Feb 11 - Feb 15
Much as I am loathe to do so, I must concede the week to Lost Odyssey for the Xbox 360. With a pedigree straight from Square including a soundtrack by the talented Nobuo Uematsu, this is the console's latest big stab at being a legitimate platform for RPGs, particularly of the J variety. After reading a few previews describing in dry-detail complicated battle systems and enjoying a number of screenshots where effeminate heroes with well-styled hair are counseled by delicately dressed schoolgirls, I am confident in stating two facts. 1) This is not a game for me; and 2) JRPG fans will probably love it. It is, however, my game of the week.
Of note, though, is a new Wipeout for the PSP, which remains my personal favorite racing franchise. Also, after more then a year since its original release Dark Messiah of Might and Magic for the Xbox 360 may be bug free enough for a good rental. While it lacks durability for an RPG, kicking orcs off cliffs and into spikes is definitely fun for a while.
On DVD this week: Becoming Jane, No Reservations and We Own The Night. More DVDs here.
PC:
- Abra Academy (2/12)
- Conflict: Denied Ops (2/12)
- Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate (2/12)
- Pirateville (2/12)
- Powerboat GT (2/12)
PSP:
- Chessmaster (2/12)
- Wipeout Pulse (2/12)
DS
- Professor Layton and the Curious Village (2/12)
- Dungeon Explorer (2/12)
PS2:
- Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves the Mermaids (2/12)
- Go Diego Go: Safari Rescue (2/12)
- Jumper (2/12)
Xbox 360:
- Conflict: Denied Ops (2/12)
- Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (2/12)
- Jumper (2/12)
- Lost Oddysey (2/12)
PS3:
- Conflict: Denied Ops (2/12)
Wii:
- Go Diego Go: Safari Rescue (2/12)
- Winter Sports (2/11)
- Balloon Pop (2/11)
- Jumper (2/12)
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Boooo!!! Hissss!!! Jumper was released this week.
XBox Live: DSGamer GWJ | PSN: DSGamerGWJ
I'm looking forward to Professor Layton and the Curious Village, I love the art direction. The massive load times of Lost Odyssey make me cautious, perhaps I'll wait for reviews from people I trust.
The Quixotic Engineer - http://gangles.ca/
All I want from Professor Layton is for it to look pretty and give me puzzles, and I think it does both. Good for you, Nintendo DS, once again you give me a nice little game to play while roaming about town.
Steam ID: http://steamcommunity.com/id/nyles
Website: http://banditosbanditosbanditos.typepad.com
Favorite puzzle: Grim Fandango -- the metal detector
From what I've seen of Lost Odyssey I can't see any way of me not liking it. I thought blue dragon was pretty good too, but it definitely did not live up to what it could of been.
I might also mention that I don't have a 360 so I don't actually have any way to play Lost Odyssey, but when I get one, hopefully soon, it's definitely on my to buy list.
I've heard mediocre things about Lost Odyssey. I'm going to wait until I hear from the Goodjer collective.
Yet even then we ran like the wind,
whilst our laughter echoed under cerulean skies...
I'll be all over Lost Odyssey this week. Definitely looking forward to it.
XBL / Art / Blog (09/20) / Buy! (10/07)
We downloaded the Lost Odysee trailer at my house and it was debuted to my twin daughter's birthday party and the impromptu Halo tournament the guys put on to avoid the sisterly-girly invasion. The general response was best expressed by one of my son's friend's girlfriend's tagalong friend who shrieked, "GIMMEEEEEE GIMMMEEEEE GIMMMEEEEE!" directly into my left ear.
Let me get out my cracked and crazed crystal ball for a moment.
I see the reviews... reviews in the high mediocre range. And if you're not a fan of the genre it will annoy the living daylights out of you. The rest of us are going to alternate between vanishing into 40+ hours of a blissful realm and writing and reading forum posts gushing about and or defending it for the next couple weeks.
Long, fulsome discussions about people's hatred of standard RPG game mechanics will flow through the aether like Holy through the Lifestream. There will be at least one link posted on our forum to someone somewhere else frothing like a demon at a puppy buffet about several game features or percieved tactical requirements they hate that do not actually appear in the game. Wikipedia and the IMDB may be implicated, but will get off on a technicality.
More of you will be more firmly convinced I'm an old termagant who is probably suffering from some sort of lingering side-effects of the fumes from all the lead-based minatures I painted in jr high or a lingering pre-frontal lobe seizure from Commodore VIC-20 graphics and am sublimating my sucky Halo skills with turn-based pixel-pr0n. I will be more firmly convinced that you should be either drinking a great deal more (because you need to relax) or a great deal less (because you're talking gibberish) and between posts I will continue to play FreeRice on the test server while attempting to swill enough breakroom coffee to make it possible for me to pull four all-nighters in a row between the Daily Planet job and the game with the occaisional break for Devil May Cry.
