Lately, I've been keeping pretty busy looking for work (hurray crappy economy and no degree, amirite?) and checking out some games I've never played, one remake, and one revisit: Jak II (not really new but I just got around to it), Dynasty Warriors 6's PS2 port, Chrono Trigger DS (again, not super-new but at least it came out within the last couple'a years), and I took off the nostalgia goggles and took a spin through Megaman Legends 2 for the Playstation.

First on the cutting board is Jak II. Just about the only thing I can say I don't like about this game is Jak's goatee. It's completely unsuited for that sweet mullet. The game is challenging, yes, but it's a -ton- of fun. Sure, it's kind of easy to game the system and collect a buttload of Skull Gems early on with the save-load trick, giving you access to broken abilities early on if you're patient, but hey, them's the breaks. The game itself is like Grand Theft Auto with hookers and gangland stereotypes replaced with zany antics and hot chicks with long ears and a preference for an odd blend of steampunk-y/biker clothing. Also, apparently the Krimson Guard has a huge turnover rate. In the first three hours you meet two former Guards, neither of which seem to have much of a sense of humor. If you're into a challenging game with cutscenes funny enough to warrant it being hair-pulling at times, definitely pick this one up at your $10 and under bin at Gamestop.

Now for Dynasty Warriors 6's PS2 port. The biggest thing I noticed off the bat was when you zerg into a ton of enemies, the game starts to lag something terrible. This is understandable, though, since the game was scaled back from PS3 capabilities (looks like Koei didn't scale enough. Oh well). Every character's undergone a pretty big redesign, though some iconic elements of their character (face, some weapons, Guan Yu's sweet ZZ Top beard) remain. Rather than being able to spam Square-Square-Trianglex4 to demolish everything that moves (if it dies, it was bad), this go round you have to play it smart until you either max out your combo gauge or get lucky with an infinite combo drop. It takes a little bit to adjust to the combo system, and actually having useful allies, but overall, if you can deal with some lag, it's a fun mindless beat-em-up that'll help blow steam after a rough day. Oh yeah, also, Diao Chan is now a viable character for multiplayer.

Chrono Trigger DS is the same fun little game I grew up with, now with a better, further-refined translation (up from the PSX port, which itself was retranslated from the SNES version)and a new dungeon that gives you access to some pretty broken gear. If Square could get their act together, stop letting Tetsuya Nomura direct Final Fantasy games, and make more like Chrono Trigger (slightly schitzophrenic plot aside) then they might actually hit the jackpot again. If you have a DS and like RPGs, this is at least worth renting long enough to give the bonus content and expanded plot a spin.

Now the part of the review I was dreading. Unfortunately, Megaman Legends 2 was a blast when it came out, but it hasn't aged too well. The controls feel clunky when you use the analog stick, and on the D-Pad they feel restricted. The musical score is still one of my favorites, but it feels less... real than other games at the time, namely the PSX era Final Fantasies. The Bonnes and newcomers Claymore & Bola and Glyde make for funny villains who can't seem to get their act together, making for some interesting infighting (though nothing comes of it), but the boss fights require you to rely on a tricky jump button and a targeting system that flat-out hates you sometimes, most notably on the train sequence. Four years ago I'd have said buy it if you can find it. Nowadays I can only say rent it for nostalgia, back before Megaman X hit the PS2 and everything went down the pooper.