B3yond the Report 8.19.08
Posted by Derek Robbins on 08.19.2008
This week, B3yond the Report gives some details on the Final Fantasy XIII demo as well as a look into Piracy on the Playstation 3. Capcom also promises to make us pucker up at TGS...but what could they unveil? All of that, plus your weekly PSN update this week on B3yond the Report!
Hello and Welcome to B3yond the Report! This is your new host for the time being, Derek Robbins! You may or may not know me as the guy who has the crappy opinions on the 10th hour. I am relieving Mark Salmela of weekly duties. Good job to Dan Owen who filled in last week.
Final Fantasy XIII demo information
To make the deal for Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete more sweet, Square has decided to throw in a demo for their highly anticipated game Final Fantasy XIII to all those who buy it, as was reported by Mark a couple of weeks ago. I wonder if anyone would seriously consider suffering through the garbage that was Advent Children again just to play the FF XIII demo? Well, there seems to be good reason for this. Apparently the demo will be LONGER than the movie. The original, less ‘special' version of Advent Children clocked in at 101 minutes…so a demo that lasts LONGER than that seems worthy of your hard earned cash. Well a better deal than buying ZOE for the MGS 2 demo at least.
It also appears that Square has headed Final Fantasy fans complaints regarding FF XII as they appear to be returning to a party-based battle system. This is a disappointment for me, as my third favorite game in the franchise is the 12th…but hey, why deviate from success? Perhaps more exciting for fans is that Square plans to focus more on the side-characters this time around. Apparently they want to make your characters seem like protagonists instead of simply characters. I feel the last time a Final Fantasy did this was Final Fantasy VI, and as we all may recall…that game was fabulous.
Some story information was also released regarding FF Versus XIII…which is still looking quite interesting. Yoshitaki Amino, who I am not particularly a fan of – I think a lot of his portraits look the same. I seriously had trouble distinguishing his Cloud from Zidane. Only Zidane's tail gave it away – designs the shinigami in which the people of the world worship. I figure if you enjoy his artwork, that will be good news. Other than that though, no significant information has been revealed.
I still cannot wait for Final Fantasy XIII...I really hope the 360's development of the game doesn't hinder Sony's release but I have a feeling it will, and that's a real shame because all it does is hurt us! The loyal Sony fan! Even though I am rather dissapointed that it is taking a step away from the marvelous direction FF XII went in, I have to say that from a business standpoint I understand. The fans didn't like the change as much so it was necessary. I may not like this game as much as number XII but I assure you that I at least will enjoy it. To death.
Well, well, well…if anyone was predicting the TGS to be as big of a letdown as E3 might be a bit disappointed. This week at the launch event for Bionic Commando: Rearmed, Ben Judd – the producer of said game – had quite the interesting comment to say:
"We still have a fucking ace up our sleeve. It's an ace, a fucking ace... At TGS (Tokyo Game Show), the Capcom booth stage is going to make people's balls pucker up. It's going to be big."
R-Really? Not only an ace, but a fucking ace? It's going to be that good huh? Are you going to unveil something that will set the world on fire? I mean, if you announce Marvel Versus Capcom 3 you have my heart, sir…but until then I'll remain skeptical. Going from a logic standpoint, it IS Capcom and odds are whatever their big announcement is, it'll be a sequel because…that's what Capcom does best. Make sequels to things. So let's see…what can Capcom do to blow my shoes off?
End Devil May Cry? Re-assemble Clover and make a sequel to both Viewtiful Joe and God Hand? Or perhaps a re-imagining of Resident Evil 2 in Playstation 3 graphics? Can you imagine a remake of the game that many consider to be the apex of the series? I can, and believe you me I am practically shaking in my seat thinking about it.
Apparently hackers have found a way to load backup games onto the PS3. That is to say, that you can essentially play the game without needing the disc. This would be, as you can imagine, pretty handy as you can go to Block Buster, rent something, and then own it for significantly less than full retail price. Of course, this practice is wrong and you shouldn't do it – you should support the industry, and good games in particular – but it CAN be done.
It's not possible for every game yet, but the people who did it proved they could by taking an apple video of themselves playing Warhawk with the PS3 disk. Now you may be saying to yourself: "HEY WAIT! I could do that before!" Well…they did it without buying it from PSN. Now, if they wanted to prove their point…I figure they should have found a game that you couldn't download.
To make sure we don't think they're pulling a fast one, a couple of notable PSP Homebrew people notify that not only is it real but it'd doable for us normal people! Apparently, it's not entirely easy…as it requires an extra hard-drive and a good sense of timing – according to them at least…but it's still interesting to know this stuff.
