‘Infinite Undiscovery’

‘Infinite Undiscovery’

(Square Enix) for Xbox 360

Genre: Role-Playing; Rating: T

Grade: C

It’s oddly strange when the title of a video game speaks so well to its intentions. “Infinite Undiscovery” is no doubt beautiful to look at, but its lack of depth (aside from character arcs) ultimately dooms this game from reaching its potential.

You play as a musician caught up in planetary turmoil. Some fools have chained the moon to the earth and now they are on a collision course, which can never be a good thing (one of the few things I do remember from my astronomy courses in college). So now you have to help unchain them and set the power structure back in order.

The story itself is quite intriguing, and the cut scenes and overall graphics presentation is spectacular, which is the norm for a Square Enix release. Textures move and have depth that is just shy of perfection, while the characters all have their typical friendship and loyalty issues that are a hallmark of RPG games.

The battle sequences are equally interesting, but not long after you will start noticing how shallow the gameplay is, which hurts the replay value. The world you traverse is fascinating to look at, but sadly there is not much going on.

The undiscovery is truly infinite. Best for a long weekend rental.

‘Warhammer: Battle March’

(Namco Bandai) for Xbox 360, PC

Genre: Real-Time Strategy; Rating: M

Grade: C-

There are legions of “Warhammer” fans out there, though it seems they reside primarily on the PC end of things, so porting a game over to the console realm is not always a bad move, especially when it works right (see the recent Sid Meier Civilization as a perfect example). But making a real-time strategy game work on a console is not easy, and “Battle March” does a competent, though hardly overwhelming, job.

When the focus of the game is on massive battles between armies of orcs, goblins and so on, it certainly means you better pull those moments off well. And, for the most part, “Battle March” does. Watching these huge clashes take place is exciting and you get the feel of what thousands of warriors with clanking metal and swords is like. The controls are the most troublesome aspect, making it difficult to select battle groups and move them to the proper area. There is just too much going on and selecting with a controller instead of a mouse and keyboard is a trying experience.

If there is one section players should not miss it’s the build an army feature. On the PC this works wonders because you can take your custom army online and battle with others. On the console, however, a dearth of players means little competition after you painstakingly crafted your perfect army.

In the end, the PC version is much stronger and is worth it for those fans, while anyone on the 360 should probably try something else.

‘Digimon World Championship’

(Namco Bandai) for DS

Genre: Strategy; Rating: E

Grade: D-

If anyone still cares at this point, it seems as if the final nail is being hammered into “Digimon’s” coffin. The franchise has been living on the DS the last couple years and has not had a bonafide success in any recent attempt. “Digimon World Championship” tries some new things, and brings back some old classics to inject some life into the series, but nothing is saving it this time around.

If you have ever felt the desire to become a zookeeper or carnie, then maybe World Championship is for you. This is because all you are primarily tasked with is hunting down digimon, take care of them and then train them for endless battles you will encounter. Sorry, everyone, the game does not come with cotton candy or a stuffed zebra.

Instead the game does come with a rather complicated (given the subject matter) control scheme and few opportunities for enjoyment with your digimon. Like a chef struggling to find the right balance in a recipe, “Digimon World Championship” is another in its recent line of games that tries to find the right blend but comes up short and feeling messy instead of cohesive.

— Chris Campbell, Scripps Howard