Weekly Round Up ~17 January

[GregN]

Just...

PSOne
Dragon Warrior VII

 

[T.A.P.]

Genesis:
Liberty or Death (Again)

 

[HeartlessNinny]

Nothing.

But in a couple days, I plan on all but overdosing on games. Aw yeah.

 

[RBjakeSpecial]

PC

Dawn of War II - I'm finally getting back into this game. I love the campaign and Relic has added a lot of mulitplayer maps since last time I played. I plan to spend some quality time with this one.

PSP

PixelJunk Monsters
Darius Burst
Final Fantasy Tactics

 

[Magician]

Finished up...

Darksiders
Mass Effect
Puzzle Quest Galactrix

Up this week...

Mass Effect (I need a completed save with a level sixty character to import to ME2)
Ninja Gaiden DS (the stylus controls are great; looking to get deep into it this)
Animal Crossing WW (waiting on a good price for my glitched white turnips, w/o time traveling)
Civilization Revolution (if I finish ME this week, I'm getting back to this)

 

[Taiso]

Xbox 360

Lost Odyssey-Goddamn if this isn't the flat out saddest storyline for any RPG I've ever experienced. There are some very emotional and heartwrenching dream sequences in this game, and I wonder how a guy like Hironobu Sakaguchi can even bear existence if this is the kind of depressing shit he thinks about while brainstorming.

I really like the combat system, especially how the immortals learn skills and the way in which the characters seem tailor made for assisting one another in combat.

The character designs are beautiful, but their implementation to a 3D world did not go as smoothly as I would have hoped. Takehiko Inoue has made some pretty vibrant and unique looks that I've never seen in a video game before, but their rendering in 3D doesn't quite get it right. Their animations during cutscenes are oftentimes unnatural, removing me from the drama playing out before me, and they appear more like marionettttes on strings rather than real people. The facial expressions could use some more variety and the costume designs are overly elaborate and exotic.

As for their personalities, they are an engaging group of people that could be described as JRPG staples. The most important thing is that none of them are initially unlikeable, as was the case with Squall in Final Fantasy VIII. With every character, you immediately get the sense that there is a story behind the initial impression, and that means Mistwalker handled the characters right.

I also can't help but notice how Asian everyone looks but this is probably because Mistwalker wants Japanese audiences to play this game and one easy way to make Japanese RPG audiences take notice is by making the characters easier to embrace. It's not a bad thing...just very obvious.

The soundtrack is Nobuo Uematsu's best work ever. Sorry to the FF lovers out there, but this is better than anything he's ever done before.

The dream sequences read like passages from a novel rather than playing out as CGI sequences. At first I found myself dreading reading them as doing so can be quite time consuming and takes me away from the actual playing of the game, but they were so engaging and interesting that I got to the point where I was making sure that, whatever else I might have missed in my search for items, I didn't miss any of the dreams no matter what. I know that the dream sequences are not going to be for everyone, but as I play JRPGs mostly for the story I have no problem comitting to reading these long text pieces provided they are satisfying. The ones in Lost Odyssey are VERY satisfying, if more than a bit melancholy.

The other really great thing about this game are the boss fights. These are not the same as other JRPGs. Tactics, effective use of magic, items and skills is required and strategy are all important factors in winning the battles. These aren't just 'longer fights against foes with more hit points.'

Definitely a step up from Blue Dragon for Mistwalker, if you ask me.

Bayonetta-to take the edge off the depression I was feeling playing through Lost Odyssey's sad events, I popped in some crazy gun bitch action and gave Bayonetta's first two chapters a try.

Not that great.

Bayonetta is too small on the screen, her color scheme has her blending in with the backgrounds and the chaos all around her way too often, you can't enjoy the subtlety of her animations because of the insanity taking place around her, the battle system is muddy with an imprecise combo system and the game's 'story' and dialogue are BAD.

