Rate the game!

[Barkworm]

I thought I could bring this thread back since I really enjoyed it on the other boards.
The first game to be reviewed in here is

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (GC)

Graphics: The graphics are excellent in this game. "Sands" looked great, this one looks even better. Especially the animation of the prince is just incredibly good. My only beef with the graphics is, just like in the first one, the facial motion in the cut scenes. The lip synching is pathetic.
9/10

Sound: This is one of the controversial points of the game. It was critized that the Prince's voice actor was changed and that the Metal music was just out of place. I thought the voice acting was done ok (although they should have kept the Prince's voice actor, or at least his accent) in this game. Not near as good as in "Sands of Time" though. The music is actually not that bad. It's just that it gets boring and repetitive soon and it feels forced. There also are a couple of really annoying glitches with the sound effects (which are apart from that very good).
7/10

Gameplay: The controls of the platforming parts are exactly the same as in "Sands of Time". Which is a good thing. The combat was improved a lot. While it was pretty dull in the last game, it really feels dynamic in "Warrior Within" and is a lot of fun. Unfortunately there is a lot of boring backtracking in this game. It gets annoying, especially if you have to return to places you already loathed the first time.
About the game's difficulty, I played it on "Normal" and it was a lot more challenging than "Sands" but also never ever unfair.
9/10

Lasting Appeal: I think it took me about 20 hours to beat it so it's about double as long as "Sands". It also has two different endings and a couple of other hidden stuff.
8.5/10

Story and Presentation: The story is a complete mess. There was more than one time I just sat there and thought "...uum, right.". The weird thing is, it's kinda interesting anyway. The new style... well, I thought some reviewers were just being picky but they were totally right. "Warrior" has nothing of the wonderful fairy tale atmosphere of its predecessor, everything feels very, very forced. One of my favourite things about "Sands of Time" was that the Prince was actually telling a story to the audience. You won't find something like that in this game.
6.5/10

Overall: "Warrior Within" improves on the flaws of "Sands". it's longer and the combat is way better. The sad thing is that it also destroys a lot of the things that made "Sands of Time" so great. Don't get me wrong, it's a great game nevertheless but it also shows that gameplay is not the only thing about a game. I can honestly say that I appreciate "Sands of Time" even more after I have played through "Warrior Within".
8.5/10

[Mecha Cow]

It's good to have this thread back, I liked it as well.

Good review too.

[Peanut]

Nice review of PoP:WW Barkworm. I still haven't gotten together enough funds to buy it, but I will soon.

I'm bored, so I'll review Super Mario 64 DS for the Nintendo DS!

Graphics: I was totally blow away with the graphics for this game. Totally. I didn't expect it to look as good as it does. I love the updated character models, Bowser especially was the biggest surprise. Everything else seems to be a little better than the 64 version. Textures are sometimes blurry, but most of the time still better than SM64. The character models in SM64 didn't really stand the test of time, looking back on them now is kinda gruesome, so seeing the game looking this good was a real treat.
Overall: 9.0

Sound: Very little difference. Mostly everything is exactly the same as it was on the 64 version. The differences of course being character voice samples. Everything sounds as it should, not much of a change, which is a good thing.
Overall: 8.5

Gameplay: It's as good as it ever was. The addition of some 3 new characters into the fold is great, even though I wish they had kept Wario out of the game. They don't control super differently, but it's easy to notice things like jumping distance and speed. Yoshi is the only one who controls much different from the others, his ability to swallow and make eggs out of enemies is great. The new additions to the game, such as the various added boss fights are awesome, although I would have liked to see a completely new world or two thrown in somewhere, rather than just little mini levels. The extra stars rarely stray form the "collect the silver stars" or "push the secret switch" types, but you can't go wrong with more stars! The controls are tough to get use to at first, and even once you've mastered them you'll find yourself loosing control at times and going somewhere you don't want to, usually off a ledge and into the abyss below. The mini-games included with the game are really great. They show off some great things with the touch screen. If a revamped version of Super Mario 64 isn't enough to warrant a purchase, the mini-games should change your mind. Never thought you could get addicted to simple card games? Try and resist Luigi's selection. Bottom line, buy this game, love this game, beat it over and over, it's amazing.
Overall: 9.5

Replay Value: Are you kidding? 150 stars, 4 playable characters, tons of mini-games. You could play it forever. Just that fact that it's fun to start the game from scratch and go through it over and over again shows how great the replay value in this game is.
Overall: 9.0

From top to bottom this is an amazing game. Despite the fact it came out way back in the day. That shows how good of a game it actually is, with a face-lift, it's a reborn classic! First must own game for the DS. Slight control issues are of little problem, once mastered you won't slip up often. Buy this game, now!

