I finally found a new main in Soulcalibur V! I wasn’t sure who would become my main character after Namco Bandai decided to kill off my Greek goddess Sophitia, but with today’s character announcement by Famitsu there is no choice but Xiba (or Sheba, or Sheva depending on which Romanization you’re looking at. I’m going with “Xiba” because technically it’s correct when translating from Chinese to Japanese).

As you guys know, I’m a big Dragon Ball fan. What you might not know is that early on, Dragon Ball was loosely based on the Chinese epic novel Journey to the West which featured the great monkey king Sun Wukong as its main protagonist. “Son Gokuu” is the Japanese pronunciation of Sun Wukong, and both characters feature a tail, a staff that can grow in size and ride around on a cloud. Noticing a pattern?

Anyway, as such I’m always a fan of fictional characters based on Sun Wukong. I loved playing as Son-Son in Marvel vs Capcom 2 and I even nicknamed my Infernape “Wukong” in Pokémon Diamond. When I saw Xiba, I immediately knew I had found my new favorite character.

Xiba appears to be a replacement for Kilik which doesn’t entirely sit well with me, but I’ll get over it. In Soulcalibur II, Kilik was one of my favorite characters to play as. In Soulcalibur IV, I learned to hate him. You see, Soulcalibur IV featured an achievement that required you to reach level 20 in ranked online matches. As a result of this, EVERYBODY picked Kilik because he has the best range in the game and his moves are easily spammable. If you played Kilik online, you were a scrub who would do whatever it took to earn that achievement.

As if the reputation of Kilik spam wasn’t enough to turn people off to Xiba, the reveal thread on Soulcalibur fan site 8 Way Run is already brimming with people who hate his personality despite no one hearing his voice or knowing anything he says yet. I think he looks great! His character art that shows him balancing on his staff and chomping on a big piece of meat looks to me like he’s going to be a carefree, upbeat character, and I’m a sucker for that shōnen character archetype, despite being a 27 year old man. This is even better for me, because I’m one of those jerks that likes to use characters that no one else does (see: Sakura in Street Fighter IV, X-23 in Marvel vs Capcom 3, half of the Pokémon I’ve leveled up in every Pokémon game ever). I GET HIM ALL TO MYSELF.

Everything new I see from Soulcalibur V has me more and more stoked. I’ve always been an old school Capcom and SNK 2D fighting fan, but over the past few years I’ve really fallen in love with the Soul series. As I’ve gotten older my reflexes and reaction time aren’t what they used to be when I was 15, so a more “deliberate” game like Soulcalibur is right up my alley.

The gorgeous graphics, epic music and wonderful cast helps too.

It’s nice to know that after the holiday rush is over I still have another exciting game to look forward to.

I haven’t written much lately. Looking at this front page, I’ve hardly written anything of substance in the past month! Sorry about that. That’s just like me, saying I’m not going to stop writing and then doing exactly that. In my defense Christina and I have been very busy, she’s been sick and those Blogimations that no one watches are a LOT of work.

Rather than spend another day doing nothing and complaining that I don’t know what to write about, here’s a few quick thoughts on what I’ve been up to.

- I’ve been playing the 3DS a lot lately! I got back into Ocarina of Time 3D. I still insist it’s not a good portable game, but man is it pretty. I also picked up Pokémon Rumble Blast and it’s a really good time. It’s really simple and easy to play and it’s something that I enjoy playing for a little while as I’m winding down and getting ready for bed. If you played the WiiWare original and liked it, you’ll like this.

- Thanks for forumite Hexen, we’ve discovered VGCollect.com. It’s a video game database that allows you to keep track of your collection, and if you own something that’s not listed, you can add it to the database yourself! We have a pretty long list of stuff to add and we’re not even close to done, but you can check out our list so far here.

- Ben Paddon (who is the genius behind GameJournos, formerly GJAIF, don’t ask what it stood for) has started a web show called PortsCenter, where he takes a look at games that have been ported to a multitude of systems, how they’re different and which version is the best. The first episode focused on Doom, with the episode going into detail about why the PlayStation version is the best. It was a great episode and I found the original long-box PlayStation version of Doom in near-mint condition at my local comic shop about a week later. I picked it up and it really is the best version!

Check out the episode on their Kickstarter page, and be sure to toss them a couple bucks so we can see more in the future.

