Certain phrases in the English language are often used to great effect, such as when we think of marketing: "Don't leave home without it", or "Melts in your mouth, not in your hands, and even "Obey your thirst". These key phrases and words associate certain products with them when we are exposed to them over and over, so it isn't surprising that in the world of video games, certain key phrases and words have taken on associated meanings. After all, there are tens of thousands of used video games, and thinking all the way back to the Nintendo Enterainment System(NES) and moving forward to the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii, there is bound to be a wealth of intentional and unintentional 'sloganizing'.
We are all aware of the success of franchises like Super Mario Brothers and the Legend of Zelda, but what about the other guys, those games that might go unnoticed were we not here to salvage their epic playability and raise them to that famed 'classic' status? It is with these less well known video games that we are here to discuss today
If you have ever thought of the phrase Tales of.. in relation to a video game, what did you think of? For me, I envision a role-playing game (RPG) fraught with turned-based combat and towns full of common folk ready to share information with you. I also think of three particular games: Tales of Symphonia (Nintendo Gamecube, Playstation 2), Tales of the Abyss (Playstation 2), and Tales of Phantasia (Super Famicom, Game Boy Advance, Playstation, PSP). What do these three RPGs have in common? Let's take a look:
Tales of Symphonia - Like previous games in the Tales series, Tales of Symphonia uses a version of the Linear Motion Battle System - a real-time battle system, as opposed to the turn-based systems used in traditional role-playing games. When running around in the overworld, battles can be triggered by running into the monsters that dot the landscape. The Overlimit feature, which is a result of building 'tension points', allows characters to take less damage, perform special actions, and cast spells more quickly. 'Grade' is substituted for experience, and can be used to purchase items and EX gems
As characters level up in Tales of Symphonia, they can learn 'EX-skills' which allows them learn different abilities, sometimes combining them for greater effect. Each character can earn up to 25 titles in the game either by playing through a certain point in the game, by leveling, or by meeting certain conditions. Different titles will have different effects. Items in the game are a result of loot from battle, from recipes learned from the Wonder Chef (success in cooking is determined by the character's skill level), and from NPCs upgrading items when given certain components.
Along with the cut scenes in the game, decisions you make will affect how others think of Lloyd, the main character. Depending on the choices you make, the friendship's among the characters may change.
Tales of the Abyss - Tales of the Abyss is a story about Luke, and the value of friendship and sacrifice. As Luke, you begin inside your family's manor, an amnesiac caused by the shock of being kidnapped years ago. Shattering your forgotten memories, a girl named Tear breaks into the castle, and you are taken from the safety of home to places unknown. Luke roams freely through his environment finding treasure and voracious enemies to boot.
The land is full of particles created from elements including light, dark, air, earth, fire, and water called Fonons, and the you can master the a particular area by using attacks that are based in one of six particles. Luke can charge-up normal actions to become super attacks by using moves that require the primary Fonon found within that environment. Luke's companions Mieu and Jade, will join you along the way and fill out your party.
Elemental attacks are made more powerful by using slot chambers to add special effects such as power, damage, and health increases, and as your characters level up, you have over 80 unlockable attributes that affect Luke and his friends. As you journey through your main quest of uncovering Luke's affiliation with the Order of Lorelei, side stories include cooking to increase attributes and accessorizing with swimsuits, upscale clothing, and more. You can journey by yourself, or invite up to three friends to play along as characters in Luke's party.
Tales of Phantasia - Tales of Phantasia, was a role-playing game originally released for the Super Famicom, and due to its success as a series, it has finally been releasted in North America. Today, Tales of Phantasia distinguishes itself with its action-oriented, side-scrolling battle sequences (reminding one of Zelda II - The Adventures of Link (NES).
Tales of Phantasia is the story of Cress, a teenager out hunting one day who encounters a strange phenomenon, and as a result realizes he must save the past in order to insure the present. Along the way, he'll be joined by several other characters, learning magic, commanding elementals, taking sides in political struggles, and more.
The combat system defies the tradition of most RPGS, and is most similar to Tales of Symphonia. Rather than take turn based attacks, battles in Tales of Phantasia put you in direct control of Cress. You can perform a variety of strikes using the attack button and control pad,learning other techniques as the game progresses. It's also possible to perform chain combinations, much like Symphonia. The combat system is pleasant diversion from turn-based RPGs, and the animations and backgrounds are beautiful, and have held up well over time on the Gameboy Advance.
