Star Ocean: The Last Hope International

Star Ocean: The Last Hope International 

3-22-10

SO4 (this is the fourth installment in the series making for a decidedly easier abbreviation) is able to pull off to varying degrees most of the standard RPG genre requirements.  For one it has one hell of a fun combat system that in and of itself makes the game worth playing. The combat is so fun that the standard RPG "grind" for experience never felt all that grindy...it was fun. There is enough depth to the mele combat mechanics alone to have fun with...now add magic/ranged combat to that list and you double the fun. Unfortunately this is where the games strong points end and just about every other element suffers from one or more major flaws. Character customization amounts to mere augments that is well thought out but hardly constitute making the characters "yours". The story is filled with Japanese RPG cliches which in and of itself wouldnt be that bad if it wasn't so boring. Over and over I kept waiting for the story to kick into gear and get me excited and it just never happened. This is mostly due to the episodic nature of the plot. Though the parts never fuly come together to form one solid narrative. From a technical stand point the visuals are good enough its the art direction I take issue with. For a grand space opera style adventure the environments are kinda bland...and frankly it all feels much more like standard fantasy locations than real sci-fi. Though there are some overtly futuristic looking dungeon ares all in all (like the story) it felt kind of boring. The real draw here is the fun you have playing the game and its this fun that easily overcomes the afore mentioned shortcomings but I can easily see how it might not end up like this for you. 

Initial thoughts of Final Fantasy 13

Initial thoughts of Final Fantasy 13

3-15-10

Games can take a while to complete, as I don't get to play them 24/7 it can take a while to get a complete review up. So I thought I'd post some early thoughts/impressions of the game so far. Im about six or so hours into the game and it really feels like its coming into its own. Its a bit of a slow start to say the least. You go though quite a few stupidly easy battles that feel like they exist just so you have something to do besides watch the gorgeous cut scenes. And make know mistake they are gorgeous. Eventually the fun aspects of the battle system are opened up and you can stop wondering if you wasted sixty dollars. I have to say that I'm rather enjoying the game quite a bit at this point. It super fun to play and the story is one of the more original game plots I've had the pleasure of viewing. Sure the characters are cliched but the scenario is unique enough to make up for that. It will be interesting to see how much my final thoughts will differ from my early impression of the game. Suffice to say it would have to take a serious turn for the worse to change my mind though. 

The Power of Branding part 2

this blog post is intented as a responce to  [url=http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3178060]this[/url] article

Though I admire producer Yoshinori Kitase comments on their fresh approach to FF gameplay. I do question the notion of branding this game within the standard roman numeral FF series and not seeming to understand what that brand means. As far as I'm concerned the brand now means little to nothing more than the game needs to be Japanese (done) and tell a cinematic story (done). If those are the requirements it seems to get the FF brand then it sounds like FF13 fits the bill.
Sarcasm aside one could make the argument that Kitase intentions to create a new genre are admirable though I would love to challenge him as to why this new genre attempt didn't get its own brand new franchise designation (either some sort of sub set of FF or a new name entirely).

Hurt me plenty

Hurt me plenty

2-26-10

Thinking about the games I played when I was younger it occurred to me how a great many of those games I never beat...and even curiouser how many of those games I rarely got half way though. You might be thinking well Chris...this is because you suck. You could be right but ask yourself this...how far have you gotten on Pac-Man, Defender, Joust, Donkey Kong, Ghouls and Ghosts, Doom 1 or 2, Tempest, Smash TV, Dragons Lair etc.. and the list goes on and on. You may have beat these games and are thinking still...dude you suck. Thats fine as I'm not here to prove how awesome I am. I'm here to talk about the over all lack of difficulty in modern video games. See my point in brining up those games was to point out how even though I never really got all that far in them I loved them regardless. Even if you are the game wizard I'm sure you've had a game or two that you never really got far on but still enjoyed the brief time you spent with them. Now how many modern games can you say this about? I can think of few that would get on that list. If a modern game is too difficult it slips into obscurity rather quickly and is forgotten. If it can't be beaten then its not worth playing at all...seems to be the sensibility that pervades the modern gaming mindset. Though instead of gamers getting collectively better the games are getting easier if you ask me. Can the game companies be faulted for this though? After all they are in the business to sell these little discs to us. And besides we cant all be hardcore can we? These are excuses I hear a lot...and if you ask me they don't hold watter. Much of the "companies giving the consumer what they want" excuse sounds like a chicken or the egg dilemma. And don't give me this crap about casual gamers not wanting hard core. The entire industry was founded on casual gaming...fun date night arcade romps, or silly gaming for a few minutes in the theater lobby. How do you get more casual than Pac-Man or Asteroids? Like it or not this industry has gotten where it is today on the backs of lots of lamers like yours truly. Who loved to have fun with games though we weren't all that great at them. The question I want the answer to is where do we derive satisfaction/fun from games. Is it the mere act of playing a game or "beating" it. If said game is already relatively easy then whats the fun in that? 

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

2-22-10

Few modern games seem to capture the re-playability of the games I grew up on. They just don't..though they may have superior looking visuals and ultimately end up being much grander in scope....some just aren't as much fun as the old school. Vice City is a decidedly modern game and it is as much fun as the old school. Few games linger with me the way Vice City does. I've played though the thing three times now and could easily see my self picking it up again sometime soon. The combination of open world game play...thats in a world you actually want to play a game in. The faux 80's post card Miami look of everything is just so....rad. The music on the radio is fun...how many games can you say that about lol. It just all comes together here.  

The Power of branding

Ok so we have a couple RPGs dropping in march for the big 7th gen consoles...FF13 and RoF. My question is this how would your perception/anticipation of each game change if the names/brands were flipped. That is to say imagine the games are identical all reviews are the same only the one being touted as overly linear and pretty is Rof. On the other had the one being touted as unique/fresh with somewhat strait forward/boring dungeons was FF13.

The Final Fantasy brand is a powerful one to say the least. I'm not here to debate whether it is deserving of said appeal rather to discuss whether or not that big brand can cloud peoples judgment of an otherwise mediocre game.
I remember the American reviews of LO and thinking if LO had been branded FF how different not only would these reviews be but how different the overall potential reception of the game by the public at large would be. I mean here we have a rather classic style rpg that looks good brought to us by the guy who created FF released exclusively on the 360. If that game had been branded FF....I can't help but feel it would have received a much different reception. Reviews would have been kinder and more gamers would have payed attention.

Grand Theft Auto 3

Grand Theft Auto 3

2-22-10

How I love this game...let me count the ways. Umm where to start...first off there are few things in games as shamelessly fun as stealing a car in broad daylight then using said car to mindlessly destroy anything in sight. The amazing thing about this game is that it is what you make it. That is to say there is a structure..sure. Go to little icon and start mission...but how you complete said mission is left (for the most part) up to you. So yeah...the game play is crazy fun. If that were it you would have an extremely fun game. What takes this over the top and into my personal favorite list is its since of humor. From the silly mock mafioso plot to the hilarious satire that is the radio content. Its all equals tons of fun and easily one of my top 10 games ever.