Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days

While the game is worth buying for the story it features gameplay lacking in comparison. The game consists of a mission based story similar to crisis core and final fantasy x-2. battle require little more than presise dodging and killing the same enemies again and again save for the bosses. The game also features a new system with 'panels' which are used for everything from weapons and items to abilities and leveling up. Overall while it does not match up to standards set by the other kingdom hearts games it is by no means bad just not as good as the others, again worth buying for the story and the gameplay is tolerable.

One does have to wonder how much farther the Kingdom Hearts series can go - The original Playstation 2 game was a surprise smash, an impossibly charming and breezy blending of the two king storytellers of two completely separate mediums that managed to sustain its own original story and characters without collapsing under the weight of its gimmick. And it was a hell of a lot of fun to play, too.

Since then, things have rapidly gone downhill - Chain Of Memories for the Game Boy Advance was dogged by a card-based system with an unforgivably steep learning curve and was essentially a rehash of the first game with the odd plot twist and development thrown in for those who could struggle through its endless monotony. The long-awaited direct sequel Kingdom Hearts II aimed to expand the original story to the point that the Disney aspect of the game - Blended seemlessly with the original story in the first game - felt like an afterthought. To make matters worse, the story and in-game universe started to become needlessly complicated and an expert knowledge of all three games was required just to keep up with basic motives and plotlines.

358/2 Days is a 'midquel', taking place at the same time as Chain Of Memories and finishing just before Kingdom Hearts II. It focuses on the character of Roxas, introduced in the second game, and the ambiguous Organisation XIII, the antagonists of Chain Of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II.

For starters, anyone not familiar with the Kingdom Hearts universe would be well-advised to give this game a miss because there is absolutely no prologue or easing in to the world of the game - Even I, who have played every game to date, became confused within ten minutes.

The gameplay is very similar to the Playstation 2 titles, with the exception of a 'panel' system wherein you have a certain amount of spaces in a grid to equip weapons, magic, items, etc. The system allows for some customisation and strategy but frequently becomes frustrating as you can only take a certain amount of items with you and you rapidly run out of magic and potions.

As with COM, getting through the bulk of the game is a massive monotonous struggle as you constantly re-visit the same five worlds over and over with almost no variety. To compound matters, the bosses of 358/2 Days are massively overpowered, making battles against them long and frustrating.

The story is incredibly convulted in parts and trying to keep up with every character and backstory is not recommended - The main relationship between the three central characters, however, is heartbreaking and genuinely effective and it is worth struggling through the rest of the game to follow their story to its tragic conclusion.

So, fans of the series are recommended to struggle through this one for its blistering, fantastic final act that showcases Kingdom Hearts at its best. But non-fans or fans not overly bothered with the secondary characters would be well-advised to give it a miss.

If you have never played a kingdom hearts game before, dont try this one as you'll have no idea whats going on in the story.

Withouts spoiling the story, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days takes place between Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2 filling in some of the blanks about Roxas and Organisation XIII.

The game successfully manages to take the kingdom hearts ps2 experience and shove it into a DS and the results are brilliant. The graphics are very good for the system but you will experience slowdown when things get hectic.

Although the story is good, it won't grab your attention till the last 1/3 of the game. The rest is filled with a repetitve mission structure visiting the same places over and over again. It doesn't seem to bring anything new to the series which is disappointing. It all feels like you've been there and done that in the previous games.

It takes about 35 hours to complete and you can replay missions whenever you like.

Overall If you a diehard fan, you have to play this game. It'll definately keep you occupied untill Birth By Sleep and Kingdom Hearts 3 comes out