I stumbled across this curious title - Corpse Party - when looking at forum threads on good VN (visual novel) hybrid games on the PS Vita people are playing out there at the moment. This popped up but I couldn't find it on PSN/Asia (or in local stores). It turns out the localised version of this game is only released in the US/ Europe so it's with a stroke of luck that I should have a PSN/ Europe account too. So I switched my Vita over and downloaded Corpse Party - Blood Drive (the latest and last in what is known as the "Heavenly Host Elementary" series in the franchise) meaning I am now not able to play all my games downloaded from the Asian account (Persona 4 Dancing All Night turns out to be not that addictive, Uncharted Fight for Fortune is great but I need a break from it, and am now waiting for the third instalment of Dangan Ronpa).
Anyway, back to Corpse Party BD, which despite its name, is actually quite an engaging game. And I have not regretted switching my Vita over to the UK account for it. It's primarily a VN, i.e. lots and lots of dialogue, with quite a bit of "dungeon crawling". When I say dungeon crawling, it's not like in RPGs where you have to kill monsters and stuff. Rather, you are confined in this alternative dimension - this haunted Heavenly Host Elementary School, the playground of serial killings - and you have to look for various items while running away from evil spirits (this part of the game I find a bit dull). Unlike in Dangan Ronpa, which kinda guides you around while keeping things interesting, in BD you can running the place (and it's not small) endlessly and aimlessly, in the dark, without knowing exactly where you are supposed to go next. I know this is probably the point but it's just not what I would consider good gameplay. So thank goodness for YouTube walkthroughs, which I think you need for various chapters.
But the story sure is interesting and engaging. This family (bloodline) of psychics having the ability to seek out a powerful magic item (Book of Shadows) that was created by ancient witches. Falls in the wrong hands and it's, well, the end of the world. I know, bit cliche and predictable but the story is laced with some fun characters and humour, and has enough twists and turns that keeps players interested. Oh, and I actually love the cute Chibi-style presentation in a horror tale! I'm now in Chapter 9 nearing the end but will play those extra chapters first (back stories) before progressing in the main story. Will see if there are other Europe/US-exclusive titles worth downloading too...
Meanwhile I have managed to get my hands on the Blackberry Priv. Not as flashy as, say, the Samsung Edge but with my brief hands-on experience using it, what a powerful workhorse! Will sure be upgrading to it (the Classic is driving me crazy!!!)
