Second Time Around? Eh...

Only recently have I begun to read some of the stuff over at Bitmob and I have to admit that they are different. And while I do respect other peoples' differences, there is a particular aritcle that just does not sit well with me.

It is titled "The Second Time Around with Chrono Trigger: Millennial Fair."

My problem here isn't the fact that the person writing about Chrono Trigger dislike of the game. To each his or her own. What disturbs me is the fact that he claims to be a RPG fan of games from both East and West. His two examples? Final Fantasy Tactics and Baldur's Gate.

To compair those games with a game like Chrono Trigger is practically impossible, as far as I am concerned. Yes they are all considered RPGs, but they play no where near the same. And by the sounds of it, the person writing was expecting a game like they are today: Filled with choices and options to chose where and how you proceed through a story. Hell, Chrono Trigger was released back in 1995! Chrono Trigger was cutting edge back then! There was no free roaming, no skill trees to work your way through. You just had what you had before you and that was it.

I just think the person who wrote the article went into Chrono Trigger with an impossible expectation. As I mentioned earlier, what he expected and what was during that time period was just unheard of really. For something of its time, Chrono Trigger was easily one of the best RPGs out there. It is just too bad some people can't give it a try with an open mind.

Busy Times

It has been quite a task, formulating these words for this writing today. I've been meaning to write a little something sooner, but I have just been far too occupied to do so. I would like to say that I have been busy working and enjoying that type of busy, but that is a lie. I've been growing miserable at work again and I guess having that second job kept me away enough to where it didn't bother me so much.

But I won't get into that so called "problem" here. I am grateful to even have a job at this point, all things considered, and so I will just make due with what I have for the time being.

Onto what I seem to fixate over more often then not, video games.

I've been fairly hooked onto Assassin's Creed II, so much so that I haven't really even touched Dragon Age Origins lately. And to say Assassin's Creed II is an improvement over the original would easily be an understatement. It truly is the type of game that the first should have been. It is a rare thing to play a sequel that thoroughly outdoes its predecessor.

Dragon Age is still a point of interest to me, but I am waiting to hear more about the next DLC for it. Apparently it will allows players to return to Ostagar to exact revenge, reclaim the armor of the fallen King and even add a second dog to your party? Hmm...

To top this all off, I just recently picked up LittleBigPlanet: Game of the Year Edition and have slowly begun to relearn what little I knew in the first place. Someday I will unleash my creations unto the world! Until then though... how do you make a three way switch work properly without having the skateboard it is attached to rocket away?

Some might think I am a little jumpy when it comes to games, that I never finish what I start. I am nearing the end for both Dragon Age and Assassin's Creed 2. As for Borderlands, eh... that is more of a co-op thing between me and my girlfriend, so that gets playtime whenever we get the chance.

Anyway, that is that for me and I guess my brain has hit an overload of gaming lately. Perhaps that is the cause of my lack of motivation? Wait, no. I don't lack motivation, I just feel like I am in a rut right now. I'll elaborate later, maybe.

Oh Hell No

It happened to me...

Again.

My XBox 360 has flashed me those three rings of everlasting frustration, irritation, anger and damn near every other bit of unhappiness a gamer experiences when a gaming console decides the time was right to fail. And to make matters worse, I have not even finished off Dragon Age: Origins. How pissed I would be if it keels over before I ever even get that chance!

Thankfully a restart of the console proved to be the trick this time, but the appears of those evil trio of red rings cannot be good. I was afraid it was only a matter of time before it happened again and it looks like I just might be correct. Now I suppose I should prepare myself with what could very well be my XBox's inevitable second death...

If I have to send my system back to goddamn Texas for yet another vacation, I will be even less happy then the first time. I mean why is this shit still even happening at this point?

Seriously, I will reconsider purchasing whatever system Microsoft comes out with whenever the next console generation begins. If they will not even solve this problem, why waste the money? What next anyway, consoles nuking entire neighborhoods? And what will be the excuse then? Oh, well it happens...

Last One For The Road

It has been a long, yet equally fast paced year this 2009. But that, as I said, is quickly becoming the past and it seems it is usually best to look forward and not back, yes? And really, how can anyone look back at 2009 when there is a great deal to come in 2010?

But before I can leave 2009 behind once and for all, there is a little matter of unfinished business yet to attend to. With that in mind, at long last I have come to what is to be the last game I buy this year: Assassin's Creed II.

Truthfully, the more I hear and read and watch about this, the more I am convinced that the game has been greatly improved over the original. Yes that is the purpose of these many promotional videos and what not, but they are just what it took to turn my distrust into pure anticipation.

Mercifully, the entire missions structure has been redone. Ubisoft says they've added new mission types, which I hope equals to saying there won't be anymore of those boring investigations and the like. Personally, I hope these missions are a little more action oriented.

And of course there are even more ways to dispatch your enemies this time around. Surely the double hidden blades are nice, but the arm gun is a nice addition as well. I wonder if my favorite weapon, the throwing knives, will be back as well? Long range, silent and deadly they were. I can't imagine they'd be left out!

