A conversation about PS1 RPGs came up the other day and it really got me thinking about them. For a long time the Roleplaying genre was a colorful and interesting one, it was the focus of my gaming attention. I'm not talking for a little while either. My interest in RPGs ran from NES to PS2, a time frame which covers roughly 20 years. There was a time when new and innovative RPGs were coming out every few months and there was always a new game somewhere on the horizon to enthrall your attention after beating your current outing. While other games came and went there was almost always an RPG in the background that I was playing through long term.
Sadly the time for the console roleplaying game has passed. All of the features from classic RPGs have been dissected and implanted into every major game on the market. The interest in deep statistics has made its way into nearly all genres. Its so saturated now that there is a great difficulty in distinguishing what is a modern RPG. Games like Dragon Age and Oblivion are hardly traditional since they take most of their elements from western/computer RPGs. They've taken over the limelight from classic console/Japanese RPGs. Maybe it was time, as I've discussed in the past, since the Japanese seem content to stagnate. The DS carries the flag of the classic RPG while the consoles simply ignore the genre entirely. Times have changed, times have definitely changed.
To get to what is my original point I'm going to quickly discuss roleplaying games for the original PlayStation. I'm going to put down a list of good, bad and unplayed games for the system and put a little blurb about each one. Plus a pointless star system that I'll never use again! So enjoy my rundown and feel free to comment!
GREAT PS1 RPGS
- Final Fantasy VII -
One of the best Final Fantasy games and one of the top PS1 games ever made. It was a major jump from 2D to 3D, but this game did so successfully. It has one of the strongest legacies of any video game ever and is still much loved 13 years later. A personal favorite. *****
- SaGa Frontier -
Not everybody liked this game but for me it was great. Six scenarios to play through and dozens of characters across an imaginative open world. This Squaresoft game was the first non-linear RPG that I ever played. The prerendered (remember that term!) backgrounds were colorful and full of character. The music was catchy and always set an appropriate mood. I really loved this game. ****
- Persona 2 -
Though we only had half of this game released in America I have since played the other half. It's a solid entry into a great series. RPG games set in the modern era are few and far between and often not very good. This was set in modern Japan and featured a compelling epic story that wasn't as hackneyed as so many other storylines. So much better than the "Tactics Advance" games that came after. ****1/2
- Final Fantasy Tactics -
The best strategy RPG of all time was one of the first. Tactics was an offshoot of the popular series and featured many of the same elements as older FF games, including job classes and chocobos. The world in this game was well imagined and well planned out. It had a great political and religious storyline that is very serious, mature and original. Hard to believe such and mature, serious story came from a Japanese developer! If you haven't played it you MUST try it somehow. ****1/2
- Suikoden 2 -
True story, I made a $30 profit on this game! I held onto it for about 5 years then sold it on eBay for $90. If I still had it I'd be able to sell it for $200 or so I'm sure. This is in such high demand because it's one of the best RPGs of the system. The graphics are absolutely beautiful. The story is brilliant. The characters are great. It has all the elements of a great game but also has an x-factor that makes for something special. ****
GOOD PS1 RPGS
- SaGa Frontier II -
They hype for this game was very misleading to me. They built it up to be a game where your decisions could have an effect on the world and storyline. It was nothing like that. It was an odd game where small chapters, usually encompassing only a single dungeon, would be played out over the course of 50ish years and cover two distinct stories. It's playable but limited. Wonderful art at least. ***
- Breath of Fire III -
Breath of Fire was a decent SNES series that made the jump to the next generation in this game. It was a fun game that suffered from lacking anything distinct. The story was pretty strong and ended up sort of sad and hopeless. ***1/2
- Breath of Fire IV -
Not as good as the third one in my opinion. The characters were weaker and the story wasn't up to the same level. It used the same system and had similar graphics. ***
- Chrono Cross -
The sequel to the fantastic Chrono Trigger was nowhere near the level of it's predecessor. That isn't to say this was a bad game. It was very good in fact as a standalone outing. Attached to the all time SNES favorite, however, forced it to be measured against that game. It came up far short of the time traveling classic. ***
- Final Fantasy VIII -
7 it was not, but also bad it was not. It was also measured against it's predecessor and unfavorably so. I loved the game for many reasons. Not the story, oh god not the story. The characters were well done, in particular Laguna Loire who served as a side character. The battle system was solid and the graphics were amazing for the time. Realistic characters were featured for the first time in a Final Fantasy. ***
- Final Fantasy IX -
Not great but not bad. This game returned to the cutesy characters for the last time in a Final Fantasy game. It also featured the last low-tech world in a main series FF game. Comparatively the weakest of the series on the PS1. ***
- Final Fantasy: Origins, Chronicles, Adventures -
Ports of the Squaresoft SNES classics. Hard to really rate them. Cool to see them on a new system, certainly, even though they didn't play as smooth on a CD as on a cartridge. no rating
- Front Mission 3 -
A semi-futuristic strategy RPG that featured giant mechs as the combat tools. Cool storyline that involved four modern superpowers jockeying for position. The storyline seemed like something out of Tom Clancy. Another modern(ish) setting means it gets brownie points. ***1/2
- Grandia -
Originally a Sega Saturn game I believe. This port wasn't the best RPG out there and honestly had a lot of plot holes and a poorly imagined world. It had some cheerful graphics and music as well as a fun combat system. ***
- Legend of Dragoon -
I never beat this game in all honesty. It may not be well remembered, but at the time there was a lot of hype behind this game. It was Sony developed and thus got a lot of their advertising money. The game itself was okay but nothing special. It felt like a poor man's Final Fantasy, a cross between 7 & 8. It had unique combat mechanics that weren't seen again until Lost Odyssey. ***
- Legend of Mana -
An action RPG and maybe the only one I'll include. The USA never got Seiken Densetsu 3, so this was the first Mana game we'd seen since Secret of Mana. The 'world building' scheme was stupid, but the rest of the game was great. The backgrounds, characters, missions, weapons, and music just worked together perfectly. It was non-linear and not for everybody, but for me it was a worthy successor to the Mana spirit. ***1/2
- Lunar Silver Star Story -
At first I was reluctant to play this Sega Saturn port, but in the end I caved in and was glad I did. While unspectacular and featuring nothing new or original it did a fine job of utilizing the standard mechanics. Decent game and the anime cutscenes were well done. ***
- Tactics Ogre -
A lot like Final Fantasy Tactics and for a good reason, they were both made by the same guy. Originally a Super Famicom game, it was translated and released in the USA on the PS1. The story wasn't as good as FFT nor were the graphics. It was still quite fun. It was deep and had a lot of secrets to be found, like secret party members, if you were willing to look. I put a lot of time into this one. ***1/2
- Parasite Eve -
An old series that never moved beyond the PS1 (until recently). This Squaresoft game was set in a modern New York that was really well imagined. Very unique combat system that let this game stand out against all the rest. ***
