LadyManix's Mumblings

Metroid:Other M Mumblings - Emotional Woman huh?

2010-09-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

Much has already been complained about this game. With "fans" of the Metroid series blasting off about how unbelievably lame Samus is in the game high up on the list.

And it kind of gets my back up.

The game is not the crowning achievement Ninja Theory hoped it would be but neither is it a bad game, and the real fans of the series would see exactly how it DOES fit in with Samus' story arc throughout the nine games made so far. So this is my series about how Metroid: Other M is a good addition to the Metroid franchise.

Let's first tackle the moans about Samus being an emotional hazard.

Ridley

This girl has been through a lot. Her parents were murdered in front of her eyes by Ridley - who quite honestly would scare the pants off me now as a grown woman, so I can hardly imagine what long-scarring effect he had on an infant girl! Psychologists would no doubt term it post-traumatic stress disorder. Add to that, the fact that every time she kicks his scaly ass, he somehow seems to be regenerated or survive. So I'm not surprised that she freezes upon meeting him again. It's happened before!

In Super Metroid - when Ceres station is attacked and Samus goes to the Hatchling's room, Ridley shows up. And for a few minutes she just stands there. Stock still. Watching as he picks up the baby and flies off. Only after the initial shock of seeing him does she even attempt to fire at him. And by the time she meets him again, she's got over the initial shock and just wants to kick his ass. But who's to say what exactly went through her mind at that first point? Maybe it was just for dramatic effect that meant the player could do nothing? Or maybe it was put in because the director - Yoshio Sakamoto - actually understood her history? Not having Samus voicing her opinions before now means it's something that is open to speculation really, unless you ask Sakamoto himself.

Daddy Issues

"Adam Malkovich was probably the only person who ever really understood me."
Being raised by a bunch of alien birds (Chozo) could not have been easy for a human girl. Being raised as "the chosen one" - the saviour of their entire race is enough to give anyone responsibility issues. So, where most people would laugh at it, I'm not surprised Samus latches onto the one person who takes this aspect of her seriously. Adam could probably be the only human who doesn't find the concept of a young female human being a species' saviour absolutely unbelievable!
She lost her father when she was young, true, and whilst she does refer to Adam as a "father figure" - she also refers to him as a friend - which is a little bit more likely in my opinion. A friend that understood her need to rebel, because most likely she never could under such pressure and responsibility with the Chozo. And it seems, from a certain conversation in Other M, that Adam believes in her responsibility to the Chozo as much as she does.

So why does she blindly follow his orders to not use her suit upgrades? Out of respect? Yes, but this is the one gripe that I agree with other reviewers and bloggers. Restricting the more powerful weapons - fair enough. But why restrict defence items - such as the Varia suit's ability to lessen heat damage? I don't care who you are - if I'm slowly burning alive inside a metal suit that has air conditioning - I turn on the air conditioning - orders be damned! But this minor point isn't about Samus' character - it's just the standard "recover your upgrades" game design prevalent in all Metroid games. It kind of works up until you hit the introduction of Sector 3.

Mumblings Temporarily Silenced

2010-07-28T02:12:00.000-07:00

As you can tell, the Mumblings have been quiet of late.

Due to several life-changing events over the past few weeks the Mumblings will be on a temporary hiatus.

Hopefully once the dust settles I'll be able to blog more frequently.

Thanks!

E3 Mumblings - Part 1 - The Dark Side

2010-06-24T04:35:00.000-07:00

Ah the sweet promise of this image...

So E3 is over again for another year and further promises of an inspired future of gaming were abundant. But is there any real cause to celebrate and be excited at the prospects shown? Let me take you on a tour over a few blog posts of my top moments of interest/uninterest from the 2010 mega-expo. So let's start with the disappointments first and then we can move on to the happy stuff!

