Yes, we do occasionally consider the wants and needs of our readerbase, and this right here should prove it!
WE NOW HAVE AN RSS FEED, LADIES AND GENTS!
Have fun… uh… RSS-ing!
RSS FEED GET
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009Soundtrack Updatetastic
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009Yeah, so I didn’t feel like listening to Xenosaga this morning. FAIL! I figured that if my resistance to the music was that strong, my bias would have been a bit unfair in my continued impressions. I’m not feeling that way anymore, so I’ll listen to it throughout my workday and give you my Impressionstastic Part II.
Also, Mr. Cloud Man Runs Into Trouble is coming along nicely. The concluded tale should be ready to post at the end of this week. I know you’re all waiting for it!
Okay, so I can finally play Xenogears
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
teh box
The transfer to my PSP went smoothly. I added some cute artwork and everything. And I even played the first 45 minutes or so.
Super-initial impressions? Um. Well, the opening Anime is extremely well-done, with some oddly solid voicework for such an old game. The dialogue is extremely well-written for a PlayStation era RPG. The graphics are about what to expect from a PlayStation game; the remind me a lot of Final Fantasy VII, actually.
Other than that I can’t say much; I just wanted to confirm that I’d actually started the game. More thoughts to come later; I’m a bit tired right now.
Goodnight for the present, friends; look for me tomorrow with a dose of Hey! Look! Listen!
Some Semblance of Order
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009Hey folks, remember when I said we’d have some minor announcements? Well let’s get those out of the way.
First off, let me tell you what is not changing yet.
-RSS Feed: This is something we want too. Hopefully soon.
-Recent Comments Feature: We hear you, Darth! This one is more tricky. It’s a bit more difficult to integrate this in an attractive and functional way.
Onto actual changes that staaarrrrtt……NOW!!
-We’re deciding to formalize the features that were slightly random before so…
-Riddles’ Hey! Look! Listen! feature will be every Monday and Thursday to bring you up to speed on what he is finding interesting in the industry.
-My very own ‘ELLO GUV’NAH will tell you all about what I’ve been playing.
-Also, we plan to continue the While You Were Out… feature going on Sundays to bring you all up to speed on some of the highlights from the week.
Anyway, that’s it. I told you not to get your hopes up.
Batman: Arkham Asylum: The First 1.5 Hours
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
I always tried to imitate this pose.
As a small child, I loved Batman more than anything else in the entire world. As soon as my little mind could comprehend the alphabet, I was reading Batman comics. Concurrently, I was watching the 90’s animated series religiously. I also wore a cheap Batman mask/cape combo every single day. This was before videogames, before Marvel comics were introduced, and before I could write a coherent sentence. Batman was my life.
Admittedly, I really haven’t followed Batman for the last decade or so. Other than his recent escapades onto the big screen with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, I don’t have the slightest clue what the character is up to these days. But after playing through the first segments of Eidos’ Batman: Arkham Asylum for the PS3, I can feel old emotions re-surfacing.
They love to hate eachother...
First and foremost, this is the most authentic feeling comic book game since Activision’s 2006 title, Ultimate Spider-Man. And while I haven’t played much, it’s clear that Arkham Asylum outclasses that, and all super-hero games, in every conceivable way. There are no traces of a cheap cash-in to be found here; from the moment the game begins, you feel like you’ve stepped into the shoes of the Dark Knight himself.
The premise should be familiar to most. Batman brings the apprehended Joker to Arkham Island, where the grand Arkham Asylum is located. The opening scene really is fantastic; you follow along as the Joker is wheeled back to his cell, listening to his insane rantings while the opening credits roll on the right side of the screen. Anyone who watched the aforementioned animated series will feel right at home, with Mark Hamill reprising his role as the Clown Prince of Crime. He has gotten a little more vicious, however; unlike the animated series, Arkham Asylum isn’t toned down for the kiddies.
Combat is just as brutal as the rest of the game.
Needless to say, all hell manages to break loose, and you find yourself fighting for your life against hordes of pissed off inmates. Combat is fast, easily controlled, and feels an awful lot like Assassin’s Creed thus far. Like Assassin’s Creed, it’s crucial to utilize the counter-attack feature, which is extremely easy to do. It’s fairly simplistic from what I’ve played so far, but it’s a lot of fun, and more advanced abilities can be purchased as the game progresses.
Aside from combat, the detective aspects of the game are interesting as well, if a little far-fetched. How Batman manages to trace a man halfway across the asylum by picking up his alcohol trail is beyond me, but it’s cool nonetheless. There are some light platforming elements present as well, which are enjoyable if only because you get to glide and use Batman’s infamous grapple gun.
After spending a mere hour and a half with Arkham Asylum, I can’t wait to jump back in. The setting and atmosphere are gripping, and feel just like a Batman game should. The gameplay is fast, fun, and appropriately varied. It’s weird to say this, but it honestly makes me feel like that Batman-worshiping kid again.