- Persona -
The first in the brilliant series, and undoubtedly the weakest. A cast of teenage characters go into an alternate world to fight against demons and monsters. The graphics were lacking, but everything else was solid. Set the foundations for the series but not the best example. ***
- Star Ocean 2 -
An Enix game that featured a world spanning storyline about a space pilot from Earth that is stranded on an alien world. The game featured an affinity system that let the characters in your party build up friendships with each other that affected game play and the ending. The promise of "80 endings" was a bit misleading. The combat was live action, which hadn't been seen before really. ***1/2
- Suikoden -
One of the earliest RPGs for the system and it was a wonderful example of what to expect from the system. 108 characters to be recruited was unprecedented coming out of the 16-bit era. The story was a standard evil empire affair but the characters were well developed and their were so many twists and turns I was always on the edge of my seat. The large scale strategic battles were fun as hell. ***1/2
- Tales of Destiny -
One of the long running Tales series of games. It didn't strike me as anything special, but also it wasn't particularly at anything it did. Pretty standard fare except for the battles, which were fought on a 2D plane much like Street Fighter 2. It was tolerable but honestly not worth playing more than once or twice. ***
- Vandal Hearts -
Strategy RPG. It had a lot of bloodletting. It seriously gushed blood for every dead enemy. Just a fountain of blood! This story was about an army fighting against bad guys... the usual. The game was fun despite being nothing great. The ending was ambiguous and sort of sad. Memorable for the blood. ***
- Valkyrie Profile -
Similar to other games but very refined. The graphics were dark and detailed. The storyline was a unique blending of a fantasy world and Nordic mythology. Every mission was a recruitment mission. The characters were then built up and sent away to prepare for Ragnarok, and you could continually check the status of your 'einharjar". The sequel didn't live up to this classic. The combat was button mashing craziness! ***1/2
- Wild Arms -
The second RPG I ever played on the PS1. It combines standard RPG controls with a psuedo-wild west world. The graphics were hardly better than an SNES game, and the combat graphics featured very basic 3D models. The story wasn't great and left a lot to be desired. The game was, despite everything else, fun to play. There was a remake of this game on the PS2 that I never managed to play, and it spawned a series that is currently in it's 5th game. ***
- Xenogears -
This game would be higher up the list if it weren't for the second disc. The first disc, however, is some of the best stuff available. 2D sprites in a 3D world actually works in this game. The combat is exciting live action stuff, and comes in both mech and human form. The game world is well designed and thought out with some seriously interesting places to visit. Fate feels strong in this game as you are pulled by several manipulating forces towards the end. The second disc is terrible, though, and undoes everything from the first. It was rushed, clearly, and starts playing like a powerpoint presentation only broken up by the occasional battle. It's very, very bad and ruins the game. ***
- Wild Arms 2 -
Solid game though not better than the first one. Featured improved graphics and new gameplay ideas. The "seeker" system on the overworld still pisses me off as the Wild Arms developers have used it in every game since. **1/2
BAD PS1 RPGS
- Kartia -
The worst strategy RPG on the system. Boring mechanics, ugly graphics and a foolish chapter system make a terrible game. Does nothing new and doesn't draw you in. Forgettable. *1/2
- Beyond the Beyond -
The earliest RPG for the system so it was obligatory for a lot of people. Sadly it was a giant pile of shit. It had Genesis graphics and gameplay that was clunky and boring. A cookie cutter JRPG storyline. Absolute crap. *
- Legend of Legaia -
Thinking back I initially liked the game but ended up hating it. The whole game was a bit weird, from the story to the graphics. It didn't look good and it didn't play good and ended up being unsatisfying. **
- Rhapsody -
Awful, awful game. Japanese cutesy shit. It was like watching one of those terrible "cute girls" anime shows. Humor for idiots and characters clearly meant for and written by five year olds. The graphics were unattractive and the music sucked. It was a "musical" RPG and the music sucked! That says it right there. *
- Saiyuki: Journey West -
This strategy RPG was based on the classic Chinese tale. It was in the end just a standard game that offered nothing more than the battles, and those weren't great. The graphics were good but the game itself was so underwhelming that graphics didn't make up for it. Little was on offer here and that's why most people never heard of this game. **
- Thousand Arms -
Everyone confused this with a sequel to Wild Arms, but it was in reality something far different. An RPG crossed with a Japanese dating game. I'm not even kidding, the biggest feature this game had going for it was the ability to date a half dozen of the female characters! That's something that just does NOT play well here in the States. Since the dating was the focus of the game there was little else worth noting as it was just a below average RPG. *1/2
- Vandal Hearts II -
A better story than the first one and it had four or five different outcomes (I never got the damn GOOD ending!). The character designs were actually pretty terrible and bland. The biggest piece of shit about this game was the battles. You and one random enemy would move at the same time which would lead to some frustrating battles. **
- Jade Cocoon -
Overrated and promoted far too much. Not as good as was advertised. Didn't have a lot going for it in the end. *1/2
PS1 RPGs Never Played
- Vanguard Bandits
- Vagrant Story
- Tales of Destiny II
- Parasite Eve II
- Lunar 2 Eternal Blue
- Arc the Lad Collection (Played 2 0f 3)
- Darkstone
- Dragon Warrior VII
- Granstream Saga
- Hoshigami
- Koudelka
- Shadow Madness
Showing posts with label video games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video games. Show all posts
Monday, July 12, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Used Games are the Enemy?!
When did this whole concept of used video games devastating the profit margins of developers become popular? I had never heard a single word about this until a few months ago. Now it's on every blog of any relevance and is on the lips of every company. It's the frontline in a war on gamers. The issue is one of the more hotly debated of the day. Retailers vs Companies, and the loser is the gamer.
I'm not sure when this came into the public mind. For years it was distributors vs pirates. Major game publishing companies have been trying to squeeze every penny from gamers by fighting the pirates that are supposedly cutting into their profits. Now these companies have moved on to attacking used game retailers? At the same time they have exclusive deals with the very same retail chains offering content to people that purchase from specific locations. Preorder at Gamestop and get a free outfit for your character. Buy it at Walmart and unlock a special background for your title screen. The offerings were often less than impressive, as displayed here, and I don't think they did much to encourage anybody save the obsessive completionists desperate for every tiny bit of content. That's why the 'offers' are starting to go a bit overboard. EA is coming up with the idea that in order to play their sports games online you have to buy them brand new, otherwise the option is locked. Buying one of these games used doesn't mean those options are forever locked due to the missing one-time use code, oh no not at all you just have to shell out $10. That's right, you have to pay $10 extra just to get a fully functional game. And to think that we used to only be worried about paying for DLC that's already on the disc.