It does not work for every game yet though, apparently it's just proof of the concept. That means you can't do it yet, but the potential is there...and it's only a matter of time until Sony's software sales start taking a bit of a hit. Whatever the case, piracy for the PS3 could be getting worse. I feel obligated to mention that here at B3yond the Report we do not endorse the pirating of video games.
I'm not typically one to give a shit about sales figures, I mean lets face it…we know that without a doubt one system is going to out-sell another. It doesn't matter, you play your system, you enjoy it…whatever. (B3yond the Not3: It has to be the PS3 though! Seriously guys!) As we all know the Playstation 3 is the dominant system in Japan. The 360 was the dominant one over here. Well over the course of this year, the PS3 has outsold the 360 in the states…and in recent days the 360 has out-sold the PS3 in Japan! You may be asking yourself: "Why is this? Did Japan suddenly take an interest in shooting stuff?" And my answer to that question is – "No." The latest game in the popular "Tales of" series was released for the 360 recently. Tales of Vesperia is what it was apparently.
Of course, this is all thanks to the launch of the game…but the fact is it is a rather huge jump. The only reason I am reporting this is because I wanted to comment on the Tales of series. As far as RPGs are concerned, I've always felt they are rather generic…their stories are bland, their enemies are bland, their characters are beyond shallow, and their music is mediocre. The art-styles tend to look pretty neat though, so I'll give it that. I'm not sure why the masses love these games so much as you can point out any run-of-the-mill RPG and get basically the same experience. I'm glad the 360 is getting a divergence in genres, but it's sad to see its sales come from such a ‘bleh' game. Ah well, the stupid console wars sales in the East will shift back to the PS3 soon enough.
If it must be known, I am rather looking forward to the new Star Ocean and I believe that it will bolster sales of the 360 in Japan even further. I thought Star Ocean 3 was good, even with its kick in the groin ending. So I figure four to deliver more of the same. I hope that title finds its way to the Playstation 3...but hope only goes so far, you know.
- "Oh my gawwwwwd, someone is interested in my generic game! Squee! I am sure I am not at all a generic heroine"
The following was unveiled on the 14th of August on the Playstation Network.
PlayStation Store for PS3
• Downloadable Games
o Bionic Commando: Rearmed (US$ 9.99)
• PS1 Classics for PS3/PSP
o Street Fighter Alpha (US$ 5.99)
• Add-on Game Content
o Rock Band
o "Constant Motion" - Dream Theater (US$0.99)
o "Aesthetics of Hate" - Machine Head (US$ 0.99)
o "My Curse" - Killswitch Engage (US$ 0.99)
o "Clouds Over California" - DevilDriver (US$ 0.99)
o "Runnin' Wild" - Airbourne (US$ 0.99)
o "Sleepwalker" - Megadeth (US $0.99)
o Roadrunner Records Pack 1 (US$ 5.99) - includes "Runnin' Wild" - Airbourne, "Clouds Over California" - DevilDriver, "Constant Motion" - Dream Theater, "My Curse" -Killswitch Engage, "Aesthetics of Hate" - Machine Head , and "Sleepwalker" - Megadeth.
o Price Promotion: these tracks will become to US$ 1.99 on 8/21. The track pack will become US$ 9.99 on 8/21.
• Game Demos (free)
o Bionic Commando: Rearmed Demo
o 1942: Joint Strike Demo
o NHL 2K9 Demo
o Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2009 Demo
• Game Videos (free)
o The Last Guy Gameplay Trailer 2
o Bionic Commando: Rearmed: The Making Of - Part 3
o Bionic Commando: Rearmed Launch Trailer
o Saints Row 2 – Gangs Trailer
o Vampire Rain Gameplay Trailer 1
o Vampire Rain Running Alley Trailer
o Legendary Behind the Scenes Teaser Trailer
o Madden NFL 09 Buzz Video
o Madden NFL 09 Announcers Video
o Madden NFL 09 Presentation Video
o Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 : Fusion
o Mirror's Edge Story Trailer 1
o AST Dew Tour - Cleveland FMX Jam Session
o AST Dew Tour - Cleveland Skate Thrills
o AST Dew Tour - Cleveland BMX Highlights
o AST Dew Tour - Hear it from Nyquist
• PS3 Themes (free)
o BioShock Theme
o Bionic Commando: Rearmed Theme (x2)
• PS3 Wallpaper (free)
o Bionic Commando: Rearmed Wallpaper (x2)
Playstation Store for PC
• PS1 Classics for PS3/PSP
o Street Fighter Alpha (US$ 5.99)
• PSP Themes (free)
o Bionic Commando: Rearmed Theme (also downloadable via PS3)
• PSP Wallpaper (free)
o Hot Shots Golf Open Tee 2 Wallpaper (x2)
o Madden NFL 09 Wallpaper (x2)
Well first of all, I would like to express my joy in Street Fighter Alpha being re-released on PSN. I am a huge fighting game fan and I think the Alpha series throughout was fairly entertaining. Sure, it probably should have been Street Fighter Alpha 3 which is one of the greatest fighting titles of all time, but since we've got about 50 different releases of that game on like 10 different consoles…I suppose it was time for SF: A to get some love.
