Ok so I just wanted to talk about 3 quick topics.
1.) I just saw the first U.S. review of Assassins Creed on Gamepro.com. They gave it a great review and said that nobody should worry about the technical status of the game. According to Gamepro, the past few months since it's last showing at E3 have really worked out the vast majority of the glitches and overall given the game the last bit of polish needed to put this game up there with the greats. I can't wait!
2.) I played the demo of Turok for the xbox 360 last night. The game seems to be on track to rejuvenate Turok. Overall, the game is very solid with great atmosphere, beautiful environments and character design, and heart pounding gameplay. There are a few slight flaws but they hardly detract from the fun factor of the game. For instance, Turok doesn't seem to run very fast and sometimes I feel like that has been the reason for my early death.
3.) Lastly, I picked up Call of Duty 4 for the 360 yesterday and am already very impressed by the game. It is easily better than Halo 3. It is not perfect of course, sometimes the action is so crazy that it becomes hard to tell who is who and where I should be firing. However, the situations you are thrust into are intense and so much fun to play.
O yeah... Silent Hill Origins is awesome. Well worth the wait and the money I invested in my PSP.
Peace!
-Nick
08 November 2007
Podcast #033 - The Brad Loves Alex Show
Hey guys,
So here's the show from this weekend when Brad and I met up. We talk about Guitar Hero III, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, Capcom, Halo vs Gears, among other stuff.
Absolute Best Quote of the Week: "I Never Said That, You Piece of Shit" - Bradford Whittley
Check the Archive for the new show.
[Podcast Archive]
So here's the show from this weekend when Brad and I met up. We talk about Guitar Hero III, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, Capcom, Halo vs Gears, among other stuff.
Absolute Best Quote of the Week: "I Never Said That, You Piece of Shit" - Bradford Whittley
Check the Archive for the new show.
[Podcast Archive]
The Quest for a Good Wii Game
Super Mario Galaxy is entering our atmosphere and will be here early next week. Hopefully we'll finally have a solid Wii game to play. My system has been nearly motion-less for the last 3 months, but recently a new game has me waggling the Wii Remote again.
Zack & Wiki by Capcom is an point and click style adventure game. I know, that type of game play can be lame and slow-paced if not done correctly. But so far I love the game. The controls aren't anything super spectacular. They're all basic motion controls but the point it that if this game were done with a regular controller it would be very boring and tedious. The gameplay is very engaging, the items are neat and fun, and if you're into a good puzzle game, it's great.
I've heard complaints about the voice/sound effects. But I was stoked because although the characters don't speak, you can tell they didn't change the Japanese language track. I know "hardcore gamers" are going to complain about the cartoon look, but honestly I don't think this kind of gameplay will suit them anyways. I think there might be too much thinking involved for them to play this one.
The only other complaint I heard was about the story but I'm a big One Piece fan. It's an anime about pirates and the main character's quest to be the Pirate King. Zack is out to become the best Pirate ever and there's a lot of similarities with th anime so immediately I had something to relate to. So, I'm good on story.
It's a great game and it's a shame that it will do horribly in sales. I'm glad that Capcom brought it over here and for 39.99 it's a welcome price cut. I have high hopes for Galaxy, and Miyamoto will probably deliver but if not, Zack & Wiki will probably win some Wii awards from me at the end of the year.
David
Zack & Wiki by Capcom is an point and click style adventure game. I know, that type of game play can be lame and slow-paced if not done correctly. But so far I love the game. The controls aren't anything super spectacular. They're all basic motion controls but the point it that if this game were done with a regular controller it would be very boring and tedious. The gameplay is very engaging, the items are neat and fun, and if you're into a good puzzle game, it's great.
I've heard complaints about the voice/sound effects. But I was stoked because although the characters don't speak, you can tell they didn't change the Japanese language track. I know "hardcore gamers" are going to complain about the cartoon look, but honestly I don't think this kind of gameplay will suit them anyways. I think there might be too much thinking involved for them to play this one.
The only other complaint I heard was about the story but I'm a big One Piece fan. It's an anime about pirates and the main character's quest to be the Pirate King. Zack is out to become the best Pirate ever and there's a lot of similarities with th anime so immediately I had something to relate to. So, I'm good on story.
It's a great game and it's a shame that it will do horribly in sales. I'm glad that Capcom brought it over here and for 39.99 it's a welcome price cut. I have high hopes for Galaxy, and Miyamoto will probably deliver but if not, Zack & Wiki will probably win some Wii awards from me at the end of the year.
