Archive for the 'Gaming' Category

Beneath a Steel Sky has such an awesome name. Ever since I heard the name I felt like I was missing something by not having played it. That’s quite a powerful effect considering I really knew nothing about the game. After finishing the game I wanted to play another point and click adventure game right away, and that basically summarizes what makes a game good. When you’re finished with it you want more of it. It’s only three dollars on the iTunes store so if you’ve got an iPhone or iPod Touch and a few bucks left in your iTunes account it’s more than worth your time.

If you’ve not played the game, my following paragraphs might have some spoilers, so beware. But I think all you really need to know is that it is a good Point and Click with a great story that is more than worth your time. Spoilers from here on out. Continue reading ‘So I finished a game! – Beneath A Steel Sky’

So after a good while of being busy with Eriko and her family, I finally got to settle down with some Final Fantasy XIII again. And good lord, the game is getting hard. I spent most of the evening trying out different character combinations for the Chapter 9 boss. Eventually I got it and dayumn it was satisfying. Nothing like a good boss fight and a hot cup of caramel flavored milk tea on a cold winter’s eve.

Now I’ve finally unlocked the ability to pick my party members and I’m trying to find a threesome that works for me. I’ve always enjoyed playing more “untraditional” party groups in games. Partially for the difficulty boost and partially for being able to say I went a different path. I’ve settled on Fang, Sahz and Vanille for now, but I’ve been having some troubles with normal battles, so perhaps this may not be the best group in the game. Fang is one of the two characters who has the Defender class, but her Hit Points are so low right now that I’m confused as to how she’s supposed to properly utilize a class that is supposed to take the bulk of your battle damage. Sounds like a challenge.

And that sounds perfect to me.

Some people aren’t going to like Final Fantasy XIII.

That person could be you.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, I think you, whoever you are, should give Final Fantasy XIII a try. If you’re a classic Final Fantasy fan it will probably be good for your soul to try out something different. The game isn’t going to destroy your beloved copy of FF12. Don’t worry, I checked. Mine’s still there¹.

FF13 is its own game and some people² are bitching about the ‘drastic’ changes made in the game. These people are looking at what the game took out thinking that there would be nothing in its place. So far in my hours of playing there has been no town to explore and all. Thing is, I’ve not really felt like I would benefit from having that experience in this game. The developers of Final Fantasy wanted to deliver this story³ in this way and it’s really engaging. I’ve allowed myself to be sucked into the world and really get engaged with what is going on. Whenever I draw myself out to dwell upon what I have experienced, I can nitpick for hours some of the goofy dialogue and weird character actions. But when I’m sitting there with the controller in hand I’m like a four year old getting his first dose of Saturday morning cartoons. I can’t help but grin like an idiot and suck up this game in all of its glory, stupid story or not.

So I’ve unlocked the item “creation” system. In my last post I talked about how weapons had EXP values and this is where they come into play. All that junk you collect from your enemies, their cursed horns and electrically charged bolts, can be used on your weapons and accessories to power them up. Now, while big EXP holding items tend to be available, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the EXP awarded varies for different items. Poking around the menu trying to fit these gizzards and nuts into my swords and bracelets in the optimal way for my status bonuses is criminally simple but at the same time extremely satisfying.

The summon system has also reared its head in the game and after the boring way they handled them in FF12 it seems 13 got one that just wanted to be ridiculous for the sake of it. And it is rediculous, but extremely entertainingly so. Basically, after you unlock the summons⁴ when you use them in battle they, I think, get to do some attacks but I mostly ignored that for pressing the big shiny button that says RIDE. Becuase you can mother fucking mount them summons as they turn into motorcycles or horses or whatever the fuck. And then you’re given commands to input and rip off the faces of monsters. Unfortunately at this point I’ve only had one chance to summon but it was so ridiculously awesome that I can’t wait to do it again.

The negativity I’ve been seeing about FF13 is getting a little ridiculous. There are also some playing the game who are quite, well, not happy with it and I guess that’s okay⁵. Most of their complaints seem to be coming from the world outside of the battle system, though, so if you agree that is the most important part of an RPG you should definitely not give FF13 a pass.

1. Even though I’m not sure why, to be honest. [↩]
2. People who haven’t played the game, mostly. [↩]
3. Oh god, let’s not discuss the quality of the story. [↩]
4. Which is done in a very cool way so I’m not going to spoil it. [↩]
5. It’s hard to retreat from the discussion without seeming like I’m hurt by their dislike, but I’m seriously tired of the negativity! [↩]