- During a trip to our local anime shop I discovered Kotobukiya’s Bishoujo line of statuettes, where they take icons of American comics and pop fiction and render them in a beautiful anime art style. I bought Jean Grey, and with X-23, Liara T’Soni and Jaina Solo on the horizon they’ll be getting lots of my money. I’ll be reviewing the Jean Grey statuette for Christina’s site Otakuholic pretty soon, so stay tuned for that.

- I’ve talked about the Daizenshuu EX podcast a few times before, and I finally got to cross something off my nerd bucket list because I was a guest on episode 277 to talk about the latest Dragon Ball video game, Ultimate Tenkaichi. Give it a listen, it was a really good discussion! Spoiler, I’m the only one that liked it.

- I think I’m a REAL games reviewer now, because I’ve been getting games in the mail from PR companies! It’s kind of funny that the first game I ever received from a PR company is Grease Dance for Xbox 360, but hey, it actually wasn’t a bad game! I’m such a nerd, though; I saved the packing slip and hung it on my fridge FOR NOSTALGIA.

Not every game I’ve been sent is fun, though.

Also, if you never checked out my first review for KINECTaku for Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster, you may do so now.

- This past weekend I was in the Star Wars: The Old Republic beta test. Legally, according to the fine print in the non-disclosure agreement all I can say is 1) there was a beta test and 2) I took part in that beta test. So guys, there was a beta test and I took part in that beta test.

On a completely unrelated note, HOLY SHIT.

- Finally, we got Super Mario 3D Land yesterday. I don’t want to say much because I’m taking it slow (the game is short, so I’m limiting myself to only one World a day) and I want to give it its own post in the future, but it’s an absolute blast and that THIS is the game that will make you a believer in 3D games.

That’s all I’ve got! Regular updates to resume soon. I PROMISE.

Okay guys, it is ALL ABOUT Skylanders now.

I’ve been following the development of Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure for a while now, because I thought the idea of collecting toys that would then work with a video game was an awesome idea. I’d been dying to play it, and the other night Christina and I picked up the Xbox 360 starter set along with a couple of extra figures.

Since then, we’ve been back to the store twice to buy more. I’d say it’s working.

Skylanders, for those of you who don’t know, is an action RPG that comes with an accessory called the Portal of Power. When you place one of the Skylanders figures on the Portal, it appears as your character in game. Any experience, money or accessories you collect on that Skylander is stored on the figure, independent of your save file; if you’re playing on the Xbox 360, you can take your Skylander to a friend’s house and play on his PS3 and your Skylander will be exactly as he was when you last played with it.

(I just wanted to show off the cool glow effect of the Portal of Power. The video doesn’t do it justice, but man, this is an awesome peripheral.)

It seems like a cash grab, and that’s probably true. In levels there are paths that can only be opened by a Skylander of a certain element (there are eight: Magic, Earth, Fire, Life, Undead, Water, Air and Tech). The game comes with three figures: Spyro (Magic), Trigger Happy (Tech) and Gill Grunt (Water) so the first few levels you’re fine. After that, though, you’ll have to buy more figures.

You also collect power-ups for characters that are scattered around the world, and of course they’re for figures you don’t have. When you pick them up the game asks if you’d like a preview of the Skylander in question, and then they show you a short, 15-second video of just how badass that toy you don’t have is.

Again, it seems like a cash grab, but the game’s production values are so high that you can’t really get upset about it.

For one thing, the figures themselves are INCREDIBLY well made. They’re solid, colorful and detailed and look like they can actually spring to life at any moment. Honestly, even if there were no game element I’d want to collect them. The characters are all cool looking too, with some of my favorites being Prism Break (who is a stone golem who shoots lasers from his crystal hands), Eruptor (a being made of lava) and Warnado (a spunky ripoff of Gamera, who unfortunately isn’t out yet). There’s 32 in all, so you’re bound to have a favorite.

Of course there are store exclusives, too; the Air type Whirlwind is only at Target, while Toys R Us has a three-pack of “Legendary” (recolored) versions of Spyro, Chop Chop and Bash. Which we bought, natch.

This would all be moot if the game was no fun, but Christina and I are really enjoying it. We actually have two save games going (so we can both get Achievements; they’re primary profile only) and we’re having an absolute blast. I said on Twitter that it’s some of the most fun I’ve had in co-op since Gunstar Heroes, and those of you that know me know how lofty a statement that is.

