Final Massive thoughts, and I complain about Square
By vidiot 5 Comments
Thought I would at least type a private blog, for those of you who are remotely interested in why the hell my usual updates have practically dissipated.
Life is a go!
What a cop-out excuse for a lack of blogging. I could sit here and state that my school work has increased, which it has. I could sit here and state that a cornucopia of family issues have impeded my ability to sit and just write, which has happened. I could sit here and state that my current job stress work-flow has increased, with a variety of people who were apparently my "boss" finding themselves totally unemployed, keeping my mind preoccupied being stressed on things I have no business in thinking about.
My excuse
The alien Taxtillion army of the Sha'Nacka'tick'tack'toka quadrant raided downtown Seattle. A rag-tag group of freedom fighters known as Burning Icecream started an insurgency against the Lizard Invaders as they enslaved the populace. The victims, brought down into giant holes bored into the earth, were subjected in the Taxtillion underground cities to all manner of abuse both mentally and physically. I was contacted less than a month ago by the insurgency, to aid in their cause. I was confused, mostly do to the fact that I didn't understand why alien invaders would make/have underground cities, and regarded it as a concept that: "Totally sounded awesome in my head, retarded out loud". Regardless, I have spent the last few weeks raging war against these reptilian overlords. I lost friends, gained enemies, and probably made love to an evil reptilian's overlords daughter. That part is kinda sketchy.
Regardless....again.... I saved the planet by detonating a nuke in outer space.
Thanks to a poorly written plot device that written by a mentally challenged man child, who's only knowledge of the world is 80's action films, the nuke knocked out the power in Seattle...allowing us...to win...Or something...I'm not exactly sure how it worked, or why we haven't all died from nuclear fallout, the plan was written with macaroni and glued to a piece of paper.
Rahm Emanuel (NO SEGWAY, JUST DEAL WITH IT) for some reason is being attacked by Sarah Palin for using the word "retarded". For anyone who has any basic knowledge of this individual knows that "retarded" is the least offensive thing he has been quoted on saying. I stand behind using the word, not for political purposes but because the goddamn Batman says so.
So that's my excuse.
Either that happened...Or...I have been drinking. Can't tell.
Final Thoughts Mass Effect
Mass Effect 2 has the best ending I've seen in a videogame in years.
I'm so tired of seeing games being released with hacked up endings. As if games are made in a linear nature, with one part being made one brick at a time. The reality is vastly different, although of course subjective game to game. Portions, are of course developed at multiple time frames, a poor ending is usually due to a budget constraint or just general lack of planning. This is not the case what-so-ever with Mass Effect 2, a game in that has a narrative focused on preparing for a suicide mission, a sequence that does not disappoint. I honestly have no memory of being so emotionally entrenched in a video game scene. Telling certain individuals, some characters that my Shepard had been friends with since the first game, do specific tasks knowing that there was a chance I was sending them to their deaths was perhaps the most gut-wrenching story moment I've seen in a game for years. The fact that I was able to walk away with my entire team intact didn't take away from the sequence, a sequence that was also busting by the seams with sheer palpable epic-ness.
I have some critiques though:
- Get rid of the mission level design. I don't mind having a mission ending screen, although it's jarring to see in an RPG. What I mean "mission level design" is the obvious change and layout of an area from a populated environment to a "combat zone". When you reach an area that's going to have fighting, you clearly know what's about to happen. All of a sudden barriers and obvious signs of cover appear, it's not natural and cohesive to the overall environment and it feels a bit jarring.
- Bring back a drivable vehicle. The Mako was horrible, but there was a ton of fun driving around on a planet and generally exploring. If this concept can be brought back without the poorly implemented mechanics it would be phenomenal.
- There was an overabundance of loot in the first game, hampered by one of the worst item menu's ever devised by man. The answer to this, is thankfully a better item list on par with...every other game...but also a complete lack of any loot to speak of. Armor pieces are way to sparse, and while the weapons all handle differently, there is something very jarring to get through half an RPG, even one so action prone, with the assault rifle you started with.
It's a great game.
2010
It's a year. It's going to rock. For gaming. Thanks to Modern Warfare 2, and a realization that perhaps we shouldn't stick every shove out every big name release during the holidays, it seems the next few months are going to be jam-packed with games. I love it. Who knows, perhaps we could get some big name summer releases too? I can dream can't I? There's a few which have my interest specifically peaked, both strangely enough from Sega. Yakuza 3 finally get's the international release it so rightfully deserves, and then there's Tri-Ace's downplayed End of Eternity aka Resonance of Fate.
