FINAL FANTASY IV: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION.

PLATFORM: EXCLUSIVE ON PSP

GENRE: RPG

Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection isn't only a re-release of Final Fantasy IV as we already know it. It also includes all of the Wii-centric episodic releases of Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, as well as an all new game known as Final Fantasy IV: Interlude that ties the events of Final Fantasy IV and The After Years together. 

 If you're unfamiliar with Final Fantasy IV, let me catch you up. First released on the SNES back in 1991, Final Fantasy IV is a traditional console JRPG. It tells the story of a Black Knight named Cecil who, after committing heinous crimes on behalf of his king, attempts to right past wrongs. Along his journey, he meets a cast of characters that are amongst the most interesting characters in the entire Final Fantasy series. From the deceitful Dragoon Kain and the summoner Rydia to the ninja king Edge and the twin mages Porom and Palom, Final Fantasy IV's cast is among the strongest in RPG history. The fact that these characters end up on an unavoidable path to save the world simply makes them all the more likeable, even if each of them has flaws that are, at times, significant. 

 Final Fantasy IV plays much like many traditional RPGs of the time. Gamers will control a party of up to five characters. By visiting a variety of locales, from castles and dungeons to towns and cities, you'll be able to progress through the primary story of Final Fantasy IV, while occasionally branching off to complete some random side quests and other peripheral tasks. Many locations are associated to an overarching world map that players will often travel over. And combat in the game is triggered by random encounters. Once a random encounter has trapped your party, you'll have to fight through enemies using Final Fantasy IV's turn-based-but-not-quite system known as Active Time Battle. This system puts an impetus on actively paying attention to each fight, as opposed to a more straight forward turn-based affair ala the Dragon Quest series. 

What makes this re-release of Final Fantasy IV all the stronger is the extra content that's included in the overall package. The After Years takes place nearly two decades after the events of Final Fantasy IV, and deals with Ceodore, the son of Cecil and the white mage Rosa. Its episodic approach means that you'll be playing scattered events using many characters from Final Fantasy IV, as well as a slew of new playable characters, both familiar and unknown. Final Fantasy IV: Interlude, on the other hand, takes place almost directly after Final Fantasy IV, and deals with the events leading up to Ceodore's birth. Both The After Years and Interlude otherwise play identically to Final Fantasy IV itself, using familiar locations and graphical and audio assets, though The After Years throws a few curveballs at gamers, including a combat system called Band and a strength and weakness system based on the phases of the moon. Interlude is short -- a mere three hours -- but The After Years will take you a much more significant amount of time to work through. 

Clearly, Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection is the ultimate purchase for Final Fantasy IV fans. Even if you’re already experienced with the core Final Fantasy IV experience, there’s still so much to see and do here that it’ll be hard not jump back in. The After Years and Interlude certainly aren’t as strong as the primary game, but fans like me will enjoy getting to know more about the characters we love in locales we’re already familiar with, putting a little bow on the entire saga.
But there’s just as much here for gamers who are unfamiliar with Final Fantasy IV. The main game is enough of a draw, but having all of this extra content will simply give you more bang for your buck. Just be sure to play sequentially if you’re new to Final Fantasy IV, or you’ll be completely lost. If you haven’t played Final Fantasy IV, are a fan of RPGs, and don’t find yourself utterly impressed with the game, I will be surprised.

MIGHT AND MAGIC: CLASH OF HEROES

PLATFORMS: PS3, X360 AND NDS.

GENRE: PUZZLE  ADVENTURE

Like Puzzle Quest before it, Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes marries puzzle gameplay and role-playing elements with much success. But unlike Puzzle Quest -- a straight-up riff on Bejewelled -- Clash of Heroes doesn't ape another game's mechanics. This is a game all its own with a lot of depth and nuance to be discovered.

Clash of Heroes is a fantasy adventure about five young adults from different cultures banding together to stop demons from taking over the world. It's set in the Might & Magic universe (see: knights and wizards) but is a standalone story, so don't worry if you're unfamiliar with the series like I am. 

The role-playing elements are found between battles when you're exploring lush environments, chatting with locals, gaining party members, and leveling up your characters. It's a rewarding system that allows for a little creativity in how you approach combat. Once you engage in battle, you are thrust into an addictive puzzle game.

With the battlefield divided in half, your army is on the bottom and the enemy's on top. The object is to launch attacks at your opponent and deplete his or her health. By creating vertical stacks and horizontal rows of at least three same-colored units, you create attackers and defenses, respectively.

Those are the very basics of combat in Clash of Heroes, but from this foundation the game spins out many rules, unit abilities, and combo opportunities. Things get pretty intense when your Champion Dragon still has one turn left before it unleashes its poison breath and your opponent has a fused elite unit and a level-two wall formation in the way. (Don't worry, the game will explain all this to you in helpful tutorials.) By the second chapter, Clash of Heroes is a very challenging game.

What's New in the HD Version?

Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes was originally released on the Nintendo DS back in 2009. Several upgrades are included here on the PlayStation 3:

• Multiplayer now supports up to four players and is available locally or online.
  
• The visuals have been completely redone from pixilated sprites to hand-drawn characters, giving the game a very pleasing cartoon look.
  
• New spells, abilities, and artifacts have been added to the campaign.
  
• You can now revisit every faction's chapter to finish side quests.

 Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes is where it's at. I loved it on DS, and this HD version is even better. A deep, clever puzzle game mixes well with a beautiful role-playing adventure. This is a game to get lost in, providing hours and hours of single- and multiplayer fun.