Guest Review: FFXIII

Well hey everybody it’s me, Faado, again - this time on a slightly older game all the way back from 2010. I would review a newer game but hey I’m rather skint so I’ll review what I have access to. And so today I give to you one of the most beautiful games I have ever played:

Final Fantasy XIII 

Epic battles, amazing worlds, great stories and fantastic music, these are just some of the things that I personally associate with the name Final Fantasy and this instalment in the legendary series doesn’t disappoint… for the most part. This instalment takes us to Cocoon, a shell world floating above the planet of Gran Pulse, in which millions of people live out their day-to-day lives with everything from energy to food provided for them by crystal beings called fal’cie. An almost Utopian world. Of course the peace of the world hides the fact that everyone living in Cocoon is terrified of Gran Pulse and everything that comes from there, especially the pulse fal’cie and their chosen l’cie, humans gifted with magic and assigned a task of ‘focus’ to complete with the promise of eternal life in crystal or being turned into rampant monsters if they do not complete their ‘focus’ in time. The story follows a group of Cocoon citizens who have been unwillingly turned into Pulse l’cie in their quest to deny their given focus of destroying Cocoon and instead free the people from the tyrannical rule of the Fal’cie, a task which will force them from their life long home to the dreaded Gran Pulse and back again before they have the strength and resolve needed to perform the task laid before them. 

As far as game play is concerned the world is, unfortunately for many fans of the series, fairly linear with very little room for open exploration, well for the most part anyway. The world doesn’t properly open up till quite late in the game but you should defiantly take advantage when it does. Some players on the other hand might prefer the linear game play as this means there is less chance of missing anything important and fewer tedious side quests (not to say that there are no side quests but they come in later). The battle system is an updated version of the active time battle used in the previous couple of games, but instead of waiting for the gauge to fill for your turn instead you stack a list of actions and when the gauge fills the character unleashes the stacked actions in one go. This gives combat a more dynamic feel than the rather static feel that came from many of the older titles. The nature of this ATB system means that you only control one character in battle while the others are controlled by the computer, now while this does mean that you are able to focus properly on what your leader is doing, you do have to rely on the computer controlled characters to do their job correctly, which as a credit to the development team they do the vast majority of the time. 

The new class system in XIII is the Paradigm system, which is interchangeable mid battle and is done so without much interruption to the flow of the battle. This allows you to be able to tailor your battle team for what you need when you need it which means you never have a useless team member. The levelling system for the paradigm classes is called crystogenesis with crystogen points gained from battles being spent to upgrade each class, which as more classes are unlocked for the each character allow the player to choose which classes to specialise in for each character, though they do have three main classes that will upgrade easier than the others based on the characters personalities. After each battle crystogen is given to all characters rather than just the ones your active party. This means that everyone levels up equally and you don’t have to keep swapping your team around to keep everyone balanced which was a great relief as with a full party of six people not everyone gets used (one person in particular for me). With this you might also find that if you are struggling with a specific part (say a difficult boss) then you can rearrange your team and go straight into battle again rather than having to go back to level people up.  

As far as the story goes in terms of gameplay, it is… disappointingly short, with you being able to move from one disc to the next in an afternoons worth of game play. This fact, for me personally, makes the linear world and lack of side quests all the more disappointing because it is very difficult to get as much play time out of each disc as you would like. The actual story of the game is not a bad one, with a group of heroes thrown together much more by chance than by choice, their struggle to come to terms with the fate that has befallen them and their decision whether to follow the task given them by the Fal’cie, or to defy their puppet masters and carve out their own destiny in a world where they are feared and hated by all. The characters are all quite well designed with each character having enough depth to make them feel believable without them turning into some depressing emo who looks on the bleak side of everything. Instead each hero has their own reasons for fighting and their own hopes that keep them going through the darkness, from the loving dad who just wants to see his child to the soldier looking for the next target to give their life meaning. Due to the lack of a primary protagonist the game often moves between different characters experiences which means that everyone gets their moments to show why they fight rather than just being stuck on one person all the time while the others stories happen on the sidelines. 

