Final Fantasy XIII Impressions: Linearity as a Storytelling Device

I'm about 17 or so hours into FFXIII (just started Chapter 10) and here are some thoughts I've had while playing it and some responses to some just complaints/overall comments I've heard from the "professional gaming journalism" community.

First and foremost, the beginning of the game is dreadfully paced, only offering hints of the (in my opinion) neat battle system. The environment and setting are quite stunning, but that was a given from the promotional material. Besides the initial impression that this may end up to be a marvelously produced game with little to do, after several hours, everything seems to make sense...but then it's taken away again until about the 15 hour mark.

So what would keep anyone going as the game seems so drab for 10+ hours. Well, for me, it was the characters and the story. I know there's some complains about cliche melodrama present in JRPGs or whatever, and the fact that you can't "be" the character is unattractive to many role-players accustomed to the more western flavored take on the genre. But seriously, this game is pretty much the opposite of FFXII, which, to me, was the weakest one. The setting was nice and the end-game was vast and open, but who really cares about the political strife between Dalmasca or the other factions in Ivalice?

This brings me to one of the more striking things I'm sure everyone knows about FFXIII, it is incredibly linear. But is linearity really so horrible? Books, movies, serial TV shows, all of these mediums are linear. I know some of you would say "and that's what makes games, games, the choices the player makes!" But think about it for a second, do your choices in Fallout 3 really affect anything that much? Hell, you're a mute that happens to be able to pick text to people that largely don't affect the overall outcome. (SPOILERS: You need to distill water) Yes the stories branch on your path to greatness (?) but the end result is the same. Even in the open-ended RPGs I play as if I want my character to be consistent, I don't kill a baby then save an orphanage, I want to be heroic. This is what doesn't bother me. Having something make sense in a linear progression makes for a stronger story, with better characters.

So in short I'm having a blast so far (also, Yakuza 3, surprisingly fun, not so surprisingly SEGA censored...) and I might write up a full review sometime after finals.

Waiting Game

So today seems set on me waiting for things to happen. Besides the obvious release of Final Fantasy XIII coming (and me going to a midnight release for it), my morning class also decided to get out an hour early. Later this afternoon I also get to go apartment hunting, how exciting.

Anyways, back to FFXIII, metascore isn't that high, but my absolute favorite game series (Xenosaga) sure didn't get great scores either. In fact, I think what I enjoy most are polarizing. I think that it is great to be able to see the same media in completely differing views but still being radically polarizing.

More later and possible review incoming.

Fanart about a game I haven't played yet

I figured I should practice before I completely become unable to use a tablet...

Anything I've heard peripherally about FFXIII makes me think that I will dislike it, but I like the character design for some of them and I've been attempting to avoid as much as I can about the game. So I suppose we shall see in two weeks how the actual game turns out.

I doubt I will ever get around to finishing this, but just as a note to keep track of my progress if this becomes a habit for me, ~40 minutes in PS.

2009 in Review

2009 Was a great year in gaming, what a not generic line to open this up with!

In any case, this is a short documentation of what I thought of the games I played in the past 374 Days, in the form of year end awards which count for nothing. As a bonus, rants about AAA games which I would about the popular opinion of have been included.

This list is in no particular order but will be divided into what I found GOOD and then the ones that I'd argue about to its value. Multi-platform games will be marked with the system I played it on. Without further ado...

SUPAAAA!

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Wow, this game was great. A game that refines all the already solid gameplay of the original into a spectacular package, it had lived up all of my expectations, and exceeded many. The single player campaign is probably the best paced story in recent memory from a video game. While I will admit the plot is a bit too Hollywood for my tastes, it was presented in such a manner that the 12 hours went by without a moment of me becoming bored. The multiplayer had been getting some buzz, however I admittedly have not spent much time with that portion of the game. The time I did spend with it (lol lv. 7) wasn't horrible by any means, but the release schedule for fall had been so chock full of other titles as well including...