As for Bionic Commando: ReArmed…I am glad the price is low because I am low on cash and really, really want this title. It looks fun and in my eyes looks kind of like a bargain. It's a revamp of a pretty solid title and it's nice to see its low price tag…I realize Megaman 9 won't be a revamp, a new game with old-school graphics, but I honestly can't see that game selling for any less than 20. So for your cheap nostalgia gaming, it's looking like this Bionic Commando revamp could be right up your alley. Hell, if nine dollars is too much for you, you can even try the demo to see if it's worth your change. I have a feeling it will be.
I'm also pleased that there is an NHL 2K9 demo available because NHL games, as a rule, have been pretty good over the years. No offense to the other downloadable demos available, but I really couldn't care about them.
There's also a lot of Madden stuff this week…which is not big for me but I'm sure those of you who plopped down the money for this year's roster update might find some joy there. If you can pull yourself away from that riveting content you may also wish to check out the mirror's edge trailer if you haven't seen it yet. It makes the game look quite compelling and I feel it was a good move for those gamers that…really don't hop onto game sites scouring for trailers.
There's also some nice Rock Band stuff this week…I wish I could further comment on it, but unfortunately I don't own Rock Band. My brother does but...ya know, its kind of on the Wii.
Outside of the Bioshock – which is awesome…if you haven't had access to it due to your PS3 allegiance…you should be looking forward to this game. It is fantastic – and Bionic Commando themes…I don't really see anything else that much interests me. Even those kind of fall ill on me because I can't see myself swapping out my Metal Gear Solid 4 theme for some time.
- Should have been number 3 though.
The source, by the way, is Sony.
Civilization Revolution Goodies
So, you've bought your copy of Civ. Rev. and think you're just totally done with the game, right? Well...that may not be the case. 2K games is offering free goodies depending on where you purchased it. They give a site where you can redeem DLC codes...and these codes are based on what pack-in card you got when you purchased the game.
The following is what you can get:
GameStop/EB Canada:
Xbox 360 and PS3: Pack-in card redeemable online for a Voucher or Token code for Wonder & Artifact Pack: The Mythic. Included are: Ancient Wonder: Lighthouse of Alexandria, Medieval Wonder: Leaning Tower of Pisa, Industrial Wonder: Scotland Yard, Modern Wonder: SETI, Artifact 1: Camelot, Artifact 2: Tower of Babel
Best Buy (US and Canada):
Xbox 360 and PS3: Pack-in card redeemable online for a Voucher or Token code for Wonder & Artifact Pack: The Iconic. Includes the following Wonders and Artifacts: Ancient - Coliseum, Medieval - Taj Mahal, Industrial - Statue of Liberty, Modern - Sydney Opera House, Artifact 1 - Terracotta Army, Artifact 2 -Sphinx
Well it seems like they are giving you some decent extra content for no extra cost which is...sort of nice, considering companies love to nickle and dime us these days. I actually have not picked up my copy yet, but moves like this really make me want to support the game that does it, so bravo to them. Any fans of civ rev will have to tell me if these downloadables are as cool as they sound.
To make me feel better the poster claims his credit is the 2K Games forum
B3yond the Tabloids!
For those of you who bought the Playstation 3 for the blu-ray movies...which some of you most assuredly did...it may bring you pleasure to know that The Criterion Collection's Blu-Ray player of choice is the PS3! Criterion releases definitive versions of important classic movies and some contemporary ones as well. Their reasons include the price - which is kind of funny when you think about it considering Sony's price compared to console competition - and the video quality. They state it's the best on the maket. SOME would even say they "blu" away the competition.
The spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate - Dragon Age: Origins is apparently going to see a console release too...so if you don't have a gaming computer don't worry! You too can play your horribly repetitive D&D style game.
The biggest game release this year is for the Playsation 3 and NO it is not Metal Gear Solid 4! Disgaea 3 get released on August 26th and you can feel the Sony world shaking as the weight of this graphical behemoth comes crashing down. I expect to be reviewing this absolute beauty by the end of this month…so keep up on that.
