Here's our weekly roundup of some of the games that may have slipped under your radar – such as Xenoblade Chronicles, Inazuma Eleven and White Knight Chronicles 2
Xenoblade Chronicles ... 
Wii; £39.99; cert 12+; Nintendo
Xenoblade Chronicles looks at first glance like a traditional Japanese RPG – cutscenes and all – but this complex, rich game manages to transcend the genre conventions and tell its story in surprising, engaging ways. Gifted orphan Shulk must lead his fellow colonists on an epic battle against evil robots that have invaded their world – but this is not all standard fantasy fare (the first grisly death comes about three hours in). Confusing camera angles and busy screens can sometimes make for complicated battles, but the combat system is unusual and compelling, revolving around use of special attacks, team tactics and manoeuvring to find the best position. The legendary weapon Monado, which lets Shulk see the future, provides both the main thread of a poignant and engaging story and some beautiful and innovative combat effects. The Wii's graphical limitations sadly make the game look old before its time, but Xenoblade Chronicles more than makes up for it with believable characters, a surprisingly open, non-linear world, intertwining side quests and collection and crafting systems that complement the main game without overpowering it. All that over more than 50 hours of gameplay – and very few random encounters. A genuine epic.
Mary Hamilton
Inazuma Eleven ...
DS; £29.99; cert 7+; Nintendo
Inazuma Eleven is a football-meets-RPG mash-up aimed at anime-mad 10 year olds. The game follows the adventures of young Mark Evans as he attempts to lead his school team to unlikely glory. With an unfolding soap opera storyline which hooks you in despite (or perhaps because of) its clich̩s, the main action is a series of stylus-controlled football challenges. There is some skill to moving the players around the pitch, like a real-time tactical general, but once you're in position for a tackle or a shot, a Pokemon style micro-battle kicks in, with accompanying animation. Whether your player's action is successful is down to a series of stats and elements, and getting together a team capable of preposterous, Shaolin Soccer-aping moves is the only way to achieve victory. Between these matches, much time is spent traipsing around the school and town tracking down the players suggested to you by the bubbly talent scout and potential love interest Celia. The plot Рwith its characters with dark secrets, opposing teams with evil cloaks and depth-perception-limiting eyepatches, and time spent praying to the shrine of the central character's dead grandfather Рis typically outr̩ for an anime, and the cut scenes are nicely rendered and break up the game well. Quibbles: the time spent searching for new players does drag, and the dubbing into CBBC English is a touch grating at times. Inazuma Eleven has been out since 2008 in Japan, and is showing its age slightly Рbut it's better late than never.
James Walsh
White Knight Chronicles 2 ...
PS3; £49.99; cert 16+; Sony
Load up White Knight Chronicles 2 (WKC2) and it's not long before you get the feeling something's amiss. Putting the generic, overlong JRPG cutscenes to one side for a minute, in terms of gameplay you're not so much thrown in the deep end as you are thrown off a cliff in to the Mariana trench. There is, you see, no tutorial, and for a game that looked at FF13's Paradigm Shift system, snorted derisively and said "I can make something even more complicated than that," it really should something of a prerequisite. For a newcomer, it's impenetrable, and this is the point at which many reviewers and purchasers probably gave up. There is method to this madness, however. WKC2 is not a sequel in the typical way we expect of a game nowadays. Buy Fifa 12 and you don't expect to have to play Fifa 11 to understand it. WKC2 on the other hand sees itself as the second half of whole (think Kill Bill) and the original game is bundled with it. The tutorials – and a great deal of narrative context – are only acquired through playing through its predecessor. Buy WKC2 then and, assuming you haven't played the original (which has been slightly updated for this release) and you've got two, 25-hour plus JRPGS in one package – great value. The games themselves are standard JRPG fare – terrible dialogue, tedious cutscenes but rewarding and challenging gameplay in between. The White Knight aspect of the title comes from your "summons"-like ability to transform into a huge Japanese knight during battle and kick the snot out of your opponents, which is always good fun. Rewarding and challenging as it might be, WKC2 is nevertheless unremarkable in all other aspects and of little interest to all but the most dedicated JRPG fans. Bury 50 hours of your life into these two games, by all means, but not before you've played the 27 better role-playing-games that exist across this generation of consoles.
Jack Arnott
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2011/sep/02/games-review-roundup
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