Final Fantasy VIII (8)

Time for something a little bit older here. Final Fantasy 8 is one of the many installments of Squaresoft's (now Square-Enix) Final Fantasy series. Most of the games are completely separate stories set in different fictional worlds. There are common features in all of the games such as Mogs and Chocobos, but there are also lots of recycled names and non-player characters. Final Fantasy 8 was originally released on PS1 in late 1999. Back then it was on 4 discs, which shows just how big this game was, considering that most games fit on one disc. This was also the case for it's predecessor, FF7 which was released in late '97 on three discs. After the commercial success of FF7, Squaresoft were regarded by many as master storytellers and brilliant game maker, but following FF8's release they became known for smashing the competition to pieces with their stunning cut-scenes. The cut-scenes in this game were so advanced that it is difficult to believe there was room for improvement. The characters looked more real than anything in any game or animated movie and I don't recall any other game of the time coming anywhere near as precise and lifelike as FF8. 

Cutscene

Like any gamer that revisits a treasured nostalgic game, I started FF8 with quite a knot in my stomach. I was wondering if it would be as good as I remembered. Would it be as good-looking? Would it be as encapsulating? Would it feel the same? This time round I have downloaded FF8 from the PlayStation network and played it on my PSP, which removes the element of undivided attention from the proceedings, because I tend to do other things while I am using my PSP. It was probably for the best however, because this game is very time-consuming. Back when I was 10 years old this was a huge plus, because it meant that for the price of one game I could be entertained for months and months. Now that I have other things in my life such as a job and a relationship and family etc., I do have to split my attention between more than just games and food. So, in a roundabout way I'm trying to say that the PSP allowed me to play for an amount of time I could not give to the PS3.

In-game

 The game was just as I remembered: lots of menus, drawing magic from monsters, equipping magic to raise stats, stealing, fighting, finding, reading and exploring. Each of the characters that I found along the course of the story were like old friends I was catching up with, scheduled and familiar because I knew when they all came into the story, of course. The story unfolded as I played and I knew what was going to happen at every turn. I found myself returning to a random corner of a house or stealing from a certain boss because I just knew that that's what I should do. It would seem that all of the habits and tricks I had picked up in the past had stuck with me over the last decade. Playing the game felt very much like de ja vu and I took delight in the fact that I had remembered to play cards with the boy in the blue top and the Trepe Groupie #1 in order to get my Minimog and Quistis cards. This might sound crazy to anyone who hasn't played the game, but if you have then you will know what I'm talking about. If you've played the game again recently then I'd really like to know if the game had the same effect on you. 

Battle

If I was looking at the game as a new release in 2012, then I would have to say that the cut-scenes look good, the in game graphics are grainy and the lack of spoken dialogue means the text boxes are a bit heavy on the eyes. I would probably think that the turn based battles were a bit slow and that the story was good, but the game's difficulty hiked up by the games complicated levelling and junctioning system was too difficult for a newcomer or casual gamer. That said, if you've enjoyed other Final Fantasy games then I would recommend this, as well as the others. If, like me, you haven't played this game for a long time I would say it's definitely worth a trip down memory lane.

DannyDarko x

Dragon Age 2: A sequel?

BY JYGGALAG


Anyone who knows me will know how much I loved Bioware's dark-fantasy epic Dragon Age: Origins and with that in mind, it's probably easy to guess to how much I was looking forward to the follow up. I won't go into too much detail about Origins, given how my contemporary Mr Darko just recently discussed Origins but I will say this: It is without a doubt, one of the best games I have ever played, with only the Metal Gear Solid saga, PokeMon and the Elder Scrolls being above it on my top games list. Now onto to Dragon Age 2.

When the game was first announced way back yonder I quite literally messed myself with excitement. After watching the trailer about a hundred times (and having to change my trousers after each viewing) I had worked myself up into quite the Dragon Age stupor and set about completing the "perfect" save-games I would transfer over to the sequel. However, in the last few months before the games release I became sceptical. I didn't stop to consider that Origins, which took several years to develop, had been released just over a year earlier and now Bioware were throwing a "full-blown" sequel my way. It was then that the promotional stuff started. "Sign up for this and you'll get this", "pre-order before the aforementioned date and you'll get this" and finally "just look at our website and you're eligible for this". EA and Bioware were giving away free in-game items more than a WoW fan faps away at the thought of getting it on with a lusty Night Elf. Why so much free stuff? I began to have doubts and after visiting the forums I saw I wasn't the only one. And now after buying, playing and completing the game myself I can safely say that Dragon Age 2 has been an epic fail on Bioware's part.