David
07 November 2007
Complaints Cont.
Last night I said a few things about GHIII that I wasn't too happy about. I've got a few other points to elaborate on, but this doesn't just apply to Guitar Hero. These ideas can be applied to other games as well.
First, the songs must be fun to play. I've played a large amount of music and rhythm games. A lot of my top 20 are from that genre. I'm not nearly finished with GHIII, but I have to comment that my opinion on the music selection is that it is poor. So far the songs just aren't very fun to play. I don't know who or why they chose the songs they did. A song shouldn't necessarily be chosen because it's popular or catchy. It should have a quality either from the note placement or rhythm that makes a player want to play it again. If you look at Guitar Hero II and Sweet Child of Mine. Yes, it was a popular song and everyone knew it, but a lot of it's success comes from how the guitar parts fit with how you play them. I love the intro to the song and it just build up to the solo making it a great fun song to play. In GHIII I've found some songs where you sit there for 5-10 seconds not playing anything because there's no guitar part, just a bass line in the background. It just really breaks up the action and makes the song less fun. The current song list has bands that could have had much better songs selected.
My question is "What is influence behind the songs that are selected?" Sure some of it is personal preference. Maybe my music tastes differ so I just can't relate to the songs chosen. I'm sure there's some of that mixed in there. But I'm more worried about how much licensing costs come into play when making song lists. I'm sure some unknown C-list song is going to cost a lot less than a song everyone knows, loves and has the all the lyrics memorized to. If the cost of licensing certain songs is going to mess with the budget for development, that's going to factor directly into the quality of the songs and then the game itself. Take for instance Konami, a lot of their Bemani franchise's music is original music. They have their own in house artists making different genre's of music and then they share it around to all the other music simulation games. They do license songs for their rhythm games but a bulk of the songs are owned by them. So there's not all the other channels to go through. If they need a song, they simply make it. I believe that's one of the reasons why their music games have been so successful.
Also, I'm beginning to think that Achievement Points are stupid. It was definitely a smart move on Microsoft's part. It's made me buy a few games on XB360 over PS3 but I'm finding the whole point whoring and the actual achievements themselves annoying. Take for instance Guitar Hero III. A bulk of it's points are from collecting things and beating certain songs of various difficulties. But I don't really care about buying every damn guitar, outfit, character from the game. And I'm not going to go out of my way to do those things for the points either. I guess I just like to get points for playing the game and I can see how trying to get all the points could make the game worth every penny you paid for it. But when I look at an achievement that says, "Fail a Song 90% through" I'm disgusted. I mean, I don't fail songs, at least not on purpose. I'm not sure how the points should be set up. Should it be where you actually have to sit there and practice and do a number of times until you're good enough to get the achievement? Or should it be something that happens because you did something, sometimes even accidentally. In the example of the 90% fail, it would be a nice consolation when I did fail a song that far in, but then I can't see that happening to me anytime soon and I don't plan on going on a mission to fail 90% into a song just to get five measly points. I'd probably fail the song and the screen would read 89.99% completed.
David
First, the songs must be fun to play. I've played a large amount of music and rhythm games. A lot of my top 20 are from that genre. I'm not nearly finished with GHIII, but I have to comment that my opinion on the music selection is that it is poor. So far the songs just aren't very fun to play. I don't know who or why they chose the songs they did. A song shouldn't necessarily be chosen because it's popular or catchy. It should have a quality either from the note placement or rhythm that makes a player want to play it again. If you look at Guitar Hero II and Sweet Child of Mine. Yes, it was a popular song and everyone knew it, but a lot of it's success comes from how the guitar parts fit with how you play them. I love the intro to the song and it just build up to the solo making it a great fun song to play. In GHIII I've found some songs where you sit there for 5-10 seconds not playing anything because there's no guitar part, just a bass line in the background. It just really breaks up the action and makes the song less fun. The current song list has bands that could have had much better songs selected.
My question is "What is influence behind the songs that are selected?" Sure some of it is personal preference. Maybe my music tastes differ so I just can't relate to the songs chosen. I'm sure there's some of that mixed in there. But I'm more worried about how much licensing costs come into play when making song lists. I'm sure some unknown C-list song is going to cost a lot less than a song everyone knows, loves and has the all the lyrics memorized to. If the cost of licensing certain songs is going to mess with the budget for development, that's going to factor directly into the quality of the songs and then the game itself. Take for instance Konami, a lot of their Bemani franchise's music is original music. They have their own in house artists making different genre's of music and then they share it around to all the other music simulation games. They do license songs for their rhythm games but a bulk of the songs are owned by them. So there's not all the other channels to go through. If they need a song, they simply make it. I believe that's one of the reasons why their music games have been so successful.
