Enchanted Arms [PS3]

At Enchant University, Atsuma spends more time asleep in class than actually learning anything, so it's a good thing he has his more studious friend Toya by his side most of the time. After deciding to cut afternoon classes and check out the annual festival, Atsuma, Toya, and openly gay sidekick Makoto are caught up in a disaster as all the robot-like golems at the festival go nuts Westworld style. The game doesn't take itself too seriously and comes across as something of a cross between Final Fantasy VIII and the Cromartie High School anime. It's a shame they made Makoto somewhat stereotypical, but he does fit the campy presentation. You build up your party by creating your own golems and using them in battle, giving the game an element of customization. A good choice if you're looking for a Japanese-style RPG that's a bit out of the ordinary. [7/10]

Spectrobes [DS]

Rallen is a member of the Nanairo Planetary Patrol, and when he and his partner, Jeena find the survivor of a crashed spaceship, they learn that creatures known as the Krawl are set to invade the galaxy. The only way to fight back is to find the fossilized creatures called spectrobes, excavate them, and evolve them to a battle-ready state. According to my nephew Monty, who is a master of monster battle games, there's a good variety of creatures including beetles, tigers and lizards and the battle system is nice, since Rallen can fight using two spectrobes at once. The graphics are good as well, with creature details like spikes and teeth, and anime-style characters. The stylus is used to dig up the fossils and power-up minerals and yelling into the microphone "wakes-up" the fossilized spectrobes. The game manages to rise above other monster battle games thanks to its appealing story and diversity of action. [8/10]