B3yond the Report 02.24.09: B3yond Killzone

Posted by Derek Robbins on 02.24.2009

This week on B3yond the Report, we learn information that Killzone 3 is already in the works, Sony unveils their list of exclusives, and Derek gives his thoughts on the newly released Street Fighter IV. All of that, plus the weekly PSN update!

Hello and welcome to B3yond the Report! As always, this is your host with the most, Derek Robbins! Let's get this thing under way, shall we?

B3yond the Report



Killzone 2 news

The second Killzone title is just days away from coming out. It's one of the most hyped PS3 titles coming out this year and it's only February. Yikes! Well, who could blame ya' for getting hyped? Everybody who has played the game says it is fun and they promise a massive online multiplayer mode, so going wrong here would be hard to do. You probably aren't surprised to hear then that Killzone 3 is already under-way. That's right! The second one is about out and there's news of a third one! Shouldn't be too surprising. Killzone 2 has been done for a couple of months – the first review of it came out in January, it was taken down though due to breaking the embargo – so what is Guerilla Games going to do? Just sit there? I don't think so.

Power Unlimited, a Dutch gaming magazine, reported this bit of information. This is what the magazine had to say, translated into beautiful English:

There are still some Killzone games coming. The devs told the newspaper "de volkskrant" that they are already working on Killzone 3. It's not a big suprise, but it's nice to know.

We've also heard that Killzone: Liberation 2 is being worked on and will come out in 2010. Then there's the question what the third GG team is working on...

It's nice to know that Sony is sticking with their franchise that they once claimed would be a Halo killer. Obviously, the original Killzone didn't get the job done. A matter of fact, it was so mediocre that I was surprised it was getting a sequel. There's about no way that the second Killzone can be as mediocre and in this shooter crazed market, I really see no way that it fails. This is a good thing, no matter how you look at it.

I wonder if the second Killzone PSP title will have connect features with the third Killzone title? That would be kind of interesting if it did. I mean, Guerilla Games thinking that far into the future? Nice. Most likely though, it'll be a stand alone title. No way they can rush another Killzone out the gate so fast considering how long it took to get this one out.

There's also a bit more news regarding Killzone this week. This time, it's about the one that's actually coming out this year, Killzone 2. Remember when fans clamored for Co-op play in Killzone 2 and Sony basically said: "No chance"? Well, apparently that's no longer the case. BIG surprise, I know. The game's senior producer had to say this regarding the issue:

We're investigating [co-op] now for downloadable content. We're looking at what would be the nicest possible things for downloadable content. We've already started on maps... we're not allowed to talk about anything else unfortunately!

Look, maybe I'm just a skeptical guy, but are you seriously telling me that you just now thought of co-op play as DLC? Seriously? I don't buy this one single bit. If you're making a shooter you know DAMN well that co-op is one of the features that people want to play the most. Honestly, some people wouldn't play through the campaign mode if it wasn't for the co-op. It is my belief that co-op was planned as DLC the whole time. They figured it would be a guaranteed way to make ten or so extra dollars. You know what's sad? It's probably going to work. A good business move but damn, it does make me kind of angry.

Of course, I could be wrong and Guerilla Games could just be ignorant to the entire shooter player-base. It's nice that they're doing the map thing I guess, since everyone else does, but I do call serious bullshit on the co-op thing. Sorry guys, try harder. I know this will work and I am none too happy.



PS3's 2009 Exclusives

In a press release, SCEA has revealed their projected 2009 line-up of exclusive titles for the PS3. Obviously, Killzone 2 finds a spot on that list because, you know, it's due out in a few days. What about the other games though? This list isn't in order of when they come out, so don't get too pumped up when you see that GoW 3 is listed before the soon-to-be released MLB 09: The Show. Here it is though. Time to get our speculation caps on! Yippie! (List does not include DLC games)

• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
• inFamous
• MAG
• Heavy Rain
• God of War III
• MLB 09 The Show

You may be thinking: "That's it?" but you need to remember that system exclusives are just about dead. Cross-platform is where it's at these days. I guess it's cool that we know all of the PS3's exclusives this year when we still don't really know much about what Microsoft has planned, but that only goes so far. Let's break down these games, eh?

