I always told myself I wasn’t going to turn into an old man who sat on the porch and tilted his rocking chair back and forth, popping his dentures in and out of place while discussing the finer points of … Continue reading Diablo III: A Lesson in Ownership
Lost Odyssey was one of those games that kinda flew under the radar. Even though it was released at a time when the 360 and PS3 were still relatively new and lacking in the RPG department, I’m not sure it got the attention it deserved.
LO was a solid, if unspectacular, game. It featured an engaging turn-based battle system with timed attacks to help keep the player engaged. The skill learning techniques were fun, but it also limited your party — when your immortal members could learn so many skills and your mortal folks were stuck with just two or three from equipment, it wasn’t a tough choice picking who to bring along. The story was decent, but where the game really excelled was in its side storytelling: a series of vignettes called “A Thousand Years of Dreams” that chronicled Kaim’s heartbreaking immortal existence.
Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi was the driving force behind Lost Odyssey, and in putting together the soundtrack for the game, he brought along a familiar face: Nobuo Uematsu. Uematsu, of course, was the mastermind behind every Final Fantasy OST through X, 
and he’s contributed a handful of other tracks to the series since then. More importantly, Uematsu is one of the best composers in video game history, and arguably the most recognizable.
Uematsu’s music in LO represented something of a change of pace. Limited by the technology of 8- and 16-bit video game systems, his earlier productions were much more based on melodies and ambiance, milking every last note he could out of bleeps and bloops. Fast forward 20 years, and Uematsu found himself with a full orchestra and advanced synthesizers to work with. The result is a strange hybrid of symphonic and progressive rock tracks with some piano and techno thrown in for good measure.
All of that added up to a 56-track, two-disc compilation featuring what might be Uematsu’s best work, even if it didn’t get the attention or accolades that many soundtracks from Final Fantasy did (and don’t worry, this feature will get to those eventually).
As usual with MtME, let’s take a look at five of my favorite tracks with commentary on each. Continue reading “Music to My Ears: Lost Odyssey”
That’s right, another post about Mass Effect 3. I promise it will be my last one. Probably.
Yesterday, it was announced that Bioware would be releasing their answer to the fan outcry due to Mass Effect 3’s much maligned ending. This answer is the form of an extended cut DLC package that will offer additional cinematic and epilogue scenes. Some fans will still be disappointed because, unless some miracle happens, the additional scenes will expand off of the controversial ending that came blindsided players out of nowhere and will surely ignore the “indoctrination theory” that most fans (including myself) were hoping for most. Continue reading “In Further Defense of the Ending of Mass Effect 3”
NOTE: This is a review of a game in progress. Chris and Co. have put in around 35 hours into the game, which means they’re probably at the halfway point or so. Still, if major media outlets can review the game without finishing it, then so can we!
I’ve made no secret of my love of the Tales series on this site in the past. So you might think that this review is going to be a five-star endeavor, full of glowing praise and endless superlatives about the quintessential RPG of our generation.
You would be wrong.
That’s not to say that it’s Graces’ fault. The game suffers from many of the same problems that other Tales games have: a sometimes too-wordy story, typical anime tropes, lackluster music. But like many other offerings in the series, the battle system comes through in a big way.
In fact, I’ll go a little further: Tales of Graces features the best battle system of any RPG ever made.
How’s that for an opening argument? Continue reading “Review: Tales of Graces f”
It’s almost a complete consensus: the ending to Mass Effect 3 was a disappointment. No resolution. No meaningful buildup. No closure. By all accounts, a failure on every front. However, after pondering a little more and thinking a little deeper, my question is: is it a bad ending? Or is it potentially the most epically epic ending ever?
Don’t get me wrong; as it stands, it’s a pretty subpar ending. It’s full of inexplicable plotholes. It ends a series built on dynamic choices by shoving three rigid choices down the players throat that have nothing to do with the thousands of preceeding choices to that point. It spends no more than seconds explaining what happens to the characters we have invested hours cultivating meaningful relationships with and getting to know.
So, yeah; by all qualifications, this ending is pretty mediocre, and I can agree with that. Fans aren’t even clamoring for a happier ending, necessarily, just one that doesn’t directly contradict the freedom and tone the entire series spent establishing. That’s like changing the ending of Harry Potter 7 to a black-and-white noir thematic style, where Harry removes his glasses in dramatic fashion and rips the head off Voldemort. Cool, maybe, but it defies everything the series stood for.
