Recent reviews by Paper Tiger

Whispering Willows is a simple game that blends elements of puzzle, point-and-click, and visual novel games. There is a large focus on storytelling, and very little focus on gameplay.

While the game offers many puzzles, most of them are very simple and will likely not require much careful thought or the assistance of an online walkthrough. However, players who wish to experience the full enjoyment of Whispering Willows are expected to do a bit of reading.

The game features a multitude of brief notes and diary entries which the player collects throughout their playthrough. These notes are well-written and help bring the game to life. While there is nothing forcing the player to read these notes, to neglect them would be to skip the entire point of the game.

This is because simply playing the game will not yield much enjoyment in itself. There is nothing particularly "fun" about the gameplay; the entire two to three hour experience is comprised simply of exploring the game's two-dimensional settings and "examining" your surroundings by pressing the Space bar.

However, in spite of its simple gameplay, Whispering Willows does do a great job of telling a unique story. It does so strongly enough that I found myself interested to follow the game through to the finish while also enjoying the experience.
While I really appreciated this, I understand that a lot of people do not have the patience or curiosity to play a game for its story or message alone. If you are one of those people, Whispering Willows is not for you.

Whispering Willows is a great introduction for players who are interested in but not necessarily familiar with gaming as a medium of storytelling. The price may be a bit steep for a rather short game, but all in all, I really recommend this game to you if you enjoy a good story and contributing to smaller indie titles -- especially if it's on sale! ^_^

The Good:
- Awesome realization of a fan-favorite anime/manga, with voice-acting in both English and original Japanese
- LOTS of unlockables, including 80 characters and hundreds of music, audio, video clips and customizable features
- Art is colorful and detailed and stands as a shining example of a game adapted from a manga/anime

The Bad:
- *Very* cutscene heavy; familiarity with the series is basically a necessity in order to keep players invested in the lengthy story
- Many forgettable level-specific mini games
- Online play can be frustrating since some characters are very imbalanced

Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 is a solid manga/anime-inspired fighting game that does a great service to fans, but might have a bit of trouble drawing in newcomers. It's not really a stretch to say that this game expects its players to be familiar with its universe. Taking place fairly far along into the series' second major story arc, Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 jumps right into the story. The game does a good job of introducing characters and events, but I wouldn't be surprised if some people new to the series were to get a little lost in all of the terms and introductions.

The story mode is very custcene heavy. These cutscenes feel almost like they were extracted directly from the anime, which serves for a pretty cool and authentic experience. This is strengthened with the presence of the series' well-known music, which plays throughout the game's story and further immerses the player. However, similar to the anime, these cutscenes can be drawn-out at times, testing the patience of its audience. While there is always the option to skip these cutscenes, one should be aware that the game's story mode sometimes expects the player to be sitting for up to nearly ten minutes at a time, watching the story unfold like a movie, with little to no interaction.

Visually, Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 is very colorful and exciting. The cel-shaded graphics do an excellent job of capturing the aesthetic of the anime, really helping to bring the ninja world to life. Throughout the cutscenes and in-game environments, Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 blends animated graphics with detailed illustration, providing a seamless picture that looks like it was taken straight from the anime.
Additionally, the animations of all the characters are very fluid and nice. General movement and specific fighting styles are all unique among characters and do an excellent job of giving each character personality. While the combat system itself is not remarkably deep, it still feels great to see and play as some of your favorite ninja, with most of the playable ninjas having their own unique style.

One thing about Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 that fails to impress is the multitude of mini-games and forgettable mechanics that the game tries to implement and then quickly discards.
The game does this multiple times with several different mechanics, introducing different mini-games that appear once in a level, never to make another appearance for the rest of the game. The fairly common introduction of insignificant mechanics lowered the game's overall quality for me, being a common but nonetheless painful mistake made by all sorts of games.
However, outside of the story mode, these mechanics are not present and do not affect the fun of the game's actual versus modes.

Aside from the story, there is also challenge missions which challenge the player to complete fights under certain conditions. Along with the multitude of unlockables, these challenge missions do a great job of adding to the game's replay value.

EDIT: Since beating the game's story mode about a week ago, I've played more of the challenge missions and done some of the side quests that are left over after the main story. They're actually really enjoyable and give you more opportunities to interact with your fellow ninjas, which is pretty cool. There's also a lot to explore - it surprised me how many places you can go after you finish the story! It does a great job of adding to the game's playability after the story mode! :D

Though Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 does nothing to revolutionize the fighting game genre, I highly recommend this game to fans of the series. Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 stands as a solid fighting game in its own right, but the greatest appeal it has to offer is the way it brings the beloved Naruto universe to life.