Uncharted 2 is the sequel to possibly one of the most under-appreciated games on the PS3. A lot of people seem to glaze over it when they list the PS3's great games and, really, that's a shame. The original Uncharted was the closest to a cinematic feel that a game has had and I only see the second one duplicating that principle. From what little I know about it, Uncharted 2 looks to be a pretty impressive title worthy of your hard-earned $60.

inFamous is a very interesting looking title. Sandbox-style games is a genre that is being a bit over-done these days, but I'm glad to see it be done in this way. The game looks to be similar to the 360 exclusive Crackdown. You control a super hero and complete various missions around the city. I hear it's also drawing comparisons to the MMO "City of Heroes". Well, as long as the missions in this game aren't as repetitive. I don't see how a Crackdown/City of Heroes mix could go wrong.

Massive Action Game, or MAG, was unveiled by Sony at E3 last year. This one has me kind of intrigued. It bills itself as a MMOFPS with battles using up to 256 different players in squads of eight. That could either be a total cluster fuck or very, very interesting. The way I'm thinking about it has thoughts of a first-person style WoW battleground which…isn't the worst thing ever. We'll probably learn more about this game in the near future, particularly if it's coming out this year, but keep your eyes open. Whoever thought that a 256-player shooter could be a ‘surprise' hit?

Heavy Rain has an interesting concept. You see, it is possible to finish the game and still kill all the heroes. Does this mean that there are a ton of branching plots that you can accomplish? Hundreds of possible endings? I don't know, but I like the possibility. It's supposed to have a dark, complex and mature plot…so I wonder? Sadly, not a whole lot is known about this game so stay tuned.

GoW III is a game that has wowed people through trailers and allegedly contains ideas that were too sophisticated for the second God of War. I mean, you know, it LOOKS very good…but I'm not the biggest fan of the series. I am kind of surprised that it's being billed as coming out this year. When I first saw trailers I assumed "2010", you know, to go along with the US release of FF XIII…but this year? Well, gosh, it's nice to know that Sony has got their big winter release already lined up.

Finally, MLB 09: The Show is a pretty competent baseball game and is EASILY the best console baseball title on the market. I mean, look, the 2K series has been an embarrassment for a couple of years now…so if you're looking for a serious console baseball game, I assure you that The Show is your best option. If you're an X-Box user (why are you reading this? Silly guy), I would recommend skipping the 2K game this year and just getting Baseball Mogul on the PC. It's a sim, but it's very sophisticated and at least it isn't bogged down by horrendous gameplay.

I have to wonder if this is really all of the games that are coming out this year. Will there be any more surprises unveiled? I honestly think that Team Ico's next game will be revealed sometime soon, as well as released this year. You can probably add that to the list. Outside of that though, I guess 2009 is kind of a mystery. Since we didn't have any new games revealed on this little list, we can only assume that we won't know the full holiday release schedule until after E3. Still though, what we have is pretty good.



Various Console News

We have some age and gender data on the three big consoles! These really aren't serious business issues, but they are at the very least interesting to know. According to Nielsen Media Research, the PS3 has the oldest user-base, with the highest usage from the 18-24 age group. Nielsen supposes that the reason for this is because:

Gamers
who owned one or both of these consoles in their youth may have 'graduated' to the PS3 in their assumed adulthood.

Not sure that I buy this idea. Given that I have been playing games almost all twenty-one years of my life, I still own a Wii. I don't think it's childish to have one, I just do. I think the PS3's user-base has more to do with another issue that's been discussed on B3yond the Report. You see, Sony advertises mostly to people in that age group. You don't see Sony ads aimed at young children, you don't see Sony ads aimed at a casual market. You just see Sony go for the 18-24 male. Them leading that category should really shock nobody.