First I'll start with the story. Dragon Age 2 casts you in the role of "Hawke" a fully customisable character and a native of Ferelden; the setting of Dragon Age: Origins. Hawke is a refugee fleeing with his/her family to the city of Kirkwall in the Free Marches (a neighbouring country) as he/she escapes the Blight (the big bad threat of Origins). Along with a colourful cast of characters Hawke is determined to make a name for themselves in the city of Kirkwall, rising from refugee into the Champion of Kirkwall; the "single, most important person" in the Dragon Age universe. The story takes you through three acts, all of which are separated by several years and the total course of the game's storyline is ten years. The storyline (whilst not as impressive as Origins) is obviously good; this IS a Bioware game after all. It certainly drew me in and even though there seemed to be an awful lot of ret conning (such as characters that could be killed coming back to life with no explanation) it does a good job of making you want more. The characters are well written and you'll either completely love them, or absolutely despise them depending on how you play the game. This IS intended on Bioware's part so kudos for that. Despite the butchering of one returning character (a certain spirit-possessed mage) I loved them all and I, as with Origins, felt for these characters. But whilst talking about the storyline and characters is all well and good, saying a Bioware game has a good story and likeable characters isn't much of praise for a Bioware game as everyone knows it WILL have good writing.

The game play changes are definitely the one major thing has impacted how the game has been received. Now I played the game on a PS3 and so my experience of combat will undoubtedly be much different than a pc gamer. After all Origins on the PC and Origins on a console felt like completely different games. Combat is more action oriented and very fast-paced. You no longer have to watch your warrior struggle to heave a two-handed weapon, or grow bored as your mage fires their staff in a pew pew fashion. Warriors will now hack-n-slash at your opponents with a violent grace, whilst your mage does all sorts of flashy tricks and twirls when firing their staff. And, as for the Rogue, you can watch and enjoy as your rogue ninja leaps from opponent to opponent, moving in the blink of eye and backstabbing those troublesome hurlocks. As before you have a quick bar to assign spells and talents but on the console you're limited to six (as before). This won't really hinder you much as a Warrior or Rogue, but as a mage being limited to only six spells can be annoying. Of course you do have the radial menu to access even more spells and talents from, but if you're anything like me and you get really into your combat, pausing in the middle of it can be irritating. If you're playing it on Nightmare difficulty however then that radial menu will be your best friend... trust me.

You couldn't do that in Origins

Rather than an approval metre your companions instead have a Friendship and Rivalry metre. If you work to your companions Friendship (by doing things THEY want) then you'll get a nice party bonus once it’s maxed out. Working towards Rivalry will mean that your companion gets a personal bonus so they can prove they're better than you and they might just tell you to piss off if you try and give them a nice gift.

These are just a few of the changes made in Dragon Age 2 and they're all well and good but compared to the problems of DA2, these nice new features are sadly overlooked. Firstly Dragon Age 2 is a game that you can tell is rushed. Areas are recycled to hell. I have never seen recycled areas so much in a game (and this is coming from a guy who explored EVERY cave and fort in Oblivion). After the first Act I was absolutely sick of seeing the same bloody cave over and over again and I almost cried knowing more was to come. I don't know if its laziness on the devs part of if it's because the game was so rushed. But given the fact that not only were these recycled areas, but the majority of them were bugged, I think it’s safe to say it was the latter. I actually doubt if this game was even properly tested. Speaking of bugs, Dragon Age 2 is crawling with them. There are bugs that prevent completing certain quests, falling through walls and even a particularly annoying bug that lowers the speed and strength of your character to a game breaking level. The latter bug has been patched but the fact it was even there in the first place (it's a pretty major bug) says a lot.

As a frequenter of the forums I know that there are A LOT of people that wanted this game to be good and I know a lot of people have convinced themselves it is good. Newcomers to the series will probably like it, if they're into role-playing games. But with DA2, it's clear that EA didn't want just the role-playing crowd to get involved. The streamlined, more action-oriented nature of game is obviously an attempt to pull in other types of gamers (such as the COD crowd). But trying to appeal to those types of gamers through a role-playing game is a bad choice. It has resulted in a game that has isolated most of the Origins fans and the fact the game is rushed and bugged has put off a lot of the would-be new fans.

Dragon Age 2 has received extremely good reviews. OPM gave the game 9/10, PC Gamer gave it 94%, Official Xbox Magazine gave it 9/10 and GamePro gave it 4 out 5 stars. I can see why the game has been given such reviews but I just can't agree with it. It's clear that Bioware decided they wanted to change Dragon Age and reboot the franchise before it had even started. After all just look on the back of the case and it proudly displays one review quote that states "a great entry point to the series." If Bioware isn't making it obvious that they want to change Dragon Age then my arse can play the 1812 Overture.

I suppose my opinion of Dragon Age 2 is biased really. I absolutely loved the first one and with Dragon Age 2 I was expecting something akin to Origins. Many fellow enthusiasts have told me that I shouldn't look at Dragon Age 2 as an "Origins 2" but instead look at it as just a new game in the franchise. But I shouldn't have to do that should I? If you have to look at a game differently in order to enjoy it, then surely that says something about them game, and not those who play it? It's like saying if I look at dog turd like its chocolate I'd probably enjoy it... But sadly I couldn't see the chocolate.