It's a dangerous assumption by these companies that the person who purchases a used game two years later for $10 would have ever paid full price. Yet that is always factored into their numbers in an effort to further increase the image of the so called damage. The decision of a consumer to purchase a used game is really all about price and impulse. Seeing a game that was once popular a mere six months ago fall from grace and sit on the used game racks at $15 while it's still new for $40 is a choice that seems to make itself. It might have received some popularity due to word of mouth which meant a person knew of it but wouldn't actively seek it out. Seeing it on the used game racks leads the consumer to vacantly shrug and go "Okay, I'll buy that. I heard it was good and it's wicked cheap."
There's also the argument that going to a video game store and holding the game physically are valuable experiences of being a gamer. That's definitely true but the main issue is that the whole experience of being a gamer is changing. Be nostalgiac about it, certainly, but also understand that the world is changing and conceptions of the gaming industry is changing. The developers are winning the used games "battle" by pushing digital distribution. It's not entirely efficient on the current generation of consoles, but the future is leaning towards the end of physical video games.
I have issues with the developers solution to used games which is digital distribution, the most notable being my access to that game in 20 or 30 or 80 years time. I can still get a cartridge from an NES or Atari 2600 and plug it into the system and play, but how will this be achieved with digital distribution? Will I only be given access to the game for the life of the console? Will it only be available for me to play for a limited time even though I've paid full price? Will we still pay outrageous fees even when production costs are negated? Maybe I'm just an old time gamer that can't see past the singularity into the next phase of gaming (probably not, I'm ready but I'm bitter) or it could just be that I feel consumers and gamers have rights.
But if you can download it, you can pirate it. That's a battle they'll never win.
I'm not sure when this came into the public mind. For years it was distributors vs pirates. Major game publishing companies have been trying to squeeze every penny from gamers by fighting the pirates that are supposedly cutting into their profits. Now these companies have moved on to attacking used game retailers? At the same time they have exclusive deals with the very same retail chains offering content to people that purchase from specific locations. Preorder at Gamestop and get a free outfit for your character. Buy it at Walmart and unlock a special background for your title screen. The offerings were often less than impressive, as displayed here, and I don't think they did much to encourage anybody save the obsessive completionists desperate for every tiny bit of content. That's why the 'offers' are starting to go a bit overboard. EA is coming up with the idea that in order to play their sports games online you have to buy them brand new, otherwise the option is locked. Buying one of these games used doesn't mean those options are forever locked due to the missing one-time use code, oh no not at all you just have to shell out $10. That's right, you have to pay $10 extra just to get a fully functional game. And to think that we used to only be worried about paying for DLC that's already on the disc.
It's a dangerous assumption by these companies that the person who purchases a used game two years later for $10 would have ever paid full price. Yet that is always factored into their numbers in an effort to further increase the image of the so called damage. The decision of a consumer to purchase a used game is really all about price and impulse. Seeing a game that was once popular a mere six months ago fall from grace and sit on the used game racks at $15 while it's still new for $40 is a choice that seems to make itself. It might have received some popularity due to word of mouth which meant a person knew of it but wouldn't actively seek it out. Seeing it on the used game racks leads the consumer to vacantly shrug and go "Okay, I'll buy that. I heard it was good and it's wicked cheap."
There's also the argument that going to a video game store and holding the game physically are valuable experiences of being a gamer. That's definitely true but the main issue is that the whole experience of being a gamer is changing. Be nostalgiac about it, certainly, but also understand that the world is changing and conceptions of the gaming industry is changing. The developers are winning the used games "battle" by pushing digital distribution. It's not entirely efficient on the current generation of consoles, but the future is leaning towards the end of physical video games.
I have issues with the developers solution to used games which is digital distribution, the most notable being my access to that game in 20 or 30 or 80 years time. I can still get a cartridge from an NES or Atari 2600 and plug it into the system and play, but how will this be achieved with digital distribution? Will I only be given access to the game for the life of the console? Will it only be available for me to play for a limited time even though I've paid full price? Will we still pay outrageous fees even when production costs are negated? Maybe I'm just an old time gamer that can't see past the singularity into the next phase of gaming (probably not, I'm ready but I'm bitter) or it could just be that I feel consumers and gamers have rights.
But if you can download it, you can pirate it. That's a battle they'll never win.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Games Meant for Greatness
Continuing my current trend of posting long diatribes about video games I bring to you a list of games that I got extremely hyped up about and ended up barely touching. I guess it will also include games that I got excited for but ended up hating or feeling, perhaps undeservedly, disappointed with the finished product. I know... another list. Bear with me for the moment because I'm experiencing a resurgence of writing and this is part of the process. This is a topic that I've seen a fair bit of discussion about in recent times, notably from an interview with Sid Meier.
To be fair a lot of the blame for this phenomenon has to be put on my shoulders, as they should be for any gamer. When I anticipate a game I start building it up to great proportions in my mind. I take any tidbit of information and wildly imagine the most creative interpretation of that data possible. Sometimes that's aided by the type of interview given by the developers (see Peter fucking Molyneux as a perfect example). I suppose leaving some topics purposefully ambiguous before the release cuts down on this somewhat, I still manage to put these games on a pedestal. As Sid Meier said in an interview, we are already playing these games in our head before we ever play them on a screen. Sometimes there are unrealistic expectations by myself and other gamers put onto big name games.
Coming from the other side now we have failing to live up to promises. While we as gamers aren't entitled to make demands on those who make games we have the right to expect a quality product. Don't we? If a game company is listing features and making promises on gameplay then we have a reasonable to expect them to deliver. If they don't we're going to call them on it. You can't slip crap through the cracks anymore. Simply spitting in the gamers faces after the release of a game and saying "Didn't have time" or "That was just an early build" is a douchebag move. The big companies aren't guilty of this very often. It's usually the small indy company or the 'name' developer (like Molyneux) that are guilty of false hype. There are a plethora of reasons, certainly, but what it comes down to is don't make promises you don't intend to keep.
Well that's enough with the rant. There's more I could say and a lot more avenues to be explored. I definitely didn't flesh out my arguments. Well maybe that's for another time. On to the list!