The X-Box 360's main male user-base is between 12-17 years of age and their main female userbase is between 25-34. That's very weird that one age would be so young while the female 360 userbase is older than the standard PS3 male userbase. I'm not really sure what this communicates, but I do find it interesting none the less. The Wii attracts the same age-group of women but the user-base for males is a little different. There's *another* dip. Boys 6-11 are the Wii's primary source of play-time. Well, hum, I guess I'm not surprised. I really only play mine for Roms Super Smash Brothers Brawl and soon for Mad World.

Also, on average, the Wii is the least used console. I don't have any info on which is more used between the PS3 and 360 (so I can't incite a fanboy riot!), but that doesn't surprise me much either. But, apparently, the X-Box 360's male gamers play about twice as many days per month as their female gamers. That number is more equal on the Playstation 3 and Wii. Wait, there are girls on my PSN!? Why wasn't I informed of this?

This information probably isn't too surprising to the majority of you, but it is nice to know that some of our theories have been affirmed. I would love to see percentage break-downs on some of these numbers, but...that probably won't happen for a while. I hope you found that as interesting as I did. I'm a geek. Numbers stuff like that just makes me quite pleased.



Your Weekly PSN Update

Last week was pretty bad, so here's hoping for an improvement of sorts:

Downloadable Games
• Noby Noby Boy (US$ 4.99)
• Zuma (US$ 9.99)
Add-on Game Content

• LittleBigPlanet WipeOut Mini-Pack (US$ 2.99)
• High Velocity Bowling: Patches Pack Two (free)
• Street Fighter IV Brawler Costume Pack (US$ 3.99)
• Skate 2 Dyrdek's Fantasy Plaza Pack (US$ 4.99)
• Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Pack 9 (free)
• Mirror's Edge Pure Time Trials Map Pack (US$ 9.99)
• Burnout Paradise
o Time Savers Pack (US$ 4.99)
o Carson GT Nighthawk (US$ 1.99)
o Hunter Cavalry Bootlegger (US$ 1.99)
o Hunter Manhattan Spirit (US$ 1.99)
o Jansen 88 Special (US$ 3.99)
o Legendary Cars Collection (US$ 7.99)
• Rock Band
o "Wasted Again" - Turbonegro (US$ 1.99)
o "Black Sunshine" - White Zombies (US$ 1.99)
o "More Human Than Human" - White Zombies (US$ 1.99)
• Guitar Hero World Tour
o "Jet" by Wings (US$ 1.99)
o "Junior's Farm" by Wings (US$ 1.99)
o "Hi, Hi, Hi" by Wings (US$ 1.99)
o Wings Track Pack (US$ 5.49)
Game Demos (Free)

• Afro Samurai
• Zuma
PlayStation Store for PSP

Game Demos (Free)
• LocoRoco 2 demo (also available from the PS3 storefront)

Game Videos (Free)
• Resistance Connect Education Video (also available from PS3 storefront)
PSP Themes (Free)

• LocoRoco 2 (also available from PS3 storefront)
Noby Noby Boy is a very weird looking game from the creator of Katamari Damacy. As much as I love that franchise, Noby is just looking flat out bizarre. It has a low asking price which is nice, but I'm not really sure I could justify spending $5 on this. It doesn't really look like much of a game, but…an experience. If you REALLY loved Katamari and have faith in the guy who brought you the game, try it out. Otherwise…be careful.

If the Zuma that they're charging $9.99 for is the same one available on the computer for free – from Popcap games – you should just skip it. You know, because you can play it on the computer. For free. I guess if you absolutely need to play it on your TV you should go ahead and get it, but really? Save your money.

I assume the LBP DLC is just some WipeOut based costumes. If I'm wrong, I'm sorry, but that's the trend LBP has set so why should I think that's changed? I'm not a fan of paying for costumes, so I can't really endorse this.