Epic Mickey - Epic Fail

Unbelievable that Disney is finally producing a stand-alone Mickey-centric title for the first time this generation. Sure, you had his cameos in the Kingdom Hearts series but now Mickey gets to take centre stage. When I first saw the initial concept art for this game I was really excited. It looked like a dark Okami-style game where Mickey had to restore colour to the Disney realm.

Watching the E3 footage has confirmed my worst fears though. Whilst the graphics look promising the concept seems to be too much like the Disney films of old - I was expecting a more adult platformer, not an adult idea put forward through a child's view of the Disney realm. I know that Disney is a happy studio, but there just seems to be a complete lack of darkness...and now, from me, a complete lack of interest. At least there was real darkness in the Kindgom Hearts games...

Final Fantasy XIV - 360 Owners Not Allowed

Devastation.

Robbed.

Are the two words that I felt following Square-Enix's announcement that they would not even be considering porting the latest online FF game onto Microsoft's console of online joy. How many players are signed up to live compared to the PS3 online? How much of a missed opportunity is this for Squeenix to really make some money? I shouldn't really complain as I haven't bought a PS3 as of yet due to the fact that there's only a handful of games I would consider buying, and no one I care about actually owns one and would play online with me on it. What annoys me is that they've proven they can port the FF games onto the 360 with FFXIII retaining most of its graphically capability. So why stop there?

Saints Row The Movie - Exactly what I wanted

*sigh*

Fact One: Videogame movie adaptations are generally not good. They generally please only the fans and often times they fail to do even that.

Fact Two: The "more serious" the game - the less successful the movie. Max Payne = complete unbelievable b*llocks. Prince of Persia = not as bad as it could have been thanks to light-hearted drivel.

So when THQ announced that they were commissioning a Saints Row movie to coincide with the release of the third game, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Another gangster film. Roll out the red carpet! I wonder if it will be a slapstick version starring Damon Wayans...or a more serious film featuring the likes of Jamie Foxx...

Surely there are much better IPs out there to turn into films then such a been-there-done-that formula as this?

Give your old games a bit of love.

2010-06-09T07:48:00.001-07:00

Recently I've been in a bit of a gaming funk.

After finally defeating the last boss in Final Fantasy XIII, nothing new has really caught my eye enough for me to part with cash for it.

So after being inundated with trailers for the new Prince of Persia movie I decided to go back over the 2008 re-envisioning on the 360. And was surprised by my reaction to it. I became immersed in the world all over again and truly enjoyed hunting down the last few remaining light seeds in this great action game. But this was only to spark off a chain of Old Game Love.

I attacked a few arcade games for merciless achievement hunting purposes and have now moved onto the not-so-bad Force Unleashed to try and get my head round some of the holocron hunting that I completely bypassed the first time round.

In between I've been rediscovering Dissidia on the PSP. I still don't think I've got the gist of the game but it is pretty and the button-mashing has been doing wonders for my frustration levels!

I've discovered that whilst there is always joy in revisiting the retro classics such as the early Final Fantasies, Zeldas, and Marios of my youth, there is also a level of joy to be found replaying through slightly older games of this generation too.

So go ahead and give some of your old games some love too!

Nier-ly but not quite there?

2010-05-12T05:16:00.000-07:00

I still own Drakengard (and its sequel) on the PS2. Not because the games are amazing, iconic set-pieces, but solely because I’m one of those few people that can’t bear to trade-in or throw out old games any more.

That’s not to say that I hated the game. The storyline was actually quite interesting and hell, there were dragons in it! But it was the jarring voice acting and terrible, repetitive gameplay that let the series down. Add to that some insane musical choices for the background and all-in-all you had a game that was just screaming for improvement.

Fast forward six years and developer Cavia has crashed into the next generation with RPG/Platformer: Nier.

Nier is set after the destruction of humanity, with the last humans seeking to survive against terrifying creatures known as Shades. So already - it sounds promising. Nier is desperate to find a cure for the disease known as the Black Scrawl as his young daughter has fallen victim to it, and so he sets off on a quest destroying all Shades that get in his way. He is then joined by Grimoir Weiss - who is exactly what his name suggests - a talking book - which allows him to use magic to aid him. Then along comes Kaine, who has something of a Tourettes issue but that could be largely down to her “split-personality” for reasons that will become clear, and finally he hooks up with a young boy called Emil, who quite literally petrifies whatever his eyes look upon.