There's no denying that the game is trying to pass off its style as substance, from the exuberant combat to the jazzy soundtrack to the over the top characters to Bayonetta's every single animation being the epitome of sexuality. But the game's meat and potatoes is the combat, and this aspect of the game is sloppy and unrefined. You push buttons, there are a bunch of red effects on the screen and every once in a while a giant foot comes out of the sky and crushes a monster. The 'Y+B' kills are fun, but they are off the screen before you can really appreciate them.

Devil May Cry did a much better job showing you what was 'cool' about Dante without having him get lost in the world or within the enemies he was facing.

But of course, I'll keep playing it. Maybe I'm just too caught up in Lost Odyssey right now and I need to actually focus ON Bayonetta rather than simply playing it as a distraction to enjoy it more. But right now, it's definitely not impressing me any more than the demo did.

Upcoming:

Demon's Souls
Bayonetta
Darksiders
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (PS2 version)

 

[Metal Slugnuts]

Glad you liked LO Taiso...one of my favorite games this gen to be sure.

Now I just need to beat it.

 

[Taiso]

Glad you liked LO Taiso...one of my favorite games this gen to be sure.

Now I just need to beat it.

Yeah, overall I'd say it's well worth the time.

I noticed that the game is MASSIVELY story oriented. There are hours where you're simply running around and talking to people.

The first disc was over in 20 hours and I wonder how much of that time was spent dungeon delving and killing stuff and how much was spent triggering cutscenes and reading dream sequences.

Not that I minded-the story is fantastic so it's time well spent.

The second disc seems a lot heavier on action.

 

[Metal Slugnuts]

Yeah, overall I'd say it's well worth the time.

I noticed that the game is MASSIVELY story oriented. There are hours where you're simply running around and talking to people.

The first disc was over in 20 hours and I wonder how much of that time was spent dungeon delving and killing stuff and how much was spent triggering cutscenes and reading dream sequences.

Not that I minded-the story is fantastic so it's time well spent.

The second disc seems a lot heavier on action.

IIRC I'm about halfway through the second disc.

I'm a notorious game flipper...I'll play a game for dozens of hours then move on to the next flavor of the week/month and forget about the first game for a year or so.

I still need to get the OST.

 

[Average Joe]

first two chapters

That's a lot of worded opinions for only two played chapters on [what I assume is at least] Normal gameplay.

I wouldn't bother commenting on your dislike of the auditory and visual aesthetics of the game as that's an obvious taste preference but calling the gameplay "sloppy and unrefined"? That's about as far off-base as you can get.

The sheer amount of weaponry, combos and mechanics allow for a crazy amount of highly-adaptable combat options and never once is anything you do beyond your control due to precision issues; it's the exact opposite, the game is so well-built that not once have I faulted the game for when I die but instead blamed my lack of skill or poor handling of a situation.

Normal was a cakewalk.

You can easily mash your way through and trigger Witch Time with little-to-no-risk of injury but that shit doesn't fly on Hard. Hard is when the game really starts; when you've got enough Halos to upgrade the game and cater more specifically to your style of play that you've learned through experience and figure out how YOU want to play the game and not how the game wants you to play is when the brilliance of this game shines through.

This game is one of the best examples I've seen where it and its player evolve and progress perfectly in tandem.

 

[Taiso]

That's a lot of worded opinions for only two played chapters on [what I assume is at least] Normal gameplay.

100% accuracy with your observation. But if a highly stylized action beat 'em up like this one requires more than two levels for me to truly enjoy it, I feel there's a problem worth pointing out.

The fact that I was able to identify my misgivings about its combat system, based solely on those two levels, tells me that its flaws are glaring and detailed for me to be able to articulate them so succintly.

I wouldn't bother commenting on your dislike of the auditory and visual aesthetics of the game as that's an obvious taste preference but calling the gameplay "sloppy and unrefined"? That's about as far off-base as you can get.