But what fun would it be to kill the same dull old enemies? I am liking this addition of smarter enemies, who will actually poke around and search at places where you can hide yourself. That will make escaping the city guards quite a bit more challenging, or so I am hoping.

As for the story itself, it is one of revenge as far as I've come to know it. What helps paint a better picture is the series of live action videos called "Assassin's Creed Lineage." They tell the tale of Assassin's Creed II main character, Enzo's, father. He, too, was an assassin. What fate awaits Enzo's father and his family? Well I have my ideas, but I haven't watched the last two episodes of the video.

To me, this is one of the few games where I have to believe the sequel will surpass it's predecessor. Yeah Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 was a pretty big deal and all, but this is the game I truly have been waiting for. I am hoping the story is good, though I think it'll be hard pressed to get my full attention after Dragon Age Origins. Still, I am more then willing to give this game a chance. Hopefully I'll see the ending of this game, unlike the original...

My Hands

This song, "My Hands" by Leona Lewis, has been chosen to be the main theme song for Final Fantasy XIII. Well, at least in the US and UK as far as I know of. Perhaps they used this song for the Japan release as well, just translated over to Japanese?

Anyway...

Personally I am on the fence as far as this song is concerned and just off of hearing it for the first time, I have to agree with what some people are saying. While this song is pretty good, but a main theme song for Final Fantasy? That one is slightly in question, at least in my mind right now.

But I am not going to just write it off, not until I see for myself where and how this song is used. I mean this is Square we're talking about here and from past experiences, they usually don't disappoint when it comes down to emotional and meaningful moments in their Final Fantasy games.

I just hope that statement will remain true, once this game sees release here in the States.

March 9th, 2010

If you are like me and have been awaiting the next installment of the Final Fantasy series, the mystery that was it's release date is over. Mark down that date on your calenders folks. Why? Because that is when Final Fantasy XIII hits the U.S. for both PS3 and XBox 360! It would have been nice if it would have released at the same time as it would in Japan, but beggars can't be choosers I suppose.

And with this game being four years in the making, it is about time that the masters of RPG remind the world why they are truly the best at what they do. I miss being able to play a good old turn based RPG... it has been far too long indeed.

Oh and for the record, this is the reason why I bothered to pick up a PS3 in the first place. To me, this is the game that always screamed "must have!" since the very start. Factor in that Final Fantasy XIV will be a PS3/PC game, that should also be interesting whenever that seems the light of day.

Man, I just can't believe that the game will come out in March! I suppose I know what I can ask for for my Birthday... lol

Up 2 Speed

My writing has sort of fallen out just because of the fact that I have actually been busy. Busy with work and almost equally as much with gaming. I am now juggling between Borderlands, Dragon Age: Origins and now Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. At this point, I am more focused on Dragon Age just because I want to finish off at least my first play through.

I have been impressed with the story that is at the heart of Dragon Age. The amount of detail there is unreal to me. I am almost wanting to actually read the books, which I am hoping is as good, if not better then what is already in the game.

Another point that has impressed me is the fact that I have put in about 40 hours into the game and I am not even at the end of the road yet. Money well spent? Indeed, or at least I think so.

I've been dabbling with some of the other races or mainly that of the Elves (a male Elvan mage and a female Elvan Rogue), aside from my main character (a noble human warrior/berserker/champion).

One thing I have to say is this: I agree with what I read in a review of Dragon Age. I have not even finished my first game and I am already thinking about what I'll do during the next time through.

Borderlands has been pretty good, though it does get a little repetitive at times. Still, as a co-op game it passes through just fine. Good times to be had when you and a friend take on alien dogs, raiders and all manner of strangeness.

Then there is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

What is this I read? Modern Warfare 2 will turn kids into terrorists? Wow... really?

I've played through the airport scene (which I believe is the point where all of these talking heads are focusing their strange manner of thinking upon) and yes, it is a bit disturbing. How could it not be? But the violence isn't mindless, like you just pop into the airport and kill people for no reason. I really don't see it as a promotion of violence at all. But rather, it is a turning point which serves as a powerful tool. From that point on, everything changes...

It is frustrating as a gamer to see people just cutting everything down just because it might end up being a "popular" move. People want to complain about violence, drugs and sex in video games? Don't buy the damn thing! Don't do it! As a parent, you cannot claim ignorance as to the contents of the game. If you don't know what you are buying, then look it up! Research the game before purchasing it for your kids! There is a ton of information out there and I just don't buy the excuse that parents didn't have a clue that a game had this or that.

Hell, why not just research the ESRB website? All you need to do is type in the name of the video game in question and it will show you the rating, as well as the contents which earned the game the rating it receives.

Easy huh? I wish more people did their homework, rather then buy games for their kids blindly and then bitch and complain after the fact. Sickening...

Speaking of sickening, I won't go into a lot of detail about this but I have a declaration to make: As far as GameStop is concerned, I am done dealing with them all together. I couldn't give a care if they bundled a super extra special collector's edition of a video game I really, really want.