It's cool to see that the High Velocity Bowling DLC joins the "free" ranks that Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm apparently had a choke hold on. I really couldn't see anyone forking out any more money to play High Velocity Bowling, so making it free is a good incentive to get people playing it again. The Ninja Storm packs really don't add very much to the game – usually just a new mission and a new assist character – but at the price tag of free, ya' really can't complain too much.

I'm sure if you're still playing Mirror's Edge, the map pack will be a nice little addition for you. Given that I haven't really played the game much since my initial time with it, I can't comment though. So, just go with it. Same with Skate 2. I'm just not in the skater mentality anymore, so I haven't given it much of a chance. The Street Fighter DLC, which I got for free with the collector's edition of SF IV, is pretty ho-hum. The only costume in that pack that I found myself liking was Abel's. He looks kind of like Jack Swagger with it, so how could I resist? Everything else, particularly Rufus, is not so hot. I know that isn't the case later on – I've seen some costumes I like a lot – but the Brawler pack kind of sucks. If you didn't get the collector's edition, don't bother with this pack. Not worth the money. Paying for costumes is stupid.

Burnout Paradise is offering a load of DLC this week. They have a map-pack available for sale and also a crap-load of cars. I mean, I would give them some crap for charging for new cars, but Burnout has been pretty great about DLC and also is about dirt cheap at this point in time. They deserve a bit of a break, so you know what? Them having this kind of DLC is A-Okay. See? I'm not always such a jackass.

The music games this week offer, yet again, a very mediocre selection. Whatever, you don't have to buy it, so why should you? The demos on the other hand are pretty nice. If you haven't played Zuma before, you know, for free, you can download the full demo to see if it's your bag. You can also try out the kind of fun Afro Samurai. I may think the anime is a bit of a silly show, but hey – if they can make a good game out of it, why shouldn't I be interested in playing it? Really, I don't care what license a game is carrying, if it's good – it's good. So, here's hoping it does indeed wind up good.

The PSP store still is suffering. They had that one week where they were on top of the world, but since then…it's been all down hill. The Loco Roco 2 pimp job is still going quite strong I must say. Here's hoping they start taking advantage of it soon, though I'm sure I shouldn't be holding my breath.

Another shitty week. They're still working on some good credit due to a few good weeks in a row, so I guess I'll just pout silently.



B3yond the Tabloids

If you're into Leisure Suit Larry, which would be a decision that I must question greatly, the game was recently picked up by Code Masters. If you remember, Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust was recently dropped by Activision when they merged with Blizzard. You get to play as Larry Laffer's nephew Larry Lovage. He gets to seduce women voiced by the likes of Shannon Elizabeth and Carmen Electra.

Remember that creepy American McGee's Alice? I mean, apparently nothing is more creepy than a fucked up Wonderland. Well, EA is apparently re-visiting the idea and you can expect a brand new Alice this year on the PS3, 360 or PC. There's no word on whether it's a port or a sequel or what, but be wary!

EA says that the recession is a bad thing, but with every cloud you get that silver lining. They say that with the recession, a lot of the "riff raff" who make games will be knocked out of business. EA says it's hard to compete with such developers and that in the end, the recession will be good for the industry. EA has cut more than 10% of its staff due to the present state of our economy, but it's nice to know that they're optimistic. If this was old EA I would insult them in some way, but current EA is kicking ass and taking names. So whatever.

So, remember how the PSP 2 is being rumored? Apparently SCEJ is looking for people to help them test a new game machine. Well hey, that's nice to know. I guess it's not that far off after all? I just hope it's, you know, better than the original PSP.

A bit of a pleasant surprise here, but the Prince of Persia DLC will also be receiving some trophy content. Given how resistant companies were to implement trophies, I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised that Ubisoft is lobbing some onto the PoP DLC. If you want the full list, well, here it is!