Jyggalag

Dragon Age: Origins- Giving the word 'breastplate' a new meaning.

Dragon Age: Origins is another of the games that I got for my birthday. If you’ve read a few of the posts on this blog then you’ve probably realised that I don’t exactly jump on the new releases and give them a ‘first look’ or anything like that. Because of the usual factors (money, time and obsession) I don’t get through all the new titles when they are first released. I tend to only buy a brand new game if it’s something I’ve really been looking forward to or if it’s a game with heavy online-based play, because I’m a goon and play in teams on CoD (Go Clan NEIN!!) I’d like to say that’s about as sad as I could go in this post, but I am discussing Dragon Age: Origins so it’s probably only going to get worse from here. If you’re opposed to a bit of nerdiness then I suggest you turn away before it begins. We’re talking elf sex, more dialogue than an ITV costume drama and a lot of large, identical, aubergine shaped breasticles on both young and old women (sadly not on the men.)

Ok… I’ll give you a moment to try and shake off the aubergine comment… let’s go…

I was looking forward to Dragon Age before its release, but the fact that I knew very little about the actual gameplay and story made other titles come first. This can’t have just been me- the game places you in a world where there are strong political views and racial and class divides that you have no idea about until you’re part way into the game. I played as a City Elf which meant that I began my story (or Origin if you will) in an Alienage, which is where all the city elves were. I had an arranged marriage and was due to meet and wed my betrothed on the same day. I know, I know… pretty heavy for an opening.

Every time you engage in conversation with a character, you have a choice of things to say. There is usually a range of choices which take you down different paths. These usually include a diplomatic choice, a heartless choice and a heroic/considerate choice. More options include persuasion, intimidation or lying, but basically you can be mean, funny, nice or boring. For example: “What’s for breakfast today Darko?”

1. Whatever I give you, you SLAG!
2. A fine selection of homemade jams and a choice of fresh baked bread.
3. Because of the war we have to ration the goods. Every person gets a cheese string each and a can of Relentless.
4. (Persuade) How about you share your breakfast with me?
5. (Intimidate) How about you share your breakfast with me or I’ll stand on your face?
6. (Persuade) (Lie) The cupboards are bare.

How you respond will affect the outcome of the conversation and will also affect how your teammates relate to you. For example when I decided to help some starving people get a good deal on their car ins… I mean food… one of the women in my party liked me -5!! What a cow… Don’t worry though readers, she got what was coming to her: I seduced her, dumped her and killed her mum… take that Morrigan you heartless tart!



Don't get excited, everyone's rudey bits are covered.



These relationships do make a difference to the game and the fact that you actually have choices with real consequences is very refreshing. I may have talked a bit before about empty, meaningless choices in games, but if I haven’t then rest assured, me no likey. If you choose to kill rather than befriend certain people then you will have a smaller team when facing the final battle or if you make certain controversial choices your teammates may leave your party forever or attack you. Maintaining a positive relationship with your team also opens up minor perks such as higher strength or hit points, which is always nice. All in all, very choicey, but no real impending doom for a newbie (Unless you’re Jyggalag and will absolutely die if you don’t get it 100% perfect on your first playthrough). There are also other perks to maintaining a positive relationship with certain members of your party- you can do them. I can assure you right now that there is nothing to get overly excited about. You get someone to like you a bit and depending on how much of a hussy they are you will either get to bed them or enter a relationship with them (and eventually bed them.)

Combat is quite repetitive and consists of pressing X, followed by a variety of R1+square, triangle or circle. There is a radial menu where you can choose from all of your skills, but generally you pick your best skills and assign them for easy access. The combat’s saving grace is the levelling up system. You can choose your type of weapon or magic, equipment, skills and attributes which means you can play through as the same class and race, but still have quite a different experience, if that’s your kind of thing…



This is about as blatantly obvious the titillation gets...
Too bad for the pre-pubescant pervs- its an 18+ game



On to the main event. The main thing to harp on about here is the huge… HUGE story to be found in Dragon Age: Origins. There are very few cutscenes, so most of the story is delivered through conversations which means many more of those lovely choices and consequences. This is either what makes the game so amazing that you can’t stop your lower lip hitting the floor or what makes the game so boring you want to pull off your that same lip just so you have something to throw at the screen. Fortunately for me I loved the conversations and the revelations that came with them, but over time I became very aware that I was basically spending 75% of my time on the game getting talked at by a huge fleshy pair of aubergines badly hidden under useless skimpy “armour”.  

I find it hard to do this game justice, because of just how unusual it is. If you’re an RPG-hater then you should probably stay away (unless you really really like boobs), but other than that I think this game has to be played to appreciate. It doesn’t really match any description I can give it so I’ll just say that it has a little bit of everything. It’s definitely worth a go and even if you don’t love it, you’ll at least find it interesting for a while.


DannyDarko