The Good:
- Great lighting and environment design add immersion and remain consistent throughout
- Unique protagonist and narrative offer a refreshing perspective of the WWII setting
- Sound design is good; both music and voice-acting are executed well and add immersion

The Bad:
- Very "trial and error"-based; requires A LOT of patience
- The story is unimpressive and many levels feel fragmented or unrelated to each other
- Controls feel clunky and restricting (in both moving around and in combat)

In Velvet Assassin, the player takes on the role of British agent Violette Summers, infiltrating enemy lines to combat Nazi forces during WWII. Velvet Assassin offers an interesting and unique, albeit frustrating, stealth experience. While the game does some things well, it does many things poorly.

To begin with, Velvet Assassin's story is not very impressive. I found this to be the most disappointing part of the game, especially considering the high potential set in place by the game's unique protagonist and premise. Taking place during WWII, Velvet Assassin sets itself apart from other WWII games through the way in which the story is told.
After suffering a near-fatal gunshot wound during an assignment, agent Violette Summers remains bed-ridden in a state of comatose, recalling her missions through dream sequences. At the beginning of each level, Summers provides a little briefing on her mission, helping along the story via narration.

However, while helping to take down Nazi forces is satisfying in its own right, each mission is largely unrelated; one level will revolve around sabotaging an ammo depot, while the next level involves assassinating a key target. While these may sound like fairly standard spy operations, interestingly, Velvet Assassin never tries to tie these levels into any form of an overarching story. While arguably more realistic, many players will likely feel unsatisfied participating in a narrative game that lacks a punchline. Velvet Assassin concludes in a bit of a strange dead end, leading me to question whether later development had been rushed, or whether I was simply disappointed with what seems to be the game's "that's just what happened and this is the end" approach to storytelling.

While Velvet Assassin certainly has its flaws, it does do some things well.

First of all, the sound of the game is great; the voice acting of both the protagonist as well as the frequenlty overheard conversations of patrolling enemies are believable and interesting. The music also does a great job of adding to the immersion and intensity of sneaking around in the shadows.

The environment and scenery of the game is also another high point. It is clear that a great level of detail was placed into crafting each of the levels, and the striking silhouettes created by the game's bold colors and deep shadows are dramatic and impressive.

The stealth in the game is suspenseful and carries with it a rewarding feeling when executed properly. The lighting really comes into play here—as long as Violette remains in the shadows, she is almost invisible to enemies, allowing her to close in for the kill. Velvet Assassin's lighting and ambiance in each of the levels is excellent, helping to create interesting and believable environments. The game also provides ample opportunity for the player to manipulate the environment to create more shadows (e.g. disabling a fuse box to shut off the lights) so as to remain hidden.
Some reviewers criticize the AI in this game for being "blind," but in reality, I think the portrayal of stealth in Velvet Assassin is actually among the most realistic I've seen in a game.

However, the realistic and intense stealth does not necessarily translate well into fun gameplay. Ironically, Velvet Assassin's heavy emphasis on stealth is also what cripples the game in many other departments. First, the overall combat in the game is quite lackluster; aiming weapons, particularly in firefights, feels clunky and unnatural. While the game is obviously focused on stealth, there are several instances when sneaking around enemies is not an option and the player is forced into awkward combat situations.

Additionally, because crawling around and methodically eliminating enemies one-by-one is so time-consuming and tense, it makes it all the more frustrating when you are caught while trying to take out the last enemy and are forced to repeat the painstaking process all over again.

However, in spite of all of its flaws, Velvet Assassin is not a terrible game. It's a game that, unfortunately, could have been realized far better, but is certainly enjoyable at times, thanks to beautiful visual design, unique narrative and suspenseful stealth.

The Good:
- Story, characters, and setting are all developed excellently
- Spectacular visuals (both environment and animation)
- Great sound - voice acting and soundtrack are high quality

The Bad:
- Combat system is very hit-or-miss (you either enjoy it or hate it)
- Limited replay value outside of searching for collectibles
- Caters to fans of adventure rather than action

Remember Me is honestly a gem of a game; I've spent time replaying both the complete story mode and individual levels, and each time, I find myself thinking, "how is this game not more popular?"
The conclusion I have come to is that while the overall quality of the game is very high, the general gameplay experience is very bent toward a certain kind of player, causing the game to be rather polarizing.

This game feels and plays very much like a Tomb Raider game (particularly the games before the reboot, i.e. Legend, Anniversary, Underworld). Like Tomb Raider, Remember Me involves a great deal of acrobatic platforming, an excellent story with deep characters, a fantastic soundtrack, and a kickass female protagonist.
However, also like Tomb Raider, the combat falls short of many players' expectations, the replay value is based upon the player's interest in collectibles and/or interest in the game's world, and the mix of platforming and occasional puzzle solving will not be everyone's cup of tea.

In many ways, the game evokes a sort of cinematic feel, with a great deal of the enjoyment coming from watching the characters and the story's events unfold. Players looking for fast-paced action or a highly customizable experience will likely not be satisfied with what this game brings to the table, but for others seeking an intricate story and overall enjoyable adventure, Remember Me is certainly a *memorable* experience ;) . . . Okay, I'll see myself out lol.