Bronze Trophies (7 + 1 hidden):
• All the Frescos - Reach all Ormazd's Frescos in the Epilogue
• A Fresco of Light - Reach one Ormazd's Fresco in the Epilogue
• What Once was There - First use of Energize in the Epilogue
• Bouncing From Here to There - Complete the puzzle with rebound in the Epilogue
• Leaving the Storm - Complete the Epilogue
• The Best Offense is Good Defense - Defeat any enemy of the Epilogue by only starting a combo with a Deflect and Counter-Attack
• Change Once, Then Die - In the Epilogue, defeat the Shapeshifter with only one shape change
Silver Trophies (3 + 2 hidden)
• Born Dead - Kill all the soldiers
of the Epilogue before they spawn
• I Only Need a Hand or Twenty - Elika saves you fewer than 20 times in the whole Epilogue
• No Time to Waste - Complete the Epilogue in less than 2 hours
I hope that more DLC takes this sort of route. It's pretty cool of them.

Capcom is waiting to see if fans want Dee Jay or T. Hawk in SF IV. Well, I have to tell ya', pretty much everyone DOES want them in and honestly, I bet they were originally part of the package. Capcom is pretty notorious for piling on the DLC, so that wouldn't surprise me in the least. Still, I really do hope that those two find their way in the game somehow. The more fighters the merrier! Plus, now that I can use charge-characters with some effectiveness…maybe I can use them now? Maybe.

A new Metal Gear Solid 4 expansion, SCENE, is due to hit pretty soon. The game promises to add the following:
• 3 New Maps
o Outer Outlet - An Industrial Wasteland, made up of buildings and underground/above ground areas. Suitable for medium to long range attacks.
o Hazard House - An enormous three story mansion. Suitable for close to medium range combat.
o Ravaged Riverfront - Clock Tower, made up of underground, above ground, and under water areas. Suitable for medium to long range combat.
• 2 new special characters
o Raiden and Vamp - two highly anticipated characters with extraordinary physical abilities and overwhelming offensive power.

If you really want to get this expansion, I would recommend pre-ordering it. You get access to it a week before everyone else does. That should be fun. Personally, I haven't played as much of Metal Gear Online as I would like. It was a fun game, but…that whole Konami ID system is stupid. Why not just use PSN like a normal online service? Oh well. It WAS fun at least.
Well, apparently some details of PS3 Firmware 2.7 were leaked out. This is just a rumor for now, but if all of these pan out, well…that'll be just awesome:

Friends List:
• Voice Messaging is now available as an alternative to text after selecting a user on the friends list. Voice message recordings are capped at 30 seconds.
• Home Integration: Saved Playstation Home avatar photos can be selected as photo ID for Gamer Card/Friends List.
• Trophy number and Gamer Level are listed under Friend names for quick reference.
Gamer Card & Trophies:
• Gamer Card layout has been changed to more closely resemble the Playstation Store aesthetic.
• Past Trophy information can be viewed in detail by selecting "Recent Trophy History" option.
• Newly aquired trophies auto-sync in the background
• Server infrastructure for Trophies has been optimized. Resulting in faster retrieval time for Gamer Card and Trophy information.
In-Game XMB:
• Loading time for In-Game XMB has been drastically reduced, resulting in a more seemless in-game experience.
• "Theme settings" options while in-game is now available, allowing custom themes to be applied to the In-Game XMB.
• Internet Browser can now be accessed while in-game.
• Voice messaging and voice chat options can be used while in-game.
• Options that cannot be used in the XMB during game sessions are grayed out (but still selectable) to eliminate user accessibility confusion.
Misc:
• Other slight UI tweaks and enhancements.

Some of this seems pretty interesting to me. Voice messaging is long over-due. I'll comment more on it later if it's ever made official. This will be a pretty great freaking firmware if it is true though.



B3yond the Cinema



An inFamous trailer. Hey, how convenient!