While Arkham Asylum installs…
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009Okay, thus far, I have FAILED UTTERLY at playing anything Xenosaga related. Turns out it’s because the Slim PS2 has trouble playing DVD-9 discs. (Dual-Layer discs). Hence why my copy of God of War won’t work either.
Sooo I was about to pop Xenogears into my PS2 when I realized that I didn’t have a PS1 memory card, which is required to save/load PS1 data.
So NOW I am a) installing Batman: Arkham Asylum on the PS3 (look for some initial impressions soon) and b) ripping Xenogears to my computer so it can be transferred onto my PSP. (Thank you, Lusipurr, for making this a possibility.)
I promise at some point this week there will be some sort of actual content for your reading pleasure.
Soundtrack Impressionstastic Part I
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009Alright!
I’ve fully heard both discs of the soundtrack for the first Xenosaga game. The one that Riddles is unable to play on his PS2 because Fate is Riddlethos’ mortal enemy. My thoughts are already different than when I first started listening to the music, so let me take you through my transition.
During the first few tracks the only thing I could think about was how the soundtrack seemed to do bombastic really well. From The Prologue to the Battle theme to Gnosis, only the pounding explosive tracks seemed to stand-out. This was further confirmed when later tracks seemed to employ techniques I used when I first started experimenting with orchestration: a bunch of string chords with no real stand-out melody or distinguishing factor.
This changed during the second disc, however. Mitsuda still shone brightest in his over-the-top dramatic tracks (see: Albedo), but I found more personality than before in some of the slower paced tracks.
I’ve only listened to each track once (excluding the ones I’ve mentioned by name), so the plan is to listen to it more thoroughly until about midday Friday when I’ll switch to the second game’s soundtrack and begin my breakdown of that bad-boy.
Oh yeah, Guitar Hero 5
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009It’s out and stuff. My best bud, Pogo has already hit 40 000 notes total
Xenosaga Episode I: Turns out I can’t play it.
Tuesday, September 1st, 2009Okay, as that large banner indicates, it is Xenosaga week. And, as you’ve likely noticed, there’s been nary a Xenosaga-related post. For this I apologize, but I was planning to post some relevant editorials in due time. Like… tonight. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
It goes like this: I dusted off my copy of Xenosaga Episode I, and stuck it in my PS2. Well, it couldn’t read the disc. I tested other PS2 discs to make sure it wasn’t a problem with my system, and they worked just fine.
So, I decided it was time to make a journey to the GameStop across the road. They didn’t have it. So I decided it was time to make a journey to the GameStop across town. They had one in stock for a mere $6.99. They had Arkham Asylum as well (much like every retail store at the moment) so I bought that on a whim. I noticed with slight annoyance that they gave me a Greatest Hits disc with the original black label box, but I let it slide.
Got home. Popped it in. Disc still can’t be read. I took a look and it’s scratched to hell. My PS3 Slim can read it, but it (obviously) can’t play it. Soooo. I could go look for another copy of the game tomorrow, but I doubt I’d find one. Or, alternatively I could play one of these three games:
EPIC
Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Bose
Okay, I doubt I’ll get many votes for this one. Episode II made a lot of poor design choices in an attempt (ironically) to appeal to a wider audience. The battle system was horribly broken, and there was a severe lack of cutscenes. Nonetheless, it continued the saga established by the first game, and still passes as a hell of a movie, if not much of a game.
Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra
Episode III represented a return to form after Episode II. A solid battle system, hours upon hours of fantastic, action-packed cutscenes, and an amazing soundtrack made Xenosaga Episode III an experience to remember, and an extremely solid conclusion to the saga.
Orrr… I could play…
Uh?
Xenogears
I’ve never played this game, so I can’t quite come up with an attractive blurb. Obviously it’s something I WANT to play, but somehow I’ve never gotten around to it… it isn’t a Xenosaga game, but it’s obviously tied to the series.
So whaddaya say? Should I give Xenogears a whirl? Or should I stick to the Xenosaga series? I’m here to serve YOU, so let me know. If you want, I’ll go on a hunt for yet another copy of the original game.
COMMENT BELOW, FOOLS!
We Put the Soundtrack in Soundtracktastic!
Tuesday, September 1st, 2009Alright folks, I loaded the first soundtrack in the picture below onto my iPod this morning and I’ve listened to about half of the first disc (there are two). I’ll be giving impressions as the week goes on. This is exciting for me because I’ve barely played any Xenosaga, and what I have played I played so long ago that I definitely don’t remember any of the music. I rarely thoroughly check out a soundtrack before a play a game. I did it for Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey, but only because I’m an Uematsu freak.
Anyway, you’ll probably hear me use the term “first impression” a lot because I hate completely judging music from the first few listens, so I’m going to speak strong opinions but with full awareness that my opinion could completely swing. I just don’t want to explain that every time.
Anyway, I already have some impressions, but I’ll post them in a little bit. For now, just behold the blurry beauty below.
We put the blurry in blurrytastic!