Also, I'm beginning to think that Achievement Points are stupid. It was definitely a smart move on Microsoft's part. It's made me buy a few games on XB360 over PS3 but I'm finding the whole point whoring and the actual achievements themselves annoying. Take for instance Guitar Hero III. A bulk of it's points are from collecting things and beating certain songs of various difficulties. But I don't really care about buying every damn guitar, outfit, character from the game. And I'm not going to go out of my way to do those things for the points either. I guess I just like to get points for playing the game and I can see how trying to get all the points could make the game worth every penny you paid for it. But when I look at an achievement that says, "Fail a Song 90% through" I'm disgusted. I mean, I don't fail songs, at least not on purpose. I'm not sure how the points should be set up. Should it be where you actually have to sit there and practice and do a number of times until you're good enough to get the achievement? Or should it be something that happens because you did something, sometimes even accidentally. In the example of the 90% fail, it would be a nice consolation when I did fail a song that far in, but then I can't see that happening to me anytime soon and I don't plan on going on a mission to fail 90% into a song just to get five measly points. I'd probably fail the song and the screen would read 89.99% completed.
David
06 November 2007
Where is Episode 3?
Well I just finished Half Life 2: Episode 2 and I find myself really excited at the prospect of a third and hopefully final episode. The game was full of action, story telling, and amazing character development. The final act ended in one hell of a cliff hanger and it is impossible for me to imagine not having a third installment. At this point however, it would definately make sense to just name the next entry Half Life 3. If you play episode 2 and see where the game is taking them, then you will understand what I mean. I have been keeping my ears peeled for info from Valve about a follow up but I haven't heard anything at all! How could this be?! I must say that it would be a pity for Valve to make just another 4-5 hour episode considering how long we must wait for it so hopefully the next installment (if it is in fact, in the works) will be a full game that ranges from 10 - 12 hours like the original Half Life 2. I can't wait to see what Valve has in store for us next.
-Nick
-Nick
Quick Update
- I can't stop playing Final Fantasy Tactics. I'm over 40 hours in and recently got Balthier. The man is a beast. I've been surprised by this version so quite a bit. That lag issue I was bitching about before is seriously a non issue now. People overreacted about it and I nearly forgot it was there a few battles into the game. The game really shines in it's new script. Not only that but they added all these new scenes and battles that really helps fill in the story. You get these intimate scenes and missions with just Delita and Ovelia and it helps the player understand their bond and the inevitable tragedy in a way the ps1 version never was able to. I truly love this game and consider it a better version than its PS1 release. My favorite game of all time has actually gotten better.
- I'm about a third or half of way through Half Life 2: Episode 2 and this series (HL2 collection) is becoming one of my favorite games ever. I've recently experienced something playing this game that I haven't felt since early ps1 days. I can't explain more because I don't want to give anything a way. But the pacing of this series and the way it builds up and really hits the player hard is amazing.
- I bought Call of Duty 3 and 4 for a total of about 6 dollars today. I got a pretty amazing deal last weekend as well on few games for about 8 bucks each. Without going into to much detail, let me just say that this site never lets me down. Expect me online on COD4 too.
- I'm playing so many great games this season that I've actually temporarily stopped playing series like Zelda and Castlevania. More is to come and I'm becoming a little overwhelmed. I am feeling a little like I did back in the day when I didn't play Mario 64 when it first came out. Although I'm kind of glad I don't have a Wii or PS3 right now. This might be the best gaming year since 1998.
- I'm about a third or half of way through Half Life 2: Episode 2 and this series (HL2 collection) is becoming one of my favorite games ever. I've recently experienced something playing this game that I haven't felt since early ps1 days. I can't explain more because I don't want to give anything a way. But the pacing of this series and the way it builds up and really hits the player hard is amazing.
- I bought Call of Duty 3 and 4 for a total of about 6 dollars today. I got a pretty amazing deal last weekend as well on few games for about 8 bucks each. Without going into to much detail, let me just say that this site never lets me down. Expect me online on COD4 too.
