The Great Gaymathon Review #65: Sweet Fuse: At Your Side (PSP)

Game: Sweet Fuse: At Your Side

Genre: Otome/Visual Novel

Developers: Comcept and Idea Factory

Publisher: Aksys Games

System: PSP

Release date: 2013

Considering how much I enjoyed Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom a few years ago, I approached the kind of similar--yet decidedly more modern--Sweet Fuse: At Your Side with fairly high expectations.

Which may explain why I initially, at least, found myself feeling a tad underwhelmed by this PSP "visual novel," despite the fact that I consider both its creative setup (it's a mystery that takes place at a video game-themed amusement park) and its colorful cast of characters to be far more appealing that the ones offered up by Hakuoki.

Thankfully, my indifference only lasted for an hour or so. After that, I was fully and joyfully involved with this game's plot--a doozie that involves saving game illustrator and producer Keiji Inafune and a few other folks from being blown to smithereens, along with the aforementioned theme park, by a porcine villain.

That's not to say the experience was all puppies and rainbows. There were times, for instance, when I just wanted the characters to shut up so I could move things along. (And by that, I mean so I could spend some more "alone time" with my main-squeeze-to-be, Ayumu Shirabe.) Granted, chattiness kind of comes with the territory when you agree to play a virtual novel, which tend to feel a lot like Choose Your Own Adventure novels in game form, but that isn't going to keep me from occasionally becoming annoyed by someone who's being just a bit too verbose.

Speaking of visual-novel standbys, another Sweet Fuse element that proved to be a bump in the road for me, from time to time, was the one that basically dictates that a player use a guide if he or she wants to end up successfully wooing a particular man in the end. (And let's be honest here: as much as this game is about solving a mystery and saving Inafune, it's also about winding up with a hot boyfriend.) I know this is a staple of the genre--that one or two missteps can keep you from finding love--but I really would've preferred it if the developers of this game could've found a way to make things less rigid in that regard.

Other than those two aspects, though, I found Sweet Fuse to be a thoroughly engaging and enjoyable affair. Like I said earlier, there's a lot to like about this game's cast--from its spunky protagonist, Saki Inafune (she's Keiji's neice), to its disparate band of potential paramours, to its cigar-chomping baddie, Count Hogstein.

The overall story here deserves praise, too. There are twists and turns, red herrings, dramatic confrontations and colorful dialogue--all of which are part and parcel of any good mystery, if you ask me.

And then there are the little things that conspire to keep players excitedly--or at least attentively--pressing their PSPs' X buttons, like the "Break Time" and "Explosive Insight" segments and the moments that prompt Saki to get pissed and scream, "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!"

Does all of the above mean I wholeheartedly recommend Sweet Fuse to anyone who happens across this review? Not entirely. Some folks just aren't going to enjoy spending 10 or so hours mostly clicking through text, even if that text is both witty and entertaining. If that doesn't bother you, though, and if you're even slightly curious about this game's concept, I'd certainly recommend giving it a try as soon as you can.

See also: previous 'Great Gaymathon' reviews and Sweet Fuse posts

Hubba hubba, part quatre

Can a single blog publish too many posts about the hottest hunks in video games? I hope not, as this is my fourth such post on the subject. (The first three can be found here, here and here. Oh, and the quatre mentioned in the headline is French for four, in case you didn't already know.)

Will I pen more of them in the future? I'd say it's pretty likely, although I don't have any particular studs in mind right now.

In the meantime, here's a look at the game-based beefcake that's been bouncing around in my brain as of late:

1. Simon Belmont (Castlevania: Lords of Shadow--Mirror of Fate)--Truth be told, I have little to no interest in the gameplay of this Konami-published 3DS title. I have quite a bit more interest, though, in two of its main characters: Trevor Belmont and Simon Belmont. As for why I decided to highlight the latter rather than the former in this post: Simon isn't afraid to show off his guns. Oh, and he's a ginge.

2. "Conversationalist" (Ana Holic!!)--Don't worry if neither this character nor the game in which he appears ring any bells. After all, Ana Holic!! is a Japanese PC game (a rather adult RPG, more specifically) made by the folks at Underground Campaign and, as such, it hasn't received much press outside of its home country. Given this guy's, er, "fashion sense," I'd have to say that's a crying shame, wouldn't you agree?

3. Marlon (Pokemon Black 2/White 2)--I realize that this choice is a bit suspect at first blush. In fact, I didn't even consider Marlon (aka Shizui) until after I came across the piece of fan art that can be seen above. Now that I've seen what a few years and a little time in the gym could do to him, though, I can't imagine this post without him.