FABLE
Let's start with the big boy over hype, Fable. There was so much promised in this game that it would have been impossible for them to even deliver half of it at the time. Technically the stuff they were talking about weren't even feasible. Hell most of the stuff they promised then couldn't be (or has yet to be) achieved by now. The basic idea was that this was going to be a world that was alive and that could be changed by the player. Some of the grand ideas were making decisions that had lasting impact on the world, starting trends in fashion and style, placing something that would change the world around it as time passed, and living the entire life of the main character as the world grows with you. In the end none of this was possible. Your impact on the world was nonexistent. The only "change" you could make was moving your morality up and down a slider. Like we haven't seen that done before, and better. The world was static and didn't change at all. True your character grows and ages, but everything else stays the same. It just felt very uninspired truthfully. Almost every one of the grand promises wasn't present. This isn't to say that Fable was a bad game, it just wasn't what everybody thought it would be based on what were told constantly for three years. Huge, huge, disappointment. Fable II made more big promises, which were undelivered. By that time we'd all learned not to listen to Molyneux.
WWF Attitude
This was really just stupidity of youth. I was a big, big wrestling fan back in 1998. The 'current' game available was WWF Warzone, which was awful and featured wrestlers that had mostly left the company. So when I heard that a new game was coming out I did what any teenage idiot would do, hype the game to unimaginable levels in my head. I imagined what I would be able to do, how I would create dozens of wrestlers in the CAW mode, and the titles I would win with such 'legends' as Gangrel, Brian Christopher, and Thrasher. This was, when it finally came out in 1999, such an uninspired piece of garbage that I barely ended up playing it very much. It utilized a terrible fighting game control scheme in which you had to press button combos to perform moves. It was bad. This was the first in a long line of wrestling game disappointments. Considering that WWF Wrestlemania 2000 and WWF No Mercy came out in the following years, this piece of junk fades into the mists of history as a forgotten relic of wrestling's past. The stigma of this engine wouldn't disappear, however, as ECW put out two games with this exact same play style. To say they were received poorly is an understatement.
SPORE
Here we go again... it's almost like relieving the Fable release. Spore was a game that was long in development and we were introduced to it during a very early stage. This meant we had years to hear about it and listen to the little lies that were being fed to us. Spore was supposed to be the grandest scale game of all time. The game would follow a species from life as a single-celled organism all the way to space faring explorers and everything in between. Extensive creation tools were supposed to give us the ability to craft their culture and look to the most minute details. After years of development it was time for it to be released. Millions were clearly spent on advertising. It was everywhere, it was in the public eye. DRM issues aside, the game delivered... on the creation tools. The rest of the game... meh. It was very, very disheartening to learn that the actual gameplay of the game was meant specifically for casuals. Even less than casuals, non-gamers really. The creation tools were so deep that entire styles of architecture could be created and thousands of unique species of creatures could be created. I personally created more than a hundred creatures. While it was a bit exciting to see your creations show up randomly in the game... there wasn't much else to do with them. The world simply felt lazy. There was no real depth to the gameplay, each stage could be finished in under an hour. The only stage that really interested me was the second stage where you actually walk around, third person, as one of your creatures. Aside from this we get dumbed down 'tribe', 'civilization', and 'space' stages. Gamers like depth. An emotional connection draws people into putting many, many hours into a game. You couldn't have that connection with your Spore creatures since there was no depth. Spore is a mixed bag, excellent creation tools with limited game experience.
Unlimited SaGa
Don't mess with what a series is at it's core, people. I would have defended the SaGa series against anybody's insults should the need have arisen. While most people passed over SaGa Frontier's 1 & 2, I played and loved both of them. Romancing SaGa 3 was one of the best games never to get localized (officially). Then I heard a new game was coming out on the PS2 and allowed myself to get excited. What I ended up with was a game that was beyond shitty. For a series that isn't well known to try something so disastrous is foolish, and this game killed the series. Sure they remade Romancing SaGa 1, but in the end we all know there won't be any future SaGa games. Unlimited went so far away from what the series was that it took my interest and smashed it with a hammer. I can still go back and enjoy the older games, but I have little hope for the future.
While researching this article I came across a few games that often appeared on lists of games that failed to live up to the hype. While common amongst those that made the lists, I never got caught up in their hype machines enough to get disappointed. Here's a few of the games that commonly made pundits "Most Disappointing" lists that aren't on mine, and why.
Enter the Matrix - Never got into this game. While I was interested in everything that had to do with The Matrix I wasn't looking forward to this game. What little I played it wasn't terrible, so it's not on my list.
Daikatana - I understand why this game is on other lists. I think others have done a good job outlining the situation surrounding Daikatana. I never even heard of this game until a couple of years ago, so that's why it's not on my lists.
Too Human - Didn't follow the development cycle, didn't care too much for it. I own it and find it decent enough.
S'all.
To be fair a lot of the blame for this phenomenon has to be put on my shoulders, as they should be for any gamer. When I anticipate a game I start building it up to great proportions in my mind. I take any tidbit of information and wildly imagine the most creative interpretation of that data possible. Sometimes that's aided by the type of interview given by the developers (see Peter fucking Molyneux as a perfect example). I suppose leaving some topics purposefully ambiguous before the release cuts down on this somewhat, I still manage to put these games on a pedestal. As Sid Meier said in an interview, we are already playing these games in our head before we ever play them on a screen. Sometimes there are unrealistic expectations by myself and other gamers put onto big name games.
Coming from the other side now we have failing to live up to promises. While we as gamers aren't entitled to make demands on those who make games we have the right to expect a quality product. Don't we? If a game company is listing features and making promises on gameplay then we have a reasonable to expect them to deliver. If they don't we're going to call them on it. You can't slip crap through the cracks anymore. Simply spitting in the gamers faces after the release of a game and saying "Didn't have time" or "That was just an early build" is a douchebag move. The big companies aren't guilty of this very often. It's usually the small indy company or the 'name' developer (like Molyneux) that are guilty of false hype. There are a plethora of reasons, certainly, but what it comes down to is don't make promises you don't intend to keep.
Well that's enough with the rant. There's more I could say and a lot more avenues to be explored. I definitely didn't flesh out my arguments. Well maybe that's for another time. On to the list!
FABLE
Let's start with the big boy over hype, Fable. There was so much promised in this game that it would have been impossible for them to even deliver half of it at the time. Technically the stuff they were talking about weren't even feasible. Hell most of the stuff they promised then couldn't be (or has yet to be) achieved by now. The basic idea was that this was going to be a world that was alive and that could be changed by the player. Some of the grand ideas were making decisions that had lasting impact on the world, starting trends in fashion and style, placing something that would change the world around it as time passed, and living the entire life of the main character as the world grows with you. In the end none of this was possible. Your impact on the world was nonexistent. The only "change" you could make was moving your morality up and down a slider. Like we haven't seen that done before, and better. The world was static and didn't change at all. True your character grows and ages, but everything else stays the same. It just felt very uninspired truthfully. Almost every one of the grand promises wasn't present. This isn't to say that Fable was a bad game, it just wasn't what everybody thought it would be based on what were told constantly for three years. Huge, huge, disappointment. Fable II made more big promises, which were undelivered. By that time we'd all learned not to listen to Molyneux.