The biggest news of the week, nary...the entire year lays at my very finger tips. As I type this, the keyboard quivers with anticipation. Confirmed for Street Fighter 4...the super hyped next game in the street fighter continuum is...AKUMA! Hell yes, the popular Akuma returns for sure and this time...it's personal. Well, it probably already WAS personal but he's here now dammit.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is getting a demo released this week on PSN. Apparently the demo features a tutorial on how to force choke (a bitch). I would act more excited, but regarding that game my emotion could be best described as "apathetic". Still though, if you are looking to play as the apprentice outside of Soul Caliber 4 - and screw you if you play as him IN SC IV - this is where you would go.
Changing focuses entirely to a game franchise I couldn't give a care about, there have been new screens released for the latest Tomb Raider. As jaded as I am towards the franchise even in my cold, dank heart I can admit the graphics look damn impressive. If you want to see ‘em, click here.
As opposed to this week, next week's Rock Band stuff actually has me interested as they include a couple of Duran Duran and Devo songs. They also throw in one from the Janitors for good measure.
EA's popular Need for Speed series will be seeing its next game released on November 18th. It's entitled Undercover…and really, that's all I know about. To be fair though, I can't think of what else we'd possibly need to know about it. Apparently Maggie Q is the cover lady
There's some news about the number one news story of the year…MegaMan 9! You can buy a number of powerups as can be expected , but on top of this you can also buy the ability to play as a helmet-less megaman harkening back to Megaman Legends. Also, apparently you can purchase a new outfit. The symbol for the outfit? Roll! Neato. Source is Siliconera
Play a lot of MGO? Tired of not being recognized for it? Make it through some qualifiers and you can play at the MGO Championships at this year's Tokyo Game Show! They're looking for the best clan and the best player…so even if you have the skills of a pre-MGS 4 Johnny Sasaki maybe you can weasel your way into a good clan?
Apparently the Thai government wants to punish developers of games in which people in real life mimic killings they see in the game. I see this going over swimmingly and being met with no outcry at all.
Apparently 17% of the buyers of GTA IV are under-aged. Wow, what next? Sun rises in the East? Michael Phelps wins a gold medal? The original Zelda released to public acclaim?
- Wow...it just looks so cool.
B3yond the Cinema
The biggest news story of the year continues to grow bigger, this week…take a view at the opening cinematic for Megaman 9? LOOK AT THAT? Doesn't this take you back to the days of you begging your parents to run to the local rental place so you could try to tackle Megaman 3 again despite the fact you really weren't that good at it? Ah gee…this game makes senses of nostalgia tingle throughout my spine.
For those of you like myself who can't stand waiting for the fourth game in the Street Fighter franchise…you may want to turn to Soul Calibur 4 in order to soothe your jangled nerves. In this video we see some nice Street Fighter based create a fighters, even if in my opinion a better-fit for Blanka is Lizard Man thanks to his sort of hunched stance.
By the way, who else is disappointed you can't create a soul using Vader or the Apprentice's moveset? Being able to create your own…Pirate Jedi would be pretty damn cool, don't you think?
They call this "massacre gameplay". Once you watch this video, I assure you…you'll understand why that is.
Speaking of Street Fighter IV, I want to show you some gameplay footage from that. In this fight we have Guile facing off against Abel…in what I can assure you is a showdown you all wanted to see…right? I don't care what any of you say about the new graphical style, I think it looks downright cool and is about the only way you could have moved forward from the beautiful drawn style of Street Fighter III.
Hey look, they're making a second Godfather game! Considering the first one was surprisingly decent, it's not a bad idea. I will be interested to see how this one turns out.
The One Man Water Cooler~!
I may end up changing the name of this section simply since my nickname for Mark became the One-Man Watercooler thanks to this section. Regardless, for this week…it remains the same. If you have any ideas on what I should call it though, feel free to chime in and tell me what you think.
For those of you who didn't know, and I assume that is most of you unless you read every word of the tenth hour as though it was some sort of holy scripture…I had not played Metal Gear Solid 4 yet. This changed over the past week as I not only managed to finally play the game, but I also beat it and my opinion is in! It's good! As an end to the series, you really couldn't have asked for more. I think 3 is probably still my favorite, but allow me to break a few things down for you.
First of all, as a whole this game seemed to have a lot more solid control on the action. In the past, when I was caught by the enemy…it could feel a little bit awkward trying to fight my way out of things. Don't get me wrong, I realize the goal of the game is to NOT get caught…but in those situations I did, I felt better equipped to fight my way out of it…which is a good thing. To assist the improved combat is a brand new weapons system. It becomes significantly easier to arm yourself with equipment. In the past, there were times where it felt like I was about to run out of ammo…but to be quite honest this time that was never a problem. I figure if you are having problems with ammo in this game, you're just not very good.
