Final Fantasy XIII Japanese release date

December 17th confirmed

Yay! :3

PS: Dissidia is awesome.

Persona 3 heads for PSP

Famitsu got the scoop this week, i'm really surprised actually.

There is the new option to choose a female MC, as well as a selection of different difficulty levels.

The female route has brand new sequences and they've added some to the male route also.

We have manual control over all party members (like Persona 4) in this edition too.

Releases the first of November in Japan.

I just hope this doesn't mean they're skipping Persona 2 PSP! Because i really want both P2 games for PSP :3

The Last Remnant

Is in my cupboard.

Might give the game another go, played through to disc 2 last time before stopping (for no apparent reason) Though i still have to finish Devil Survivor D:

WHAT TO DO?!

FFXIV

Is looking good, isn't it? (OMG HE SQUISHED THEM) What impresses me the most is the draw distance and the use of colour in the landscape, especially with the flowers and shrubbery - this game will be an absolute feast to indulge in.

P.S - PS3Slim is all but confirmed. I probably won't buy one 'til they're super cheap, however they're very likely to launch at 299 which ain't too bad really :) In the shops within a month!

[REVIEW] I wonder what a Flower dreams of?

            

After my week long venture inside Tokyo with Devil Survivor i decided to give my DS a well needed rest and instead went for a change of pace (massive understatement) with thatgamecompany's stunning PSN release 'Flower'. The game is more than just a technical marvel, several paragraphs of me gushing about it wouldn't even do it justice. It's definitely something that needs to be experienced to appreciate it, afterall - it's just a petal in the wind at first glance. 

The game uses the Sixaxis (oh my someone remembered it exists :O ) and the use of one button in which you hold to control the strength of the wind, you simply tilt the pad to dictate where the the petals will soar. As graceful as this looks on screen, it is quite tricky to get to grips with this, but it will feel natural as you progress.

There are very vague objectives throughout, the camera will shift to a point of interest to urge you forward, but for the most part, you're simpy just collecting petals as you pass through the environment.

The soundtrack is fantastic and combined with the awe inspiring visuals it does give you a sense of empowerment that's very exhilarating and a rarity in gaming. The final stage (6 of 6) sees you painting a city as you soar forward, the colour bleeding in as the wind carries the petals in the sky.

I wish it were longer. One of the few instances where i'd welcome DLC, if they were to just offer me a couple more levels.

thatgamecompany wins an award for single-handedly making the PSN wonderful. 9/10

FFXIII - Idiot site spreads misinformation. Fanboys rejoice!

http://www.uffsite.net/news/232/ff13-graphics-changes-in-action.html   Has set the fanboy community alight today with an apparent 'downgrading' of SE's Final Fantasy XIII. It's been a touchy subject ever since MS or 'teh evil' got it on the 360, and so people take it upon themselves to criticize the game at any given moment.

Anyway, the site is reporting the 'newer' build looks worse than the original image. (Which itself is quite possibly a target render/PC render)

The 'newer' build is actually hella old, from way back at last years TGS

The same build which we've played ourselves in the demo they released back in April. Since then we've seen an actual new build at E3 (in which hands/shadows/textures are better, and our heroes have taken to jewellery)

(Top) 'Newer' build as reported by idiots.  (Bottom) Actual new build looking much better.

Whether the retail build ever hits the visuals of the original 'bullshot' image is left to be seen, but it's looking mighty fine as it is. Moral of the story = Ignore the ignorant.

Persona 4 fans

Read

:D

[REVIEW] Phantom Hourglass - Not that good.

It's a bit of an oldie, but as a mere heathen who is just catching up on the DS library, this is one i went to almost straight away. Zelda games always come with a collective gamer nerdgasm so it's sometimes more difficult to find an objective opinion about such a game, as someone who was never a big Zelda fan, i have such an opinion :D
Watching the official trailer would understandably get anyone wet with anticipation, and yes, the game is fun! There are lots of inventive uses of the DS itself throughout (blowing, screaming like a banshee, closing it etc) which i really appreciated (and would like to see more of)and the gameplay itself is simple but enjoyable (the hammer weapon in particular i enjoyed)The game also shines with it's lush visuals and design, the production is evidently top of the range with this one, the quirkyness really comes across in the cutscenes and animation.
However, with that comes a whole load of 'eh' - The story is trash and long enough to write on the back of a beer mat, the enemies both big and small are easy to kill and use predictable patterns in their attack - dungeons as a whole carry the 'get a new weapon use it to progress' formula that is so persistent throughout the Zelda franchise. While the design is colourful and pretty, there's also not a whole lot of variety, with only a couple of dungeons that really look different. The soundtrack was also pretty average, only the odd track or two doing anything for me.
I'm probably the only person who enjoyed the Temple of the Ocean king (a large dungeon which saw Link return to several times throughout, clasping his trusty hourglass and avoiding huge ass knights) because it presented one of the only challenges throughout the game.

Phantom Hourglass is ideal for portable play, it's friendly, pretty simple and is easy to digest. With that though, ultimately comes a pretty forgettable experience that doesn't stay with me after the initial pleasantries. Zelda fans would probably say 'Great DS game but average Zelda game' - as someone who hasn't played any other Zelda game (that's only half true) i say 'good DS game, nothing more' I sheepishly look forward to Spirit Tracks, or 'let's ride a train instead of a boat and do the same shit again' that releases on the DS in the future.

6/10 - Good for Zelda fans, OK for us normal people.

One save file per game? DIE

So i'm playing Atlus' DS Shin Megami Tensei side game 'Devil Survivor', frustrating game freezes aside - im having a bloody good time with it too. I'm on Day 6 (of 7) through playing a little every day since picking it up last week. WHY can i only have one save file? The multiple endings in the game alone mean it's worthy of future playthroughs, i shouldn't be restricted to one file alone.

I then pop in Square Enix's 'The World Ends With You' - another modern Shibuya tale of 7 days 'til all is lost (in an 'omg the world is ending' kinda way), and there's ONE save file once again -_- Is this a DS limitation or something? I've never experienced it before, and having family/friends who like to share the experience of playing games with me, i'm now forced to hide my games beneath furniture through fear of having my data overwritten. Not cool! 'The World Ends With You' also wins an award for insanely addictive soundtrack - after 10 minutes of playing i had the mindless JPOP tunes ringing in my head for hours, shame about 'Devil Survivor' though, that gets zero points for it's pretty bland OST. (What happened there Atlus? D:)

   < The offending games.                                    

Let the rambling commence!

I did have another blog originally, but Famitsu is pretty all over the place when it comes to news i give a shit about so i couldn't be bothered keeping on top of it.

Nonsensical posts about what i'm playing and general thoughts on stuff is more my style, and so this is what you're lookin' at now. Enjoy.