Cute winks mean a good time right? NOPE! - Love Live School Idol Festival Reader's Review

I recently got a new phone, and I gotta say that I am excited to see the world of mobile gaming, and for some strange reason, I ended up downloading a game. And what that game's all about? Boosting careers of a bunch of girls who are desperate to save a school from imminent closure. Well, I can't really say that it's outstanding, but I gotta say that I had fun with it; mostly because of the cute illustrations of the girls, doing cute gestures like smiles, pouts, smirks, and my personal favorite, winks! :)

So without further ado, here's my Reader's Review of Love Live! School Idol Festival.

Title: Love Live! School Idol Festival
Date released: April 16, 2013 (iOS), June 6. 2013 (Android) 
Company: KLab Games, Bushiroad
Genre: Rhythm
Platform: Mobile
ESRB Rating: Unrated (but it will certainly be Teen if given such)

Brief Background; Love Live! School Idol Project is a Japanese multimedia project co-developed by ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Magazine, music label Lantis, and animation studio Sunrise. The project revolves around a group of fictional school girls who become idols in order to save their school from shutting down. It launched in the August 2010 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine, and went on to produce music CDs, anime music videos, two manga adaptations, and video games. A 13-episode anime television series produced by Sunrise and directed by Takahiko Kyōgoku aired in Japan between January and March 2013, with a second season airing between April and June 2014. Both anime series and film are licensed in North America by NIS America and United Kingdom by MVM Entertainment. An animated film has also been announced to be distributed by Shochiku as well as a new project titled Love Live! Sunshine!!, featuring an all new cast of characters. Source: Wikipedia

What do you do here?
You play as a student (or in my case, a young man accidentally activated a time portal and became trapped in such a timeline) of Otonokizaka Academy who was asked by Honoka, leader of Muse (stylized as μ's) in order to help them save the school from closure due to the dwindling number of enrolling students at said school. But how? By making an idol unit. In order words, you are their errand boy (or girl, if you would). You also experience certain scenes that is quite reminiscent to the anime series presented in a style similar to that of a visual novel (although I've never watched any of them before), which really engages you to know more about the girls. The main highlight, however, in this game are the Live Shows, and this is where the rhythm aspect of the game takes place. You play different songs found in the anime in order to aim for a high score. The better you do in this game, the better the rewards you get. You also unlock Side Stories that, once you maxed out a relationship of a particular girl, will reveal certain bits and pieces of that character's personal life. It always boggles me every time I unlock a story bit, to be honest, which sometimes makes my fantasy go wild and mix up some... other stuff in between. Also, there are global leaderboards, rank matches, bonus promotional cards, and more. 

What makes the game interesting?
The most interesting part of this game is the story mode which, like I mentioned, allows you to relive some of the important scenes in the anime. They are wacky, funny, and just downright cute (and I am saying cute with a smile). Another interesting aspect in this game is the card system. Each idol that you use in Live Shows are represented as cards which contains cute illustrations of the main cast of μ's, as well as some extra girls that serves as filler. You can level them up by using other cards in order for them to gain better stats. I really do not care of leveling up most of them, but I am only there for the cute artworks. :) Also, the story of each character gets updated really frequently, so expect a lot from them from time to time.

What are the flaws that I found in this game?
While the game has an interesting story mode, the pacing of the game is extremely slow. See, in order for you to proceed to the story, you have to make certain objectives such as finishing a song on a certain difficulty and reaching a sufficient rank... which kinda makes the story heavily reliant on grinding and playing the same songs over and over again, which makes the game very repetitive, kinda like Monster Hunter but not nearly as great as the latter. Another frustrating thing about this game is that you can't do Live Shows all the time because of the LP meter that you have; which means that you are only allowed to do certain number of Live Shows at a time (each song has varying LP requirements, depending on the difficulty). To make matters worse, you have to wait for like 6 minutes to replenish a single LP, which means that you have used up all of your LP, you'll have to wait for like an hour and a half to fill it up! It's quite a frustrating experience, but its not really a big deal since that its a free-to-play game. The game is pretty forgiving, however, since that Love Gems, which you can use to replenish LP and recruit μ's members, are pretty frequent. Also, this game requires a stable internet connection which can be a bummer since it has that potential to be an offline game of sorts (just like their console counterparts).

What is your take on μ's? Are they better than the Wake Up Girls!?
I hate to admit it but yes, they are better in every single way. While Miyu and Minami has a lot of potential for being kawaii, they are single-handedly flaunted away by Kotori's cute yet simple looks. Heck, even Hanayo (the shy type of μ's) would easily get my attention more (especially if she unleashes her cuter side). Despite that, I still like Wake Up Girls, but in this case, μ's is the superior idol group.

Can you recommend this game?
Not to all, except to those who are a fan of the anime and of the music genre. Those who played Tap Tap Revenge, O2Jam, heck even Cytus, should play this game. I really can't say anything else.

