Final Fantasy XIII

Yep...it's finally here.
 
After the big releases of AC 2 and L4D2 that means that this Gaming year is finally over. 
 
Since I haven't played all the decent games from this year, I figured I would tell you what games to look for next year.
 
So Here we are.   
 
My top 10 Most Anticipated games for the first 1/2 of 2010
 
  

Games I don't Care About, and Hate Hearing About

NOTE: Now there are some big games on this list so if you can't handle seeing your most anticipated game of next year on a hate list, I suggest you back away from this post, and don't comment. This list is not arranged in any particular order, it's just a list.

	1. Final Fantasy XIII I have never played a game in the Final Fantasy series and don't ever plan too.
	2. Final Fantasy IV: The After Years Same deal as the first game on this list
	3. Heavy Rain Now don't get me wrong the game looks good, but it also looks boring as fuck.
	4. Gran Turismo 5 How long has this game been in development again? Forza 3 FTW
	5. James Cameron's Avatar: The Game This game does not look good. How could it have been worked on for 2 years? Please feel free to answer.
	6. MAG I can't see this working on a console where all people do is swear into there mic's because there fucking twelve years old, or there 42 and still trying to act cool. Grow up
	7. Bayonetta Attractive main character who looks like a librarian, japanese craziness, not my kinda game. But all you Bayonetta boys have fun.

So Tokyo Game Show just wrapped up last week, attendees were down but lots of news still came out. Dead Rising 2 was finally shown, Super Street Fighter 4 was made offcial and we have plenty of trailers to watch. Lastly we did the top 10 worst films based on video games and took some callers.

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  Another episode of Distributed Failure is here for everyone to enjoy. This week's episode features a heavy dose of PAX discussion thanks to our special guest, SenatorSpacer. We also feature the usual discussion of XBL Indies and talk about the Dreamcast to celebrate its birthday. I also drink some "mana potion" and it was not very fun, especially since it kept we awake all night.
 

This week's "What We've Been Playing" features discussion on a slew of XBL Indie titles, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Section 8, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, FUEL, F.E.A.R. 2 single-player DLC, Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2010, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, and much more. We follow that up with some PAX discussion featuring games like Heavy Rain, Mass Effect 2, Dante's Inferno, God of War III, Borderlands, Dust: An Elysian Tail, Split/Second, and plenty more. We follow that up with some quick gaming news and end the show with a celebration of the SEGA Dreamcast's 10th anniversary.

Thanks to PAX and SenatorSpacer's visit to our show, we don't have a Sausage Dump this week. We hope you enjoy the show and enjoy all the PAX discussion...I hope you hate SenatorSpacer just as much as I do! Don't forget to rate/review us on iTunes. 

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• Podcast: DF #73: Dante's Inferno > God of War 3

 

 

The games discussed on this episode include: Shadow Complex, Madden NFL 2010, Lost Planet 2, Call of Duty: World At War, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, and Mega Man ZX: Advent. Of course that's not all, as we rundown the games coming out in September and give you the latest news.

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This blog will be completely free of Street Fighter talk starting now, since you know...it's already out and awesome. Five games I'm stoked for, that are coming out in the near to later future. Here you go.
 

5. Borderlands

I love Diablo-style loot, I fully support these types of role-playing elements being added to other genres of game. That said, Borderlands looks completely sick...AHH CAN'T WAIT.
 

4. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Castlevania is one of the few video game franchises that I'm absolutely loyal to. I fully admit to liking Castlevania 64 and Legacy of Darkness, maybe I'm crazy but I don't think 3D Castlevania is such a bad idea, it just hasn't really been given a fair shake. That said, I'm excited about this game for all the wrong reasons...The talent involved with the game, and the sick ass trailer!
 

3. Final Fantasy XIII

There's nothing more to say here really. Going back to active-time battle is the best decision they've ever made as a company (Square). I am of course stoked for afro man with a baby chocobo in it. Yes.
 

2. Alan Wake

I've been onboard since this game was announced back in 1955 or whenever, and actually seeing the idea come to fruition in videos and demos on stages recently has me all magical and full of rainbows inside. Anything Remedy does has my full support, and the premise of Alan Wake is rad.
 

1. Diablo III

I just shit my pants while adding this screenshot to my blog post here. This should let you gauge my excitement for Diablo III pretty easily. I love Diablo so much that I'd sell my grandmother to hobos for a 24 pack of miller high-life light...and of course you know, the game. Diablo III. Yeah.