'Let's have some fun with joysticks'

What does it say about me that the first thing I noticed about the following illustration is that the half-naked guy who I assume is supposed to serve as its focal point is playing what appears to be a PSone (one of my all-time favorite consoles)?

Of course, the guy in question isn't exactly "my type," so maybe that has something to do with it.

I discovered this image while perusing one of my favorite tumblrs, by the way--with that tumblr being Games With Boys.

Did you know that Justin Difazzio, aka the regular commenter formerly known as viewtifuljustin, is the proprietor of Games With Boys? Well, you do now.

What does it say about me that the first thing I noticed about this photo was that these guys are playing a Dreamcast game?

I mean, it's great that they have visible abs, nice enough legs and an acceptable taste in underwear, but what I really want to see is: Which Dreamcast game are they playing?

I'm guessing it's something "typical" like SoulCaliber or Dead or Alive 2. They'd earn my undying respect, though, if it were ChuChu Rocket! or even one of the Power Stone titles.

Via videogamesmademegay.tumblr.com)

Hubba hubba, part deux

Just about four years ago, I wrote--for the now-defunct GayWired.com--an article about "video gaming's hottest hunks." Because a number of additional pixelated and polygonal studs have arrived on the scene since then, I decided to pen a follow-up piece about a few of them.

Mike Haggar (Marvel vs. Capcom 3)--Is this how an in-his-prime Tom Selleck would have looked if he'd pumped iron with a similarly in-his-prime Arnold Schwarzenegger? Possibly. Even then, I doubt he would have shaved his chest or rocked a leather suspender like Mike Haggar. (Selleck certainly would have had a pair of nipples, though; something that's strangely absent in the image above.)

Little Mac (Punch-Out!! Wii)--It's doubtful that many gamers ogled the Little Mac depicted in the original Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! for the NES. His counterpart in the Wii sequel, though? Totally ogle-worthy. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised to discover there's a Yahoo! Group that's devoted to this darkly handsome character--although I would be a bit creeped out by it.

Altaïr Ibn la-Ahad, Ezio Auditore da Firenze and/or Desmond Miles (Assassin's Creed series)--That nose. Those lips. That ... chin. OK, so you have to use your imagination a bit when it comes to fantasizing about the multi-generational cast of the Assassin's Creed series. Still, it's clear that all three of these guys were blessed with great genes. If only they had chosen different career paths...

Jacob Taylor (Mass Effect 2)--It's a crying shame that the folks at BioWare didn't make it possible for gamers controlling a male Commander Shepard to put the moves on this, er, "amazingly gifted" Alliance soldier. (At the very least, they could have provided players with more scenes of Taylor sans shirt.) Here's to hoping they rectify matters in the upcoming Mass Effect 3.

Snow Villiers (Final Fantasy XIII)--Is Snow a bit of a douche? Undoubtedly. Does he have a questionable sense of fashion? Surely. Would any of that matter if he offered to buy you a drink in a dark (and possibly dingy) bar? Not on your life--especially considering the powerful pair of pecs he seems to be packing under that tailor-made trench coat.

Honorable mentions: Abel (Street Fighter IV), Ryotaro Dojima (Persona 4), Nathan Drake (Uncharted series), Chris Redfield (Resident Evil series) and Travis Touchdown (No More Heroes series).

See also: 'Hubba hubba' and 'Heartthrobs'

Hubba hubba

Thanks to the prevailing wisdom that all video gamers are hormonally charged heterosexual men, most developers design their wares with that demographic in mind. As such, it should be no surprise that big-breasted babes abound in much of the software sold in stores today.

That doesn’t mean gay guys are left with no one to ogle when they fire up a game on their PlayStation 3s, Xbox 360s or Wiis. In fact, more than a handful of hunks have paraded across the screen over years, with the following list highlighting the hottest:

Guile (Street Fighter series)—The Street Fighter series has hosted a number of hotties over the years, but Guile stands head and shoulders above the rest thanks to his military background. (After all, who doesn’t like a hot guy in a uniform?) He loses a few points for the weird ‘do, but everything else is so spot on that it can be overlooked.

Leon S. Kennedy (Resident Evil series)—Leon Kennedy proves you can be fashion-forward even while working to rid the world of zombies. Thankfully, he seems to be a looker even without the bomber jacket, tight jeans and manicured mane. Now Capcom (the game’s producer) needs to give him a few alternate outfits to prove that point. Here’s an idea: Maybe he could run around in his tighty whities in the series’ next sequel?

Kratos (God of War I and II)—Why is this guy hot? Well, for starters, his designers were inspired by Greek mythology—Hercules in particular. Unfortunately, they also made him sociopathic. Considering it looks like he stepped, dripping with sweat, out of a particularly steamy piece of Gladiator fanfic, I’m willing to give him a pass for not being completely sane.