So it sounds like a great set-up. Characters striving against a great evil, and personal turmoils on a variety of levels. A new and interesting take on an apocalyptic world. Hack and slash action guaranteed.

Or not.

I just can’t shake the familiarities with Drakengard. From the first screenshot, to the battle gameplay, I can remember turning to a friend and saying with a disappointed air;

“It looks exactly like Drakengard…”

The graphics don’t seem to have improved much despite the PS3 and Xbox 360’s capabilities. The gameplay is once again hack and slash but from what I’ve read it still doesn’t have a decent lock-on system, meaning that unless you’re facing an enemy head on only 1 out of every 2 hits is going to land.

Jim Sterling at Destructoid.com enthuses about Nier’s storyline being one of the “best videogame narratives I’ve had the pleasure to experience,” and I can well believe that. As I mentioned before, Drakengard’s storyline had serious potential and if now that Nier’s voice acting is 100% better than its predecessor then I’m sure it would be engrossing. But I think I will stick by his useful advice and either rent it or wait until it appears in bargain bins across the country, and I’m sad to say if it continues to follow in Drakengard’s footsteps I won’t have long to wait.

MTV Movie Bloggers Re-Create Prince of Persia LEGO

2010-04-27T06:18:00.000-07:00

The guys over at MTV have spent three whole weeks transforming Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton and the rest of the new Prince of Persia movie cast into LEGO blocks. Can't help but admire the time, dedication and sheer nutty brilliance of it really. Click on the really long title below to bask in the glory:

Yeah, We Spent Three Weeks Re-Creating The ‘Prince Of Persia’ Trailer Out Of Legos — So Watch It Now! » MTV Movies Blog

Final Fantasy XIII - Final Thoughts

2010-04-19T03:25:00.001-07:00

Yep, well I already told you this post was coming. And here it is. My unofficial, non-licensed thoughts on the whole game in an overall capacity.

Overall, I liked the game a lot. By this I mean that I was compelled to reach the game's conclusion, the music was awesome, the visuals were stunning, and some of the battles were good fun.

But more than any other recent FF game it frustrated the hell out of me with it's bizarre difficulty curves, more-than-normally-loopy story, and annoying misuse of certain parts of the battle system. Plus as I mentioned, I just couldn't connect to the characters in the same way as I did with previous FF games. I think it was this fact alone that puts the game further down my FF list than perhaps a lot of people would argue it should be.

Trouble is, if I'm spending a good 75 hours with 6 characters, I want to be able to feel concerned for their safety. I want to be happy for them. Cry with them. Kick ass with a purpose. I do not want to look at them with disconnected eyes, seeing only the occasional spark of interest amidst a sheet of blandness.

Perhaps, my thoughts on the game have been tainted by the disappointment of other RPGs recently? Perhaps I put too much hope into FFXIII being the saviour for me? And therefore have judged it too harshly.

The one thing I do know is that it's not a BAD game. I enjoyed it a lot. I put 75 hours of my life into it whereas Infinite Undiscovery got 1 hour and that was just because the opening sequence had lots of dialogue. FFXIII just feels rushed to me. The focus seems to have been placed on the graphics and the new battle systems. Everything else seems to me to have been less of a priority. Some people are ok with this. They can play an RPG just because it looks good and has an interesting battle system, others, like myself are looking for more of a complete and immersing game.

So, to put this game into context, my numbered FF game standings currently are:

Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy XII
Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy V
Final Fantasy X-2

LadyManix points out that all the comments in the Final Fantasy XIII - Breakdown series are opinions and as such should be taken with large pinches of salt. Everyone should play the game and formulate their own opinions. and if they so wish, they may comment it at the end of this post.