I am just sick and tired of so many things, it is starting to piss me off just thinking about it. As far as I am concerned, they ain't the only game store in town and I sure as hell WILL NOT spend another dollar to support their sorry asses any longer.

But this one is a whole other story, which I think I will save for next time. I have a feeling that will end up becoming a ranting, raving affair all too quickly...

Aerosmith: Over?

While they are a little beyond my time, I still have to say I am surprised to learn about Steven Tyler having quit Aerosmith after 40+ years of being in that band. Here I thought my friend at work was just bullsh*ting, it turns out to be absolute truth.

There is obviously a lot of speculation at this point as to why he left and if he'll even return to the band someday. Then there is talk about finding a replacement for him, but come on! After all that time, how could you replace your front man? The music just wouldn't be the same...

The days of this legendary rock band might very well have seen it's final days. Who knows, maybe they will end up being like Creed (another rock band that recently got back together) and reform in a couple of years. Maybe a break apart is just what the doctor ordered...

Dragon Age: Origins - First Impressions

So after nearly losing my damn mind yesterday (the game finally arrived at my door step at around 6:30 PM!), I finally got to play Dragon Age: Origins.

First off, there is a little something I am not understanding at this point. During the time I was waiting for this game to be delivered to my apartment, I had been reading comments from other gamers who got this game and had played it. So the graphics looked like shit, the frame rate was also terrible and the damned thing loaded about as fast as a senior citizen crossing the street. Needless to say, reading those comments had me worried that maybe my purchase was a mistake.

Fast forward to later that night...

After playing about 3 hours into the game, I just don't see where these problems are at. The graphics look fine to me. They aren't the most eye catching ever, but considering the amount of game here... who could have expected that? If BioWare had pushed for better graphics, this game would have probably turned out to be like some of those Japanese RPGs (2-3 discs long).

And frame rate being bad? Huh? Where? I admit that I noticed a little hiccup here and there, but nothing ever really that bad. Hell, I've had a four man party in the Wilds and got attacked by a fairly sizable group of Dark Spawns and never missed a beat.

Finally the load times...

I'm playing this on XBox 360 and I was expecting it to be bad (after reading what others had been saying). Yes, that was yet another moment where I cursed my luck of missing out on the PS3 version. But to my surprise, the loading is actually pretty quick and I didn't even install the game to my HDD.

Okay and as for the game itself, I started off as a Human Noble and I just have not found much of anything that I can complain about so far. The story has me interested (hooked), probably much more so then when I started out in Mass Effect. The origin story wasn't all too deep, but it served its purpose in that I gave actually gave a damn when your character's mother and father stay behind to give you a chance to escape. I wanted to stay back there and fight, but alas that was not to be.

My favorite part of the story thus far has got to be the Joining Ritual, which is required of anyone who wishes to join the Gray Wardens. What a brutal way to join the club, in my opinion.

Anyway, time for me to get back in there and carry onward. I am curious to see what comes next...

Any Day Now

While I am personally growing a slight bit tired about having to write about Dragon Age: Origins (or at least about the numerous experiences whilst trying to obtain a copy of the game), I just cannot escape this it would seem.

I suppose it also does not help matters that I grow rather impatient, especially when awaiting the delivery of something. It also does not help matters to know that this package arrived and left for delivery at about 8am this morning.

Understood it is that there are quite a lot of other packages out there for delivery. But does it really take all day for it to arrive? How does the process work exactly? Do they pass the package around to other drivers, before ultimately sending it to it's ultimate destination? Does that mean it makes a trip all over the island, before arriving?

There are so many little, meaningless questions that I don't really care to know the answer to. And yet here they are on display in my mind...

I could be playing the game right now! I'd actually want to be playing Borderlands, but I am determined to maintain my co-op game with my girlfriend. It has been a fun little experience, though a tad bit repetitive at times. I will write more about this game later, perhaps whenever Dragon Age decides to arrive.

I hate being inpatient...

The Ending of a Nightmare

It is an ending of sorts, but the tale of this insanity is far from over for me. To cut a long story short, I did not get the PS3 version of the game (Dragon Age: Origins) and I am now going to be getting two copies of the XBox 360 version. Why didn't I get the PS3 version? It was sold out when I tried to cancel my order for the XBox game so that I could order the PS3 version.

To my anger, it came back into stock a few days after the fact.

In my scramble to be sure I could secure a copy of the game, I panicked (after seeing the PS3 version had sold out) and placed a new order for the XBox 360 again. Now this is with me thinking my original order was canceled.

Guess what?

It wasn't.

I had been trading responses with their customer service for a few days already. I had asked if they could just cancel the order. I thought there would be no problem there and that everything was fine. Well after receiving a email saying I am now being shipped two copies of the XBox game, I go home to check what happened.

The son of a you-know-what did not cancel a damn thing! Instead he/she/it decided to tell me I should "wait for sometimes so that the order can settle and then we can surely cancel your order as well."

Ha! Great job asshole! The order settled alright and now it is coming over here! Exactly what I did not want to happen!

All I know now is this: This game has better be like the greatest game ever, EVER conceived...