WWF Attitude
This was really just stupidity of youth. I was a big, big wrestling fan back in 1998. The 'current' game available was WWF Warzone, which was awful and featured wrestlers that had mostly left the company. So when I heard that a new game was coming out I did what any teenage idiot would do, hype the game to unimaginable levels in my head. I imagined what I would be able to do, how I would create dozens of wrestlers in the CAW mode, and the titles I would win with such 'legends' as Gangrel, Brian Christopher, and Thrasher. This was, when it finally came out in 1999, such an uninspired piece of garbage that I barely ended up playing it very much. It utilized a terrible fighting game control scheme in which you had to press button combos to perform moves. It was bad. This was the first in a long line of wrestling game disappointments. Considering that WWF Wrestlemania 2000 and WWF No Mercy came out in the following years, this piece of junk fades into the mists of history as a forgotten relic of wrestling's past. The stigma of this engine wouldn't disappear, however, as ECW put out two games with this exact same play style. To say they were received poorly is an understatement.
SPORE
Here we go again... it's almost like relieving the Fable release. Spore was a game that was long in development and we were introduced to it during a very early stage. This meant we had years to hear about it and listen to the little lies that were being fed to us. Spore was supposed to be the grandest scale game of all time. The game would follow a species from life as a single-celled organism all the way to space faring explorers and everything in between. Extensive creation tools were supposed to give us the ability to craft their culture and look to the most minute details. After years of development it was time for it to be released. Millions were clearly spent on advertising. It was everywhere, it was in the public eye. DRM issues aside, the game delivered... on the creation tools. The rest of the game... meh. It was very, very disheartening to learn that the actual gameplay of the game was meant specifically for casuals. Even less than casuals, non-gamers really. The creation tools were so deep that entire styles of architecture could be created and thousands of unique species of creatures could be created. I personally created more than a hundred creatures. While it was a bit exciting to see your creations show up randomly in the game... there wasn't much else to do with them. The world simply felt lazy. There was no real depth to the gameplay, each stage could be finished in under an hour. The only stage that really interested me was the second stage where you actually walk around, third person, as one of your creatures. Aside from this we get dumbed down 'tribe', 'civilization', and 'space' stages. Gamers like depth. An emotional connection draws people into putting many, many hours into a game. You couldn't have that connection with your Spore creatures since there was no depth. Spore is a mixed bag, excellent creation tools with limited game experience.
Unlimited SaGa
Don't mess with what a series is at it's core, people. I would have defended the SaGa series against anybody's insults should the need have arisen. While most people passed over SaGa Frontier's 1 & 2, I played and loved both of them. Romancing SaGa 3 was one of the best games never to get localized (officially). Then I heard a new game was coming out on the PS2 and allowed myself to get excited. What I ended up with was a game that was beyond shitty. For a series that isn't well known to try something so disastrous is foolish, and this game killed the series. Sure they remade Romancing SaGa 1, but in the end we all know there won't be any future SaGa games. Unlimited went so far away from what the series was that it took my interest and smashed it with a hammer. I can still go back and enjoy the older games, but I have little hope for the future.
While researching this article I came across a few games that often appeared on lists of games that failed to live up to the hype. While common amongst those that made the lists, I never got caught up in their hype machines enough to get disappointed. Here's a few of the games that commonly made pundits "Most Disappointing" lists that aren't on mine, and why.
Enter the Matrix - Never got into this game. While I was interested in everything that had to do with The Matrix I wasn't looking forward to this game. What little I played it wasn't terrible, so it's not on my list.
Daikatana - I understand why this game is on other lists. I think others have done a good job outlining the situation surrounding Daikatana. I never even heard of this game until a couple of years ago, so that's why it's not on my lists.
Too Human - Didn't follow the development cycle, didn't care too much for it. I own it and find it decent enough.
S'all.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Unfinished Business Sir
It's time for a list! I realize that my blog has been overloaded with video game posts lately. What can I say except that I'm a gamer. And a journalist. With the future (unlikely) possibility of being a video game journalist. That and I've been playing a couple of hours of games a day lately so I've really got games on the mind. I also loaded up Final Fantasy XII mostly because I dislike Final Fantasy XIII so much. I never actually got around to finishing the game when it first came out. I was so damn smug and excited that I downloaded and burned the game a week before it was officially released. Somehow I got close to the end but never pulled the trigger on heading towards the final boss. That got me thinking about all the other games that I got at least midway through but never got motivated to fully finish. Let me tell you it's a long list. Here's the top 5 games that I didn't find the time to get to the end.
Five Games I Meant to Finish but Never Did:
Final Fantasy XII
The very game that brought about this list. I actually managed to get to the Bahamut which was the final dungeon. I remember that I didn't finish the game because there was sooooo many distractions that I wanted to finish before beating the game. Espers and hunts and secret dungeons. The monster hunts started to get boring and tedious and eventually it just left me without the motivation to continue and it was swept to the side. More than a year later and I've picked it up and I'm definitely going to finish this one.
Baldur's Gate 2
I never played this classic PC game when it first came out. In fact, I never played it for the first 10 years it was out. Back in 2008 I picked it up on the cheap and decided to give it a shot. I figured it would be decent after seeing it on so many people's best games of all time lists. Plus it was by the same folks that put out the fantastic Knights of the Old Republic games. It lived up to the hype. It was fun with a highly detailed combat system, even if it was a Dungeons and Dragons game. So why did I stop playing? I don't know. Other stuff came along and I just didn't have the time to finish this game. I remember I had just been betrayed by my favorite party member and was almost to the final showdown. Sadly I don't think I'll be going back to this one anytime soon.
Shenmue II
One of my favorite video game series (if you can call two games a series) of all time. This free roaming, slice of life, adventure game from Sega was a huge achievement in gaming. Way ahead of it's time it was a divisive game to the community. Half loved it, half hated it. QTE events were innovated by Shemue. Y'know, those things that are in every single game nowadays. I finished the first game by doing nothing but playing it for a solid week back in... oh 2003 or so. I never got a chance to play Shenmue 2 for myself until I got a 360 in 2007. I bought the second game since the 360 is (somewhat) backwards compatible. I played it and loved it as much as the first one. The only problem is that I had a ton of games for a next gen system. Playing those games took up all my gaming time and I wasn't able to devote the time to Shenmue 2. I still haven't found the time to go back and finish this gem.
