Review: Final Fantasy XIII

This review is extremely nerdy, and is not for the casual gamer. Read on at risk of your own mental health. However if you have played a RPG or contemplated buying FFXIII, read on knowing that you are still probably at risk for overwhelming nerdiness.

So it took me 60 hours, 35 minutes, and 28 seconds, but I beat the game. Whoo baby. That was a labor of love. I've played a lot of Final Fantasy games, starting with IX, then VIII, then X, X-2, and XII, along with a boat load of the spin-offs like Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Tactics Advanced and A2, Kingdom Hearts 1,2, and 358/2. Every game has been different and improved upon it's predecessor in some way shape or form. Mostly.

Alright now to hell with the roman numerals for a bit. I really liked Final Fantasy 9, it being my first Final Fantasy and all. When 10 came out that was when I knew how hooked I was on the series. Everyone always harkens back to Final Fantasy 7 as when they knew, but I came in after that so I had to wait a little bit. Anyways, I put countless hours into 9 and 10, after beating the game and going back and doing side quests, in 10 playing another couple dozen hours of Blitzball (most underrated side game ever!). Then Final Fantasy 11 came out for PC as an MMO, and even though I wanted to play it, my computer sucked to bad, so I skipped it. Then at long last Final Fantasy 12 came out. I rejoiced! I played for a couple of hours.... then.... I stopped. I don't remember why I stopped now. It was mid-summer I think, so I probably just had better things to do. But then I went back to it last year when I was bored and I realized, "This isn't any better than 10!" Pretty much cause the story sucked.

So then when XIII came out, I got all excited again, especially with the announcement that XIII was going to set the stage for the next decade or so of Final Fantasy games. As reviews started coming out I kept hearing the same thing, "The game doesn't really start until about 20, 30 hours in." While I was a little perturbed, I threw plenty of hours into X and Kingdom Hearts 2, I thought, "I can spare 20 or 30 hours."

So I go out, get the game, and I mean Wow. When they say the game doesn't really start for a while they mean it. I had no idea why I was fighting other than a few random cut scenes for the first ten or so hours, and I had no control over who was in my party for another ten or so hours after that. Albeit, after you get to that point the game picks up, but I mean really Square Enix? You couldn't have cut off a little bit of running around fighting level 1 monsters with a glorified attack selection system, that could only select "Attack"? I mean I couldn't use magic until this tutorial-intro phase of the game ended.

So after that point, when the story gets going, and you start picking up on the differences between Fal'cie, l'Cie, and Cie'th (all actually names of concepts in-game) you start thinking, "Okay time for some good ol' fashioned Final Fantasy exploring!" Wrong. Unlike every other FF incarnation to date, including almost all the spin-offs I've played, there's no World Map, no way to back track, no real honest to goodness exploring. That hurt. They took out a lot of the good things that in my opinion are quintessential aspects of the series including:

• Exploring
• Dungeons
• Towns
• Mass Weapons
• Mass Money

I guess when they did this, they started from the top and just went down the list taking things out. Without exploring, you don't need dungeons to explore. Without dungeons, you don't need towns, or hubs to go to to stock up on new weapons and items. Without a wide selection of new items, you don't need a lot of money! It all makes perfect sense- if you feel like ruining a tried and true system. And another flaw, is the Weapon Upgrade system they created to replaced this system. It is similar to the new system used in Mass Effect 2, where lots of progressively better weapons were scrapped in favor of an upgrading system with fewer weapons. The problem being that it would completely sap all your cash if you tried to upgrade all your weapons, and even though I tried to save up as much money I could in the game, almost 1 Million Gil, if I wanted to get but one of the character's Ultima Weapon, I would have needed another million. I did not like this system.

But on to things I did like! While yes there were some fundamental problems, I did finish the game for a reason. After the story picked up, I actually cared what happened to my little group of heroes, which is always a good thing. Though a bit convoluted at points, and I was never quite sure how the whole magic crystal thing worked, or what exactly my characters were supposed to accomplish, it was good enough to keep me playing till the end.