Final Fantasy XIII - The Sounds Breakdown

2010-04-16T03:53:00.000-07:00

"If music be the food of love, play on." William Shakespeare.

It's true that we all react to music in various ways. Some people instantly feel an emotional connection whilst others will appreciate the construction of the tune itself. But one thing is certain in any form of entertainment that lasts more than two hours - and I find especially in RPGs - music has to appease the player. By this, I mean it has to flow with the emotions of the gameplay and particularly the storyline, but it also has to not grate on the player. The player will be listening to the same music at various points in a game, it will be repetitive, and runs the risk of being annoying.

Thankfully, the Final Fantasy series has always managed a harmonic balance, with catchy, powerful, battle themes mingled with heart-wrenching love themes, and recognisable character themes. And I'm pleased to say that Final Fantasy XIII does not break from the mould. Yes, the Master Maestro of FF - Nobuo Uematsu - may have gone on to pastures new but his successor - Masashi Hamauzu is worthy of the crown in my eyes. Having scored several FF games already (Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon, Dirge of Cerberus and collaborating on Final Fantasy X) this is the icing on the cake for the talented composer, and the first in the numbered FFs NOT to feature any involvement from his predecessor.

Once again the score is not annoying to the player favouring catchy tunes the player will remember and instead, it echoes the more technological edge that this game boasts. It has a more futuristic quality to it - it reminds me a lot of the Ghost in the Shell series. I can't profess to being a great musical study, so I won't be using that many fancy terms. To me, it's an emotionally engaging soundtrack though. Hyped up and busy in the battle themes, a highlight of which for me was Barthandelus' battle theme with it's orchestral voices. Tender and light, as in Serah's Theme. And playful and reminiscent - see Chocobo Theme.

And now, I venture briefly onto the other sounds of the game, as I'm even less knowledgeable about them. Sound Effects - quite simply - they are well handled for the game. It is a little gripe that the tap, tap, tap of feet on all different surfaces sounds exactly the same, but if you're listening that closely to stepping or wanting realism then I suggest you go pick up Heavy Rain or Battlefield Bad Company II.

Voice Acting - now here's something every RPG player can comment on as this is the genre in videogames where the voice acting really matters. It helps you connect to the character, gives them a personality. Final Fantasy XIII's voice acting is adequately matched to their characters. You'll either love or hate Vanille and Hope. Or as some people call them Peppy and Whiny. But you can live with them. It's not as if they are constantly bombarding you with noise.

So now we are almost at the end of the Final Fantasy XIII Breakdown series. I now only have the Final Thoughts to publish and then I can start spewing off constructively about something else! And I can finally finish the last boss battle. Hmph!

Final Fantasy XIII - The Story Breakdown

2010-04-13T05:25:00.000-07:00

Every RPG needs to have three things - a good set of appealing characters, an interesting world, and an intriguing storyline. So, in the penultimate part of my Final Fantasy Breakdown series, does it have a storyline that draws the reader in and is worthy of it's place in FF History?

Here's a brief summary of the storyline giving away no spoilers: Enigmatic she-warrior Lightning is on a quest to find and protect her sister. In the process, she and all the other main protagonists become cursed by a Fal'Cie (essentially a God in their eyes that oversees the smooth runnings of their world). They have become L'Cie - with a specific focus (mission) to achieve before they will turn to crystal or into a terrifying Cie'th monster. So it's all about finding out what their focus is and carrying it out to survive. Throw into the mix the realisation that the Fal'Cie are not exactly what they appear and let the struggles begin.

Essentially that is the bones of the story. With all the random apostrophised words flying around I'd be surprised if it all made perfect sense and yet this is what the player is faced with when you play the game.