- I'm playing so many great games this season that I've actually temporarily stopped playing series like Zelda and Castlevania. More is to come and I'm becoming a little overwhelmed. I am feeling a little like I did back in the day when I didn't play Mario 64 when it first came out. Although I'm kind of glad I don't have a Wii or PS3 right now. This might be the best gaming year since 1998.
05 November 2007
Back To Work
After a nice weekend at home, I'm back in Austin and playing games. And since I'm now posting, it must be that I have something to complain about. I'll get right to the point and say, the Guitar Hero Boss Battles are trash. It's cool that they got a couple big name guitarist to come in and create original guitar tracks just for the game, but I'm can't but all the flash and I can see right through the smoke and mirrors.
First off the system is entirely broken. You switch off playing guitar parts while trying to earn power up attacks. You use these attacks to make the opponents lose life and cause them to fail. Some of these attacks are very balanced like the Amp Overload which makes the notes flash and harder to see. A good player will be able to read through those and still be able to keep their combo. There are others like the Double notes and Difficulty which just make the game harder and those are alright. The problems I have are with the Broken String and Whammy Bar. They cause you to miss notes regardless of how well you play the game and there is no way around them so you're basically screwed at least for a couple notes.
The problems arise because of the way you obtain these power ups. You get them by successfully hitting a series of notes that are denoted by their unique shape. If you miss hitting the combination successfully, you don't earn a power up. The game ends up becoming a battle of who can get a power up and use it to mess up the other player right before their power up series of notes comes. With attacks like the Broken String and Whammy Bar, you are forced to miss notes and the advantage stays with the player who first used the attack. They are then able to go through their series without any distractions and if they are able to obtain another attack power up, you can foresee the chain of events that can follow. The focus of the game is then shifted to getting the power ups and using them at the appropriate times instead of your guitar playing prowess. It actually becomes more advantageous to sit their and miss notes so that you can time an attack with your opponent's screen. This shift is a huge mistake.
Personally, I find this frustrating in career mode as I've been stuck on Slash now for a few days. Now I realize he's Slash and he an amazing guitarist. But the only way you can make the CPU miss notes is by using an attack. When you mess up and don't get the power up, it becomes the computer's fun time where it'll keep getting power ups and using them on you until the end of the song. I won't die, but there's no way I can progress because the CPU will just not miss notes and fill it's life bar. I really wish they would have made the boss battles optional or that you didn't have to beat them to progress. Or even made them so that you just had to survive the crazy difficulty that they threw at you. Neversoft tried to make a battle system that had some complexity and depth so that it wasn't the same old Guitar Hero formula of getting to the end of the song, but all this shows me is that they really don't know what they're doing in making a music game. It's harsh, but this is problem that should have been noticed the first time someone play tested it and it should never have been allowed to be put in the final version of the game.
David
First off the system is entirely broken. You switch off playing guitar parts while trying to earn power up attacks. You use these attacks to make the opponents lose life and cause them to fail. Some of these attacks are very balanced like the Amp Overload which makes the notes flash and harder to see. A good player will be able to read through those and still be able to keep their combo. There are others like the Double notes and Difficulty which just make the game harder and those are alright. The problems I have are with the Broken String and Whammy Bar. They cause you to miss notes regardless of how well you play the game and there is no way around them so you're basically screwed at least for a couple notes.
The problems arise because of the way you obtain these power ups. You get them by successfully hitting a series of notes that are denoted by their unique shape. If you miss hitting the combination successfully, you don't earn a power up. The game ends up becoming a battle of who can get a power up and use it to mess up the other player right before their power up series of notes comes. With attacks like the Broken String and Whammy Bar, you are forced to miss notes and the advantage stays with the player who first used the attack. They are then able to go through their series without any distractions and if they are able to obtain another attack power up, you can foresee the chain of events that can follow. The focus of the game is then shifted to getting the power ups and using them at the appropriate times instead of your guitar playing prowess. It actually becomes more advantageous to sit their and miss notes so that you can time an attack with your opponent's screen. This shift is a huge mistake.
Personally, I find this frustrating in career mode as I've been stuck on Slash now for a few days. Now I realize he's Slash and he an amazing guitarist. But the only way you can make the CPU miss notes is by using an attack. When you mess up and don't get the power up, it becomes the computer's fun time where it'll keep getting power ups and using them on you until the end of the song. I won't die, but there's no way I can progress because the CPU will just not miss notes and fill it's life bar. I really wish they would have made the boss battles optional or that you didn't have to beat them to progress. Or even made them so that you just had to survive the crazy difficulty that they threw at you. Neversoft tried to make a battle system that had some complexity and depth so that it wasn't the same old Guitar Hero formula of getting to the end of the song, but all this shows me is that they really don't know what they're doing in making a music game. It's harsh, but this is problem that should have been noticed the first time someone play tested it and it should never have been allowed to be put in the final version of the game.