The new combat system was good too. Switching between 1 of 3 different classes initially available to your characters (all of them are eventually accessible to unlock), and setting up different combination lists, like Fighter-Mage-Healer, Mage-Mage-Mage, Buffer-Saboteur-Defender, etc. all ended up playing vitally into your strategy when fighting bosses at later stages in the game. The only bad thing about this system was the difficulty/reward ratio of your enemies. Using the "Crystarium" system that opens up after the tutorial-intro, your characters can use points they get from beating enemies to progress upwards towards new abilities. Every once and a while, beating a boss will open up a new rung for your characters to climb through. While this all works in theory, I found pretty often that when I entered a new area, the difficultly level would jump drastically higher, without giving enough rewards for me to catch up, almost to the point where I felt like every time I got comfortable fighting the enemies in a level, some newer, stronger ones would come along and the process would start anew. I spent a long time in the only really "open" part of the game, where you can take on a series of missions, fighting these progressively harder and seemingly optional enemies, only to find when I got to the end of the missions, that there was no way I could beat these monsters without spending another 5-10 hours exclusively leveling up. Then after moving onto the next area, I found that I was still barely comfortable with these newer enemies. I shudder to think how great my disadvantage would have been if I hadn't spent hours completing these missions.

Where the game really shines though, is in it's visuals. There were cut scenes in the game that really were just astoundingly beautiful. I'm sure they were even better on the Blu-Ray version of the PS3, but us 360 players still had a little eye candy feast. As well as the cut scenes, the backgrounds of the game were polished to the point where you could eat off of them. The most intricate details could be seen on mountains or buildings far off in the distance, with the lighting being perfectly placed to the point where running through some of the long spaces with no enemies was almost kinda pleasant, except for the constant "Thunk Thunk Thunk" that you heard from your characters footfalls throughout the game. That never ceased to be annoying.

This game had a lot wrong with it. I think Square Enix took a risk, and attempted to broaden the appeal of the game by taking out a lot of the core RPG elements that it's predecessors pioneered. This might have worked if they didn't make the game take 50 to 60 hours to complete. Sure, I have that time, cause I'm a die-hard fan, and I have enough time to waste at college to beat it. But even then, it took me over a month, just because of the sheer daunting of going back to the monotony was at times too much to bear. For the average gamer, they simply can't, and often times won't play much longer than 20 or 30 hours. Sometimes even less than that. Which is understandable. With all the video games that come out of blockbuster caliber, devoting that much time to one game is denying yourself of two or three other really good games. Games that most likely everyone will be talking about in the months to come. So in the end, it comes down to a couple of questions. Do you have 50+ hours to spare on one video game and do you like Final Fantasy a lot? Cause if you answered yes, then good. Get this game, and play it through. It's apparently going to be important to all these other Final Fantasy games to come. But if you don't, don't even bother to rent it for the weekend, or just play a couple of hours to see how the game is, cause you're not going to get anywhere near the meat of this game unless you really work for it. Overall, I'm going to say this one is for die-hards only. It's getting a 6/10.

Review: Mass Effect 2

Over the summer I was lucky enough to pick up Mass Effect 1 from my friend, after being told multiple times that this was one of those must play games, that I had missed when it launched due to lack of a Xbox 360. So I played it through, and while it was definitely a good game story wise, a few elements, namely the inventory system and planet exploration system needed a little retuning.

If it sounds like I didn't like the game, I bought the DLC for it, and I don't even own the game. It was definitely worth playing, if not solely for the chance to play the game through as the paragon hero saving lives or as a renegade vigilante punishing the wicked. Being able to determine if one of your character lives or dies is one of the highlights of this system, but also knowing that decisions I made in this game would have ramifications that would echo into the next game in the series was just one of those things that made making hard decisions that much harder.

I heard great things about Mass Effect 2, regarding the refined inventory system, the improved exploration system, and the epic-ness of the story. Great things indeed. Not 10 minutes in to this new game you can tell that the game has transcended its past life, into an entirely new game, leaving the bad, taking the good, and filling in all the missing spots with something akin to video game gold. The way they linked the story of the first to the second, as well as the new path that they lead the series down builds upon the what-I-thought-was galaxy exploring greatness and takes it to an entirely new level of galaxy exploring grandeur.

Importing my save game from the original, I was able to see the ramifications of each and every decision I made, whether it was in an email from someone I helped, doing a side mission for someone from the first game, or even just overhearing someone talking about my past actions. Knowing that every decision I made really made me think about a few choices I had to make, but with the introduction of the new paragon/renegade trigger actions during conversations, made me make a few decisions that I had to jump on. Some I regret, some I regret missing, but all in all I can't say the spot opportunities didn't make the game that much more enticing to play.(Hint: Because it did.)

To avoid any spoilers, I'll say in this game, the fate of the galaxy rests on your head, and whether you half ass it or go the distance to gain your team's loyalty is going to make all the difference in the world. Or galaxy. Whatever. You get what I'm saying. The game isn't perfect, and personally I'd like a few more changes to the inventory system; That being every teenage boy's problem, I want more guns. The new system is definitely an improvement from the inventory clutter and resource hunting tediousness of the first game, but now there's a lack of inventory, and a different kind of resource hunting tediousness.