The game’s not a cheap vehicle for the figures; the graphics are bright, colorful and bring a whimsical world to life. Supporting characters have fantastic voice acting (including Flynn, who will be your favorite character, who’s voiced by Patrick Warburton). The game is even scored by Hans Zimmer, who you probably know from the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtracks.

It’s a really solid action-RPG, and while it’s not terribly difficult, each Skylander does have their own Challenge level that will even give hardcore players a bit of a tough time. Completing them does bestow upon your Skylander a permanent stat boost, so they’re worth playing as you advance through the main quest.

Oh, and is if collecting the figures wasn’t enough, the game also has enough collectible hats to please even the most jaded of Team Fortress fans.

What really makes the figure mechanic work (rather than just having the characters be something you select from an in-game menu at any time) is the sense of ownership it gives you over your Skylanders. Christina and I each have our own little stable so far and leveling up each of our Skylanders is surprisingly rewarding; knowing that they belong to you gives you a surprisingly strong connection to them, and it gives me a feeling similar to what I’ve gotten from putting together a carefully raised team in Pokémon.

The price of admission isn’t cheap, as the game will run you $10 more than a normal new release ($70 on consoles and $60 on 3DS, and they include the Portal of Power and three figures) and the figures are another $8 a pop. Not to mention there’s “Adventure Packs” for $20 that contain an exclusive Skylander, a new level and a power-up. Doing the math, we’ve easily dropped over $100 on it this weekend, but the amount of fun we’ve been having is absolutely worth it. It’s a game that will bring out the kid in you, the kind of game that will make you smile and get you genuinely excited to see new characters. If you can find a friend or family member to jump in with you, you’re absolutely going to have a great time.

I got kinda mad this weekend.

I had been looking forward to the release of Street Fighter III 3^rd Strike and decided to get it on PS3 instead of Xbox 360. While the 360 is my system of choice, it seems like everyone I know buys their multiplayer games on PS3 so I figured I’d start buying fighting games for my newer console. Since I love my Mad Catz Fightpad so much on my Xbox 360, I ordered one for the PS3. Good idea, right?

Nope.

It arrived in the mail and I downloaded Street Fighter. I knew the PS3 version of the Fightpad was wireless, but I was surprised to see a USB dongle in the package. It doesn’t connect to the PS3 via BlueTooth like the DualShock does; it uses a radio frequency.

I had a feeling that this wasn’t going to be as awesome as I thought.

When I tried playing Street Fighter, my special moves weren’t coming out, I’d have to hit buttons multiple times before they’d register, and sometimes I’d take my thumb off the d-pad and my character would keep jumping over and over again.

Long story short, the controller is a piece of garbage.

I tried playing with the regular DualShock but that’s no good either. The d-pad is no good for fighting games and Street Fighter is too hard to play without a six-button layout. I bought a game I can’t play and spent $35 on a controller that doesn’t work.

Fortunately, there’s an unofficial adapter that lets you use a wired 360 controller on your PS3 that I’m going to invest in. If you guys just had Xboxes, I wouldn’t have this issue. Thanks jerks.

It’s been a while since I’ve done a PK Bloggin’! style review of a game (that is to say, a review that isn’t really a review) but I wanted to talk about Alice: Madness Returns because I’ve been spending a lot of time with it and it’s a lot of fun.

Alice: Madness Returns (for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC… we got the PS3 version to try to flesh out our library a bit) is a sequel to American McGee’s Alice for the PC, which was released in 2000. For those of you who don’t know, American McGee is a guy who’s made a name for himself by taking classic stories and making them dark and gruesome. No joke, I once saw an “American McGee’s OZ” figure at an f.y.e. store that was two fat little munchkins who had Dorothy tied up, blindfolded and gagged.

Luckily, Alice: Madness Returns isn’t tasteless like the OZ figures. I never played the original (although it’s bundled as a free download with new copies of Madness Returns for consoles), but the story is able to stand on its own, and a quick reading of the original game’s Wikipedia entry is more than enough of a briefing to get you ready to jump into the sequel.

Without going into the story TOO much, the titular Alice has spent time in a mental asylum after going insane when her house burned down and her family died. As she retreats back into Wonderland (which exists in her twisted psyche) she discovers it is a much more dark and violent place than she left it.

The story isn’t why you’ll be playing though. Sure, it’s fun seeing the classic Alice in Wonderland characters as dark, grungy versions of themselves, but you’ll be paying the price of admission to explore the hauntingly beautiful world and experience some damn fine platforming and Zelda style combat.