Overall: 9.5

[Kid Icarus]

Good review Peanut.

Here's mine, for Feel the Magic.

Graphics:
This game doesn't blow you away with it's high poly counts, or it's crazy textures... no. It kills you with style. The presentation of the game is amazing. The entire experiance is presented through celshading, is very well animated, and makes great use of the dual screens. When you start up a scene, comic strips tell you the story of what's going on (usually 4 panels, 2 per screen).
9/10

Sound:
The music is so so. It's this games big weak point. The tunes are catchy while you're listening to them, but they don't stick around after the power's off.
5/10

Gameplay:
Here's where the game really shines. It makes perfect use of the DS's features. The face buttons are used ONCE in the whole game, for a feature in the menu where you can zoom in on girl. We have our first perverted DS game with Feel the Magic as well. In the same button-using mode, you can touch the girl anywhere, and she reacts. The actual game is made up of minigames. Not a single game has been alike so far, and I'm at the very end of the game. Sonic Team's put a lot of work in to making the game shine. You do everything from riding a unicycle between rooftops, to cleaning dirt off the girl.
10/10

Replay Value: There are a ton of hidden things in this game, plus some of the mini games just BEG to be played in public (like Microphone, where you have to scream at the top of your lungs to get the girls attention, and Candle, where you have to actually blow on to the system to blow out candles.). Add in a hard mode, and a 'paper doll' featuere that lets you design your own girl (that you even get to 'touch'), and you won't get bored anytime soon.

Overall: 8.5/10

[ThirdMarioBro]

Thank you Barkworm. I was going to start this, but forgot. Let's see, everyone knows Mario 64 is a god game, so I'll do Feel the Magic too.
__________________

Developed by Sonic Team

Published by Sega

Graphics (6.9): The game isn't much for the graphics department, but that's not the point. The Cel shading and 1960's Japanese art deco fit this Sonic Team game nicely. The cilouette characters are good, because it lets you imagine they are whoever you want them to be. I especially like the Ulala wig you get when sticking Sonic Advance into the GBA slot. Overall very nice and fitting.

Sound (8.0): I actually really liked the music. There's not much of it, but it seemed to get stuck in my head. Very, very catchy.

Gameplay (9.5): Two words. Breast Fondeling. Could you ask for anything more. You scream into your DS, blow your DS (take that as you will), ride down hills in shopping carts, and fling hitchhikers at you rivals car. The whole game is completely fu*ked up, perverted, and is a work of mad genius. Where else could you undress a girl on the beach and then dance in the sand. Want to clean dirt off of her ass? They've got that too. Just about every DS feature is used here.

Replay Value (9.0): You can play this game forever. There's not as many mini-games as there could be, but they're so wierd and addictive, you don't care. Besides, poking breasts never gets old. It's basically Wario Ware for perverts. Buy it now.

Overall Score (9.1)

[Barkworm]

So basically, this is THE game for lonely men?

[Kid Icarus]

Pretty much. IMHO, every DS owner should have 2 games in their collection right now, Mario 64 DS and Feel the Magic.

[ThirdMarioBro]

I wanted Ridge Racer too, but nah. Feel the Magic is THE game.

[The Clerk]

Final Fantasy VII for Playstation

Graphics: When this first came out, in 1997, these were unbelieveable graphics, but now... they aren't all that great, but i really like them anyway. The backgrounds and surroundings are great.

8/10

Music: By god... this is probably my favorite music in any game, well, besides from Knights of the Old Republic. Each character has their own theme in this game, and it has the Sephorith theme and Aeris theme, and Aeris has fantastic music. It's so catchy, i even have the cd for the game.

10/10

Gameplay: At first, i wasn't used to having to push the O button to select things, i was always used to the X button at the time this game came out. But the gameplay is easy, and fun.

10/10

Story: Yes. This is what i love about this game, and that is the frickin' story. It's so... what's the word? Ah yes, brilliant. Each character have their own thing to do with Cloud, whom you would be in this game 95% of the time. To this day i am still confused about what all happens in this game.

10/10

Replayability: Well... i think if you play for the first time, not knowing what is goign to happen, it will take you around 72 hours. And i was playing this non stop before. I have played and beaten this game around 6 times and i still get a kick out of it. There are a whole lot of side quests in this game to do if you want to know more about the area around you and your teammates.

