Previews
I will come out on the court and cleanly admit something. I did not expect much from Top Spin 3 on the Nintendo DS. This hand held machine has not been a power house for sports games. In fact many the majority of them have been lacking in one fashion or another. So I had certain pre-conceptions when I turned on my DS and started to play Top Spin 3. Thankfully I have an open mind, and am able to change my opinions about a game. Top Spin 3 is a fun little tennis game that is very realistic. This sports game contains quite a few real world players for both men and women. I have had some competitive back and forth games in this hand held video game. Lord willing I will get a review in an upcoming issue of Family Friendly Gaming. {02/23/2010} - Frank
After the RPG Master finished playing and reviewing Dragon Ball Z Attack of the Saiyans I decided I wanted to give this game a shot. It took me a lot longer than our enigmatic colleague, but then I have been known to savor the moment in video games. Dragon Ball Z Attack of the Saiyans follows Dragon Ball Z Season One for the most part. In fact it would have been really cool if Namco Bandai had called it that. Sure they added some interesting side quests that take gamers behind the scenes in certain parts of the storyline. This is a role playing game with a lot of attention paid to the stats. I liked how special attacks receive their own points and the player can decide what they want to level up. The afterlife of DBZ is included in Dragon Ball Z Attack of the Saiyans, but much lighter than I expected. It was really cool getting to have so many different characters from the anime, and they are very different in how they level up. I have to admit that I had fun playing this game. Leveling up is pretty easy, and needed to get past certain parts. I learned not to rush into battle, and the battles were much easier. I plan on trying to get a second look review into an upcoming issue of Family Friendly Gaming. {02/02/2010} - Paul
It is always interesting to see how things work. We wrote a less than glowing review of a Pokemon game, and then Pokemon games stopped coming to Family Friendly Gaming. Interesting how that works out huh?!? It is enough to make one cynical, and disbelieve other media outlets that only give positive reviews to certain video game publishers. Since we have few advertisers, that is one less area where pressure can be applied on Family Friendly Gaming. We get around to their games as finances and time allows. I had been curious about Pokemon Ranger for some time now. The concept of drawing circles around the Pokemon to catch them intrigued me. I have to admit it was pretty cool for the first hour. Then it got old, and as I have been drudging through this game - well lets say it has been a real chore. The story telling in Pokemon Ranger does little for me, and is not at the level of other Pokemon games. Pokemon Ranger is also a difficult Pokemon game. Captured Pokemon can assist one time, and then need to be re-captured. The player does get a friend Pokemon that stays around, but this is not as cool as it sounds. Leave an area and you lose all your captures Pokemon. That means we have to start all over at the next area. Capturing them all is not much fun in my opinion. I hope to have a review in an upcoming issue of Family Friendly Gaming in the next month or two. {01/26/2010} - Luke
