I feel I need to drink excessively this weekend to help pass the time until Tuesday. I cannot wait for GTA V. I love reading all the trolls comments on how it's going to suck and how they're going to buy this or that game instead because it'll be better. I'm not saying this will be better than any other game, but these people know full well they're going to buy GTA V just like the rest of us. They'll love the hell out of it and hop right on Gamespot and troll about how awful it is, while championing whatever obscure game they're most looking forward to that's guaranteed going to be a GTA killer (a claim I've heard many time this past decade, yet GTA is still the king baby!). Rockstar has proven they're the best at open-world games time and again. WHile GTA IV was dissappointing, it was still among the best open-world games this generation. I think it's largely due to the way they incorporate the radio stations into the world to make everything mesh together and feel alive. Adding TV, internet and various activities only increase the illusion that the world you're in is alive and real, while not letting you get attached to the anonymous characters, so you don't feel bad about the terrible and fun things you do. The whole thing being drenched in satire of the real world rather helps with that as well. Man I am stoked for Tuesday!
@wizardboyus @roosteraxe1 @moonBlade35 There were a few games this gen that challenged. Not many though. Lost Odyssey and Resonance of Fate stand out as a challenging rpgs that don't hold your hand. There are a handfull of others, but they are few and far between. I remember wasting dozens of hours on PS2 era rpgs. Getting stumped on monsters, exploring every nooka nd cranny, not just for bonus treasure, but because I needed to find my way and buying strategy guides when I couldn't. Rpgs this gen all seem to follow the same idea. Go towards the marker on the map, watch a cut scene or two, fight a boss or two and go to the next marker. Even open-world rpgs like The Elder Scrolls have fallen into this hand-holding. God I must have put as much time into Morrowind as I have with Oblivion and Skyrim combined. I have kept my PS2 hooked up the entire time I've had a 360 and PS3. It hasn't just been sitting there collecting dust, I've been playing it along-side all the current games and it's still my favorite system.
@moonBlade35 I felt ni no kuni missed it's mark honestly. While the art style was absolutely beautiful and the story had a lot of deep potential, the majority of the game kind of glosses over that potential. While Oliver never actually forgets why he's on his adventure, he never seems truly driven by it. Like he's got ADD and gets easily distracted from saving his mother. Combat was pretty boring. Mr Drippy is the only truly engaging character and he gets a little tiring at times. The rest are just kind of stand-ins. It could just be that I was expecting too much from this game. Level-5 made some of my favorite rpgs on the PS2. Rogue Galaxy, Dragon Quest 8 and the Dark Cloud games were all amazing and had fun, memorable characters. I guess with them working with Studio Ghibli I was expecting something truly epic and just got a solid rpg with gorgeous visuals instead. While the Tales games are pretty much decent games at best gameplay-wise, they've always offered interesting and engaging characters that you remember long after the credits roll. I'd say the two games are about even all things considered.
@camp1301 That's absolutely correct. The difference here isn't whether Sony is any more or less greedy than MS, it's that Sony does product and market testing. They actually employ intelligent people to help them sell a product people actually want to buy. The bottom line is that they still only care about your money, but in order to keep you spending that money they'll sell you a product you want, not sell you one with features you hate and tell you to get over it cause it's better, then turn around and try to make you feel like you're missing out because you didn't want this crap
I wonder if this means you'll need a Nokia phone, that's always connected to your Xbox One, that's always connected to your Kinect so that MS can watch what you're up to everywhere you go. "sorry, your XB1 will self destruct if you don't take your phone with to the bathroom and check in with your XB1 every 15 minutes"
Honesly I didn't think the Xbox 1 was rushed. I just thought the majority of features were concieved by idiots with absolutely no clue on how to appeal to their consumer fanbase. I do feel however, that everything from this point forward is being rushed. They've lost a lot of potential customers and continue to do so with each b.s. statement they make. Of course, considering that the 360 was definitely rushed, I wouldn't be surprised to find out the XB1 is rushed after all. I just don't see any company being that stupid after the billion dollar debacle with extending and replacing 360s after the rrod situation. You would think that they'd take their time and at least get the hardware right this time around. Given all the othe idiotic moves they've been pulling this time though, I probably wouldn't be that shocked to find out there's a fatal flaw the equivilent of the rrod. If they would've just taken the route Sony is, where they're not trying to reinvent the wheel, just expand on what worked this time around and fix what didn't, they'd be in a lot better position. Instead they keep opening their mouths and spitting out word-vomit.
The 3ds gives me massive headaches, so being able to buy a cheaper model without that feature means I might finally buy myself one instead of using my kid's at work. Don't know what the big deal is. If you don't like it, buy the 3d model. Now everyone wins.
@shingui5 I'd have to agree. The Tales games have never really revolutionized the genre, it's always been a good, reliable series. I've liked every entry that's been brought to the states. Although Legendia is by far my least favorite. I've always enjoyed the great characters and the way they interact. While the stories have typically been cliche, the characters have more than made up for it. The stories are getting better with each entry however. Graces had a slightly deeper story than past entries and it sounds like Xillia has an ever deeper story.
I actually appreciate a game that truly embraces using a different story for the characters you can choose from. Too many games that offer a choice in playable characters fall into the trap of telling the exact same story once the party's assembled completely. I like the idea of actually having to play the game twice to get the entire story. Not enough games offer that level of replayability. I like a "New Game +" as much as the next guy, but to actually get a different story, or at least a different perspective on the second playthrough is pretty awesome. As for the shop upgrade system and the lack of dungeons...well those do seem like low points. I've been playing rpgs since the original Final Fantasy and I love me some dungeon crawling and new items in a new town with my adventure. Still, it often seems like the story in most rpgs is atrificially turned to incorporate most dungeons, so as long as the lack of dungeons makes sense to the story, I can certainly get over it. I've been looking forward to this game for a long time. Had to postpone it's purchase for a month due to lack of funds, but now that it's on it;s way in the mail I am definitely looking forward to it. It's nice to know about the low points in advance. Knowing what to expect on the negative side makes me that much more excited about all the great things I'm expecting from this game. Been a Tales fan since the first Tales of Destiny and I've enjoyed the hell out of every North American release since. Sounds like that tradition will continue.
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