Lost Odyssey
Mistwalker's sublime RPG may be the best JRPG released on the 360 so far. There are a few that I haven't played yet, namely Eternal Sonata and Tales of Vesparia. It definitely trounced all of Square Enix's efforts. The gameplay was very much like Final Fantasy X and the story was pretty good. The best part was of course the 'Thousand Years of Dreams' stories. Some of the most powerful stories ever to appear in a game. They won't all admit it, but I guarantee you every gamer that ever that read some of the sadder stories teared up. This was another example of me losing interest and time towards the end of the game. Release schedules blend together and I had a ton of surplus income to spend on new games, so I just bypassed this and never went back. I was nearly at the end with only the final dungeon to go and I just dropped it. Partly because there was so much side stuff to do, as in Final Fantasy XII.
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
The second half of the Persona 2 double shot and the only one released in the US, I bought this game on the first day it was out back in 2000. I loved this game. It had an amazing modern setting that is rarely seen in games. The demon contact system made a return and was even better than the first Persona. Returning from the first game were most of the characters, two as party members. The story was crazy. Games weren't doing the kind of insanity that was going on in P2. Demon invasions, crazy killers, rumors becoming reality, hackers and feuds with the Triads. It was amazing. The problem came from a particular battle late in the game that I got stuck on and it killed my motivation to keep playing. I had the one save and couldn't go back because I was too close to the end of the game. No going back. Giving up was an unfortunate way for me to end my time playing this game. I loved everything and really wanted closure. If I had played Persona 2: Innocent Sin, the Japan only first chapter, it would have driven me to finish this game no matter what. While this game is my biggest regret at not being able to finish I have a rather poor record with Persona games. I never finished Persona 1. I never finished Persona 3: FES. I haven't finished the translated P2: Innocent Sin. I broke tradition by beating the amazing Persona 4 last summer.
Notice a trend here? All RPGs. I'm not finishing RPGs these days like I used to in high school and early college. The games demand such a time investment and I like to play a diverse selection of games. That's really the big point to take away here. I like to play a lot of different games and experience a wide range of game play. I like diversity and RPGs tie you down for a long time. Finishing these games demands a huge time investment that I'm willing to put in, up to a point. Online games require an even greater time investment to the point where it must become a part of your life. That right there is a major reason I just can't get interested in MMORPGs. It's the same thing over and over, the same game with the same system for as long as you play. Which has to be a long time if you ever want to see what the game truly offers. I can't put 6 hours a day into a game for 10 months just to see 10% of what it offers.
I do plan to go back and finish most of these games at some point. My saves for all of these games still remain (excepting Baldur's Gate 2) and I can jump back in at any time. I'm doing it now for FF12. I may not remember the whole story or the game mechanics right off, but it quickly comes back to me. If I've played it before it all comes flooding back, maybe not every detail but certainly enough for me to become immersed in the game easily.
Five Games I Meant to Finish but Never Did:
Final Fantasy XII
The very game that brought about this list. I actually managed to get to the Bahamut which was the final dungeon. I remember that I didn't finish the game because there was sooooo many distractions that I wanted to finish before beating the game. Espers and hunts and secret dungeons. The monster hunts started to get boring and tedious and eventually it just left me without the motivation to continue and it was swept to the side. More than a year later and I've picked it up and I'm definitely going to finish this one.
Baldur's Gate 2
I never played this classic PC game when it first came out. In fact, I never played it for the first 10 years it was out. Back in 2008 I picked it up on the cheap and decided to give it a shot. I figured it would be decent after seeing it on so many people's best games of all time lists. Plus it was by the same folks that put out the fantastic Knights of the Old Republic games. It lived up to the hype. It was fun with a highly detailed combat system, even if it was a Dungeons and Dragons game. So why did I stop playing? I don't know. Other stuff came along and I just didn't have the time to finish this game. I remember I had just been betrayed by my favorite party member and was almost to the final showdown. Sadly I don't think I'll be going back to this one anytime soon.
Shenmue II
One of my favorite video game series (if you can call two games a series) of all time. This free roaming, slice of life, adventure game from Sega was a huge achievement in gaming. Way ahead of it's time it was a divisive game to the community. Half loved it, half hated it. QTE events were innovated by Shemue. Y'know, those things that are in every single game nowadays. I finished the first game by doing nothing but playing it for a solid week back in... oh 2003 or so. I never got a chance to play Shenmue 2 for myself until I got a 360 in 2007. I bought the second game since the 360 is (somewhat) backwards compatible. I played it and loved it as much as the first one. The only problem is that I had a ton of games for a next gen system. Playing those games took up all my gaming time and I wasn't able to devote the time to Shenmue 2. I still haven't found the time to go back and finish this gem.
Lost Odyssey
Mistwalker's sublime RPG may be the best JRPG released on the 360 so far. There are a few that I haven't played yet, namely Eternal Sonata and Tales of Vesparia. It definitely trounced all of Square Enix's efforts. The gameplay was very much like Final Fantasy X and the story was pretty good. The best part was of course the 'Thousand Years of Dreams' stories. Some of the most powerful stories ever to appear in a game. They won't all admit it, but I guarantee you every gamer that ever that read some of the sadder stories teared up. This was another example of me losing interest and time towards the end of the game. Release schedules blend together and I had a ton of surplus income to spend on new games, so I just bypassed this and never went back. I was nearly at the end with only the final dungeon to go and I just dropped it. Partly because there was so much side stuff to do, as in Final Fantasy XII.
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
The second half of the Persona 2 double shot and the only one released in the US, I bought this game on the first day it was out back in 2000. I loved this game. It had an amazing modern setting that is rarely seen in games. The demon contact system made a return and was even better than the first Persona. Returning from the first game were most of the characters, two as party members. The story was crazy. Games weren't doing the kind of insanity that was going on in P2. Demon invasions, crazy killers, rumors becoming reality, hackers and feuds with the Triads. It was amazing. The problem came from a particular battle late in the game that I got stuck on and it killed my motivation to keep playing. I had the one save and couldn't go back because I was too close to the end of the game. No going back. Giving up was an unfortunate way for me to end my time playing this game. I loved everything and really wanted closure. If I had played Persona 2: Innocent Sin, the Japan only first chapter, it would have driven me to finish this game no matter what. While this game is my biggest regret at not being able to finish I have a rather poor record with Persona games. I never finished Persona 1. I never finished Persona 3: FES. I haven't finished the translated P2: Innocent Sin. I broke tradition by beating the amazing Persona 4 last summer.
Notice a trend here? All RPGs. I'm not finishing RPGs these days like I used to in high school and early college. The games demand such a time investment and I like to play a diverse selection of games. That's really the big point to take away here. I like to play a lot of different games and experience a wide range of game play. I like diversity and RPGs tie you down for a long time. Finishing these games demands a huge time investment that I'm willing to put in, up to a point. Online games require an even greater time investment to the point where it must become a part of your life. That right there is a major reason I just can't get interested in MMORPGs. It's the same thing over and over, the same game with the same system for as long as you play. Which has to be a long time if you ever want to see what the game truly offers. I can't put 6 hours a day into a game for 10 months just to see 10% of what it offers.