It's all a bit confusing until you've spent 70 hours playing the game and things start to make a strange sort of sense. But of all the Final Fantasy storylines that I've played through I found this the hardest to connect with. It was all too different. In FFVII you understood that Cloud was driven to stopping bad guy Sephiroth, and you were happy to follow him on that course because you were already aware that he was pretty evil and needed to die. It takes hours and hours to realise that your characters need to go after the Fal'Cie in FFXIII - and even then I still couldn't truly understand why Barthandelus kept asking for it...

All Final Fantasies have one main theme in their storylines - at some point the characters will have to save the world from certain terror and destruction. Most of the FF games gradually build you up towards this end - you know you're going to have to save the world - but FFXIII felt like it was almost jumped on you at the last minute. It's not revealed until the closing chapters and by that point you're almost sick of not knowing what your ultimate purpose is going to be.

The storyline in FFXIII can be taken two ways. 1) They over-complicated it. 2) They didn't focus enough on it. I'm going for a mix of the two but primarily it just feels like they made it far too complicated for even a seasoned veteran to feel a connection to. In the same way they made the characters mostly unable to connect to as well.

My final Breakdown piece will be ending on a higher note (sorry, couldn't resist) - The Music and Sounds of FFXIII. Stay tuned!

Final Fantasy XIII - The Progression Breakdown

2010-04-08T05:55:00.000-07:00

Right, so I've finally had enough of grinding and decided to write a few well-overdue FFXIII Breakdown pieces. Starting with the Character Progression systems!

First up - The Crystarium.

The Crystarium can be likened to the Sphere Board from FFX. By defeating monsters you earn Crystal Points (CP) which can then be used on an expanding board of crystals for each Role your character has access to. Comprised of basic character stats - strength, magic, HP, and special abilities - Ruin, Cura, Protect etc... It's an easy system to pick up.

It's actually acquiring the CP that becomes the main gripe. As you advance through the various levels of the Crystarium the amount of CP needed to reach the next crystal becomes higher as well. Using my current characters as an example - Lightning now needs 20,000 CP to gain 100HP on some roles. So - this is where grinding, or CP farming as it can be known, HAS to happen. It involves hours and hours of fighting battles. For some RPG lovers this is expected but for others it will seriously put them off and it has seriously tested my patience too.

Next - The Upgrade system.

Your weapons and accessories can be upgraded at a save point using various items that you acquire throughout the game. The upgrade system is essential to increase your characters weaponry power and also their defensive accessories. It's also a huge pain in my ass. I hate it! Using certain items increases the amount of EXP the next item will put towards your upgrade, however, there is no way to tell which item will do this unless you either try everything out and write it down for future reference - or you hunt the internet for the guides that someone else has spent time making. Or - you can upgrade what you want to and screw everything else!

There was an upgrade system in FFVIII that I remember vividly - and that worked. They gave you a book showing what items you needed to collect to upgrade to the next level. You found the pieces and then upgraded the weapon = more power! EASY. Why they couldn't just mirror this system is anyone's guess. The designers have once again made a simple concept incredibly complicated in what I'm slowly becoming to realise is an ever increasing pattern for FFXIII.

The next Breakdown will be the biggy - The Storyline! So stay tuned.

FFXIII Breakdown Series - on Hiatus until further notice

2010-03-24T04:19:00.001-07:00

Due to unforeseen circumstances - well, OK, due to the considerable amount of time it is taking to build up my character stats - the Final Fantasy Breakdown series I have been writing will have to take some time out.

The next instalment will be about the Character Progression systems (of which I'm currently getting lots of use out of) but Chapter 11 of the game has introduced a sudden, sharp, difficultly spike. So to fully explore the systems I will simply have to run around the Lowlands for a fair few more hours fighting the enemies that don't beat my characters around the head with their own limbs.

Final Fantasy XIII - The Battle Breakdown

2010-03-18T06:40:00.000-07:00

The battle system in FFXIII is still pretty much an ATB system - wait for the timer bar to fill and then the characters are let loose. So in that regard there's nothing new. What is new is the Auto-Function system in place.

I don't like this feature of battle.

