The Premise

I can’t praise episodic gaming enough. It has given some of my favorite game franchises and a sadly forgotten gaming genre a second chance at life. The folks at Telltale Games have been quite busy in the past few years bringing the point-and-click adventure game back to PC gamers in small, reasonably prices episodes. Xbox 360 owners however, get to experience these games in one go, thanks to colleted season releases. This time out, they’re unleashing the second, five episode season of Sam and Max adventures in a collection titled “Sam and Max : Beyond Time and Space.”...

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The Game:
Well, wouldn't you know it? Turns out Activision isn't devoid of innovation after all. After developer Harmonix parted ways with the publishing company following the release of Guitar Hero II: Rock The 80's, Activision quickly took the Guitar Hero franchise and ran it straight into the ground. Guitar Hero III was an embarrassing disaster and Guitar Hero: World Tour was a tepid attempt and stealing Rock Band's thunder. While Guitar Hero 5 showed some signs of life, it still was far from perfect. And that's not even including the relentless onslaught of one-off titles like Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and Guitar Hero: Metallica, and handheld titles...

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Never before have I played a more appropriately named game. Nostalgia is the latest release from Ignition Entertainment and comes from the development team of Matrix Software, who had their hands in the remakes of Final Fantasy III and IV. Going in knowing that, it’s no wondering that Nostalgia is one of the greatest role-playing games on the Nintendo DS. That’s saying something considering the system has fan-favorites such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest calling it home. But, just what makes Nostalgia so gosh-darned nostalgic? Everything.

This game brings back those memories of a sense of wonder and adventure from when you were younger. There are random battles aplenty, a flying airship, a familiar skill system...

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Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy is the second installment to the "Mana Khemia" series. In "Fall of Alchemy", the school is going down the tube: enrollments and profits are down. In addition, the faculty members are not as interested in teaching the students as helping themselves. In an effort to keep the school alive, the administration created a new curriculum that includes combat, governance, and law. Students are required to take classes in all areas. Underneath the school politics, the most recent class is trying to keep their wits about themselves as they learn about alchemy and combat. The revamped school has its problems, but the new class tries their best to keep up.

Amongst the new students are Razelue Meitzen and Ulrika Mulberry....

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Shiren the Wanderer, a rogue-like RPG from Chunsoft, is a beastly vintage dungeon crawl. Randomized and tooth-and-nail difficult, it’s a rehash of a legacy-constructed Super Famicon title done extremely well – when you’re not ready to hurl the DS at the wall. It comes from the makers of several Pokemon: Mystery Dungeon platforms with a dashing of old-school Dungeons and Dragons underneath the hood, and it can be rewarding once you’ve found a rhythm to go along with it. Getting over that difficult hump can be treacherous, however; just make sure you’ve got a WiFi connection handy.

Structuring the plot for this is a rather slim affair. It involves a Golden Condor, and the mystical city lying underneath its wingspan. Less cryptically...

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