The game is a lot of fun to sit back and just play. The crux of the gameplay is a 3D platformer where you’ll be guiding Alice through the different levels (which, by the way, are LOOOOONG… thankfully frequent checkpoints are implemented) in a similar manner to, say, the Sly Cooper games. You’ll have long stretches of traversing flat areas trying to find secret areas (Alice is able to shrink at will, which will reveal hidden paths) and then come into platforming sections where one wrong step will send you falling to your death.

Thankfully, there’s no penalty for deaths by falling; you just restart at the beginning of your jumping path. Dying from enemies, however, sends you back to the last checkpoint… with exactly as much health as you had when you crossed it. Be warned, this CAN and WILL lead to a few frustrating situations.

The combat is similar to the 3D Zelda games. You’ll lock onto enemies and be able to focus on them while dodging attacks. Alice has a handy dodge move that teleports her a few feet away in any direction, and the game slows down when an enemy is about to attack to give you  a chance to get away.

The best part of combat in Madness Returns is Alice’s arsenal: throughout her journey she’ll equip herself with her trademark Vorpal Blade for fast, lethal strikes; the Pepper Grinder, which functions like a gatling gun; the Hobby Horse, which is a slow, powerful melee weapon for breaking through enemy defenses, and the Teapot Cannon, which fires tea grenades that cause splash damage. Each weapon is mapped to a different button as well, so you can switch between weapons on the fly depending on what the battle calls for. For example, the Samurai Wasps in the third level use their katanas to defend themselves, so you’ll need to open a combo with the Hobby Horse and then follow up with the Vorpal Blade once they’re defenseless.

Combat gets extremely tough, though: unlike Zelda, when you’re surrounded by multiple enemies they don’t wait patiently for their turn and attack you one by one. They’ll surround you and attack you all at once from all angles. You’ll need to be able to quickly analyze which enemies are the biggest threats and take them out first while trying to keep yourself from being flanked.

The visual presentation is incredible. I’m only on the third chapter out of six (like I said, the levels are LOOOONG… I think I’ve put in at LEAST six or seven hours if not more) but I’ve already seen several unique levels: there’s standard 1860s London; bright, colorful Wonderland; the steampunk-inspired domain of the Mad Hatter; the hellish factories of the March Hare and Dormouse; the underwater homes of the Mock Turtle, Carpenter and Walrus, and I’m currently working my way through an Asian-inspired mountain in search of the Caterpillar, which is occupied by origami ants. The graphics are amazing, and you’ll often just stop and move the camera around to admire your surroundings.

Another cool touch is that Alice’s dress changes depending on what level she’s in. In Hatter’s Domain, she has a steampunk dress with lots of belts and straps. Underwater, her dress glows like those weird underwater fish (and she doesn’t wear shoes!). In the Mysterious East she gains a dress inspired by kimonos. It seems like a silly thing, but it really adds a lot to the distinct feel of each world.

Also, I gotta say: Alice is hot in this game.

Madness Returns has been getting some really middle-of-the-road reviews (the PC, PS3 and 360 versions of the game are currently sitting at 75, 71 and 69 on Metacritic, not that I put ANY stock in that crap) which I don’t really understand. Alice: Madness Returns isn’t a perfect game by any means: combat can get too tough, I’ve run into a few small bugs (nothing gamebreaking… sometimes it’s possible to get stuck on the floor until you jump away) but it’s a lot of fun. I don’t think that every game needs to be innovative to be good; it’s okay for a game to just be FUN.

I don’t think everyone would pick it up at $60 and feel like they got their money’s worth (luckily, Christina and I both do) but the game quickly dropped to around $40 most places, and anyone looking for a fun action/platformer with a great presentation would find that well worth the price.

(Note: I originally published this article on Bits ‘n’ Bytes Gaming on February 16, 2011)

You would think that with a smaller roster, a new art style and a retooled control scheme that Marvel vs Capcom 3 would be primed to disappoint series fans that have anticipated the third entry for ten years, but you’d be wrong. Every change has been for the better, and its reworkings, additions and yes, even omissions, all create a more solid experience than the evidence would lead you to believe.

Marvel vs Capcom 3 is the third installment of the wildly popular 2D fighting series pitting Marvel’s roster of fantastic superheroes against Capcom’s stable of colorful and wacky characters. The first two games were largely similar, both featuring very similar rosters of characters and the same 2D art style and control scheme. MvC3 bucks tradition, employing a new 3D graphics engine (although the gameplay is still 2D), slimming down their selectable characters and simplifying the game controls to make it more accessible to newcomers.

