Akiba's Beat

While its concept is intriguing -- fusing a fantasy RPG with a modern-day spin and sci-fi elements -- this game doesn't have much going for it. Shallow in depth, Akiba's Beat first suffers from limitations on where you can go and who you can interact with. For example, while it appears that you can move around Akihabara, the game has "invisible walls" that limit your exploration. Many characters are merely silhouettes instead of NPCs (non-player characters), so instead of letting you chat with an NPC, the game opens up a menu screen where you can choose desired text from a list. As such, the world feels barren and lifeless. That's strange, since the game does try to present storylines for each of the playable characters (with sub-quests, and branching plots), but these people lack any depth and you don't ultimately care enough to learn more about them. While walking around town, you'll be prompted often to save your progress, which hurts the suspension of disbelief even more.

The combat sequences are a little more fun, as you might expect, when you're zapped into a high-tech dungeon and need to defeat the enemy with your party. You'll use items such as swords and guns, and magic attacks, but the AI doesn't put up much of a fight. "Button mashing" is just as effective as planning out moves, so it doesn't seem like much skill is needed to beat enemies. Plus, the sexual themes in this game are awkward, unnecessary, and borderline offensive, particularly the nonconsensual commentary that really is unjustifiable. Save your money for another RPG, as there's simply not much here to justify the purchase.