This is Noby Noby boy, I told you it was freaking weird looking.



Here's part of the viral campaign for Resident Evil 5 featuring my beloved Claire Redfield. Why couldn't she team with Chris?



See the lead programmer of GoW 3 get interviewed. Even I am a little excited for this game. How peculiar!



This is the opening cinema for Killzone 2. Now you can just skip it and get right to the game! Yippee!

The One Man Water cooler



I'm pretty sure the topic of this week's water cooler is of little mystery to you guys. I have been waiting a long time to talk about this game and finally, finally I get a chance! Last Tuesday, I finally got to pick up my copy of the Street Fighter IV collector's edition and let me just tell you, it was pretty much what I expected. I play it all the time and honestly, I could see it being placed in my top-5 games of the year already. I know it's early, but damn do I love this game.

Let's get down to the details though. First, some people might complain that it's a bit similar to Street Fighter II. Yeah, it kind of is. It was the most popular one in the series so, in order to replicate that success, they decided to make it play like that one. Sure, I preferred SF III in most every way, but it's hard to complain. It doesn't just play like SF II though, there are a few tweaks made here and there to make it a deeper experience. The revenge system and the impact moves are both very welcome additions.

You see, with the revenge meter, you're never totally out of a battle. Used to, in order to pull off super special moves you needed to beat on a person a particular amount. The problem is, sometimes you're just fighting a person that's damn good. It's HARD to build up that meter. Now, if someone has you cornered hopelessly, you can use your revenge meter and get them to back the heck up! Some people may not like it because it can make ridiculous comebacks easier, but…I don't know, I think it makes things pretty interesting. The implementation of that alone makes it the most accessible fighter in years.

Honestly, that's what they were going for with this game. Does it take as much skill to play as Street Fighter III? No. I don't think so. That game wasn't really friendly to new comers to the fighting genre though. This game sort of offers a revolution. It's deep enough where hardcore players can find advanced ways to play, but it's also simplistic enough that it's easy to learn. I'm not the greatest fighter out there, Coloma can attest to that after our opening day fights, but I honestly feel that a week later, I am significantly better at SF IV than I was when I started. I win most every ranked online fight I'm in an I'm seeing patterns in the way people attack. Maybe I finally awakened in the arts of Street Fighter, but for the first time…I'm improving and I think that's a good thing!

If I had to compare it to another fighting game, I'd honestly say that it shares a bit with Capcom vs. SNK 2. It obviously lacks its team features, but something about it just feels so similar. I know that the last fighter I was totally exceptional at was CvSNK 2 and given how things have been going in SF IV for me lately, I guess maybe, just maybe, this could be the next one?

I've been speaking of online fighting a lot so let's touch on that for a second. I like that you can search for specific games with people and not just be match-made. This way, you don't have to fight anybody with a putrid connection. I've played several online matches now and I'm pleased to report that I have not seen a single instance of lag. No, not a single one. I honestly could be playing right next to the person. Even SF II Turbo HD Remix featured SOME lag. This is just a totally ideal experience. We've come a long way since the first time Street Fighter went on-line.

That's not to say that the package is totally perfect. There are some things that are missing. First, in several fighters, they offer deep single player options. Look at the Soul Calibur franchise and the Virtua Fighter franchise. There were times when I could play the single player mode for HOURS in those games. They offered some very unique ways to play. SF IV offers some very basic things such as a survival mode a time trial mode and a general trial mode designed to test out your skills. Sure, playing these modes allows you to unlock stuff and can be pretty fun, but when compared to the other fighting games of today, the single player is just lacking.

That's not to say I don't enjoy it though. Fighting against the computer is decent practice. The arcade mode can be pretty cheap and can get you used to some of the cheaper tactics out there. I was kind of bummed when I saw that everybody has the same final boss, just like they do in most every Street Fighter. I would much prefer the rival battle be the final encounter, but what'cha gonna do. The bigger problem is that Seth is a pretty generic final boss that just knows everybody's moves. This is a HUGE, HUGE step-down from Gill and Bison. He will not be fondly remembered in SF lore I don't believe.