10/10

...and a side note: This has the best Cid in any FF, IMHO

[Kid Icarus]

Originally Posted by ThirdMarioBro

I wanted Ridge Racer too, but nah. Feel the Magic is THE game.

That'll pry be my next DS game. Thats the one with the touch-steering wheel, right?

[ThirdMarioBro]

Yup. Virtual Steering wheels.

[Barkworm]

Another review of a game I beat a couple of weeks ago:

Sly Cooper (PS2)

Story and Presentation: Very good. The story is quite interesting and is shown in these really cool flash animation cut scenes. New chapters always start like an episode of a cartoon show and it's really a lot of fun to follow the story.
8.5/10

Graphics: The graphics are pretty good with some good use of cel shading. The game is already two years old and there are similar games with better graphics but it looks good nevertheless. There are some more than annoying slowdowns though.
7.5/10

Sound: Most of the music is very simple and mediocre. It's really nothing special. The voice acting on the other hand is very well done.
7/10

Gameplay: When I read the words "generic platformer" in the Nintendo thread I felt the sudden urge to review this game because that's exactly what it is. There's almost nothing about the gameplay that you haven't seen in other platformers. Plenty of the levels are weakly designed and boring especially in the middle part of the game. There are a couple of cool things though like a bemani like boss fight and the whole last chapter. The latter is the only challenging part of the game btw, the rest is ridiculously easy. To make this even worse, you can find two upgrades that make you unvulnerable against falling into water and even against falling from cliffs. Who the hell has ever heard of a platformer in which you survive when you fall from a cliff?? "Sly Cooper" is probably the easiest game I've ever played.
7/10

Lasting Appeal: Once you've beaten the game you'll probably come back to find all pages of the "Thievius Raccoonus" but even that won't take you longer than 8 hours at most. After that you can try to get the "Master Spirits": If you beat a level in a certain time you can unlock audio commentary of the developers. While the rest of the game is too easy, those master spirit tasks are almost unfair and no fun at all.
5.5/10

Overall: Sly Cooper is not a bad game but as far as sheer gameplay is concerned there are tons of better games. The game's presentation saves a lot. I don't think it's worth buying but if you are really bored it's good enough for a rental. Use a walkthrough though to avoid the two upgrades I mentioned, they take a lot of the game's value.
7.4/10

[ThirdMarioBro]

Meh, another shot at Mario's throne gone generic. Not really Sony's fault. You just can't copy perfection.

[Barkworm]

Although this is the first console generation in which a Mario game isn't the best platformer (at least until Mario 128 is released).
If anyone cares, here's an updated version of my "Prince of Persia: Sands of Time" review. I also edited the "Warrior Within" review since I felt the rating was a little too low.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (GameCube)

Story and Presentation: The story is nice and simple and the game really feels like a playable oriental fairy tale. Another big plus is the two main characters, the Prince and Farah. They really make the game feel alive.
9/10

Graphics:
Beautiful animation and level architecture, as well as some really good looking CGI movies. The facial motion is rather bad though.
8.5/10

Sound:
Great voice acting and some very nice pieces of music, oriental sounds mixed with heavy riffs. Unfortunately the sound is beyond horrible.
7/10

Gameplay:
The platformer parts of this game are awesome, maybe the best of the current console generation. The combat in comparison is a little dull and can get annoying at some points. There are only a few different combos but it's still quite cool to jump over a sand zombie and slice him. The sand abilitys are a nice feature but only the "Rewind" and "Stun" abilitys are really useul. "Sands" is not really a hard game although some of the fights can get pretty rough. The last boss is a bad joke however, he's way too easy.
8.5/10

Lasting Appeal:
This is the game's weak point. You can beat it in under 10 hours. It's the kind of game that can be played more than once without getting boring though.
7/10

Overall:
PoP: The Sands of Time is an awesome game that suffers from some obvious flaws. Nevertheless I'd recommend it to everyone.
Although I haven't played it, the X-Box version is probably the best one since the sound of the GC version is really (and I mean really) bad.
8.7/10

[Spitfire]

Review for: Resident Evil 4
By Spitfire666xXxXx


Graphics:
RE 4 has some breath taking visuals.At times there are a few little glitches though, like a guys hand through my head, but that happens very rarely. Leon looks amazing and the villagers are the most detailed enemy Ive ever seen in a game. Its like they actually spent time making the enemy look good. The backrounds are great to, even a close up on the ground doesn’t look that pixelated which is perfect
9/10

