Final Fantasy XIII
I've played a few more hours on Gran Pulse. I can feel the game leading to a finale... though FFXII taught me to be weary of that. The funny thing is that right near the finale of 12, i had to climb and fight through a huge friggin tower with a major boss battle at the top. In 13, i've arrived at what looks to be a huge friggin tower with what looks to be a major boss battle at the top.
I've been hitting those Role levels in the crystarium so have been having a decent time of it in the battles. Basically with all the sentinel setups, it's just a matter of smart paradigm changing and time. I'm not getting those 5 star ratings anymore (without a pre-emptive strike), but it's rare i can't power down an enemy, while keeping my sentinel healed.
Part of me is looking forward to the game being finished so i can tackle the other two titles remaining in my PS3 library (those being Vanquish and Metal Gear Solid 4), but there's a part of me that would love to power level my characters and attempt some of the side quest and end game content in 13. Another part of me wants to give Persona 4 on the PS2 another crack. Whatever happens, FFXIII's story is quickly coming to a close.
Nimbus
It was $5 and looked fun. It is. It's part puzzle game, part racing game (as in there are stars and leaderboards revolving around the fastest time through levels). You control a little spaceship towards the checkered flag, but gravity and acceleration are your masters. There are plenty of bounce pads, boosts, and obstacles to keep you going, and the overworld structure has lots of branching paths (and some levels have collectable coins to unlock content).
My only main concern (aside from being stuck already on world 3) is that the controls take quite some time getting used to, with how the ship turns. It feels like the ship is fighting you, and even when you get the hang of things, it doesn't feel like you're totally behind the wheel. I mean seeing as you have no acceleration, maybe this was the point, but done purposely or not, bad controls can affect a game negatively.
Fallout 3
It's been a little while but i decided to enter the wastelands again this week. I followed the main questline once again and found myself fighting super mutants with the brotherhood of steel outside the Galaxy News Radio building. My god, that Super Mutant Behemoth eh? Yeesh. That was pretty cool though. I didn't expect anything on that scale. It's like the first time you encounter a giant in World of Warcraft.
I noticed i really haven't needed to upgrade my weapons in a while. Between the sniper rifle, hunting rifle, and combat shotgun, most things fall in one or two shots. Now this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but i guess it does remove some of the feeling of progression. I mean i'm level 8 and feel like i have all the supplies i need. In the early levels, i was scrounging for everything and finding a new weapon was always cause for celebration. I'm sure i'll find some energy weapons or something on my way, but some of the thrill of those early levels is gone.
GTA IV - The Lost and Damned
This has actually taken up most of my gaming time this week. I'll load it up, and just screw around for an hour or two (often recording hilarious deaths as video clips). I must admit, some of the things i've been doing are pretty dark and brutal (i often remark as such after i do them), but i guess that's part of what makes the GTA games so enticing. You have full license to act like a complete psychopath and then to witness the consequences. Of course most psychos don't have a full arsenel of weapons on their person as they take a stand against the cops (including helicopter destroying rocket launchers), nor do they have a magic cell phone that makes the police go away when they tire of the carnage.
I find myself driving around a lot too. Rockstar really have crafted a beautiful living New York replica in this game. I'm constantly finding new things to appreciate and new places to explore. It makes me wonder what the GTA series has in store for us next.
Final Thoughts
My Cabal Clones post i wrote over a week ago has me thinking about other things i can do for this blog. Well, that, and i've recorded a couple Let's Plays for my friend Robbie this year now (and i enjoy doing them). I might look into recording footage of mame and old console games, and then doing a review / analysis / let's play voiceover. I shall call them... replys (or something not stupid).
Till next week, happy gaming all!
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