The graphics run on a modified Street Fighter IV engine, with large, detailed characters featuring “comic shading,” giving each character an inky, hand-drawn look. While many internet dwellers swore to never purchase the game as soon as the change was revealed, the game looks wonderful in motion, especially on a high definition television. The characters themselves look fantastic, each retaining their iconic look but looking consistent with the rest of the outlandish cast.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a vs game without crazy, screen-filling super moves and dazzling light bursts as the combatants duke it out. The graphics just ooze style, and anyone who is skipping the game because it isn’t the same hand-drawn style as the other games in the series is definitely missing out on what is quite possibly the best looking fighting game ever.

Not only does the game look incredible, it’s got the audio chops to back it up. The game’s tunes are the same jazzy style as Marvel vs Capcom 2 (and yes, Take You for a Ride is still in!), with each of the game’s characters given their own theme as well. Capcom’s side is all very iconic, and the Marvel side has quite a few impressive tracks as well.

The voice acting is very well done to boot. Not content with simply employing high-caliber US voice talent like Johnny Yong Bosch, Tara Strong, Steven J. Blum, Jennifer Hale and Michelle Ruff, the developers have allowed players to individually set Capcom characters to either English or Japanese voices, with each character able to be set individually. It’s fun to see the characters who should be speaking English speaking English and the ones who should be speaking Japanese speaking Japanese, especially when the voice talent includes names like Ryōtarō Okiayu and Fumiko Orikasa.

The controls have been simplified a bit as well, ditching the two punch and two kick scheme from before and utilizing a control scheme like the one used in Tatsunoko vs Capcom consisting of Light, Medium and Hard attacks. As a result, controls feel tighter and combos more fluid.

New players have the option of selecting a “Simple” control option, which eschews normal attacks and assigns special moves and combos to the buttons instead. It’s a great way to allow scrubs to play against pros, but it doesn’t give them an unfair advantage because they’re giving up their basic tools in exchange.

Marvel vs Capcom 2 was an unbalanced mess, roster-wise, which is understandable when you consider the game had fifty-six playable characters. Playing as Magneto, Storm and Sentinel (and knowing what you were doing) pretty much guaranteed you a win due to imbalance and infinite combos. The roster in MvC3 is smaller but feels much more varied, which is a good thing. Weighing in at thirty-six characters (with two more announced as DLC), a few fan favorites have been left by the wayside (seriously? No Mega Man?) but overall it doesn’t feel like it’s lacking in the variety that made MvC2 so much fun. Series newcomers like Dante, Deadpool, Thor and Chris Redfield all add a ton of flavor to the mix, and you’ll have no problem finding a team that you like.

Just be warned: Final boss Galactus is a PAIN IN THE ASS.

Aside from standard Arcade and Versus modes, you also have the option to battle online (which is entirely lag-free in my experience) along with helpful training modes to help you practice the combos and special moves of each character.

I’ve been a Capcom fighting game fan for as long as I can remember, and I’ve put more hours into Marvel vs Capcom 2 on the Dreamcast than probably any other fighter I’ve ever played. Marvel vs Capcom 3 is not only a worthy successor in this storied franchise, it in fact sets the bar even higher, which is even more impressive when many thought the bar was at the highest point possible. It’s so good I almost couldn’t pry myself away from the game to write this review.

Marvel vs Capcom 3 is available now for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

With today’s purchase of these two PlayStation 3 games, Christina and I have committed to buying a PlayStation 3.

We had our local GameStop have one of the initial run 60 gig models shipped to them from a different store that should be in as early as tomorrow. After selling a couple of things we weren’t using, a PlayStation 3 seemed like a good investment, even when you factor in the PSN debacle (which did affect me, as I used PSN on my PSP).

>What really pushed Christina over the edge was them finally announcing that they were localizing the upcoming Bleach game, Bleach: Soul Resurrección. We had KINDA wanted one for a while, for a handful of exclusive games and the ability to finally play PS1 and PS2 games and not have them look like butt on our HDTV.

I’ve talked a lot of crap about Sony, and I’m still not a fan of how they’ve conducted themselves this hardware generation… but still, there’s something very familiar and comforting about the PlayStation brand. We’ve had a lot of good times over the years. Besides, by buying the console used, it’s not like they’re getting any money from me.

