This is the new games thread

[MrDys]

I love the new FF. It's goddamn gorgeous. The plot is kinda squiffy, but it is a Final Fantasy. I love the battle system. It feels like they heard my mental gripes with every turn based system and fixed it.

[pissedpissedofferson]

Bleh, whenever I try to get into the FF franchise I'm reminded of their ridiculous way of tumbling the battle system with each new release. What was wrong with turn-based battling? This concerted push to make RPG battles realtime is really putting me off the entire genre.

[punkdc]

Just finished BioShock and it was really good. I forgot that I liked FPS. Is the extra content worth the $10 or should I just put that money towards BioShock 2?

[Alex Mac]

Honestly, BioShock works better as a self contained game. The sequel was unnecessary.

[jesterobobman]

FFXIII is dissapointingly linear to me, no real exploring yet, I'd say 1 real proper boss battle of significance and I'm on disc 3 now. Boo.

I like the battle system a bit, but being 1 character and not being able to switch makes it seem like a less fun version of star ocean, with slightly less annoying characters.

[Me!]

I actually liked the way the FFXIII started. What I am not liking now is that I am on the second disc and there has been no let up. There is no real cool-down point where you go to a town or something like that. I get the feeling this game is just one dungeon-type area to the next until the game is over. It just feels a bit overwhelming I guess.

I also don't care much for the convoluted battle system. Instead of having these paradigm shifts pre-set up, why not be able to pause the battle and just select what you want? I get that its supposed to be fast-paced or something but it just gets irritating when you get your ass kicked because you can't remember what all of the paradigms are. Honestly, if it just paused the game to let you choose paradigms that would be a big improvement. Also, I have never felt so dumb using the word paradigm.

Yeah, this game has no freaking towns.

Call me a sucker, but I love exploring towns in video games, checking out every house, seeing what every vendor has for sale. Ok, so I had a real boring childhood, but screw it.

This game did get better but I'm still a little disappointed. I definitely let myself get too excited over this game.

[TomHicks]

From a review on RPGFan:

Strangely, the linearity of the early parts of the game dissolve entirely in the eleventh chapter, at which point you will encounter an enormous, open plain teeming with life. This plain is quite simply the highlight of the game, as it's absolutely stunning on every possible level. There are wolf-like creatures dashing here and there, frightening wyverns circling the sky, lumbering adamantoises that tower over everything else, and all this can be seen from nearly any vantage point. The area itself is enormous, and the draw distance is terrific. Major objects like treasure spheres, hunt markers, and Chocobos can be seen from far off, and even enemies can be seen from quite a distance. In particular, the adamantoises and wyverns can be seen from quite far away. Dungeons from this point forward are also much more complex, and while they are mostly made up of corridors a la Final Fantasy X, there are many branching paths to explore.

I am still in Chapter 5, walking around with Hope and Lightning. I was disappointed at first with the battle system, because it seems you can just spam the auto-attack button. But then I got the giant turtle-shaped thing that changes weaknesses. That was really tough. I think the challenge the battle system wants you to master is switching between paradigms, which you have to do for Killer Turtle -- AND switch to the opponent scan so that Hope knows which spells to cast at it. It took me seven attempts to finally line up the right paradigms and beat it.

But I get the frustration. I reset the battle because I set up the paradigms and then forgot to switch to the paradigm I wanted to begin the battle with (Lighting as Commando and Hope as Synergist) or didn't put the paradigms in the right order so I knew which one has Hope as a Medic.

[SlyBattery]

You just interested and then disinterested me in continuing this game in one post.

[Berliner]

I'm playing it. There are so many problems I don't know where to begin.

[TomHicks]

FF XIII is starting to remind me of Resident Evil and how the producers insist on not letting you run and gun. "This is how we do it!" I read something last week about how the Square Enix boss said there's no DLC for FF XIII because the game is complete unto itself.

And as far as towns go, the company said that the programmers' focus was taken up with the main story, but now that they know how to program for the latest-generation consoles, the next FF will be able to feature more traditional elements. Which kind of sounds like bullshit considering one FF game per console generation seems to be how Square Enix works.

I should have been concerned when they said Biggs and Wedge wouldn't be in this edition.

[Me!]

Focus on the story, guh, this story stinks.

[nathansmart]

the quote I saw about no towns was that these people are on the run and they wouldn't have time to stop in towns

[Berliner]

I have a wii for a little while. Someone tell me the three good games for it again?

[gweilo845]

I like the "light gun" games for it, especially House of the Dead Overkill.

There are a few good action games like MadWorld and No More Heroes.

Pretty much anything with the classic Nintendo characters is good.

Mostly I use my Wii for the Virtual Console. They just put on the Turbo CD version of Castlevania Rondo of Blood, which is one of the best traditional CV games.

[nathansmart]

Super Paper Mario, Super Mario Galaxy, Little King's Story, Zelda: Twilight Princess, WarioWare: Smooth Moves

[TimBuktu]

If you only have it for a while, Super Mario Galaxy is pretty spectacular... as is the Zelda game.

[isoS]

Zelda is the best, but it's pretty long so you might not be able to finish it depending on how long you have the Wii (and how much time you have to devote to it). Mario Galaxy is quicker, not as epic or engaging but still a lot of fun.

For pick-up-and-play fun Wii Play and WarioWare Smooth Moves are great, as is Wii Sports Resort (if you have a MotionPlus dongle, which comes with it). MarioKart Wii is another super-fun game that you can beat in a week but still have fun with beyond that.

New Super Mario Bros Wii is really great, esp. if you liked the old Super Mario Bros on NES and SNES. I've been meaning to get back to it, but since I got a PS3 I've been kind of tied up with that.

[ASR]

I'm playing the new Pokemon Silver remake!

My rival's name is McCunty.

[isoS]

Note: WarioWare will take you literally an hour to beat. So don't buy it. But rent it! (It's more of a party game than a solo experience anyway.)

[TomHicks]

the quote I saw about no towns was that these people are on the run and they wouldn't have time to stop in towns

That's actually true. Not to mention, you start the game pretty much in a place where people wouldn't choose to live. I miss the towns, but I also know that I am persnickety enough that if they did have towns, say as in FF 12, I probably would have been disappointed at the same old, same old.

This game is sometimes jawdroppingly beautiful to look at, though.