I played the Japanese demo when it was released about a month ago and it peaked my interest. Tri-Ace has been all over the place regarding solid releases recently. Counter to that, I've been aching to play a new JRPG recently. White Knight Chronicle's reviews made me depressed, especially given the fact that Level 5 has made, personally, some of my favorite games of all time, specifically Dragon Quest VIII. Tri-Ace as a company has always intrigued me. Ever since their when certain members were apart of Wolf Team creating Tales of Phantasia, their interest in making active style battle systems has been carried diligently over a variety of games. RoF looks no different, with players running around a battle field, one at a time, doing executing unnecessary flips and general gun havoc. I really want to play this thing in English.
It also has towns.
Dear Square: Hire people to talk for you
Square-Enix is trying to win an award for "most stupid statements stated publicly in an allotted time period".
That's the only conclusion I can muster myself to personally make myself agree with. Game developers always say the darnedest things. John Romero once told everyone he was going to make them his bitch...in a magazine ad no-less. A few weeks ago, the internet became uncomfortably confused when someone at Bioware dived into the raging storm, that is the debate between the quality of Western and Japanese, proclaiming that JRPG's were the same game but with "different dressing". At the same time he acknowleded that they were inspired by Final Fantasy XII.
Hell, Peter Molyneux says that Fable 3 is going to piss you off. Not the best way to get people interested in your product.
Square though, is different. Their statements lamenting the higher work-flow to compensate technical progression, doesn't make sense not only from a technical level, but doesn't make sense...in reality. Apparently the bubble that they have been encased has become increasingly more potent. Everyone has lamented over their recent statement that the reason that they don't have towns in Final Fantasy XIII, is that doing populated environments is difficult when working with HD. I have talked enough about that point specifically, but the show goes on. In a recent interview they with Playstation Europe they dropped a few more bombshells. None of which make any means of tangible sense.
Regarding Higher-Def re-releases of previous Final Fantasy games:
How am I supposed to even acknowledge that as even a viable opinion, after playing the likes of Mass Effect 2?If it’s just a case of attaining high resolution graphics, only, then that wouldn’t be that difficult, but if we were to achieve the same graphical standard as in XIII with a PS1 title, then that would be a huge, huge task. Almost unrealistic. Even with a PS2 title it would be difficult. In the case of God of War, there weren’t really that many characters in the game — the main character and some monsters, maybe ten people or so. That would not be unachievable.
As with Final Fantasy titles in the past, like on PS1, even just the main characters amount to around 10 people. Then you have all the NPCs, you’re probably looking at about 200 characters total. All with individual textures for the skin, plus costumes, facial features and everything. That would be a really tricky job.
Who decided that every NPC must be given the same amount of attention to detail as a main cast of characters?
What do you mean "even with a PS2" it would be difficult?!?! What the fuck was Final Fantasy X?! Final Fantasy XII?! Unrealistic?!?! UNREALISTIC?!?!?! YOU HAVE DONE IT! HOW THE FUCK IS IT "UNREALISTIC"?! WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN DOING FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS?!?!
Apologies people. I hope I haven't turned you off with that statement. Kitase is one of my hero's, hell I would be lying if I said I wasn't some type of Final Fantasy fanboy. I've played and beaten every entry in the main series, I've been contemplating doing a write-up of the Final Fantasy series in general, a blog post for each game. I love Final Fantasy, and I'm sure to be picking up the newest when it drops in March. These recent statements like this, have allowed other uninformed individuals point as examples to further the illustrate the giant disconnect between Japan and the west. Rightfully so, they are a big name company that makes quality products, these comments are...dare I say...Retarded. Proclaiming that these people should be sighted as examples or speak, of the entire Japanese gaming industry, is buffoonish. While the potency of these statements are admittedly idiotic, western game developers have already won the award of "most stupid statements stated publicly in an allotted time period", I can assure you.
Instead, they seem to be Kitase and Toriyama are products of what usually happens when a company becomes too big and bloated. While I hope that Final Fantasy XIII sells well overseas (which it will) a part of me would like to see this company get some form of reality check. Just stop making excuses to remaking Final Fantasy VII. We all know such a task would be difficult, specifically to a design and mechanic perspective. Why don't you cite the elephant in the room instead of making up problems.
For the love of god.What are your feelings about the current state of the game industry in Japan, compared with the West and what Western games have you been most influenced by?
Some people have been saying that the Japanese game industry is dead, and all that… I dunno. I will say that Final Fantasy XIII is one really epic title for high definition consoles. With this game, we are going to resurrect the whole thing. As for Western games that have influenced us — FPSs mostly. The Call of Duty series, for example.