Auto-Function basically means that you don't have to ponder which particular spell to cast. There is no tactical thinking on your part. You can simply press the A button and keep on mashing it until the enemy is dead. Gone are the days of scanning an enemy, finding it's weakness and then deciding which spell to use by yourself. Now, you can scan the enemy, find out it's weakness and then just mash A for a while. It takes away your ability to problem-solve. It takes away the fun!

The whole idea with the combat system is to create chains so that you will eventually "Stagger" an enemy, making them much more vulnerable to your attacks. The trouble comes at trying to reach the stagger point in the first place. With some enemies you'll find it easy to get there but with others it almost seems to be pointless. That's where the second new feature of the battle system comes in handy.

Paradigm Shift.

Your characters will eventually have access to six different "jobs" much as in the older FF games. Commando, Ravager, Sentinel, Saboteur, Synergist, and Medic. Each job class has different spells and abilities at their disposal. For instance a Synergist can cast protect and shell on your party, whilst a medic has curative spells, and a Ravager has access to a range of black magic that can be combined with their weapon of choice. You choose before entering a battle which combination of jobs your characters are going to be - and then you can change this during a battle to suit your needs.

I like Paradigm Shift.

Once you get used to it you begin to feel that some of the choice, the problem-solving, is being returned to you. Do you face the Behemoth King all weapons and spells blazing as three Ravagers, or do you try to put up barriers with your Synergist, wear down the monster with a Saboteur, all the while covering them from attacks with a Sentinel? Sure, once you've decided on that team you can just select auto-function again, but it's useful to switch to what you need at the time rather than scroll through a list of endless spells and actions.

Some of the abilities used in battle are passive. You simply unlock them on the Crystarium (more of that tomorrow) and then they grant bonuses during battle. i.e: Blitz - will automatically attack a close group of enemies - hitting everyone with an attack. So again, even less thought needed.

Eidolons

As much as I love the summoning beasts (I have many action figures to account for that) I just don't understand their use in FFXIII. First off, you have to fight them to get them to help you, and to gain their help you have to stick to certain terms during that fight - attack to make big chains, heal those weaker than you, weaken your enemy...blah blah blah....I personally hate these battles. Why the Eidolon just doesn't appear to help you when you need them I don't know. Presumably it's all part of the character's struggles...

Then their use in battles is just bizarre. Because they have two modes - lets say robots and vehicles to steal from Transformers once again - your whole effort in calling on them is to make them enter Gestalt mode (vehicles) before their timer runs out by causing damage and chains on an enemy. Once summoned they automatically attack the enemy or heal you - you have no control over this. Then once in Gestalt mode you are given a wheel with a series of buttons to press to perform different attacks. It's all just a little bit pointless. All I want to see Odin do is Zantetsuken so why have him stomp all over their faces with his hooves? And once you've used up all your abilities they disappear. They seem to only ever be as powerful as your own character so you have no control over their strengths either. And besides using up your valuable Technical Points that you'll need for bringing your party back from the dead, they only offer a brief respite in a boss battle. Unlike the summons of previous games that clearly did some damage.

The one thing I truly like about the battle systems is that if you die (and you will die) you now have the option to retry that part of the game, rather than having to go all the way back to the last save point you used.

Unfortunately, the combat in FFXIII leaves a player wondering why you're even there, when you can simply press one button and watch your characters work it out for themselves. The Paradigm Shift idea is fun, and about the only involvement you'll really have in a battle, but the sequences between each change place your characters at the mercy of enemies, meaning sometimes you just can't dare to access it at all.

Overall - The combat is frustrating for it's lack of player involvement and poor use of the Eidolons.

Next post I'll be looking at the Character Progression system - The Crystarium.

Final Fantasy XIII - The Graphics Breakdown

2010-03-17T03:33:00.000-07:00

As most gamers and fans of the Final Fantasy series will know - Square-Enix place a huge emphasis on making a beautiful game, using cutting-edge technology and boasting some of the best artists around in their designing stages.