 Fabula Nova Crystallis is an umbrella of games by Square Enix. As you know, Final Fantasy XIII is the main game in the series. Versus and Agito are the side stories. Don't think of them as spinoffs, they are their own games. Square has said quite a few times that they want this series to become comparable to VII in terms of appeal. This is going too be a 3-part blog/thread of all three games. The first part is about the main game, XIII. So let's go!

 

The main idea of XIII's battle system is too recreate battles similar to Advent Children. There is a seamless transition from the field into battle, once again too do with Advent Children. There is no random battles and enemies are integrated to the field map. In my opinion this is a huge positive, because you can decide which battles to fight, and which too just walk away from. A new addition to the series is being able to chain moves together in one turn which uses the Active Time Battle system for the cost of moves. For example, Cure will cost less than Fira, Cura less than Firaga and so on. Your character can also launch the enemy in the air. If you don't have anymore points for the current turn, you can pick your moves for next turn if you wish. There is magic in the game but it operates in the same ATB system so no MP points this time. Magic is only limited to ones called the "l'Cie". Summons are back also, like Odin, Shiva, Carbuncle, and Ifrit. There is a new feature called "Gesalt Mode" which transforms the summon into a type of vehicle. The Shiva Sisters turn into a motorcycle for Snow to ride, and Odin turns into a horse for Lightning.  The player is able to view the HP and name of the enemy before engaging it in battle. When engaging an enemy, the camera moves to another position and the battle menu appears, making the battle transitions nearly seamless.The after-battle victory screen in XIII holds information such as the time it took to finish the battle, the highest number of combos executed, the number of break attacks and the quality of battle which is determined by a ranking of one to five stars. 

                                                         Plot

The plot of FFXIII revolves around the fal'Cie being created from crystals and living in them. Certain people are marked by the fal'Cie for a greater purpose and are called the l'Cie. If a l'Cie fails it's "Focus" they will be turned into monsters called "Cie Corpses". Fal'Cie created a paradise in the sky called Cocoon which is high in the sky above Cocoon.  The people of Cocoon worried one day that they will be sent to live in the "Hell" they thought of Pulse. This is the basic overview of the plot.

                                                   Characters

Lightning - Former Solider of the Cocoon military (sound familiar?). Lightning has Strawberry blonde hair and Nomura was asked to make a female version of Cloud Strife. Lightning's weapon is a cross between a Gun and a Sword. She can manipulate gravity by snapping her finger.
Snow Villiers - Snow is the leader of a resistance group in Cocoon called Team Nora. He uses the power of Ice as his main weapon. The source of his power comes from his tattoo. Snow summons Shiva.
Oerba Dia Vanille - Vanille is a young, pig-tailed girl who lives in Pulse. Oddly, her weapon is a fishing rod with multiple lines. She summons Carbuncle.
Sazh Katroy - Sazh is a friend of Lightning's from the military. He has an afro and a baby Chocobo resides in it. He is said to have a nice personality.
Hope Estheim - Not much is known at this point but he is a young boy traveling with the group. He uses a boomerang in battle. 

                                                Development

 Final Fantasy XIII was first shown at E3 '06. Few tidbits were released every now and then but the real deal came in E3 2008 when Square dropped a megaton by saying Final Fantasy XIII will launch on the Xbox 360 in NA and Europe. A playable demo was shown at  DKΣ3713 Private Party event in August 2008, but was only shown behind closed doors. Square later announced that a playable demo would be available with Advent Children Complete to be released in April 2009. The "Winter 2009" release date is still on the table for Japan. At E3 2009, at the Microsoft press conference Square announced that Final Fantasy XIII will be available for both consoles in Spring 2010. There is no concrete date yet.

                                                  Extra Links

E3 '06 Trailer
Dengeki Special Edition Trailer
E3 '08 Trailer
DKΣ3713 Trailer
2009 Kickoff Trailer
E3 '09 Trailer
Japanese Official Site
North American Official Site

More games and consoles need to be region-free. I am a huge fan of importing my games from around the world because I can't get some of them here in Canada. I have recently preordered Final Fantasy XIII and Dragon Quest IX off of Play-Asia.net. More gamers should import games because it really helps the industry and allows a game dev too get his games too more people. The only downside I see is that the price of these games is somewhat expensive. Advent Children Complete with the FFXIII demo cost me around $90CAD which is quite expensive for a few Blu-Ray discs. Than again it was worth it too get an insider look on my most anticipated game of 2010.