Game play:
Gameplay wise this game is a winner. It is fun, and you have to play it to understand how fun it can be. Running from hordes of angery Spanish villagers could never be so great. You can blow heads off with guns, kick heads off, stab them, set them on fire, shoot them off cliffs, shoot their hands and legs to make them drop to the ground or drop weapons, and theres more you can do. Sometimes after a moive plays you have to tap a button real fast to do something or you might die, for example after the first boss you have to press A real fast to cut a rope. It makes watching the movies more exciting. They let you do everything. You rarely don’t get to do something. Its so interactive you can shoot just about every object and get rewarded in some way. Treasure hunting is fun too, you can hunt for treasure and sell it or something ypu find stuff you can put togther and increase the value.
Another plus in this game is the AI. Its not stupid in the least. The computer knows more then you know and they make it seem that way. The villagers sourround you and try to flush you into building to corner you. If you go some place they cant reach they will throw cocktails at you until you come down, or catch on fire and die
The bosses are another thing I like in this game. Their really creative and during boss battles theres more to them then just, run around the boss shooting him. You have to dodge things and do special action button stuff
Now Im only on Chapter 2, right after just getting Ashley but this game has already impressed me enough to say all this about it
10/10

Game Modes:
Looks like theres just the normal game, maybe you unlock mini games
?/10

Controls:
The controls are so perfect you can tell it was made just for Gamecube
10/10

Sound:
The sound is really good! Everything sounds as it should, from head explosions to people yelling in Spanish. Even the voice acting isnt bad, which is new to me kinda lol
10/10

Extras:
I don’t know if there are any but I hear rumors of secert characters
?/10

Overall:
I can’t give them game a full review because I havnt beaten it but I covered the basics. I suggest anyone with a Gamecube should rent this atleast, even people who hate th Resident Evil series can enjoy this. I have to give it a 9 though until I know what the extras are
No Zombies = Great Game
9/10

[Mecha Cow]

Nice review Spitfire, I've never been interested in Survival Horror games before but I think I'll give RE4 a rent.

Anyway, I know it's been out since forever in the States, but us Europeans had to wait six months for FSA, and damn it, now that it's finally out and I've finished it, I'm reviewing it. New review system too. Might be a long post, bear with me.

---

-Game: The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
-System: Nintendo Gamecube
-Publisher: Nintendo
-Developer: Nintendo
-Players: 1-4 (Gameboy Advance's and GBA-GC Link cables are needed for every player when playing with more than one player, one GBA-GC Link cable included)
-Year: 2004

-Info:
A sequel to the Four Swords multiplayer add-on to the GBA remake of A Link to the Past, Four Swords Adventures puts the player in the shoes of not one, but four Links, who have to fight together (and against each other) to re-seal the evil Wind Sorcerer Vaati. The game includes two modes of play, Hyrulean Adventure being a full 2D Zelda quest for one to four players, while Shadow Battle lets 2 or more players duke it out to find out who is the weakest Link.

-Presentation: 07/10
Four Swords Adventures is a little more 'casual' than regular Zelda games, sometimes abandoning style for accessibility. Menus are simple and the game feels like more of an arcade game than an epic adventure. It's not that odd, though, since Four Swords Adventures often plays like one too. The cutscenes aren't very exciting either, though that's understandable since the game's meant to be played with friends, and not everyone likes to read a ton of dialogue. Overall the presentation is simple, but does what it's supposed to.
-Graphics: 07/10
Most of the tiles and objects are taken from the SNES' A Link to the Past, and re-textured to look less pixeled. Smoke and light effects in the style of The Wind Waker have also been added. While it looks nice on the TV screen, it isn't always as pretty on GBA, where the extra textures and effects are obviously missing. The Links themselves look great and are well animated, but unfortunately that cannot be said about most of the other character sprites. There are some that are quite ugly, especially when compared to the great-looking characters of the recently released The Minish Cap. Also, it's possible that you'll have trouble following the GBA action when playing on a regular (non-backlit) GBA, since some of the tiles are quite dark. Still, the graphics aren't too bad, it's just that the Gamecube can do much better.
-Sound: 08/10
Four Swords Adventures features some remixed Zelda tracks in addition to a number of new ones. The music is played from the TV (not the GBA)and the quality of the sound is great. While the tunes are nice, they're not overly exciting, and are mostly meant to be just background music. Sound effects are good, but too few. Link makes plenty of noise (Each Link has his own 'voice') but other than that the levels are pretty quiet.
-Gameplay: 09/10
Hyrulean Adventure is the main mode of the game, and is basically an all-new 2D Zelda game. It's quite good when playing solo, though not without its drawbacks. You'll die a lot easier (Not that it matters much since you'll have a large number of Force Fairies -which revive you when dead- in no time) and you don't really have any reason to collect Force Gems as frantically as you would in multiplayer since you have no one to compete against anyway. Still, Hyrulean Adventure is great even on your own and a reason for any 2D Zelda fan to consider Four Swords Adventures.