Now, of course, I am no fool. As a fan of Metal Gear Solid I am willing to concede that the gameplay is only the second most important thing about the franchise to me. This may sound weird, considering a lot of us play games to have fun…but in this particular game, the gameplay is important…but I came in it for the story, and I was not disappointed. It really answers all of your questions, from who the Patriots are to what Ocelot's motives are, to why Vamp is immortal…to even what would happen if Metal Gear RAY got into a show-down with Metal Gear REX. It does what a finale is supposed to and provides closure.
The story helps to change our opinions about the characters and without a doubt, the character that probably received the largest number of fan-increase from this game was Raiden. He went from bleach-blonde whiny guy to an absolute badass with a fitting voice. Some may not like that he played such an important role in the game but he was so cool this time around…I didn't mind whatsoever. EVEN ROSE was tolerable this time. If you can make that abomination of a character tolerable, it's easy to say that you've done your job.
This next paragraph contains spoilers, so if you are still holding out on playing it…skip.
All of the story came to its head during the final boss battle as it finally offered what I had been clamoring for since Metal Gear Solid 2. Solid Snake versus Liquid Ocelot in a final showdown. They did this beautifully as you fought on top of Outer Haven with the sun setting and the themes from all four major Metal Gear Solid titles playing. It was really a nice way to close Snake's story out…as much as I hate to say this phrase because it is over-used and has become a bit…plodding to say it, the final fight was sublimely epic. It immediately goes on my top-10 of all time…and is something I'll remember fondly for years to come.
In the end, Metal Gear Solid 3 remains my favorite game in the franchise. As much as I enjoyed the story in 4, and even if it did make me tear up before the twist ending (Otacon and Sunny's exchange was surreal. I should also mention that I love Sunny. I went into the game thinking I would loather her and she came out as one of my top-3 favorites from the game)…the story in 3 was superior. I was so emotionally invested by the end, especially with how the fight with The Boss was handled…that it was an experience I immediately wanted to repeat even after I beat it. On top of this, I felt the Cobra Unit was just an inch better than the B&Bs. The B&Bs had tragic stories surrounding them, but the Cobra unit was just simply cool. Not much else to say about that.
Without a doubt though, the wait was worth it. I'm glad I didn't watch many trailers of it before release because EVERYTHING was surprising to me. I avoided spoilers and it paid off…an incredible game and worthy of an addition to any library. Hell, if you own a 360 buy it anyways. You can jam it into your system and pretend you're playing it. It should be a fun time. If I had to place a score on it…9.5/10 from me.
Also, I realize most of you have played the game before…but I just wanted to get the thoughts on the title off my chest.
B3yond the Mail
This is the spot where I would put your feedback…but I didn't write this column last week so it looks like you miss out on it! D'ahh…poor you huh? Well luckily next week I'll be writing it again, so if you have anything you want to say it'll be replied to most likely. Unless it's, you know, stupid.
I do like to read the stupid ones though. It makes me feel slightly better about myself. Only slightly.
- "IT TOOK YOU THIS LONG TO PLAY MGS 4!? WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU!?"
The 411mania Empire~!
The Full Circle Report By Joe Roche also discusses Tales of Vesperia's success. Last week he said he didn't much care about the game, and as you know from this week…I am right there with him. He also brings us news on a new Batman game. Make sure to congratulate him on his marriage as well. He's a good guy…it's a shame he is now my bitter rival.
The Nintendophiles written by Theo Fraser discusses a number of Nintendo issues this week, including the possibility of a Bioware Intelligent Property being released on the Nintendo DS. He also mentions how in a survey Capcom has for RE 5 that a wii version option is clickable. Hey, I'm on that bandwagon as well. I can't wait for Dead Rising Wii. Oh shit, this is a Sony Report right? Uh…Nintendo sucks man. Totally.
The PC-Centric Extravaganza written by Chris Evans. You got to love him for putting TF 2 so high on his PC games list. That game was phenomenal! It goes to show you why the Orange Box was the single best deal of last year…and possibly the "game" of this current generation up ‘til now.
Vincent Chiucchi writes the Select and Start News Report. His apathy towards Megaman 9 grows…and he is right, the ‘fans' will all still probably prefer Megaman 2, but dammit I cannot wait for this game. I don't know if I've mentioned it, but nostalgia kills me.
Tommy Coloma writes the Negative Edge News report and this week has the NEW biggest gaming story of the year. MORRIGAN IS NOT USING HER OLD SPRITE ANYMORE! Oh man, this is huge! He also mentions the PS3 piracy thing I mentioned above.
I, Derek Robbins write the 10th hour! This week I discuss my top gaming protagonists. I am still fuming mildly at the suggestions for Master Chief. No thanks. I think I'd sooner put Boogerman on that list than Chief.
