Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor

Platform: DS
Genre: Strategy/RPG
Developer: Atlus
Publisher: Atlus
Release: 23 June 2009
Rating: Teen
Price: $18

The Shin Megami Tensei metaseries* has had some of the best RPGs I've ever played, encompassing Digital Devil Saga, Persona, Strange Journey, DemiKids, Devil Summoner, and many, many more. It's a long, and venerated series on par with giants like Final Fantasy (some would even say it's better). While (like the aforementioned Final Fantasy) most of the SMT games are separate from one another, they do share many common themes and gameplay elements. Most of them are fusions of disparate genres, the spell names remain mostly consistent, and almost all of them involve making contracts with demons to fight with you. They also tend to be brutally difficult, but what do you expect from Atlus?
Moving on to Devil Survivor. It's good. The game is a fusion of traditional turn-based RPG and turn-based strategy RPG. Think of it as Final Fantasy Tactics meets Dragon Quest. Essentially, battles start on an isometric grid, but when an attack is executed, it switches into a first-person perspective for a single round of RPG combat, before returning to the grid. This may sound a bit roundabout, but there's no denying that it works to give Devil Survivor a surprising amount of depth.
Even the character-growth mechanics are deep and interesting. Your human characters gain new spells via the "Skill Crack" system, wherein you steal techniques from your defeated foes MegaMan-style. And you can get new demon allies by either buying their services at auction, or by fusing two demons to create a single stronger one (another staple of the SMT games).
As for the plot, demons have overrun Tokyo, and the military has issued a lockdown: no one can enter, or leave. In order to survive, you need to ally yourself with various demons, and other people trapped in the city. The story is rather non-linear. While the basic plot remains the same from playthrough to playthrough, which of the five endings you can get, as well as which characters survive to the end, is all dependent on the choices you make. Be careful though, as everything you do eats up a little bit of your time, and you only have seven days.
While Devil Survivor is rather short, that's actually a point in its favor. There are five vastly different endings (which I won't spoil here), and the game actively wants you to see them all, each one unlocking new powerful demons that you can obtain for your next playthrough.
It's heavy on the grind and the difficulty, and may be a little too complex for a newcomer, for strategy or RPG aficionados, but I highly recommend Devil Survivor. There's also the updated rerelease on the 3DS coming out soon, so if you'd rather spring for that version... Regardless, a used copy of this one from GameStop will come in at $18.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.

--Kotaro

*A series which contains many smaller series within it.

Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness

NOTE: As those who follow my Twitter account are aware, this entry is a day late due to technical problems with Blogger. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Platform: PlayStation Portable
Genre: Strategy/RPG
Developer: Nippon Ichi Software/otwo
Publisher: NIS America
Release: 30 October 2007
Rating: Teen
Price: $19

It may come as no surprise that I love offbeat humor in my games. Which also means it should be no surprise that I am a huge fan of the Disgaea series. Excellent turn-based tactical RPG combat stuffed with some of the most clever humor to ever come out of Japan? I'm all over it. I even gave Disgaea the #2 spot on my Top Ten Weird Japanese Games.
All of the Disgaea games are great, but the best place to start is with the first. And when it comes right down to it, the PSP version is the best one.
The PlayStation 2 original was fantastic, sure, but the PSP port adds several new features, including an alternate story mode, and multiplayer. While the later Nintendo DS remake adds even more features, the graphics were downgraded and most of the voices removed, to the point that it loses some of its charm. So my opinion is to stick with the PSP version.
As for the game itself, there's not much to say about it. Anyone who's played Final Fantasy Tactics or any other turn-based strategy game will know basically what they're in for. Disgaea does bring some new things to the table, though. There's a unique equipment system that allows you to level-up your equipment as you play, you can create and customize your units however you want (to an almost ridiculous extent), there's an unending supply of randomly-generated dungeons to explore, and the level cap takes things beyond the insane: it's not 50, or 99, or even 100. It's 9999 (no, that is not a typo).
Disgaea is downright fun, and it never takes itself seriously at all. It's a lighthearted romp through Hell (literally) that will make you laugh until you cry. It's a game well worth the admission price of $19.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.

--Kotaro

StarCraft: Battle Chest

Platform: PC (Windows/Mac)
Genre: Strategy
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Release: 31 March 1998
Rating: Teen
Price: $16

StarCraft is often considered to be the greatest real-time strategy game of all time. Nothing else need be said. If you haven't already, play this game. You are missing out.
StarCraft doesn't do much that hasn't been done before, but it does it so well, what more could you want? I'll allow the game's legacy to speak for itself:
-It remains one of the most popular games online to this day, thirteen years later.
-It has become the standard to which all modern RTS games are compared.
-The phrase "Zerg Rush" (named for one of StarCraft's playable factions) has become an oft-used gaming term.
-StarCraft has been used by the US Air Force to teach new recruits how to plan under stress.
I can't say anything about StarCraft that hasn't already been said many times. But if my words can get more people to play this excellent game, then I will say it: buy StarCraft.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.

--Kotaro