Next up is going to be the graphics and oh… my… god! Now as I have already said the story for this game in rather short which might leave you thinking “hey the Xbox version of this is 3 discs so if the story’s short… whats all that space being taken up by? Ha ha ha, well let me tell you. All of that room, 3 DVD discs worth of space (well the majority of it anyway) is taken up by the graphical quality. It is certainly a credit to the data size of blu ray discs that this game is able to fit onto a single disc with the quality of the game. Due to the fact that the game was designed for the PS3 and the blu ray discs the game designers were able to use the Final Fantasy budget to make a game that is a benchmark as to what is possible for the modern era and the 3rd generation consoles. There are very few games in which the quality keeps you intrigued and even when they do quite often after a few hours play you stop really noticing. But two replays later and there are still moments when I simply stop and admire the sheer beauty, and not even just the cut scenes (which might I say are utterly amazing) but the normal in game graphics which make me fear for the for the future of live action cinematography.  

Now as far as the rating goes I’m going to give this game GGGGGGGg (7 ½/10). Over all it is a fairly good game with a good story, a good control scheme, a magnificent world and some of the best graphics I have ever seen. The only real problems in the game are the unsatisfactory length of the story, the linear nature of the majority of the game and Hope who is THE most useless character in history. And so if you’re a 3rd gen gamer and you want to see what is possible in terms of graphics and play quite a good game at the same time then this is the one for you. If on the other hand you’re your looking to play a good RPG then there are better choices out there than this particular title and it may leave you feeling a little disappointed. But no matter what it is your looking for, I would most defiantly recommend that people play this game at some point just for its sheer beauty.   

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

You may have seen it all over Twitter and plastered across the internet. It's no lie - Black Ops 2 is a reality and due for release November 13th 2012. We're buzzing over here and want to bring you a few recently discovered pieces of information. If I could do this as a live blog, I would. Instead, I'm planning on staying up until all the information is released and writing this as the news reaches me. Black Ops 2 is due to be announced tonight and we cannot wait to hear all the details for the next CoD game. MW3 was spectacular and we hope this one will live up to its expectations.

Set in 2025, there's a new problem facing humankind - a lack of rare earth elements. It's no longer about the energy crisis, this is far more important. Rare earth minerals power many of our everyday products, from phones to military equipment. In BO 2, China is refusing to trade anymore elements with the USA and the rest of the world, following an attack on the Chinese stock market. This starts a new cold war between China and the USA, with Russia attempting to provoke both side into full-out war - sneaky.

The game will start in the 1980's as a build up to the current situations. During the 1980's period you'll play as Alex Mason (you may remember him from the previous BO game). In this part of the game there is also the opportunity to ride horses during one of the missions (as suggested by the trailer (see below)) - which looks great. A lot of fans are excited about this particular feature. However, once you reach 2025 his son, David Mason, will take over and you'll be saving the world with him. Now, in 2025 military weaponry is pretty advanced and uses drones, autopilot planes and all that kind of futuristic-Terminator-stuff. When you first see these it'll be in Los Angeles as it is called for evacuation. Basically, the whole intro is filled with bombs, guns and a whole load of robot machinery. The robot machinery is seriously cool. Just take a look at C.L.A.W who looks a lot like a horse. But that's just the intro, what the game is actually like, no one yet knows, but if this fantastic introduction is anything to go by then it's going to be fantastic. For those of you who liked covert missions in BO, don't worry - there will be loads of those.

Here's the most exciting part - your decisions on the game WILL impact the story. The death and survival of your group in missions will have a massive effect on the story. You have the choice to go it alone or control an entire team of soldiers. This looks more than a little exciting. Think of how different this game will be now that you can choose how the story ends - will Menendez succeed or fail?

When it comes to multi-player there isn't much that we know except that it will be filled with zombies, burning buildings and a lot of shooting.

Check out the trailer here, it looks amazing.

November 13th is on its way and the excitement is rising. Are you looking forward to Black Ops 2?

"I'm Batman"

I finally got Arkham City for PS3. I'd been meaning to pick it up for some time, and this week I decided to just do it and stop procrastinating. I'm so glad I did.

I haven't finished the game yet, but I already know that this game is one of the best I have ever played. Being a bit of a comic book nut, I was expecting to enjoy Arkham City anyway, but my mind was blown by the sheer awesomeness of this game. From the second the start screen appeared and the music began to play, I prepared myself to enter a game unlike any other.

You are Bruce Wayne, a.k.a Batman. Set after the events of Arkham Asylum, you are opposed to Arkham City you hold a press conference to express your anger. However, during this press conference you are attacked and kidnapped by Hugo Strange's men from his group TYGER. You wake up in a dark room with a TV that is showing Dr. Strange listing the rules of Arkham city - you have to escape. I can tell you that after listening to Strange list the rules over 15 times it starts to drive you a little crazy yourself - I had some trouble escaping. After moving the L stick left and right for what seems like an eternity, you'll eventually fall over, alerting the guard outside. You're prompted to counter attack him, and do so before being captured again.