I've played games of this type with tighter combat systems and control.

This game feels sloppy and unrefined to me as a result of my having had better experiences with other games.

The sheer amount of weaponry, combos and mechanics allow for a crazy amount of highly-adaptable combat options and never once is anything you do beyond your control due to precision issues; it's the exact opposite, the game is so well-built that not once have I faulted the game for when I die but instead blamed my lack of skill or poor handling of a situation.

And I levy the same criticisms on my own lack of skill for games with what I feel are better combat engines, like Ninja Gaiden and Devil May Cry (except for DMC 2, which just flat out sucks), and those are cranked up to the maximum levels of difficulty whenever I play.

You can easily mash your way through and trigger Witch Time with little-to-no-risk of injury but that shit doesn't fly on Hard. Hard is when the game really starts; when you've got enough Halos to upgrade the game and cater more specifically to your style of play that you've learned through experience and figure out how YOU want to play the game and not how the game wants you to play is when the brilliance of this game shines through.

If the game's true strength is gleaned on the harder levels, maybe that should have been the default level, yes? Why force me to have a mediocre game experience and give me a lukewarm impression of it the first time through?

This game is one of the best examples I've seen where it and its player evolve and progress perfectly in tandem.

Ninja Gaiden did it much better, but more power to you for appreciating Bayonetta for this. Seriously.

So far Bayonetta hasn't made that impression on me. Cant' say the same for games of the same genre that had what I feel are better evolving mechanics.

But I intend to play through it anyway. If my opinion so drastically changes that I feel the need to vindicate your feelings about it, I'll be sure to let you know.

 

[Blue Steel]

PS3

Demon's Souls

This reminds me of Phantasy Star Online. There are so many elements to this game that make it fun and encourage you to play it more. Sure it is fucking hard. You will die over and over and get frustrated. However, you will decide that it is your own stupidity and will feel the need to conquer that which stands in your way. It also helps to have a friend help you out, co-op is great. Black phantoms will piss you the fuck off, but you will enjoy doing it yourself. This is one of my favorite games of 2009. The PS3 is lacking in the rpg department at this point, but this game makes up for it, and will make you proud to be a PS3 owner. I actually feel bad for people with only 360's because they will miss out on this great experience.

Just watch some of these to get an idea of the pvp element.

 

[IsamuBlue]

Bayonetta is too small on the screen, her color scheme has her blending in with the backgrounds and the chaos all around her way too often, you can't enjoy the subtlety of her animations because of the insanity taking place around her, the battle system is muddy with an imprecise combo system and the game's 'story' and dialogue are BAD.

This is exactly why I gave up on this game. I still don't see why Famitsu gave it 40/40 and every one is going nuts over it.

And before anyone says, I realize that Bayonetta was the last game played on my sig. I just haven't earned another PS3 trophy yet to change the background.

 

[2Heed]

Still playing Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria. On the whole I think this game is a big improvement over the original thus far. I always had the impression that the original VP had a lot of potential, but fell flat in certain areas (the idea of the time scheme was terrible, town interaction was completely non-existant, battle was repetitive, couldn't skip cut-scenes, etc). VP2 isn't perfect; having to manually asign runes to every character for them to learn skills is a pain in the butt, I'm not wild about non-pivotal characters sharing voice actors, models, and PWS's, and the story thus far has just been stuck on auto-pilot (searching for the Dragon Orb, not here, move onto next dungeon, etc), and Arngrim's VA and personality from the original are sorely missed over the dopey tough guy grunt he is in this one.

Still, with that being said, Slmeria/Alicia make for a more interesting main character than Lenneth/Platina, the cutscenes can be skipped for better replayability (thank GOD), breaking off items and targeting body parts on enemies is a terrific dynamic in battle, the soundtrack is less dreary and depressing (not better in overall quality, just mood) with more variety, and the backstory of the different wars and characters and how they intertwine has been a pleasant surprise.