David
Could This Be the Start of a New Trend?
Over the years, games that have launched multiple sku's by throwing in some worthless figurine or making of dvd and tacking on 10 extra dollars have really been a waste of money and time. However, 2007 and 2008 seem to be taking the trend in a new direction. First, Final Fantasy XII launched with what is in my opinion a beautiful collectors game case (from gamestop) and an interesting dvd that took a look at the history of the series. Then came Bioshock which launched with a more conservative game case and an actual Big Daddy model along with a making of featurette and a short but sweet soundtrack. In the coming months we will see collectors editions of Assassins Creed and the jam packed Collectors Edition of Grand Theft Auto IV that comes with a lock box and duffle bag. It seems to me that Collectors editions are starting to look up. What prompted this blog you ask? Well they just announced what will be included in the upcoming Devil May Cry IV collectors edition and I must admit that I fully intend to switch my reserve. Here is what it is said to include:
-Limited Edition Case (obvious)
-A DVD featuring the first 4 episodes of the Devil May Cry anime series
-Yet another DVD that will feature a making of featurette, music from the soundtrack, a digital art book, wallpapers, icons, and screensavers
The only downside, is that these nicer, flashier collectors editions are charging $20 more than the regular version which means it will sell for a retail price of $79.99. It is definately nice to see a little extra something that is actually worth the extra cash.
Peace.
-Nick
-Limited Edition Case (obvious)
-A DVD featuring the first 4 episodes of the Devil May Cry anime series
-Yet another DVD that will feature a making of featurette, music from the soundtrack, a digital art book, wallpapers, icons, and screensavers
The only downside, is that these nicer, flashier collectors editions are charging $20 more than the regular version which means it will sell for a retail price of $79.99. It is definately nice to see a little extra something that is actually worth the extra cash.
Peace.
-Nick
03 November 2007
Nick's Weekly Update
-I finished Jericho the other day. I really enjoyed it for the most part but I do have some complaints, including the incredibly abrupt ending but i'll mention that later. It took me about 5 hours total to beat it so it is a rather short game but I am sticking to my guns by saying that this was a much better game than Lair.
-Started Half Life Episode 1 today and am loving it so far. I can't wait to see what the game has in store for me. On a side note, Alex is now somewhere on my top 5 of video game crushes but i'm not sure who she is replacing. I have to think a bit longer.
- I have decided that starting in early 2008 as part of my new years resolution, I am going to really start Final Fantasy XI. I have tried this several times in the past but I keep getting side tracked. But I plan to make a section of my own on the site documenting my adventures in Vana'Diel as I quest to become a summoner. So keep an eye out for that.
- I am glad to hear that Assassins Creed and Super Mario Galaxy have both recieved great reviews but I really need to hear it from more than one source before my worries are put to rest.
- Call of Duty 4 and Silent Hill Origins both come out this week for me. I'll give everyone one guess as to which one I will be playing more of in the coming weeks. Can't Wait! This means I have to finish Phantom Hourglass ASAP which shouldn't be much of a problem because all that remains is the final showdown! I think i'll go do that right now!
Peace!
-Nick
-Started Half Life Episode 1 today and am loving it so far. I can't wait to see what the game has in store for me. On a side note, Alex is now somewhere on my top 5 of video game crushes but i'm not sure who she is replacing. I have to think a bit longer.
- I have decided that starting in early 2008 as part of my new years resolution, I am going to really start Final Fantasy XI. I have tried this several times in the past but I keep getting side tracked. But I plan to make a section of my own on the site documenting my adventures in Vana'Diel as I quest to become a summoner. So keep an eye out for that.
- I am glad to hear that Assassins Creed and Super Mario Galaxy have both recieved great reviews but I really need to hear it from more than one source before my worries are put to rest.
- Call of Duty 4 and Silent Hill Origins both come out this week for me. I'll give everyone one guess as to which one I will be playing more of in the coming weeks. Can't Wait! This means I have to finish Phantom Hourglass ASAP which shouldn't be much of a problem because all that remains is the final showdown! I think i'll go do that right now!