I do plan to go back and finish most of these games at some point. My saves for all of these games still remain (excepting Baldur's Gate 2) and I can jump back in at any time. I'm doing it now for FF12. I may not remember the whole story or the game mechanics right off, but it quickly comes back to me. If I've played it before it all comes flooding back, maybe not every detail but certainly enough for me to become immersed in the game easily.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Final Fantasy XIII unt The Last Story
Here's a regular scene in Final Fantasy XIII, an example of the "story" if you will.
"Focus! L'Cie! Focus! Destiny! Focus!"
"Cocoon! L'Cie! Fal'cie! SERAH! Fal'cie!"
"Cocoon! Pulse fal'cie! Pulse! Cocoon!"
"Focus! L'cie! Cocoon! Pulse! l'cie!"
"L'cie! Focus! Pulse fal'cie! Fal'cie!"
"L'cie..."
WHAT THE FUCK! As I've clearly displayed here it's just the same six or seven words rearranged and with different inflection. That doesn't constitute a story. I'm severely, severely disappointed in this game. I never thought that I would find a Final Fantasy game so... obnoxious! I didn't even think it would be possible. I took the series for granted. This shit makes Final Fantasy Mystic Quest look like a diamond. It's graphically impressive but the story, which Final Fantasy games have been legendary for, is the absolute worst of the main series. The worst. In fact I've never felt so disconnected from a story in any RPG ever. Other than Sazh, the rest of these characters are wooden and even boring. The gameplay is pretty good, the battles are more challenging than we're used to certainly and the world is uninspired. The graphics and sound are good. But the story... OH GOD THE STORY. I don't think there is much more to say without falling in to a stream of mind rant. So I'll just leave it with what I've said before. This series may have hit it's zenith and is on the downflow.
There is, however, a game on the horizon that has got me excited about the JRPG genre despite my recent misgivings with them. That game is The Last Story by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakuguchi. The game promises to breath new life in the stagnant JRPG genre. The Japanese gamers are resistant to change which has led to the Japanese gaming market to plateau. This in turn led to a western disaffection with games from the land of the rising sun.
The Last Story may be a symbol of changing times. It's being created by Mistwalker, the studio that created the sublime game Lost Odyssey. From the artwork I've seen in will be one of the most beautiful and artistic games to ever be released. The landscapes are brilliant and reminiscent of Miyazaki. A far cry from the tired anime characters that permeate the standard JRPG. The designs released for The Last Story so far have been colorful, vibrant and whimsical. The game world seems to be the sort of stuff out of a Molyneux promise. A dynamic and ever changing world is one of the highlights of The Last Story, with cities that react to your actions in the game. The game sounds great but there's one problem. It's a Wii exclusive. Who knows I might have one by the time this game is released.
Until then, I'll keep chugging away at Final Fantasy XIII and try to get to the point at which everyone says it picks up. I don't think I'll finish it anytime soon since I don't really want to. I've picked up Final Fantasy 12 again and I'm going to finish it for real this time. I have one dungeon left. Just hammer it out and call it good.
"Focus! L'Cie! Focus! Destiny! Focus!"
"Cocoon! L'Cie! Fal'cie! SERAH! Fal'cie!"
"Cocoon! Pulse fal'cie! Pulse! Cocoon!"
"Focus! L'cie! Cocoon! Pulse! l'cie!"
"L'cie! Focus! Pulse fal'cie! Fal'cie!"
"L'cie..."
WHAT THE FUCK! As I've clearly displayed here it's just the same six or seven words rearranged and with different inflection. That doesn't constitute a story. I'm severely, severely disappointed in this game. I never thought that I would find a Final Fantasy game so... obnoxious! I didn't even think it would be possible. I took the series for granted. This shit makes Final Fantasy Mystic Quest look like a diamond. It's graphically impressive but the story, which Final Fantasy games have been legendary for, is the absolute worst of the main series. The worst. In fact I've never felt so disconnected from a story in any RPG ever. Other than Sazh, the rest of these characters are wooden and even boring. The gameplay is pretty good, the battles are more challenging than we're used to certainly and the world is uninspired. The graphics and sound are good. But the story... OH GOD THE STORY. I don't think there is much more to say without falling in to a stream of mind rant. So I'll just leave it with what I've said before. This series may have hit it's zenith and is on the downflow.
There is, however, a game on the horizon that has got me excited about the JRPG genre despite my recent misgivings with them. That game is The Last Story by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakuguchi. The game promises to breath new life in the stagnant JRPG genre. The Japanese gamers are resistant to change which has led to the Japanese gaming market to plateau. This in turn led to a western disaffection with games from the land of the rising sun.
The Last Story may be a symbol of changing times. It's being created by Mistwalker, the studio that created the sublime game Lost Odyssey. From the artwork I've seen in will be one of the most beautiful and artistic games to ever be released. The landscapes are brilliant and reminiscent of Miyazaki. A far cry from the tired anime characters that permeate the standard JRPG. The designs released for The Last Story so far have been colorful, vibrant and whimsical. The game world seems to be the sort of stuff out of a Molyneux promise. A dynamic and ever changing world is one of the highlights of The Last Story, with cities that react to your actions in the game. The game sounds great but there's one problem. It's a Wii exclusive. Who knows I might have one by the time this game is released.
Until then, I'll keep chugging away at Final Fantasy XIII and try to get to the point at which everyone says it picks up. I don't think I'll finish it anytime soon since I don't really want to. I've picked up Final Fantasy 12 again and I'm going to finish it for real this time. I have one dungeon left. Just hammer it out and call it good.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
GD DS Technology
It's too bad there's not a two letter abbreviation for technology because that would've made the title so much hipper.
Well anyway here's what's going down plebs. I've been a bit dishonest in my use of Nintendo's little wonder-machine, and my dishonesty caught up to me. When I initially received the DS back in December 2008 I did what any normal (uninformed) person would do. I bought my games. Then I was introduced to the "flash card" concept by several people. This caused me to lose my mind due to the sheer awesomeness. I'm not going to elaborate, if you know then good for you. If you don't, then ignore it. Anyway I ordered one (which took like 3 weeks to ship from Hong Kong) and picked up a microSD card. Using a website, yes an actual website, that hosted DS roms I was able to start playing every game the day of the release. I didn't even have to resort to torrents, I found an actual website that had legit roms released almost immediately.
I started out with a few good games, picked up a couple more used ones and a couple new ones. All told I own about 10 games for the DS. Now thanks to that magical device I've boosted the amount of games I've played to something like 100 probably.