The weapon selection is somewhat limited, gaining one or two types of gun in the game, the second gun being only marginally better than the first, with the main method of obtaining a better gun through finding different upgrade modules, and researching different upgrades. So while yes, by finding all these nameless, shapeless upgrades, and spending resources found through tedious planet hopping you can get a better weapon, but personally I like it that much better when you can just go out and buy a shiny new gun that looks all BA and new, with credits that you get from killing bad guys. The game has structure. A lot of it. One might argue too much, but it's not to the point where it detracts from the game. In fact seeing that Mission Complete screen is pretty great after a long mission.

If you remotely like 3rd Person Shooters with RPG and Sci-Fi Elements, and like the pressure of the fate of an entire galaxy on your shoulders, this game is your bread and butter, just like it was for me. Hell, it's even got re-playability not only being able to import your ME1 save game, but your completed ME2 save game as well! Sure, it's not perfect, but if you look at how much better they made ME2 than they made ME1, I'm scared for how good ME3 is going to be. I'm giving ME2 a 9.5/10. Definitely one of the contenders for Game of the Year 2010.

The Very Late VGA Trailer Breakdown

From time to time, I very much enjoy nerding out. Unlike the Hulk I don't have to get angry, but instead my interest must be piqued. So from time to time when this happens, I'm going to bring the nerd. Enjoy.

Couple weeks back, The Video Game Awards on Spike occurred, for lack of a better word, and though the show has been ripped on in the past, the trailers that emerged this year have brought much joy to gamers throughout the world. Or America. Anyway here are a couple of thoughts on some of the trailers.

Halo: Reach. Being a HUGE Halo fan - I've got the games, and the books. Yeah I'm hardcore. - The Reach trailer was much anticipated. It did not disappoint. The score, highlighted on Bungie.net, was excellent, and that little taste the in-game cinema gave left me wanting, neigh, needing more. Since I purchased Halo 3: ODST, I have my key to the Reach beta all ready and waiting when it drops this spring, but even the small glimpses of these new characters has whetted my appetite enough to know that whenever this game comes out, I will be getting it.

Batman: Arkham Asylum 2. Now, anyone that knows me, knows I love comic books, and those who know me well know I prefer DC over Marvel. So when Arkham Asylum 1 came out this fall, and it didn't suck like every game prior, I purchased it and I was not disappointed. The first game was stunning with the free flow combat, and excellent storyline and use of Batman's Rogues' Gallery. This new look at a post-first game Joker, and the Asylum in the heart of the City of Gotham, filled with mayhem and the possibility of sandbox-esque game play has left me with another 60 dollars owed to the proprietor of a video game dispensing outlet.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II. I borrowed and played the first game almost a year ago, and being a huge Star Wars geek, was certainly satisfied with the game. The DLC that has come out since has almost convinced me into buying the Ultimate Sith edition, with all of it being included. It had new characters that captured my imagination, and reeled me into a new realm of the Star Wars Universe. That being said, with the end of the last game I thought my ride was over. With this trailer emerging, I am right back on board. How they'll link it to the last game? I don't know. But I'm sure the people working for George Lucas will figure it out. With no gameplay to faun over, I can only say that the idea of another Force Unleashed game has certainly sparked my imagination on where they will go, when it will happen and all sorts of other possibilities. Buy this, I will.

Tron: Evolution. Oh, Tron. Your 80's awesomeness still affects me to this day. With your new movie coming out I am certainly interested in this new story you're pursuing, but nonetheless I know how your games have done in the past (e.g. epic failure). So, yes, while your trailer is shiny and clean, I'll wait till I hear some more about the story and gameplay till I say yay or ney on this purchase.

Mass Effect 2. Another game I borrowed and played the original, but this trailer clearly has a little more of its story fleshed out. The cinematic trailer in full (as opposed to the first 3/4 shown at the VGA's) is a beautiful creation, and if I could buy tickets, and watch a movie filled with that kind of cinematic brilliance, I would have already pre-ordered them on Fandango. This game is clearly going to be epic storywise, and with the addition of new characters and worlds, and bringing in the decisions made from the first game (if you played it) this is definitely a must buy.

The few other trailers there were, were not enough to merit any paragraph writing, either because I haven't played the games prior, and thus feel unqualified to write upon them, or because they sucked. I'll bet you can figure it out if you take a look. This link here has most of the trailers mentioned above, with the others not mentioned above, but a simple Google search should be enough to find them on your own.

So thanks for indulging me nerding out for a bit, I'll be back to nonsensical amusement next time, I assure you! Bye!