Peace!
-Nick
02 November 2007
Some Brad Thoughts
- I'm starting to feel a little better now. Assassins Creed got a 37/40 from Famitsu. This is pretty nice especially since the game is from western developer Ubisoft. But it is Famitsu.... and they seem to give Gundam games scores this high sometimes. So we will see, but my fears are being eased some.
- I had a very vivid and very odd dream last night about the upcoming game Alan Wake. I don't know anything about the game except that it's very mysterious. My dream was as equally mysterious but didn't actually have anything to do with the game itself. It involved a very strange and compelling film I was watching (and very much into) and the whole time I was trying to figure everything out. It had something to do with two very lost kids or something. All I know is they were alone the entire movie and when they finally saw someone all that person said was "Alan Wake". The movie (in my dream) ended there and for me (in the dream) everything made sense. The dream goes on from there but I kind of forget the rest. This is undeniably bizarre since I'm not even following this game and there is little to no info about it. Just thought I'd share... lol. Maybe it's a sign or something.
- FU Nintendo. Shortly after Nintendo decides to release their first Turbo Duo game for the Virtual Console they announce they will be porting Ys Book 1 and 2 to the DS. These games received an English translation for the Turbo Duo and they could easily have been VC downloads. No, instead.... like with the upcoming Fire Emblem 1 remake... they will make us pay 35 dollars for it on the DS. I was really excited about Sin and Punishment because I thought it was a sign Nintendo was going to finally start releasing these rare or previously Japanese games on the VC; but it seems they would rather instead sell them for top dollar and keep pumping out overpriced crap noone wants on their download service.
- Metal Gear Solid 4 got delayed till Q2 of 2008. I know Nick and David had a bet so I thought I'd let everyone know.
- I was pleasantly surprised when I heard (from watching On the Spot) that Final Fantasy Tactics A2 will not suffer from one of the major problems that made the first game suck. There will still be a Law system with certain randomized skill and magic restrictions in each battle. But instead of being penalized or even jailed for "breaking the law" you instead just get rewarded by following it. This totally flips things around and turns a system previously annoying and tedious into one that is actually quite compelling. Now I can restrict myself when I choose when going for these bonuses but decide to forget them if the situation becomes dire. This actually adds more fun with the strategy because the player is forced to weigh the costs and benefits of his actions in battle in a meaningful way. I'm officially excited about this game again.
- I had a very vivid and very odd dream last night about the upcoming game Alan Wake. I don't know anything about the game except that it's very mysterious. My dream was as equally mysterious but didn't actually have anything to do with the game itself. It involved a very strange and compelling film I was watching (and very much into) and the whole time I was trying to figure everything out. It had something to do with two very lost kids or something. All I know is they were alone the entire movie and when they finally saw someone all that person said was "Alan Wake". The movie (in my dream) ended there and for me (in the dream) everything made sense. The dream goes on from there but I kind of forget the rest. This is undeniably bizarre since I'm not even following this game and there is little to no info about it. Just thought I'd share... lol. Maybe it's a sign or something.
- FU Nintendo. Shortly after Nintendo decides to release their first Turbo Duo game for the Virtual Console they announce they will be porting Ys Book 1 and 2 to the DS. These games received an English translation for the Turbo Duo and they could easily have been VC downloads. No, instead.... like with the upcoming Fire Emblem 1 remake... they will make us pay 35 dollars for it on the DS. I was really excited about Sin and Punishment because I thought it was a sign Nintendo was going to finally start releasing these rare or previously Japanese games on the VC; but it seems they would rather instead sell them for top dollar and keep pumping out overpriced crap noone wants on their download service.
- Metal Gear Solid 4 got delayed till Q2 of 2008. I know Nick and David had a bet so I thought I'd let everyone know.
- I was pleasantly surprised when I heard (from watching On the Spot) that Final Fantasy Tactics A2 will not suffer from one of the major problems that made the first game suck. There will still be a Law system with certain randomized skill and magic restrictions in each battle. But instead of being penalized or even jailed for "breaking the law" you instead just get rewarded by following it. This totally flips things around and turns a system previously annoying and tedious into one that is actually quite compelling. Now I can restrict myself when I choose when going for these bonuses but decide to forget them if the situation becomes dire. This actually adds more fun with the strategy because the player is forced to weigh the costs and benefits of his actions in battle in a meaningful way. I'm officially excited about this game again.
