Diasgea 3

Disgaea 3 is set in the Maritsu Evil Academy and you play Mao, son of the overlord. Mao wants to be a hero and since comic books keep telling him heroes kill overlords, it looks like a little patricide is in order.

There's a definite 'them and us' feel to this game. The Disagea series of tactical RPG has a large fan base, and the game seems directed at 'them' rather than at anyone new. Which means fans will be happy to find few changes to the basic engine and tactical gameplay. Anyone else won't care.

A familiar feel is always a good thing for drawing your gamers back. There are many examples out there where solid gameplay has been sacrificed for a radical change, alienating players.

One Annoying thing about combat in this game is how, with the introduction of elevation views on the levels, the cursor can jump from character to character like a jack rabbit, causing the screen to jump too.

There are positives to Disgaea though, such as battle scenes having a myriad of options for attack, and the ability to combine characters in these actions.

Disgaea 3 seems like a handheld conversion on the PS3. If it were merely that, the review of the handheld would have no doubt been more sparkling. The fact remains that it isn't and for all its good points for fans there's an absence of pretty much anything to entice new players.