However, Four Swords Adventures is still a multiplayer game in essence, and should be played with friends for the full experience. Playing through a Zelda game together with one or more friends really is an awesome. You're forced to work together, but if you want to be the no. 1 Link, you'll need to bend the rules a little. Whoever collects the most Force Gems wins, and friendships will be put to the test fighting over them. But just as you've started hating your friends, you'll find yourselves facing a huge boss, fighting side by side, willing to take a full-force blow for each other. Then again, when someone dies all their Force Gems scatter across the level, waiting to be picked up...

Shadow Battle is kind of an arena mode, where the goal is to take out the opponents using whatever means possible. There are also a lot of Tingle's minigames to be played against each other.
-Control: 09/10
Those who were sceptic about the GBA-GC connectivity, rest assured. Switching screens takes a little getting used to, but within minutes it'll be second nature. Make sure the GBA's batteries have enough power though, because if one gets dissconnected somehow it's Game Over.

In singleplayer mode, the game can be played with a regular Gamecube controller, though I actually prefer using a GBA.
-Life: 09/10
Hyrulean Adventure consists of 24 levels, each of which basically being a full dungeon that will take about an hour to complete, so I wouldn't call the game short. Also, this is one of the best multiplayer games ever, and if you have some GBA-equipped friends around who understand at least the basics of Zelda, Four Swords Adventures has almost infinite replay value. Even when playing on your own, Hyrulean Adventure should be worth playing through a few times, and since it's level-based (You can select any level you've unlocked), you can always pop it in for some quick Zelda action.
-Feel*: 08/10
While it's more arcadey than other Zelda games, Four Swords Adventures still feels like a Zelda game and has tons of charm and appeal. Some may think a multiplayer Zelda is cheap, but if they'd play the game they'd soon find out that Four Swords Adventures is something special, even without the multiplayer 'gimmick'.

-Overall:
Four Swords Adventures is an amazing game, and proof that GBA-GC connectivity works. Solo players can enjoy a full 2D Zelda game, and any Zelda fan who has access to the multiplayer mode should get this game without a second thought.

-Final score: 89/100 (Not an avarage)

+ : Perfect balance between cooperation and competition, and one of the best mutiplayer games ever.
- : Gathering four Zelda fans, four GBA's and four GBA-GC Link cables is easier said than done.

---
*'Feel' is basically where I rate the 'soul' of a game, and how much I've personally enjoyed playing the game. I feel a good atmosphere and a nice feeling are one of the most important factors in a game, which is why I've decided to include them when reviewing.

Sorry for the long post. What can I say, I'm thorough.

[Peanut]

Nice review Mecha Cow. Very nice. Although I've never felt any sense of competition while playing the game, and the friends I game with are pretty damn competative. (One threw us all out of his house, along with the game we were playing, WCW/nWo Revenge. He can't stand loosing.)

[Barkworm]

I decided that I won't buy it. I don't have a GBA and I don't think it's that much fun alone.

[ThirdMarioBro]

Ridge Racer DS
___________________

Graphics 7.5
Yeah, the DS is capable of FAR more, but Nintendo is saving this things real juice for when PSP's pretty sh*t comes out, so no biggie. There's the occational chunky texture, but the game runs at a solid 60 FPS, so Yeah! No flat roadside objects either.

Sound 8.5
Normally techno in a game tends to sound like crap, but this is some well thought out music. Very good stuff. Not much of it, but I like it. I like the announcer. He adds to the Arcade feel with some familiar samples. Car sounds kick ass as well.

Gameplay 8.8
Drive, ram stuff, powerslide. Hardcore stuff, and gets VERY hard after awhile. There's 8 tracks, and each is long and well thought out. The AI is cheap, but I expect that from an arcade game. The virtual steering wheel is a great idea, but takes a lot of practice to master. It's hard though, so be patient. D-Pad controls are good as ever. Very nice intro too.

