I had a great weekend. I spent a good amount of time with family and friends and I got to give my new camera a whirl. I feel real sluggish right now (Too many Long Island Ice Teas. I’m paying for them now) Check out the pics in the gallery:

Memorial Day Weekend 2009

On the journey to produce my Demon Hunter Kain web comic I have, once again, fallen victim to writer’s block. So I’ve returned to drawing in hopes that it’ll give me a better feel for the characters and their world.

Felt like drawing a sexy ninja chick. I threw some color in there as well.

It’s been about several months since I last turned on my Playstation 2. Fortunately for me, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 came out and got me gaming again. For the record I have Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, but I never finished it. I’ll get back to it eventually, but for right now Persona 4 has my attention.

Game Story:

Your parents have taken new jobs overseas and you decide to stay with your uncle and cousin in the countryside town of Inaba. On the day you arrive the rural town’s peace is shattered by a horrific murder that leaves no clues or suspects. As the lone incident develops into a series of bizarre crimes, you discover that only you and your friends have the power to solve the baffling case and bring those responsible to justice.

My Review

The Persona series has always caught my attention since the original game: Persona, and its sequel Persona 2: Innocent Sin came out on the Playstation. The idea of high school kids given supernatural abilities allowing them to summon creatures, called Persona, to their aid just sounded cool to me. Twisted magic, demons, revenge plots, grisly murders and rumors becoming reality were a few of the aspects that drew me towards this series. But what officially got me hooked was the way the series mixed and used themes from  science-fiction, urban legends and world folklore and mythology. The list of Personae available to the player includes creatures such as Angels and Demons, and Norse and Japanese deities just to give you an idea. These themes and creatures are blended seamlessly in the world of Persona and you don’t get the feel of one culture’s myths stepping on another’s.

The graphics are a lot cleaner than Persona 3, where the rendered character art kind of stood separate from the more detailed background art. In Persona 4 more shading has been placed on the character polygons making them look more like they are part of the game world instead pasted on top of it. The controls are easy to learn and respond well within the game. Dungeon exploration (As far as I’m concerned) has been greatly improved. In Persona 3 you had a certain amount of unspecified time to explore a dungeon, once that limit was met your characters would start to get “sick” causing them to miss or make mistakes in battle. In Persona 4 the “sick” feature has been removed so you have a better chance at leveling up your characters and exploring the dungeons. The return of Social Link system was a plus too. Social Links are bonds you form throughout the game with playable and non-playable characters. As these Links are initiated and begin to grow you can create new and more powerful Personae to aid you in the game.

Overall I have to say the game is well made and entertaining. I haven’t gotten far but I’m drawn to its story more than its predecessor’s and it has actually kept me playing until midnight for three nights straight (Something a video game has not made me do in years!) just to see what would happen next. If you’re a fan of RPGs I would definitely suggest buying or at least renting this game, it’s totally worth it.

Note: Special thanks to IGN.com for the game pics.

Images