I hate strategy games. I really do. I’m not afraid to admit that I’m just not smart enough for them. Or patient enough. That being said, I sure do love the Project X Zone series. It’s definitely the strategy game for the common man or non-strategy game player. And the second one adds more characters, more humor and even plays a bit faster.

The main draw of Project X Zone is playing with all the characters from different universes. It’s kind of like when you were a kid and you made all your toys from different cartoons fight. Of course, He-Man can’t really punch Darth Vader, except in the universe of toys and your imagination. Well, this video game provides that same kind of fun, but with adorable animated sprites.

The setup is the same as most crossover games—everybody’s being tossed around from different universes and wondering what the heck is going on. Good guys and sorta good guys team up. Bad guys and badder guys are on the other side. The story is not important, but the dialogue is. Seeing how each of the different characters talk and get on with each other is half the fun. And the writers in this game have done an excellent job. There’s plenty of clever dialogue, in-jokes, references to games, anime and general nerd culture. This is one of those games where I don’t feel the urge to skip to dialogue to get to the action.

The game so full of characters from different universes it’s dizzying. However, your enjoyment of the game will be greatly enhanced if you're an old school gamer. Of course, I’m not saying youngins won’t have fun, but many of the characters are from PS2/Dreamcast era and might be lost on kids who grew up with Angry Birds and the like. They’re not going to get the warm and fuzzies when they’re suddenly in a locale from .hack they haven’t seen in nearly 15 years. But there are still plenty of mainstream characters like Megaman or Phoenix Wright to entertain, even if some of the old school ones are a mystery. Heck, I would imagine there are very few people who’ve played all the games the characters come from. I certainly haven’t.

In terms of strategy games, I can’t tell you if this is a good one. I can tell you that it offers a lot of action for those types of games. Once you’ve engaged an enemy, the camera switches to a 2D fighting game view and you get to unload three attacks in a row on the bad guy. These attacks look straight out of a crazy 80's 2D brawler game with both attacking characters doing crazy combos while shouting out various things in Japanese. It’s very entertaining to watch as both characters kick the crackers out the bad guy sending him flying off the wall only to come bouncing back for more.

Naturally there are super moves, which crank up the craziness to a wonderfully entertaining level. The camera zooms in and both characters unleash a bevy of intricate attacks. They attack together in tandem and the over-the-top assault is punctuated with some sweet full-screen animation of one or both of the characters doing their final move. It’s pure entertainment, pure fan service, and pure fun. The attacks are very creative and I never got sick of seeing them.

Aside from super moves, you can also call your friends in for extra damage. In fact, you can call two sets of allies in for some super chaotic fun time. It boggles the eyes to see so many characters on the screen at once flying around, punching, kicking, shooting, yelling and in general causing a ruckus. This game is big on spectacle and that’s probably why I am drawn to it and not other strategy games.

The game also offers plenty of doodads to fiddle with as you upgrade your team to make them more battle ready. You can equip items, use XP to raise attacks, unlock new attacks and bonuses, assign new members to the team and more. There’s enough to do in the menus to where you feel like you’re doing something, but it’s not as overwhelming as it can be in some of the more complex games out there.

The graphics are adorable. Tiny sprite people walking around locales from various games is really fun to look at, that’s just science. And when they go into battle mode, the sprite animation is superb. Rich colors, great line work, tons of crazy effects and plenty of flare to go around. Visually, this game has an endless supply of charm. 

I’ve only seriously enjoyed a few strategy games in my life and this is one of them. It feels like the people who made this were having a blast and as a result, so will the player. The game will provide lots of laughs, tons of action, some basic strategy and a whole lot of fun.

Hint: Don’t forget about your skills! Some of them are really powerful and can heal your whole group!

by Urian Brown