FFXIII certainly doesn't disappoint the player in its graphically beauty.

It's the sprawling landscapes and epic battle scenes that manage to take your breath away and highlight the sheer amount of time and effort the designers have gone to really bring the world alive. Often I find myself standing still on the open fields of the Lowlands just panning the camera round to see the detailed distance, the ripples on the water, the intricate strands of Chocobo feathers blowing in the breeze.

The battle scenes are largely CGI once again, but the difference in the two formats is getting less and less noticeable these days. These scenes are however, almost seamless and breathtaking. The sun glints off angles of vessels and clouds, the explosions are modelled more accurately than in previous instalments of the series, and the action in the sequences is fast paced.

The characters in the game do look like variations on most other FF characters, designed to the same high details, with quirky weaponry - yet slightly more normal sized blades - and the "perceived perfection" that eastern audiences crave (and some of us westerners too). Eidolons (summoning beasts) are also intricately designed and there are some great variations on some old classics. Alexander is most impressive having not seen him since FFIX. The sequences where they transform into vehicle modes (like non-talking Transformers) has been designed well. But I'll discuss this particular aspect of battle in a later post.

From a graphical stand-point you really can't fault FFXIII - it has some of the most beautiful visuals I've seen in an RPG for the last few years, but I still can't get over the view that they've spent far too much time on the visuals and forgotten that a good RPG not only needs to look good, but have a balance of interesting storyline, battle system and lovable characters - which I'm not sure it's managed to pull off.

Tomorrow I'll be looking at the battle systems/character progression systems - join me then!

Final Fantasy XIII - The Character Breakdown

2010-03-16T04:16:00.000-07:00

As mentioned yesterday, I'm going to spend today taking a brief fans-eye-view of the characters of Final Fantasy XIII.

Traditionally Final Fantasy characters are placed in difficult situations that draw each of them closer to one another. XIII is no exception. Having all become the much-feared L'Cie, they now must either face their destiny or fight against it, and the whole of their world.

The characters in FFXIII seem to adhere to the fantasy norm. Lightning has been a fighter all her life having previously been a member of the local guardian force, however once her sister is taken away for being a L'Cie, and subsequently her own branding, she becomes conflicted and unsure of what to do. Only through the others can she begin to see a purpose to her life again.

However, Lightning's story-arc is almost a complete template for the others. All of them are afraid - as you would be if you could either turn into crystal or become a monster, not the most bright of futures. All of them lean on the others to support them. They are all in the same boat and they have to stick together to survive. Only Vanille and Fang have completely different motives to the other four. I won't go into it in detail here as I don't want to ruin the storyline.

Both Lightning and Snow fill the role of "moody lead character" that has become familiar in the next generation games of the FF series. Both Cloud and Squall eventually snap out of their broodiness and Tidus reveals that his happy-go-lucky exterior is hiding a moody interior so you can expect these two characters to do the same.

And Vanille/Sazh fill the chirpy, warm, humorous character roles effectively. Sazh is actually pretty funny at points in this game (as is the tiny Chocobo that lives in his 'fro) but he also has a darker side to his personality.

Hope is a bit of an enigma really. To me - he's the most human of the characters. He's a young boy forced to deal with tragedy in a confused way, but ends up providing the focus for the rest of the characters. He struggles with the past in a more overt way than the others and yet he's actually the most vulnerable, so everyone rallies around him.

Fang is a protective older sister to Vanille really. In a lot of ways she echoes Lightning's character and motivations. She's also rock-hard!

Overall, I would say that the characters are standard FF fare, but there's just something lacking. There's just not the same emotional connection that I normally feel towards a character. There's no particular character that I can say will be with me in my battle team until the end of the game - unlike FFVIII where I had to have Squall and Rinoa in my party regardless. I can't quite put my finger on it, but the only character I can really feel for is Hope. Both Lightning and Snow are simply too bland to get behind and root for. It makes me wonder if the characterisation has been compromised in exchange for luscious environments or if the storyline is simply too big for the characters?

