Farewell my easytype
13 May 08 | 19:09
I'm still working my way through
Final Fantasy IV -- I've made it as far as the Tower of Zot -- and I have come to a realization:
When you see a victory pose in this game, it is because you have
bloody well earned it.
The original U.S. release of this game was a sort of brain-dead dumbing down of the Japanese version, but the DS remake is exactly the opposite: I would say its difficulty over the SFC original version is roughly equivalent to how much easier the U.S.
Final Fantasy II was. In my first battle in Zot, the bad guys managed to kill off my fully rested and healed party in two moves. That's not two rounds --
two moves. And it wasn't the first time I've stepped into a new territory only to be wiped out within seconds. I'm starting to wonder if this game has some sort of counter that tracks whether or not you've ever been to a given dungeon or map region, and if not promptly grinds you to paste.
Seriously, though, wow. I've been on a masochistic RPG kick this year with the likes of
Shiren and the
Etrian Odysseys, but FFIV is making me question my will to live.
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The nicest of the damned
12 May 08 | 21:01
Add to Queue | Weekly DVD Column
You know, I watched the
Indiana Jones trilogy again a few weeks ago and was surprised to realize that Dr. Octopus was the conniving sherpa responsible for trying to abscond with the idol in exchange for an empty promise of the whip. Oddly enough,
Spider-man and Indiana Jones is probably the one "please never let it happen" crossover that could actually work. They're both swingers, you see.
New Game + | Weekly Games Column
Another week, another milquetoast refusal to commit to any single game as pick of the week. Spineless columnists! From hell's heart, I blog at thee! Me, I'm calling it for
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, if for no other reason than admiration for Square's willingness to completely deconstruct the genre that serves as their meal ticket.
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GameSpite Issue 7.1: What never was, and never should have been
11 May 08 | 11:13
Now printing: The
Seventh delicious issue of GameSpite. I was hoping to have a bit extra content in this first portion, but I'm pretty burnt out after the past week's ups and downs. So you only get two articles today, plus a hub page. But at least they are interesting:
Battletoads
I tend not to think of Battletoads as a video game but rather as an exquisitely-designed Skinner box to teach kids to hate games. Every playthrough is like receiving a vicious electric shock. And clearly, contributor CynicalValkyrie agrees, because now she associates games with suffering.
The (Almost) Making of Mythri, Pt. 1
Those of you who've been around for a while may recall an American-developed RPG for Game Boy Color called Mythri which, for various reasons, never came to fruition. Now that the game's director is a big-shot pro developer, he's penned a multi-part trip down memory lane to look at what almost was. (Also features a high-tech
hub page!)
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Impressive... most impressive
09 May 08 | 22:52
Have you guys seen the
Clone Wars trailer yet? It's amazing how lifelike the animation is. They've managed to capture the vacuous lifelessness of the prequel trilogy cast
perfectly.
posted by: | category: film | forums |
21 comments |
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Shocking revelation
08 May 08 | 15:05
My parents sent me a box of random junk and toys and stuff I'd left at their place because I didn't want to be bothered with keeping track of it myself. (That's what parents are for, right? Dumping off your junk onto? Right?) I'm not really sure what to do with it all, but I did make a discovery about the
Metal Gear saga that I'd never realized before:
This changes everything, guys.
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fifteen comments |
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Oh, why hello there
07 May 08 | 16:10
Yes, as a matter of fact I
am stuck at LAX for the next five hours. At least! That's assuming no flight delays, a very ludicrous assumption to make in this not-so-gilded age of air travel. One might wonder why I don't simply switch to an earlier flight; one might be surprised to discover that the airline on which my flight was booked has a grand total of
one LAX-to-SFO flight each day. It is simply the final indignity in a trip that has been characterized by inconveniences and annoyances at every turn.
Fortunately, the
core reason for my being here wasn't so bad. Oh, and I guess having dinner with Tomm Hulett wasn't so awful, either.
But really, at this point I'm almost tempted to rent a car and just drive back home -- I'd probably be there before our scheduled flight even leaves. Of course, the cost of gas would plunge me right back into poverty. No-win situations are the
best.
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I am posting at you
05 May 08 | 22:44
Hey kids, I'm ducking out of my sneaking mission for a moment to bring you the latest news on how to spend your ever-more-enfeebled dollar. Because I'm just that nice.
Add To Queue | Weekly DVD Column
Hey,
Twister is out this week on Blu-ray, I see. Man, that movie sucked like only a flick about a massive low-pressure system can. The only remarkable thing about
Twister is that I went to see it on a clear and sunny day, but when I left the theatre, a horrible violent storm had blown in. Yes, only
divine intervention can make this movie memorable.
New Game + | Weekly Games Column
Despite the columnists' reluctance to call a clear winner this week, I have to say
Boom Blox is racking up major love around the office. I haven't played more than about 30 seconds of it, but given the plaudits it's earning I figure you can't go wrong by at least renting it.
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