Certainly, as video game technology progressed, so did the marketing skills of the companies making the games. Reading the back of the boxes of some Sega Master System games one morning over a box of cereal, I realized how bad the writing was for some of the games. In the 90s, and 00s, companies started employing professional writers, and marketers caught on to sloganizing in video games, giving us a wealth of 'Tales of..' games. The ones I came with are listed here: Tales of Phantasia, Tales of Destiny, Tales of Destiny 2, Tales of Eternia, Tales of Fandom, Tales of Rebirth, Tales of Symphonia, Tales of Legendia,, Tales of the Abyss, and Tales of the Tempest. Hmmm. It is starting to not sound like an accident after all. In any case, I will leave it to the reader to judge which elements are similar in the three reviewed titles, and which are not. You could also go out and play these three classics, given enough time.
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Reuters - New York state could receive at least $5 billion in direct aid from President-elect Barack Obama's planned stimulus package, helping to shrink a historic budget deficit, according to U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer.
With more and more people picking up the Sony PSP each day, it's no surprise that we frequently get emails from people asking where and how they can download PSP games. It's a great feature of the PSP so we thought we would throw together a quick guide about this topic.
A lot more people are now using PSP game downloads instead of buying PSP games at the stores. It's cheaper to download PSP games and you don't even have to leave the house! You just have to fire up your computer anytime you feel like trying a new game.
We wanted to show you your options to finding PSP game downloads - here are the three most common choices:
Option #1 - Free PSP Game Downloads
The first thing many people looking for PSP downloads do is bring up their favorite search engine and type in "free PSP game downloads". They click the trusty search button and take a look at what comes up.
Will it work?
Unfortunately, it doesn't usually bring up anything worthwhile. You will find some websites that claim to offer "free PSP game downloads" but there's a few problems you need to know about first.
First, these sites are famous for having all sorts of viruses. Many of the files aren't a PSP file at all - they're just a virus or type spyware that will cause problems on your computer. There's no one monitoring these websites so you can never know exactly what you are getting.
Second problem - super slow download speeds. There is no one investing money in these sites so the downloads tend to very sluggish.
Unfortunately many of the files that are on these sites don't even end up working. There are many "corrupt" files out there which means they won't do a darn thing when you put them on your PSP.
As you can probably imagine we aren't going to recommend these websites. They put your computer at risk and can waste a lot of your time as well.
Option #2 - Finding Free PSP Downloads
This option was extremely popular at one time and still is used by quite a few people.
You can find websites that offer PSP downloads when you sign up as a member. They allow you to download PSP games, movies, music and more whenever you want. There is a fee for these websites (about $30 a month) and you just login when you want to find a new game.
We won't spend a lot of time on this option simply because the third one is a whole lot cheaper and gets you the same type of access to PSP downloads.
Option #3 - How To Find PSP Downloads
As you might have guessed, we saved our 'top pick' for last. This final option is what we recommend choosing if you want to use PSP game downloads on your PSP.
There are websites that are the exact same as the sites in option #2, but they only charge a one-time membership fee. You are only ever billed once and are then considered a lifetime member. You can login and download as many PSP games, movies or music for the rest of the time that you own your PSP.
The membership isn't expensive ($35-$45) and this includes all the software you need to transfer the files onto your PSP.
We included a link at the end of this article so you can learn how to start a free trial at a couple of the top-ranked PSP download websites. The setup should take you in around 5-10 minutes.
The nice thing about using these websites is that you are sure to find the newest games and be able to download quickly on your computer. The businesses that run these websites are in it to make some money so they do what it takes to keep their customers satisfied. This means fast downloads, up-to-date game selections and downloads that are guaranteed to work.
These PSP download websites have already amassed a big customer base and we can only imagine that they will continue to grow in popularity as more people find out about this option. It's definately the easiest way to build up a huge library of games for your system. We should probably give you one warning though - it's extremely addictive! Good luck!
Interest in unlimited PSP game downloads?
Click Here to find out how to start a free trial to the top-ranked PSP download websites.
Reuters - Those eager to put 2008 behind them will have to hold their good-byes for just a moment this New Year's Eve.