Anyway I used this system up until recently. My usage of this card was halted rather suddenly when my flash card died. Totally out of nowhere it just stopped working. Permanently. I looked it up and found out that if you downgraded the firmware that it would brick the card and make it stop working forever. Whatever all that means. I was played, basically, by somebody disguising a game as a firmware downgrade. Anti-pirates? Pirate-busters? Something. They got me, and now I can't play DS games on my wunderkard. Which is very disappointing due to the high volume of great games on the system.
Here's a few of the games I've played that have really stood out. I was wary of the value of the system at first, but took the leap and discovered some real gems. Discounting the relative crappiness of the Wii and it's library of "games", Nintendo is doing very well this generation on the DS. It targets real gamers, old school gamers and hardcore gamers.
Gonna have to play it legit for now, I guess. Bust out those games that I actually own. Like Chrono Trigger and Advance Wars. The Mario 64 remake is pretty good too. I'll have to fix my little wunderkard before the end of summer, though, since the DS will be my only gaming tool for an entire year! Yup, I'm not bringing my 360 overseas. No gaming. For a year. Time to get online and order a new card.
Well anyway here's what's going down plebs. I've been a bit dishonest in my use of Nintendo's little wonder-machine, and my dishonesty caught up to me. When I initially received the DS back in December 2008 I did what any normal (uninformed) person would do. I bought my games. Then I was introduced to the "flash card" concept by several people. This caused me to lose my mind due to the sheer awesomeness. I'm not going to elaborate, if you know then good for you. If you don't, then ignore it. Anyway I ordered one (which took like 3 weeks to ship from Hong Kong) and picked up a microSD card. Using a website, yes an actual website, that hosted DS roms I was able to start playing every game the day of the release. I didn't even have to resort to torrents, I found an actual website that had legit roms released almost immediately.
I started out with a few good games, picked up a couple more used ones and a couple new ones. All told I own about 10 games for the DS. Now thanks to that magical device I've boosted the amount of games I've played to something like 100 probably.
Anyway I used this system up until recently. My usage of this card was halted rather suddenly when my flash card died. Totally out of nowhere it just stopped working. Permanently. I looked it up and found out that if you downgraded the firmware that it would brick the card and make it stop working forever. Whatever all that means. I was played, basically, by somebody disguising a game as a firmware downgrade. Anti-pirates? Pirate-busters? Something. They got me, and now I can't play DS games on my wunderkard. Which is very disappointing due to the high volume of great games on the system.
Here's a few of the games I've played that have really stood out. I was wary of the value of the system at first, but took the leap and discovered some real gems. Discounting the relative crappiness of the Wii and it's library of "games", Nintendo is doing very well this generation on the DS. It targets real gamers, old school gamers and hardcore gamers.
- Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown - This is a cross between new games in the GTA series and the original game. It's so fucking fantastic that if you haven't tried it, then screw you! The mini-game for stealing cars is so cool.
- Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor - Strategy RPG from Atlus. Set in modern Japan, it's a cross between Persona and FFT. Fusing monsters to try and get some powerful deities is fun.
- Suikoden Tierkreis - The first Suikoden side game that I've actually played. It's a cross between Chrono Cross and Suikoden, and does in fact feature 108 playable characters. The story is crazy, with worlds fusing in and out of existence.
- The World Ends With You - Best game on the system by a Portuguese mile. Combat system completely unseen before. Story that really draws you in. A very stylish art style for the environment and characters. Obnoxiously catchy music. It's brilliant chummos and definitely worth a look.
Gonna have to play it legit for now, I guess. Bust out those games that I actually own. Like Chrono Trigger and Advance Wars. The Mario 64 remake is pretty good too. I'll have to fix my little wunderkard before the end of summer, though, since the DS will be my only gaming tool for an entire year! Yup, I'm not bringing my 360 overseas. No gaming. For a year. Time to get online and order a new card.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
QUAN-DO
How irrelevant was that last post of mine?
Isn't it awesome?
That's what I had today. No mutant lobstermen from beyond the moon. No invasions by secret underground Luxumbourgher armies.
Just me talking about video games.
You want to know the crazy thing? I baaarely play games anymore. I play a little bit of 360 but not nearly as much as the days of the great achievement race of 2007. I've started picking up some old PS2 RPGs in order to play the greats that I've missed. I didn't play games more than a few times a month simply because I was fighting my way through college. That and I was just hanging out with people. So now I realize I've missed some great games and I've taken it upon me to play them. Persona 4 was excellent! Persona 3, Romancing SaGa, Rogue Galaxy, Odin Sphere, and Eternal Poison are lined up. I bought that about a month after it came out and let it sit for about half a year. Then I picked it up and it drew me in. I've got a DS now, too. I play that sporadically. I'm not looking to really beat many of the games I play on that. It's a fun diversion though. I've beaten two long games, Suikoden Tierkreis and FFTA2. Really, though, I just don't play games that much.
DAMN I itch. Stupid lake giving me a stupid sunburn. There's a G-D conspiracy here! The lake was all like "I want you in me, big boy," and the sun was like "I'm all the way up here bitch, I ain't gonna touch you." So I went swimming. And I got sunburned! Murderous wrath! I started yelling at the sun but I went blind briefly. Some helpful people pushed me out of the road, where I had set up my soapbox to yell at the sun. What a dick.
Isn't it awesome?
That's what I had today. No mutant lobstermen from beyond the moon. No invasions by secret underground Luxumbourgher armies.
Just me talking about video games.
You want to know the crazy thing? I baaarely play games anymore. I play a little bit of 360 but not nearly as much as the days of the great achievement race of 2007. I've started picking up some old PS2 RPGs in order to play the greats that I've missed. I didn't play games more than a few times a month simply because I was fighting my way through college. That and I was just hanging out with people. So now I realize I've missed some great games and I've taken it upon me to play them. Persona 4 was excellent! Persona 3, Romancing SaGa, Rogue Galaxy, Odin Sphere, and Eternal Poison are lined up. I bought that about a month after it came out and let it sit for about half a year. Then I picked it up and it drew me in. I've got a DS now, too. I play that sporadically. I'm not looking to really beat many of the games I play on that. It's a fun diversion though. I've beaten two long games, Suikoden Tierkreis and FFTA2. Really, though, I just don't play games that much.
DAMN I itch. Stupid lake giving me a stupid sunburn. There's a G-D conspiracy here! The lake was all like "I want you in me, big boy," and the sun was like "I'm all the way up here bitch, I ain't gonna touch you." So I went swimming. And I got sunburned! Murderous wrath! I started yelling at the sun but I went blind briefly. Some helpful people pushed me out of the road, where I had set up my soapbox to yell at the sun. What a dick.
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