Tomorrow we will be looking at the Graphics - the environments, the character models, the enemies, the Eidolons - are they up to the levels we now expect from the Final Fantasy series?

Final Fantasy XIII - The Breakdown

2010-03-15T08:07:00.000-07:00

As a life-long Final Fantasy lover, every time a new game in the series is released I go into hyperventilation mode. Everything for the months leading up to and after the new games release is "Final Fantasy this, or that". People honestly will get sick of me long before I get sick of the game.

So I thought it would be fun, now that I'm nearing completion of the game in the one week of its UK release so far, to look over the game from a Final Fantasy fan's point of view. To decide if it deserves to be applauded or grumbled over. And trust me there will be reasons for both.

So, Part One will take an in depth look at the characters. Every Final Fantasy game needs compulsive characters to drive the well-written storyline and make you want to continue the story. Does FFXIII have this? Read on tomorrow to find out.

Reflections by Samus

2010-03-03T06:27:00.000-08:00

Absolutely top of my Wii purchases this year (and could even be the sole purchase if Zelda is put back) is Team Ninja's take on my favourite sci-fi series - Metroid: The Other M.

This new trailer gives us a brief insight to Samus' views on her own past and promises more to come. I'm very excited about this game!

Video Games | Metroid: Other M | Nintendo Summit Cinematic Trailer

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Thank you for not playing...

2010-03-02T13:10:00.000-08:00

Online gaming is never consistent.

You can jump into most games and find a team of willing players all working towards the same goal, but at other times, you can jump right into a renegade team member determined only on killing their own team.

People are compelled to play online - some for camaraderie, some for the competitive thrill, and some to just get achievements or trophies. But there are also some that seem to come online purely to be a complete pain in the rear.

Team killing or booting of team members for no apparent reason is my personal main pet hate but there are many other points of annoyance for other players. As I'm sure most gamers reading this will understand and something will no doubt be popping into your heads right now!

Yes, sometimes there are technical issues - like having your microphone too close to a background stereo, or other more genuine issues with the microphone - low battery power etc, but a simple message mid-game or muting of that player until the problem is resolved is simple enough.

Players that play online should at least try to respect one another and resolve the issues before being callous and unforgiving.

But hey, if you're being an idiot then what do you expect!

Alice in Blunderland?

2010-03-02T04:21:00.000-08:00

A wave of excitement originally hit me when I found out that Tim Burton would be taking over the reigns in a re-envisioning of the Lewis Carroll classic - Alice in Wonderland. Every quirky screenshot had me getting more excited and I literally had this film pegged as one of my must-see films of the year.

How the table turns...

The film has been receiving terrible reviews all over the place. As a taster, IGN's "lacklustre" to the Daily Mail's decidedly average review spouting "great looking - shame about the story".

On the other hand the Times Online review is raving about the transformation of Alice to an empowered feminine heroine. However most reviews are in agreement that Johnny Depp's performance is quite possibly his worse to date - which for an actor as varied as he has been must be something to take note of - perhaps it suggests ending the partnership with Tim Burton for now?

So, my views on this film have been largely swayed by the average reviews. I think this will be one to wait for and even if I did go to the cinema - I certainly wouldn't pay for 3D viewing.

Anyone else have any views on this film yet? Undecided? Not listening to the reviews?

Rebel with a cause

2010-03-02T03:33:00.000-08:00

There's hundreds of us out there. Those people that love doing something so much they just have to share it with others. They want to start a debate, conflict opinions, create discussion, point out the truths and the falses and progress onto other exciting ventures.

So, from the off, let me tell you that I am one of those people. I've wanted to write, be it inciteful or pure drivel, since I was a youngun, and this is the latest angle I'm attacking.

My one goal - to ENTERTAIN! I want the reader to enjoy honest views on pretty much everything but with a large focus on videogaming. And I want to enjoy writing about it.

So - let's see if this goal is achieveable, because, you know, I do love achievements!