lovely wife, when I decided to go into Gamestop while the wife was over at Robert's Arts & Crafts. This not being my first trip to the GS, I knew precisely where the bargain bin was located, and I only planned on spending about $20. It was there that I started my search in the 'A's and came across a title that I had no recollection of...Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits.



I never played any of the original AtL games, but really wanted to get the collection that came out for the PlayStation, so without a moment’s hesitation I picked up the game for a paltry $3.99. I played this game for about 30 minutes last night and I have to say that so far, I am really impressed. The creators of the game have done a really good job of making you care about the characters simply by making them seem alive. This is quite the feat for a RPG that came out in 2003.

The story is your typical son of so-n-so who becomes the 'chosen one' meant to save the world, fairly typical but at least the voice acting is pretty well done. The gameplay is almost traditional RPG except for the battle system, which is turn based but has a strategy twist added to it. Think Front Mission or Final Fantasy Tactics, just not on a grid system. Finally, the graphics are very pretty and the animations are nice and fluid. What really got me is that the programmers took the time to animate the 3D trees in the background to make the world seem more alive, you could almost feel the breeze on your skin.



Next down the line while I was doing my searches was Devil May Cry 2, a game that I had heard was shit, but I needed it for the collection's sake. I loved the first one, hated number three 'cause it was so hard, and enjoyed number four a lot, so I thought "hey, what the hell, its only $6.99, why not?" I'm glad to say that the game isn't horrible like everyone thinks it is. It's just not good. I didn't like the combat in this one compared to the first game, and the enemies weren't as cool either. My major gripe with this game is that they changed the character model of Dante slightly which made him look more like a sad, beefy-clown than a demon hunter. Too bad, I’m sad to say that this one will just be for my collection only.



Finally, rounding out my quest for booty was a game that I always wanted to try but couldn't force myself to pick up thanks to the skewed reviews I was reading about it, Gungrave. You know what I found out? This game is pretty damn fun! Maybe it’s the fact that it feels like an old school arcade shooter because you only really need to worry about hitting one button over and over again, or that the graphics are really well done for an anime based game. The voice acting is top notch and left in Japanese like all anime should be, and the story is just your standard one guy against a criminal organization with guns that never need to be reloaded. Gungrave is quite possibly one of the best shmup type games that I've played in years. The best part is that it only cost me a whole whopping $7.99.

I rate my purchases as follows:

Gungrave -- gets a 7 for its mindless killing and fun factor, exactly the kind of game that I was looking for this weekend.

Ark the Lad -- another 7 for its awesome soundtracks and almost believable characters with good voice acting.

Devil May Cry 2 -- hits the bottom with a 4 due to its uninspired sequel-ness, and derivative gameplay that just left me wanting.

Probably the best part of hitting all of my local Gamestop locations is that I'm starting to get noticed as 'that guy', you know the guy who buys anything and has very vocal opinions. At the register this time, I talked with the manager and a really bitchy employee about collections and why I keep on collecting. The discussion quickly dissolved into how sad I am that I still have all my anime on VHS instead of DVD and what a pain in the ass it is when new formats come out. Oh well, c'est la vie...I've been around since LPs and Cassettes and I'm sure that I will be around for other numerous generational changes. Luckily they all have a good home with me, where I will take good care of them all, to the end of my days. Thanks for reading!