Overall Rating: 7.8/10
Again, I really can't say that this is a ground-breaking game or anything, but the idea of putting up a game based on a popular Japanese anime really strikes me fancy. If you ever feel that hacking-and-slashing monsters, shooting people, and wreaking havoc really tuckers you out, then take a break from those stuff and hang out with μ's; you'll be sure to have a good time. Just be prepared for a LOT of things in store for you... boosting the careers of those girls can be VEEEERY hectic at times.

--END OF REVIEW--

Monsters, monsters and MOOOAR monsters - Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Reader's Review

So it has been a while after the release of the much awaited latest installment of the Monster Hunter series, and I was so baffled to the fact that many people liked the series soooo much. I mean, you just hunt monsters and beat the living daylights out of them, right? Perhaps! But after seeing the screenshots, as well as some gameplay footage... I was still not convinced.

However, after getting the game, I then realized something; is repetition really makes games sooo boring? Well, there are some games that becomes so repetitive that it becomes much of a chore to play them, but this game... I must say that it is pretty impressive, and the repetition is not as frustrating as it can be, but instead it forces you to get back to that certain mission, hunt the monster down, and collect the pieces you need... but let's go to a more in-depth perspective on this thing.

Thus, here's my first Reader's Review

Title: Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (also known as Monster Hunter 4G in Japan)
Date Released: Japan - October 11, 2014, North America - February 13, 2015, Europe - February 13, 2015, Australia - February 14, 2015
Company: CAPCOM
Genre: Action RPG, Open world exploration
Platform: Nintendo 3DS
ESRB Rating: Teen

Brief Background: The original Monster Hunter has been released in 2004 for the PS2 and since then, it has become one of Capcom's biggest-selling franchise, selling 32 million units worldwide as of February 17, 2015. The series spanned numerous sequels, as well as some exclusive titles, mobile games, and even an online game. There are also an amount of upcoming releases that is already in development (like X and Stories).

What do you do here?
Basically, the main thing that you do in this game is to search for monsters, kill (or capture) them, and carve off some of their body parts. But what exactly do you do after carving off the monsters' parts, you might ask? Well, you make several pieces of equipment and a ton load of weapons out of it, which can allow you to gain access to the more difficult missions, and in that, stronger monsters. However, you just don't hunt once and call it a day, you've got to hunt the same monster over and over again, in order for you to get the rare parts you need or until that you have sufficient number of knickknacks to tinker upon.

What makes the game interesting?
Well, to be honest, repetition is something that makes a game less interesting. This game, however, is very repetitive, but is also offers some new things; which is probably why people like the Monster Hunter series so much. The game rewards you for engaging the same missions (and monsters) over and over again through the parts (and other stuff) you get, the weapons and armors you make, and most importantly, the skills you learn against the monsters you hunt. Also, the replayability of this game is top-notch; giving you new and exciting challenges every single time. Multiplayer of this game is also fun... for as long as you have a stable internet connection, but besides that, its really fun to hunt with friends and strangers, hunting some of the difficult monsters like Brachydios and some subspecies of certain monsters. There are also a ton-load of downloadable content in this game, making your Monster Hunter experience very enjoyable even after you beat the game's story mode.

What are the flaws that I found unpleasant?
Well, the only thing that I can consider to be a flaw in this game is on how to introduce the mechanics of the game to new players. Well, there is a story mode that introduces players to the majority of the game's basic controls and other important mechanics found in the game. While it does explain some very important things, it doesn't really cover them up in detail. Additionally, the story itself is simply bland; no drama, no character development, no anything. In fact, the people of the Caravan that you are taking part of are just unrealistic (although I find the klutzy Guildmarm kinda cute) and the NPC's are just downright plain. They do speak some witty yet bad one-liners, though, so there's that (Isn't it RADalos? No). Nevertheless, these are just minor complaints that doesn't make enough negative impact to the game as a whole.

What are the new things introduced in this game?
Some of the added features in this game that was never seen nor heard in previous Monster Hunter games is the Explorations; these are optional, random-generated dungeons that has a lot of things; resources, some monsters, and even better, treasures. You can find rare pieces of equipment that cannot be seen in-game, so always take the chance to go there every time. Another addition to the game are two new weapon types; the Charge Blade and the Insect Glaive. The Charge Blade is basically an inverted Switch Axe with a different phial mechanic, and the Insect Glaive is a newly-introduced blunt weapon that can allow to summon your insect into battle. Plus, it can allow you to jump and do aerial attacks, which is also an important factor for another new mechanic; mounting monsters. This new mechanic allows hunters to deal massive damage against the enemies they mount, however, the monsters being mounted won't give up without a fight as they will try to shrug the hunters off their backs to end the combo. There's also new places like Val Habar, new monsters like the Zamtrios, and new weapons and armor.

Can you recommend this game?
Absolutely! In fact, Monster Hunter X (Cross) will be released in Japan this year and Monster Hunter Stories next year, so there really is no reason NOT to join the hype. I highly recommend this game for beginners and pros alike.

Overall Rating: 9.2/10
The game has substance, elegance, and even sheer fun. The Monster Hunter series stood the test of time and this proves to show you that replayability is not always a boring thing to think about. And if you still think that Monster Hunter is boring, I dare you to play it. You'll be sure to regret everything you say bad about this game... and I am a living proof to say such.

--END OF REVIEW--