That's also a huge problem with the Street Fighter new comers. I found a lot of them to be pretty ho-hum. I love Crimson Viper and Abel but I really, really could care less for El Fuerte and Rufus. Fuerte is a character we've seen a billion times in a billion different games with a horribly annoying voice. Rufus is, well, he's just a bother to look at. I like playing as him, oddly enough, but dear lord do I hate seeing him. Gouken is also pretty meh. He's not exactly new, but he's not someone I see myself playing as a lot. It's sad that I only like 2-of-the-6 new characters. I loved most of 3's crew but, bah, oh well.

A thing that many people seem to be bashing is the music contained in Street Fighter IV. I've heard a lot of complaints, but let me be honest, there were a lot of tracks that I absolutely loved. You hear a lot of people bitching about the English opening theme, but I honestly love it. It's a song I could see hearing on the radio if it wasn't already localized in a video game. I mean, no, it's not going to stand-out as one of the best songs in gaming history but I assure you it's not as bad as some say. Really, it's not as good of a soundtrack as SF II, but it's still pretty damn good. I approve greatly.

Street Fighter IV wound up being worth the wait and is a game that I see myself playing for, probably years to come. I want to get better, I want to continue facing people online. I just love the game and I think, without a doubt, it will be the best fighter released in the year 2009. Some people may have their hearts set on Tekken, but for me? For me, there will only be Street Fighter.

Thank you, Capcom.



B3yond the Mailbag!



Mark Salmela leads off this week. Lucky dude.

Man do I ever feel dirty giving Derek Robbins props and letting him gloat to Sega like this.

And god damn, Flower is another amazing game that needs to be experienced. Between Fear 2, Flower, Valkyria Chronicles, and soon to be Street Fighter 4 and Killzone 2 I am in gamer heaven this month! "Mark's wallet needs money badly!" Keep up the good work on 411's best *Sony* gaming column Mr Robbins.

Why thank you for the props, Mark. Flower is a game that I'm very interested in trying. I probably would have picked it up by now but honestly, I have no money. I also have no time to play it. I recently got a Dreamcast and when I'm not playing SF IV, I'm tooling around on some old Dreamcast favorites. It's a sad life, but I have been having a lot of fun gaming with it. You've got your work cut out too. VC is one of my favorite games in recent memory and glad to see it finally get props from a wide number of people.

How is Fear 2? It's one of those that I didn't want to skip, but wound up being forced to given that I just have no money available for anything else.

Dude does the pimp job on Flower for me:

Alright, so you didn't decide to drop the $10 on Flower. I can see why you wouldn't immediately pick that title up. But let me give you a few reasons to give it a second look.

First of all, this game is the game that uses the sixaxis the way it needs to be used. It plays with finesse. That controls aren't awkward and I rarely found myself in a position where I had to make some silly motion (or waggle the controller) to get myself out of there.

Secondly, Flower is a beautiful game. You would be hard pressed to find a game that looks better. The grass looks amazing, the lighting is perfect. The colors used are bright and vibrant, in most of the stages. But when the game takes a turn down a dark path, it really does. The blacks and reds show the desolate areas and make you want to fix them.

The sound is awesome too. The music is simple and blissful, most of the time. But the 4th stage really shows a panic, with really quick music and the first time I was struck by lightning, I jumped, which is a rare occurrence for me.

This game is about the journey. And most of it is very calm and relaxing, which is what the game is meant to be. It rewards you for taking a 10 minute break in between the stages, or looking at the colors for 3 minutes after you beat a stage. This isn't a game that is meant to push you to your limits and stress you out. This is a game meant to let you chill and enjoy.

There are a few negative points, though. The game isn't long enough. Anyone should be able to finish this game in a few hours, and the type of game it is really doesn't push you to finish the game until the end.