Multiplayer 9.0
You can play any track in the game in single card multiplayer, and other users can download whichever car they want from your card. It shows just how much is possible in this mode. I expect Mario Kart to be fully supported because this sucker can download the whole track AT ONCE into up to 8 other DS's at once. They don't get the music or announcer, but the game runs at full speed with a VERY long range on the Wi-Fi. If this is a taste of the future of DS multiplayer, ON ONE CARD, then I am more than impressed.

Overall 8.7
Very awesome for a first gen title. Not the deepest title ever. Just pure arcade racing thrill. That makes me happy. Ridge Racer DS feels awesome when playing it. The whole package is just great. I hope to see Rush 2049 someday, or perhaps Daytona on the DS one day, but this will keep me plenty happy until Mario Kart rolls in. Buy it now.

[Peanut]

I beat it about a week and a half ago, and I know someone else reviewed it before in the old thread (Mecha Cow I think), but I'm going to review Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.

Graphics: Simple is probably the best way to describe the game. The whole thing takes place in a paper world, so obviously, everyone/thing is made of paper. That being said the characters in the game all look pretty cool even if they're very limited in movement and animation. The backgrounds are all 3D, and at times fairly detailed, but there really isn't much special about them. The paper effects in the game are pretty cool though, such as things ripping through the background, and enviroments changing a frame at a time, as if being animated via a flip book. There's very little to complain about, the graphics are overly simple, but they do a good job of getting things done. One complaint I do have is the fact that besides a few things, nothing actually looks very paper like in the game. They could have used a ton of special effects to make Mario actually look like a crumpled piece of paper when he rolls into a tube, or into a paper airplane, but most things just end up looking like boring character sprite. Not that big of a deal, but I thought they could have gone a lot further with the whole "paper" deal.
Score: 9.0

Sound: Despite the lack of voice overs, the sound in PM: TTYD is actually very good. There are a ton of really catchy tunes in the game, Glitzville is the first one that comes to mind. The sound effects are pretty basic Super Mario Bros. effects, and the Mario voice samples are nothing new either. I know Nintendo probably doesn't want Mario to right out have large conversations with people, but I think it might be time for them to put some true voice overs into their games for other characters. I know there would be a lot of worry about bad voice acting tainting the game, but I'm sure Nintendo could find some decent people to at least do a decent job.
Score: 9.0

Gameplay: I'll start by saying...I'm not a fan of RPG's. At all. Lots of text/speech + boring battle systems that I've seen time and time again don't equal fun at all. Luckily Paper Mario doesn't have anything of the type. The battle system is great. The fact that you actually play a part in the battles besides just pushing A to attack is great. Not only are Action Commands awesome, but Stylish Moves and Guard Commands are great as well. The whole audience element is another addition that makes Paper Mario stand out.
One of my favourite little things is

Spoiler:

the fact that you not only play out the story as Mario, but as Bowser and Peach between Chapters. The little Super Mario Bros. inspired mini-levels for Bowser are really cool, and the various things you do with Peach are prety neat as well.

There are just so many gameplay elements to mention, but you would be better off trying them out for yourself.
Score: 10

Story: Since this is an RPG, story plays an important part. It all starts off pretty generic, collect the Seven Crystal Stars to keep the evil Lord Grodus and his X-Nauts from opening the Thousand Year Door. The story really takes off into some cool directions after about Chapter 3. The chapters themselves all play host to some cool elements. Several of which are really a surprise and fun to boot. Such as

Spoiler:

Mario joining a wrestling league, being re-named 'The Great Gonzales', and having to fight his way to the championship belt in Chapter 3. Thinking you out right whooped some serious ass on a pathetic prankster and finished Chapter 4 within 30 minutes, only to find that Mario was stripped of his name and apperance by the fiend during the battle and you really beat yourself in the fight. The whole 'Mystery on the Train' thing that happens in Chapter 6 is another good example of just how surprising this game can be. Finally, the last boss will be a real shocker.

Overall...it kicks ass. Plain and simple. From the surprises out of left field, to the overall charm and humor spread through out, it's just awesome. Who wouldn't find a Pianta crime syndicate amusing?
Score: 10

Replay Vaule: I sunk over 27 hours into the game my first time through, and that was without doing any side quests or additional searching around the various locals of the world. Now I'm knee deep in my second play through on Chapter 5 with upwards of 9 hours sunk again.
Score: 9.5

Overall: Basically...this game kicks major ass. My favourite game of the year without a doubt. Do yourself a favour, if you haven't played this game...get it...NOW!

Overall Score: 9.8