PSU got it's expansion recently. The new content does make the experience a tad more interesting. But it further made me realize how stupid the 'revised' gameplay in PSU really is. It works well for Ranger and Hunter classes. But the new combat system totally screws over Forces. And the Force class has always been my favorite class. I don't like the idea of me playing anything else just to be able to feel like I am progressing.

And now Forces are no longer in demand with the new hybrid c|asses they put into effect several months ago. So joining a party as a Force means little to any party. More so to a party is using a hybrid c|ass with Force abilities. And with Forces not being able to equip any sort of melee weapon or firearm that's worth a damn, they have nothing to fall back on. And Forces can no longer whack enemies with their staffs or wands. It's become almost worthless outside of being required to switch to certain hybrid jobs.

But I will say this much. The current community for PSU [X360] is overall well behaved and has much more noticably helpful players then you normally would find. But.. the core game is going to prevent me from ever enjoying the game. Oh why are you taking PSO: Blue Burst away from us, SEGA?

I am pleasently surprised with what Sonic Team cooked up. Journey of Dreams is an adventure-like adaption of the original NiGHTS into Dreams... which sported an arcade-like formula. While I don't think the overall product surpasses the original NiGHTS. It's still one of the better experiences this year for me.

First off, the on foot stuff is made a bigger deal then it really is. So far they have been short and extremely easy. But the view of the enviroment you get to explore on foot features tons of stuff you don't get to see while flying. The game sports an awesome sty|e and beautifully crafted enviroments that make these stages worth running through. While the gameplay for the on foot stuff is mediocre compared to flight, it works well enough without issues.

Sonic Team tried to break up the flying portion of the game to bring more variety to the game. The end results is kind of a mixed bag. But nothing bothersome or bad so far. It's just not as overall consistant as the original. You got your typical Chase Missions which has NiGHTS chasing after three birds for their keys. These stages are pretty short, but doesn't lend itself to be the huge link chaining addiction of the original game. There is also mini-game like stages that have NiGHTS trying to do things like Collect X amount of gems before time runs out. There is also Link Challenge missions [think that's the name] where it has you tearing through the sky to make as big of a Link chain as possible. Haven't paid much attention on the details of the mission. I think the mission ends if you break your links too many times. Not really sure.

The boss battles are a thing to behold. They are cleverly designed and sometimes feel like they require more skill than the boss battles in the original to get those ultra fast times. Then again, I been playing the original NiGHTS into Dreams... for 11 years now, so the boss battles in that are a blindfolded endeavor now. But thus far the bosses have been fun experiences.

Outside of the voice acting, which is tolerable, the sound in the game is fantastic. The soundtrack is really really good. Better than the original in some ways. Combined with the beautiful visuals, it's truly a great experience and something everyone should at least experience. I can't comment on level design yet since I am not similar with the layouts. But so far they feel solid and flow well.

I personally think the original NiGHTS into Dreams... is a better game. But Journey of Dreams is far from a bad game. It's quite a good game, I'd even say it's great. I can see where Sonic Team was going with the game. And they pulled off all of the important parts of the game with great care. They did fumble the execution a bit when they tried to flesh out the experince. But I think the additions would've been more meaningful if SEGA kept the game as a 2008 release and gave the team the extra time they could've used. As a hardcore NiGHTS fanatic, Journey of Dreams gets my approval.

Ragnarok Online has always been a game that refused to leave me the hell alone. Everytime I quit playing, there was always this nagging feeling there calling me back to the game. Just when I think I crushed all desire to play it ever again, the urge hits me like a ton of bricks. This time I started to talk with an old friend from RO again. Him and I both ended up returning. RO is an MMORPG that does so much right and is packed with tons of personality and charm that it's hard to resist. The game basicly hits every mark that I was looking for in an MMORPG. But it sadly eats away at my gaming time. Which makes me not want to play it, but it's something I enjoy playing.

Work on our house took a major upbeat swing this week. Due to some materials that were ordered awhile ago finally showing up. The guys working on the house jumped on them and the process is now moving much faster and smoother. They are doing a terrific job. And with our insurance company finally breaking down and being some what reasonable in replacing stuff, I am building a new computer finally. Tried to track down everything locally that I plan on throwing in it. But ended up not being able to find majority of them. Ordered everything online, so I should be up and running sometime next week. All this time without Pangya is awful. And surfing the web on the Wii is about as enjoyable as chewing on a handful of tacks.

Little over a month ago my house caught fire. The cause of it no fault of our own, but rather our Neighbor's. Entirely accidental. But thankfully, no one got hurt. Lori and I have been 'living out a suitcase' until a few days ago. We are slowly piecing things back together. This why no one saw me for the entire month of April.

As far as material items go, we lost quite a bit. Most is easily replacable. So not worried much about it. Only things we bothered to replace thus far is a Wii and a x360. Both were victims of heavy smoke damage. It's good to be gaming again to help keep my mind off things. Grabbed the Wii and an Elite last weekend. Actually typing this post on my Wii. Haven't bothered to replace my PC yet. Now that at least have this, I can check out GS again.

Since I picked up Ar Tonelico up last week. I haven't been able to put it down. It's hard to say why I find it so enjoyable. Breaking it down to technical terms, it's nothing great. But if technical crap mattered to me, I'd would be going back to Rogue Galaxy or Final Fantasy XII by now. It's a mildy different kind of Old School RPG-by-the-Numbers with a great cast.

One common complaint I heard about AT was it's difficulty. Yes, it's not difficult. But it's not stupid easy either. The game is balanced well enough that level grinding never has to come into play. Well so far for me anyway and I have over 20 hours invested in the game. I found FFXII to be easier than AT. Difference being that AT is a much easier game to manage. Battle in the end is mainly about causing huge amounts of damage as fast as possible. Drawing out a boss battle in AT by playing it safe can result in much pain. And with having control over your Reyvateil at just about any given point during battle makes things a tad more interesting.

Another complaint that really gets hammered home in reviews is the sexual innuendo in this game. Yes, there is a larger amount of it in AT then your typical RPG. But I fail to understand how having it as much as it does hurts the game unless it somehow makes you feel funny in your pants. Most of the innuendo is more or less innocent. Some of it plays into some of the conversations between the cast, which results is much welcomed humour. Thousand Arms pulled a similar stunt which I also enjoyed muchly. The innuendo does add character to the game, which I see only helping the game out in the long run.

AT, I find, is a victim of getting judged for what it's not. Not for what it is. There is a 'Dive' system in the game that people seem to classify under 'Dating Sim'. When it doesn't even try to be a dating sim. With enough 'Dive Points', you can dive into the minds of your Reyvateils [Artificial Humans with the power of song]. The purpose of it is for Lyner [The main character] to strengthen his relationship with the party's Reyvateil. Which brings in another great thing about AT. While the cast is great, it's not entirely deep. They have a sense and purpose and all. But the Reyvateil are well developed characters due to the Dive system. Since Lyner confronts each of their internal struggles and dark secrets, it adds layers to these girls not seen in many RPGs. And it's execution of how it's done is quite clever, IMO. It's possible that they might end up coming close to Squall in terms of character development and depth.

As far as the soundtrack is concerned... I find it fantastic. It reeks of old school in a good way. And a good chunk of it has a sound that gives the game it's own personality. Unsure of who did it, but they did the Atelier Iris games and I love their style a lot.

Ar Tonelico is a game that doesn't try and hide it's old school roots. It does enough to keep it from ever feeling dated as well. While other series and games force themselves to be different. Ar Tonelico stays tried & true and banks on charm that most RPGs lack. The game isn't for every RPG fan, but the game is a winner in my book.