Demon's Souls

For some reason this was seen as a "omg where did that come from" for many. I thought its cult had been raving about it for about a year before the official US release (thanks to the fully English Asia version). But let's ignore that for now, this game was unrelentingly difficult at certain points yet for some strange reason that only adds to the reward of overcoming an obstacle. Putting aside the difficulty, the world is so well crafted, and the multiplayer component so intuitive, it is no doubt one of the most inventive RPGs to come out in recent years. Proof that an eastern take on a heavily western-flavored RPG can result in something that is uniquely refreshing, yet strangely familiar.

Batman: Arkham Asylum (Playstation 3)

Well here's one that I was honestly surprised at. A no-name studio develops a game published by Eidos, and then the game is about freaking Batman. With such a great track record under the caped crusader's belt and no track record from Rocksteady, the first reviews were remarkably positive. I was skeptical, as I suspect many would be since early reviews are, generally bullshit. Yet upon actually playing the demo myself, I was quite impressed with the simplistic combat and well done stealth sections. On top of that Batman is the only DC character that I truly like, and the whole game wraps all of these gameplay elements into a really well crafted world and makes it a game of exploring as well! In any case, this game was quite top-notch.

Borderlands (PC)

It took me a while, but damn did I become hooked on this game. I don't even know why, the whole carrot on a stick thing is far too addictive and the gunplay isn't bad either (certainly not as precise as something like Modern Oscar Mike 2: Revenge of the Nukes, but charming in its own way). Also, the art direction of the game is fantastic. While on the Brownreal engine, it adopts a cel-shaded aesthetic that is all its own. In short, random loot + decent gameplay + nifty world = win.

Blazblue::::::Calamity-=Trigger(X360)

First things first, no I did not use the standard XBox controller to play this game. That being said, I think it's actually a fighting game I could potentially use the default controller's horrendous d-pad on thanks to the accessibility of the game. Yet if one were to delve deeper, the gameplay becomes ridiculously in-depth if one wanted it to be. With a surprisingly developed story mode and solid net-code, this was my favorite fighter of 2009 (sorry SFIV, I love you too). Also, this is how you do next-gen 2D, not like KoFXII.

Dragon Mage: Origins: Revenge of the (Blood) Magic(PC)

This game makes me mad, but I dumped 40+ hours into it so it had to have some charm. As I bled my way across Ferelden I was presented with a fairly well done plot, even if I desperately miss my character having voice. I'm just a sucker for being given choices (which seem to always come to one of two outcomes...) and wandering around a standard low-fantasy world. It was all in a very well done and conhesive package, with only the 'romance' bits sticking out like a sore thumb (which I feel is the case in all of Bioware's games). Beyond that the combat was enjoyable, and the setting was stunning at times. Now if only those NPCs all offered me a quest that I have to bust out my credit card for, then we'd be really talking.

Assassin's Greed II: The Davinci Code(X360)

Hi, here at Ubisoft Montreal we made a game with bits of it cut out due to time restraints, I hope you enjoy paying for it later! No, this part doesn't really bother me, it's everyone's ridiculous amount of love for this game. While I might be in the vocal minority of actually liking the first game, I liked this one as well. What I don't understand is how everyone thinks this game is so much different. It's as if they had written of the first game as a pile of trash and forgotten it and went "WHOA This is new and refreshing!". The combat is identical, more weapons not-withstanding. The mission types "more varied", from 3 to 5 types and the story is actually a bit intriguing instead of just 'bop the player over the head with a pile of WTF' (although there is much of that in this iteration as well). The setting is amazing, but the game is much the same as the first except a bit better. The most significant change seems to be in the economy system, yet this unnecessary portion just seems to attempt to extend the game's length in a manner that only forces the player to repeat trips to an otherwise insignificant quest hub. Although the illusion of 'customization' is nice, I don't understand how this game fixed everything that was wrong about its prequel.