Drew Robbins writes Coming Attractions. He basically previews Too Human this week. He also gives Mario Tennis on the Gamecube only a three-stars. YOU'RE WRONG DREW. Your opinion is wrong. Get a new one.
Mike and AJ Minotti orate the Exploding Barrel Podcast and this week they talk about a number of things, including an elongated segment on braid. Also, next week will be their 50th podcast. I hope it's the musical one, guys!
Just kidding, awesome job Derek. I'm intrigued as to why you're on Monday's instead of Tuesday's now, but more power to ya dude. Awesome job, hope you can keep up with two awesome columns.
Posted By: Mark Salmela (Guest) on August 18, 2008 at 12:21 AM
Moreso than Lizard man for Blanka, not using Cervantes for Bison/Vega/Dictator is just plain retarded. Has the creator not looked at Cervantes's moveset? he has the same slidekick as Bison, the Psycho Crusher, the teleport, and even a move which looks exactly like the Knee Press nightmare. Cervantes is the only acceptable moveset for him.
Posted By: Duncan (Guest) on August 18, 2008 at 12:41 AM
how about the one man coffee machine
Posted By: George Costanza (Guest) on August 18, 2008 at 12:51 AM
B3yond The Water Cooler
Posted By: ApolloKaytor (Guest) on August 18, 2008 at 01:41 AM
The ability to rip Blu-ray Disc PS3 games is old really old news. You can rip the game to a DV9 disc. Once you load it up the game will appear as if is real but you click to play it an error will come up.
Posted By: Ivan_PSP (Guest) on August 18, 2008 at 01:45 AM
I concur, Cervantes Bison is where it would have been at.
Posted By: Derek Robbins (Guest) on August 18, 2008 at 01:55 AM
That just might be the best Star Wars game ever...and Ive played both kotr!!
Posted By: SYC (Guest) on August 18, 2008 at 01:56 AM
shit on rpg's all you want, but if i'm not mistaken a hell of a lot of gamers jumped from Nintendo to Sony when Final Fantasy VII did the same. Microsoft learned from their past-gen mistake and are embracing the rpg, and at the same time many eastern and western gamers are too embracing the 360.
Posted By: Guest#6860 (Guest) on August 18, 2008 at 02:03 AM
More Japanese gamers buying the 360? Good, now more of them will know what an unreliable pos that junk is and saying "This 360 is a junk.""Why it no work anymore?! Why no working! Why I buy!! Why i buy!! It junk! It junk!"
Posted By: Ocelot 422 (Guest) on August 18, 2008 at 02:29 AM
"I still cannot wait for Final Fantasy XIII...I really hope the 360's development of the game doesn't hinder Sony's release but I have a feeling it will, and that's a real shame because all it does is hurt us! The loyal Sony fan!"
There making the PS3 version first so it won't have any affect. It's being made on a PC anyway so it really doesn't matter.
Good luck taking over this column. Try not to spend lal your time complaining about the 360 like hte last guy. You can be positive about one without being negative about the other.
Posted By: Lance S (Guest) on August 18, 2008 at 11:49 PM
" Try not to spend lal your time complaining about the 360 like hte last guy. "
Yeah you hear that Dan? Don't spend "lal your time making fun about the 360 like hte last guy".
Oh well you can't please everyone all of the time. I just made sure to please myself all of the time.
Posted By: Mark Salmela (Guest) on August 18, 2008 at 11:55 PM
Guest, I suppose you didn't see my defense of Star Ocean?
Also, this article was so nice they posted it twice!
Posted By: Derek Robbins (Guest) on August 19, 2008 at 12:52 AM
I hope Salmonella dies in a fire.
Posted By: Simpleton (Guest) on August 19, 2008 at 06:44 AM
I made a really sweet looking Charlie on SCIV. I gave him Maxi's style because Charlie's too bad ass to use a sword.
Posted By: SeanAltly (Registered) on August 19, 2008 at 06:48 AM
I should fill in for you next week so I can use the one-man water cooler to complain about Ratchet. Decent game, but I had a lot of complaints. It will be fun trying to shove that into my tangents on this week's Coming Attractions (every Sunday on 411!)
Tales of Vesperia is ridiculously generic, and you know how the Japanese like games with generic, one dimensional anime characters. Naruto is probably like Halo over there...
Posted By: Drew Robbins (Registered) on August 19, 2008 at 07:57 AM
How about changing the One-Man Water Cooler completely? Maybe something along the lines of "Batman and Robbins think..." Awesome, no?
You can tell I was hired because of my dashing good looks, not my creative talent.
Posted By: Theo Fraser (Registered) on August 19, 2008 at 09:18 AM
Did someone actually say the last guy did nothing but tear into the 360? Thats funny, considering one of the reasons I read this column is because Mark was always able to be unbiased for the most part.