I will do my best not to post when listening to political debates, Drowning Pool, the Smothers Brothers, or the Dropkick Murphies. We will all do our best to avoid kumquats and aspartame. The world will continue to turn until next week at this time, when whatever we're all supposed to go all organ-grinder's-monkey about next gets splashed across the big gaming blogs.
Or maybe not?
Duoae wrote:
I think I can forgive any breach in taste or protocol if you continue to use words like 'termagant.'
The girlfriend - Apple commercials always remind me of heaven: white, not a whole lot going on, and trying to come across as better than it really is.
Dark Messiah is a juvenile game with poor voice acting. However, for whatever reason, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and I played all the way through it two or three times. It's much more fun than it has any real right to be, given the poor production values and thinly sketched story.
It's not worth full price, but at $20ish, it's a good addition to your library.
NOTE: This is not a doodle bug.
Spore
I couldn't agree more. If I weren't currently neck deep in Persona 3, I think I'd be all over it come Tuesday, but I just can't handle two massive RPGs at once.
Doogiemac on: Xbox Live | Steam | WoW | PSN
I was on board with "demon at a puppy buffet." I wish I were better at Photoshop.
I just reached the point of Persona 3 where I realize that my choices early in the game, when I didn't understand the mechanics, have made it impossible for me to see everything there is to see on this playthrough. Ah, that old RPG feeling.
Steam ID: http://steamcommunity.com/id/nyles
Website: http://banditosbanditosbanditos.typepad.com
Favorite puzzle: Grim Fandango -- the metal detector
Don't feel bad; more than most games, Persona 3 was designed so that unless you had a very, VERY well planned schedule of activities you won't be able to see it all in one go. Even still, there is plenty to see and it is well worth continuing anyway.
XBL/PSN: zeroKFE | BHA: zeroKFE | Spore: zeroKFE
I've just got my copy of DMC4... but with that said, I'm really looking forward to Lost Odyssey. In fact as soon as I get my copy of Lost Odyssey, it will take priority over DMC.
Xbox Live: Nei HD | Playstation ID: Nei_GWJ
Yeah, I'm starting to notice that. I knew there was a time limit, but didn't realize how many different thing would be competing for your time. The up side is that if I ever get a big chunk of free time, a second playthrough will have lots of new stuff to see. It'd be cool to have something like Bully's Endless Summer mode upon completion.
Steam ID: http://steamcommunity.com/id/nyles
Website: http://banditosbanditosbanditos.typepad.com
Favorite puzzle: Grim Fandango -- the metal detector
Even though I only played once, I understand that if you do go for a second playthrough that the game does a very good job of offering a good mix of freedom to see things you missed, skipping things you don't care about, and retaining your previously earned levels of power, and thus makes for a much more appealing second playthrough than many other games in the genre (think FF10-2, if you've played it).
And in an attempt to be vaguely on topic, I too will be picking up Lost Odyssey this week. Assuming that the voice work isn't too bad (or the allow you to play the game with Japanese voices, as Blue Dragon did) I expect that I'll enjoy it greatly, being the lover of JRPG convention that I am.
Edit: Word on the internets is that following in the vein of Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey will have the option of English or Japanese voice work. Thank your favorite deity! I prefer to play a game in English if the work is good (see Metal Gear Solid, half the cast of FF10) but if it is not then I'd much rather to hear the characters speak in a language I only barely understand.
XBL/PSN: zeroKFE | BHA: zeroKFE | Spore: zeroKFE
I'd always found the design sensibilities of Wipeout appealing, but hadn't played any of them until Pure on the PSP. Fan-tas-tic. The ship control, track layout, and sense of speed are superb. The beats of the techno soundtrack and the passing of the trackside lights start to synchronize, and self-induced hypnosis. Neck and neck with Burnout for my favorite console racing franchise.
I've heard great things about the new Wipeout Pulse. Let me know if you pick it up. It has Internet multiplayer this go-around, which should be great fun.
There are five languages included in the North American disk. I believe the list is English, Japanese, Spanish, French, and something else.
Duoae wrote:
Ah, well that explains the four disks then.
XBL/PSN: zeroKFE | BHA: zeroKFE | Spore: zeroKFE
That and all the shiny, shiny eyecandy. I was expecting the multiple disks. Even with a more cartoony style, Blue Dragon came on three disks.
Duoae wrote:
Yeah, but that also had multiple audio tracks, plus a lot of cleverly disguised FMV (I think?).
XBL/PSN: zeroKFE | BHA: zeroKFE | Spore: zeroKFE