How can this ending be anything but a failure? Only if there are events going on that are a little deeper than how they first appeared.
Continue reading “In Defense of the Ending of Mass Effect 3 (Spoilers)”
**Well, I did it, folks: I beat Mass Effect 3 in time to get you all a review. I feel I should preface this by mentioning that a certain aspect of Mass Effect 3 deserves a more detailed discussion than can be done without spoiling that part of the game. So if you have yet to beat the game, then be sure to skip the section clearly marked with a spoiler warning.**
OK everyone, the time is finally upon us! Mass Effect 3 is here and marks the end of Bioware’s epic space trilogy. Earth has come under attack and it’s up to you, in the shoes of the one and only Commander Shepard, to rally the diverse factions of the galaxy together and save Earth (and the galaxy) from destruction. While I won’t reveal much about Mass Effect 3’s narative, I will say that those of you hoping for a galaxy spanning story where you meet up with old friends (and enemies!) in an attempt to unite them will not be disappointed. The Krogan and the Genophage? Yep, you’ll deal with that. The Quarian and the Geth? Yep, them too. Of course, that won’t come as a surprise to those of you who have played the previous Mass Effect games; and rest assured that your choices in the previous two games will come back to help (or haunt) you.
NOTE: David is out of town dealing with a family emergency, so Jason Hagerty (a guest on Episode 012 of the show) is filling in this week.
Let me start off by saying that I didn’t get around to playing the first Mass Effect until quite some time after it was released. I’d seen promos here and there, of course, but at the time I wasn’t a huge Xbox fan and nothing about the game’s advertisements really drew me in. A nondescript male space marine saves the galaxy from alien invaders — tell me if you’ve heard THAT one before. But eventually, after being told how good it was time and time again by people who HAD played it, I saddled up and bought the Game of the Year edition.
Thank God I did.
While I wouldn’t go so far as to say that playing Mass Effect was a “life changing” experience, I’d definitely say it’s one of the most defining games of my lifetime. Now don’t get me wrong, the game is by no means perfect; but the combination of RPG elements, third person shooter combat, and a thrilling story line about the first human Specter (think U.S. Marshal, but in space) drew me into a universe that I would gladly go back to over and over again.
If you haven’t played the games yet, consider this a piece on why you should. Only, I’m not going to focus on gameplay or graphics or any of that stuff…that’s what reviews are for. I’m going to focus on the strength of the setting itself, and why the Mass Effect Universe is one of the strongest Intellectual Properties of our time. Continue reading “The Mass Effect Universe, and why you should care”
My love-hate relationship with the “Tales of” video game series goes back almost a decade now. Don’t get me wrong — there’s a lot more love than hate. But sometimes those emotions are two sides of the same coin, after all.
I was introduced to the series through a ROM of the Super Nintendo’s Tales of Phantasia back in high school. At the time, I was impressed by the idea of a fighting-game-like battle system in an RPG — it seemed like a nice change of pace from turn-based, menu-heavy systems.
That game was decent, but I wasn’t really a huge fan until the summer of 2004, when Tales of Symphonia hit the GameCube and redefined my view of the series and RPGs forever. Continue reading “Tales of Disappointment”
The Kingdom Hearts series certainly likes to space out its main entries. We are now five years and counting since the release of Kingdom Hearts 2, with only the prequels and side stories to bridge the gap. It is a legitimate concern now that if the world does end in 2012, John Cusack and his family will never see the proper third chapter in this series.
In fact, the word in the hood (also known as rumors my little sister tracks down) is that Tetsuya Nomura and his posse haven’t even started work on Kingdom Hearts 3 yet. Still, we all know it’s going to happen eventually, and after playing Birth by Sleep (and lamenting how monotone Aqua and Terra’s voice actors are), I’ve chronicled some of the changes I would like to see. Continue reading “Shaun’s wish list for Kingdom Hearts 3”
Believe it or not, America, I am currently creating my own game. That’s right — after the prestige I gained from the At The Buzzer radio show, it was only natural that I would move into game development. My game is still in the early stages, and the production crew is made up of only me…and I don’t actually know how to program anything. But what I have so far is really promising.
In case you were wondering, it’s a role-playing game. To create my masterpiece, I have taken inspiration from countless RPGs and carefully studied their tried-and-true conventions. Without further ado, I present to you elements of “Tales of the Chronicles: The Final Myth of the Legendary Fable.” Continue reading “Shaun’s new RPG”
Gray Areas 