Posted By: Toddo (Guest) on August 19, 2008 at 11:09 AM
Excellent first article. There is room for improvement, but it is nice to see you hit the ground running.
Posted By: lateralus81 (Registered) on August 19, 2008 at 11:26 AM
"Well over the course of this year, the PS3 has outsold the 360 in the states"
comments like this annoy me, of course the 360 cant stay at the same pace as the past, so many people have one, there is a limit to the number of gamers in the states. Isn't almost every gamer gonna have one by now? the machine is 3 years old.
There isnt an endless supply of gamers who need a 360, those who want one already have one, PS3 is the new novelty due to finally having some decent games whiles its onlines features are still terrible.
Posted By: Guest#9437 (Guest) on August 19, 2008 at 01:09 PM
And it starts... Should we just concede there Lateralus that nobody will ever excel in the field of writing the way you do? I don't think I have ever seen a comment from you Dave (Lateralus), without an insult, or dig on someone or something. You always knows better, right? How great would it be if this guy would come down off his high horse, and join the rest of us on planet earth, where as near as I can tell, nobody is perfect. Seriously man, GET OVER YOURSELF!!!
Now, cue stock response, where Dave calls me out, more than likely accusing me of stating something I did not say. But as long as shit gets twisted, and Dave Lateralus gets to feel smarter, then all is right in the world. Tell me again why you no longer write for 411?
As for Derek and the column:
Great job, especially now that you will have to find content for two seperate columns now. Nice work, and I look forward to reading next week.
Dave... You stay classy!
Posted By: hater (Guest) on August 19, 2008 at 01:46 PM
Wait, so you liked Final Fantasy XII but didn't like Tales of Symphonia? Hell, I guess you're a fan of stupid gimmicky bullshit. I don't want to "program" my fighters in an RPG, for Christ's sake; that just takes an already weak and lumbering battle system, punts it in the cunt, and replaces it with a big heaping bowl of TEDIUM. I love just walking into a room and watching my guys do all the fighting with absolutely no input from me! Golly gee, that is the best!
Posted By: Vallejo (Guest) on August 19, 2008 at 02:21 PM
Hey Mr. Hater, usually you seem to have good reason for calling out Dave but what the heck did he say this time? He commented Derek on the article. Are you getting on to him for saying that there is room for improvement? Holy crap, that is probably the dumbest thing I've ever seen anybody get mad at Dave for. He wasn't saying anything bad about anyone, but you still have to call him out...for whatever reason. How is saying there is room for improvement a bad thing? There is ALWAYS room for improvement, in everything. If you said it was perfect, he would never change his writing and it might one day get stale. You clearly don't understand the world of writing.
Just admit it, you are clearly a troll.
Posted By: Drew Robbins (Registered) on August 19, 2008 at 03:09 PM
It all started once when Dave called me out and insulted me for something I never said. Since then I have made it my mission to let Dave know how it feels to be called out on everything you comment on no matter what. It has become somewhat trollish, now that you mention it Drew.
I will concede, this time I was probably out of line, but we all have bad days, right? I offer my apologies for "trolling" the column, and in the future I will wait for Dave to put his foot in his mouth before I put my foot in my mouth.
With that said Drew, I never once said there wasn't room for improvement, or that the article was perfect. As a matter of fact, I said that nobody is perfect. I was more stating that Dave (Lateralus) can never fully compliment anyone without getting in a dig or something to make himself seem superior to everyone else. My comment was in no way intended to say that the article was perfect. We all have room for improvement.
Posted By: Hater (Guest) on August 19, 2008 at 05:10 PM
Ok, I accept that.
Posted By: Drew Robbins (Registered) on August 19, 2008 at 05:19 PM
Right, because it took so much thought to jam on the A-button in tales of symphonia. THAT game was the epitome of gameplay, I'll tell ya' what.
Final Fantasy XII was practically damn Gunstar Heroes in the gameplay department in comparison. At least you had to think.
Posted By: Derek Robbins (Guest) on August 19, 2008 at 07:28 PM
No, you didn't. You set your fighters to attack, pausing periodically to order one to use a healing potion, and that was it.
Riveting.
You can cry button masher all you want when it comes to the Tales series. I won't argue that it isn't. The fact remains though that button mashing still beats the shit out of writing scripts for your fighters and watching them go through the same fucking motions time after time after time with no input from you.
Posted By: Vallejo (Guest) on August 19, 2008 at 07:46 PM
I actually can't argue your point about fighters there, Vallejo. They can be like that sometimes.
I do think FF XII required some strategy, especially for the bonus content...but you may be right. It might have been possible to just go through the motions through the title.
