Some gaming blithering
Sep. 8th, 2009 01:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bookzombieSo last week I finished the JRPG 'Tales of Vesperia' on the 360. It had got rather mixed reviews and I understand why. It has a very attractive cartoony design, without being cutesy in the way I didn't take to in 'Blue Dragon'. The characters are pretty much your standard JRPG fare but nicely voiced and charming in their way. The quest works pretty well, if again being a fairly standard 'who is destroying the world this week' sort of way. I didn't get anywhere near all of the Achievements but I don't really aim for them (and this is a game where you cannot sensibly get all of them without playing through the game more than once - which when it is 50 plus hours long I'm not likely to bother with).
So last week I finished the JRPG 'Tales of Vesperia' on the 360. It had got rather mixed reviews and I understand why. It has a very attractive cartoony design, without being cutesy in the way I didn't take to in 'Blue Dragon'. The characters are pretty much your standard JRPG fare but nicely voiced and charming in their way. The quest works pretty well, if again being a fairly standard 'who is destroying the world this week' sort of way. I didn't get anywhere near all of the Achievements but I don't really aim for them (and this is a game where you cannot sensibly get all of them without playing through the game more than once - which when it is 50 plus hours long I'm not likely to bother with).
But the real issue that seemed to split the reviews is the combat. It has a system not disimilar to the 'Gambit' system that 'Final Fantasy XII' used - you can direct (to a limited extent) how the characters behave in battles (hold back and heal, always go for the same target as you, always go for the weakest enemy, etc). You also have special magic attacks which can be upgraded by applying various skills. So this is potentially a very deep system (as some reviews have described it).
However, the problem is this: in 'Final Fantasy XII' if you don't get your head around the gambit system you are pretty much stuffed.
In 'Tales of Vesperia' you don't need' to use the depth. With the exception of one or two boss fights you can more or less get buy with just some button mashing. It seems like a wasted opportunity.
Since then I've been on a bit of a 'Lord of the Rings' binge. I've gone back to playing 'Lord of the Rings Online' for a bit and really enjoying myself. It does a very good job of drip-feeding you things to do in a way to keep you occupied. At the same time I've just started the RPG 'Lord of the Rings: The Third Age' on the PS2. This is a Final Fantasy-style romp based fairly firmly on the film versions. Frankly, where LOTRO is at times gob-smackingly beautiful, LotR: TTA is an ugly piece. There are lots of clips from the film in rather low-res, poor voice-acting and unexciting design. Still, it has a nice (again FF-style) combat system and is interesting enough to keep me going for the moment.
I'm a bit of a completer-finisher when it comes to games. I may not do all the optional content, but I do like to finish the game, especially if it is well-regarded. But I'm afraid 'Bioshock' is still only about one-third completed. I put it aside for something else and just can't seem to get back to it. It is beautifully designed and plays well but it doesn't quite seem to get past my resistance to First-Person shooters. I don't actively dislike it, and I can understand why it has garnered the praise it has, but I just find it easier to put down and play something else.
So last week I finished the JRPG 'Tales of Vesperia' on the 360. It had got rather mixed reviews and I understand why. It has a very attractive cartoony design, without being cutesy in the way I didn't take to in 'Blue Dragon'. The characters are pretty much your standard JRPG fare but nicely voiced and charming in their way. The quest works pretty well, if again being a fairly standard 'who is destroying the world this week' sort of way. I didn't get anywhere near all of the Achievements but I don't really aim for them (and this is a game where you cannot sensibly get all of them without playing through the game more than once - which when it is 50 plus hours long I'm not likely to bother with).
But the real issue that seemed to split the reviews is the combat. It has a system not disimilar to the 'Gambit' system that 'Final Fantasy XII' used - you can direct (to a limited extent) how the characters behave in battles (hold back and heal, always go for the same target as you, always go for the weakest enemy, etc). You also have special magic attacks which can be upgraded by applying various skills. So this is potentially a very deep system (as some reviews have described it).
However, the problem is this: in 'Final Fantasy XII' if you don't get your head around the gambit system you are pretty much stuffed.
In 'Tales of Vesperia' you don't need' to use the depth. With the exception of one or two boss fights you can more or less get buy with just some button mashing. It seems like a wasted opportunity.
Since then I've been on a bit of a 'Lord of the Rings' binge. I've gone back to playing 'Lord of the Rings Online' for a bit and really enjoying myself. It does a very good job of drip-feeding you things to do in a way to keep you occupied. At the same time I've just started the RPG 'Lord of the Rings: The Third Age' on the PS2. This is a Final Fantasy-style romp based fairly firmly on the film versions. Frankly, where LOTRO is at times gob-smackingly beautiful, LotR: TTA is an ugly piece. There are lots of clips from the film in rather low-res, poor voice-acting and unexciting design. Still, it has a nice (again FF-style) combat system and is interesting enough to keep me going for the moment.
I'm a bit of a completer-finisher when it comes to games. I may not do all the optional content, but I do like to finish the game, especially if it is well-regarded. But I'm afraid 'Bioshock' is still only about one-third completed. I put it aside for something else and just can't seem to get back to it. It is beautifully designed and plays well but it doesn't quite seem to get past my resistance to First-Person shooters. I don't actively dislike it, and I can understand why it has garnered the praise it has, but I just find it easier to put down and play something else.