It probably won't have a huge amount a replayability unless you are a trophy whore, and if that is the case, you can probably get most of the trophies in a couple of play throughs.

All in all, if you are looking for a good, stress relieving game that looks nice and is fun, pick up Flower. It will fill that need

The way you describe it has me very intrigued. I am very anti-six axis, but if this game actually uses it properly? Well, I'll be happy. The only time I've ever really not minded the six-axis would be the limited usage it saw in MGS 4. Sure, it could have been done without a six-axis, but it didn't make me want to punt someone in the head ala Randy Orton.

I know that it looks beautiful. I was surprised when I was looking at videos for the game because, really, the fact a downloadable game can be that beautiful is something else. I will say that the PS3 has pumped out some very nice artistic looking games and Flower appears to follow in that tradition.

I could really use a game that is relaxing so Flower could provide that break. I don't necessarily want to be going full force at all times, so Flower could be a nice little: "Here, have some fun no strings attached" game. I figure that it's worth the nine dollars, I just…don't have much money right now. Seriously, I'm about dead broke. I promise you, the moment I have some spare income I will purchase Flower and give it a whirl though. I do want to play it.

John Gale talks Final Fantasy with me. Ya' just know I love that:

Final Fantasy VIII is not a "black eye on the franchise." I don't remember being as pissed off about the plot twist you mentioned, but it's been a few years since I played it. It certainly isn't the best in the series, and I'd slot it behind VII and IX for the Playstation, but it was still a good game.

If you want a bad Final Fantasy game, I can direct you to Final Fantasy X-2, aka the worst sequel of all time. There's too many problems with it to elaborate. It's a full-scale disaster.

Even Final Fantasy XII was a major disappointment, as half the cast (Vaan, Penelo and Fran) were irritating, and the game was just too damn long. I spent 130 hours on it, and I finally just said, "Screw it" and beat the game without doing a couple of the sidequests that would have added maybe another 50 hours or more to the game.

I don't mind if a game is long if there's enough story to justify it. But Final Fantasy XII only had enough story for 40-50 hours, and the rest was filler that included a ton of hunts that added nothing to the plot.

It was a good game, I liked Final Fantasy VIII, but when I look at the progress that the series has made over the years, I look at FF VIII as more of a step side-ways than a step forward. It had some interesting battle mechanics and a card game that I loved, but the story was very, very questionable and it seemed to thrive on you summoning ridiculously long Guardian Forces over and over again. It was not by any means a bad game, but it just wasn't anything special.

I like X-2, honestly. It ruined the ending for FF X in my opinion, but I had fun throughout it. It was a goofy little game that I didn't take seriously so I enjoyed it. Plus, the battle system was fun and light hearted with a lot of different stuff to discover. Was it as good as X? Absolutely not. I still think it's a lot of fun and I'm proud to own it.

I loved FF XII personally. It was a different beast than most of the other Final Fantasies with a legitimately epic plot and lots of things to do. It was arguably, as you say, the longest Final Fantasy of all time. That's part of the draw in my opinion! In order to get the absolute most out of it, I had to put my entire self into it and I really liked that. While I agree that some of the characters were annoying, they weren't overly offensive or anything I don't think.

Your complaints against the game are fair enough but I loved it. Thank you for the comment.

As always, if you wish to leave a comment – good or bad – feel free to do so below or send me an e-mail at [e-mail]. I'd love to hear what you have to say about what I wrote. Whether it's good or bad, I feel it helps me improve at what I do and for that, I thank you.

The 411mania Empire

Joe Roche writes the Full Circle 360 News Report

Theo Fraser writes the Nintendophiles

Tommy Coloma, who owns my ass at Street Fighter 4, writes The Release List

Drew Robbins moderates Three Player Co-Op.

AJ and Mike Minotti voice the Exploding Barrel Podcast

Well, that's it for this week. I'm out.

'til the crossroads