So, yeah, I am admitting that you have a good point.
Posted By: Derek Robbins (Guest) on August 19, 2008 at 08:12 PM
I also mis-read your comment...
You were talking about FF XII fighters.
Yeah, you might have a point there...input is important. I liked it, but I can understand how others might now.
Posted By: Derek Robbins (Guest) on August 19, 2008 at 08:15 PM
Derek: You said you don't care about the Tomb Raider series. Did you play Tomb Raider Legend? Because personally I wanted to scream (and truth be told I did) by the end of the original. I didn't go near the series again until Legend and it was a truly great game. To each his own though. I'm one of the few who hasn't gotten MGS4 and likely never will. For a million dollars I couldn't tell you the plot points or character stories of MGS1 or MGS2 both of which I played. And that's without even starting about the maddening controls in the series. I better stop before everyone reacts like I ate their first born.
Posted By: Shockmaster (Guest) on August 19, 2008 at 10:38 PM
"You can cry button masher all you want when it comes to the Tales series. I won't argue that it isn't. The fact remains though that button mashing still beats the shit out of writing scripts for your fighters and watching them go through the same fucking motions time after time after time with no input from you."
Contrary to popular belief, you can actually make the game completely turned based in FFXII. You can slow down the game after each event. If you really want to turn it into a turn based affair, you can do it.
Besides gameplay, the "Tales Of" series has the most generic storylines. It tells you that things are bad when Final Fantasy is considered epic in comparison. For real JRPG goodness, the Shin Megami Tensei series destroys the competition.
Posted By: lateralus81 (Registered) on August 20, 2008 at 01:19 AM
Dead Rising 2 would be by far the best thing Capcom could announce.
Posted By: Brock (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 06:31 PM
"Contrary to popular belief, you can actually make the game completely turned based in FFXII. You can slow down the game after each event. If you really want to turn it into a turn based affair, you can do it."
Oh, you mean pressing the circle button after every move and re-inputting the command you just gave? Yeah, that helps. I guess you also think that you can turn Tekken into a turn-based game by pausing after every move?
"Besides gameplay, the "Tales Of" series has the most generic storylines. It tells you that things are bad when Final Fantasy is considered epic in comparison. For real JRPG goodness, the Shin Megami Tensei series destroys the competition."
BZZT! As someone who's played all three, I think I can say quite comfortably that they're all pretty much shit. Hmm, no, I guess that's not fair. I liked Final Fantasy Seven and Eight, and that one with Cecil and the others was cool. Shin Megami Tensei may have an, ugh, 'epic' storyline but it's more than balanced out by the complete FAILURE of a battle system it has. First-person turn-based? Really? I didn't tolerate that shit from Phantasy Star, what the fuck makes you think I'll take it from you?
Unless you're talking about the latest Shin Megami Tensei, which was so outrageous and maudlin with it's premise that it was sort of like being strapped down and forced to listen to an insane man tell you, with a perfectly straight face, how the world is going to end in two weeks.
Posted By: Vallejo (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 11:56 PM
Vallejo, I think your comments are really well thought out...that's refreshing around here. Good job!
Posted By: Derek Robbins (Guest) on August 21, 2008 at 09:37 PM
Vallejo,
Well thought out counter point; however, you are missing one thing that is truly epic. You fail to realize that is your opinion. However, you talk about these "problems" in the Shin Megami Tensei games, but you ignore the fact that Tales is a nothing more than a button-mashing, walking cliche of a game. There are Saturday morning cartoons with better writing.
Derek/Drew,
Too bad your 360 died. You should have DLed Indigo Prophecy off XBL (you can also try to track down a used copy for the PC/PS2/XBox from Gamestop or other retailers). The game is fucking awesome. I shit you not.
It is really getting me stoked for Heavy Rain: The Origami Killer. I cannot really recommend this expression in interactive entertainment. You should really try Indigo Prophecy...it will give you an idea of the type of gameplay that will be in Heavy Rain.
Keep in mind, Indigo Prophecy is more "fantastic" with its story than Heavy Rain. Heavy Rain is going to be set in the real world and lacking super human powers. Go to youtube and watch the Demo from 2006 (that was made in 3-4 months into development). You can also see the new gameplay footage from GC 2008.
I shit you not, my jaw hit the floor...
Posted By: lateralus81 (Registered) on August 22, 2008 at 08:09 AM
- CAPCOM...WHERE THE DEMONS DWELL.
- "Oh my gawwwwwd, someone is interested in my generic game! Squee! I am sure I am not at all a generic heroine" 
- Should have been number 3 though.
- Wow...it just looks so cool.
- "IT TOOK YOU THIS LONG TO PLAY MGS 4!? WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU!?"