As you're led through the prison, the other guards and inmates will refer to you by your nickname 'rich boy' and throw other insults at you such as 'you're my bitch, Wayne'- you'll take the intimidation and the insults, 'cause you're Batman and nothing can get you down. Eventually, you're given the opportunity to beat up the guards that had been guiding you to a different part of the prison before climbing up the walls and escaping onto the roof of the prison, Dr. Strange yelling at you from below. After giving Alfred a quick call, he drops a package on top of a nearby building that contains your suit. Time to suit up and get to work. The thing is, the whole of Arkham city is crawling with criminals, it's an open-air prison and the inmates are allowed to roam free as long as they do not attempt to escape. It makes moving around ten times more difficult. The first thing you do when you escape the prison building is go in search of Catwoman - she might have information you need.

You find her in an old museum, tied up and dangling over what looks like a pool of acid. She has been captured by none other than Two-Face (who have never ceased to make me shiver when I see him)who is trying her in his own court for stealing. Catwoman, being her usual self, tries to flirt her way out of it. It's you who has to save her. After battling with Two-Face and his goons, Catwoman exchanges places with her captor and she's free. Sadly, it seems she doesn't know too much, and after the Joker attempts to assassinate her you decide that he's the one to track down and find. Leaving Catwoman, you encounter Harley Quinn next who runs off leaving you with her thugs. You dispose of them, but all the criminals think you're dead - good cover for you. It's then that you pick up the Joker's radio signal and start to follow is across Arkham City to the Sionis Steelworks. After entering the steelworks you start tracking down the Joker, knocking some thugs out on the way. Turns out that the Joker is dying, and the doctor they borrowed to try and cure him has failed in making him any better. As a result they plan to torture and no doubt kill her, so you go and save her - classic superhero stuff. You learn from the doctor that the Joker is dying from toxins on his blood caused by TITAN - an unstable steroid that turns men into monsters. The Joker has basically overdosed himself and there's no way to save him. With this useful information tucked away safely in your mind, you continue to track the Joker down.

That's as far as I've got, took a few hours, but I'm a leisurely gamer. I'll tell you all how I do in the rest of Arkham City as I play.

Let's take a look at how good gameplay, control and storyline are.

Gameplay:

It's a tactical game that involves being stealthy and secretive - something I'm not particularly good at. The Dark Knight has always been known for his ability to camouflage himself in darkness and his epic gadgets - a lot of which are in this game. Unfortunately, I don't have any of these gadgets, when I levelled up I chose more durable armour. should have gone with the gadgets. The only gadgets I currently have are my little throwing weapons, such as the Batrarang, and my grappling hook (which has come in handy numerous times).
There's a lot of useful technology - such as the radio and criminal tracker as well as the detective mode which is used to find evidence and potentially dangerous traps.

When it comes to battle it tends to be a 'beat-em-up' game that involves a lot of hand-to-hand combat. Traditionally, the Bat has never carried firearms and has always relied on his skill as a martial artist. The only problem is that he's pretty weak against guns and other firearms, resulting in a near instant death.

Robin and Catwoman are also playable characters - but you need to either buy and download them from the online store as DLC (e.g. PSN) or buy a copy of the game that includes them. I was supposed to buy the Robin version but ended up with Catwoman.

Controls:

It's all pretty easy to get the hang of. Fighting controls use the typical, Circle, Triangle, Square movements with X serving as the control for running. Combos include pressing two or more of the right hand control pad buttons, sometimes using the L and R buttons located on the back of the controller. All the necessary controls and combinations are quickly accessible which prevents you from stalling and losing HP as a result. The game will also prompt you to use certain controls during battle, so if you forget you've always got the game to lend you a hand.

Storyline:

I am guilty of having never played Arkham Asylum before. It's a game I really need to pick up at some point. Because if this, some say I may not be able to fully appreciate the storyline of Arkhamn City, but I think they're wrong. I was intrigued by the story from the first line spoken. I have found it gripping throughout and there hasn't been one moment so far that hasn't excited me. I am looking forward to my next Batman Arkham City session.

That's what I think of the game so far. For those of you who may have already played, what did you think of the game? Was it better than Arkham Asylum or were you disappointed?

Valhalla