I think we’ll still use the Xbox 360 for multiplatform games and focus the PS3 on its exclusives, but it’ll be nice to finally have all three systems. Last gen was the first time I had all active game consoles (GameCube, Xbox and PS2) and it was great; I got to play everything. This time around, though, I’m a grownup with bills and responsibility and things are more expensive so it’s taken longer, but finally I’m in the eye of the storm.

Now it’s time to slowly build up a library.

By now you’ve probably seen the commercial for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 racer Blur, because I don’t even watch that much TV and I’ve seen it probably 70 times. This commercial is awful and represents a lot of what’s wrong with video games these days.

Also, yes, I know Kotaku kinda wrote about this today, but I was going to write this up yesterday but decided to do the contest instead. Whatever. I didn’t steal the idea.

Anyway, you have a generic colorful fantasy setting, and the character pining to escape into the edgy, dark realistic world of Blur. Blur, in case you haven’t read about it, is pretty much Mario Kart but with less colors and real cars. You still get power-ups to give you the edge in races and everything. It’s Mario Kart minus Mario. And karts, I guess. But it’s still takes a lot of its inspiration from Mario Kart, if that still makes sense.

The problem with this ad, though, is it just reinforces the ignorant attitude of far too many gamers these days. “YOU LIKE COLOR? YOU’RE A WUSS. WE HAVE REAL CARS AND DARK BUILDINGS. GROW UP.” Who’s more grown up: the person who can enjoy something regardless of how it looks to others, or someone who has to constantly overstate their masculinity by subscribing to society’s “macho” stereotype?

I mean really. If you want to play Mario Kart, play Mario Kart. Everyone likes Mario Kart.

Like we’ve talked about before in posts and podcasts, far too many gamers these days feel it’s necessary to insult everyone who plays anything that’s considered “kiddy” or “casual.” This commercial only throws more fuel onto the fire. It’s fine if you don’t want to play Mario Kart, but why do you need to take the time and effort to rip on people who do?

I’m 26 years old and I still enjoy colorful games. I enjoy mature games, too. I don’t, however, enjoy trying to make people feel bad for enjoying games that they think are fun. I mean, yeah, I guess I’m kinda ripping on Blur here but THEY STARTED IT.

It all comes down to this: ten years from now, people are still going to be playing Mario Kart. It’s distinctive, it’s well made, and it’s fun. In ten years, are people still going to be playing Blur? If someone mentions Blur in a conversation, will it evoke memories and excitement from others?

I want to talk about Final Fantasy XIII for a bit.

If you’ve been following my thoughts on the game leading up to its release, you’ll remember I’ve been kinda up and down on the subject, my interest fluctuating much like the wave pools at a water park. At first I wasn’t even sure I’d pick it up on release day, but a few days before my cynicism got hit by a Limit Break of excitement and I decided I’d get it day one. Come on, it’s Final Fantasy!

Or is it?

As of this writing, I’m about 14 hours into the game (I know I’m slow, but I work full time, live with a fiancée who is currently addicted to watching Bleach, and I’ve been playing the new Pokémon as well), and from everything I’ve read, the game will suddenly “click” around the 15 hour mark. I want to write my impressions pre-click, since 14 hours is a long time to invest waiting for something to pick up.

Honestly though, the game is awesome. I’m really, really enjoying it thus far. I’m actually enjoying taking my time with it, because Final Fantasy XIII is much more fast-paced and up-tempo than any other Final Fantasy, and pretty much any other JRPG I’ve ever played. I can’t sit and play for five hours like I would before, the game is mentally taxing.

The first thing people want to know about is the battle system. I wasn’t too sure about it when I would read previews from news blogs, but I think that’s mostly because no one really did that great a job describing it. The best way I can think of describing Final Fantasy XIII’s battle system is if you jammed together Final Fantasy X-2 and Chrono Cross. You have the on-the-fly job switching of X-2 and the attack “costs” of Chrono Cross.

It’s still very much a turn-based system, but it disguises itself well. You still have an ATB bar that needs to fill up before you can take action, but it’s broken into segments. Each attack or spell you perform will use up one or more segments, so you can mix and match and try to make the most of your turn. Certain actions, like summoning your Eidolon, casting Libra, or using healing items can be done at any time and don’t interrupt your ATB bar.

What makes the battle system so interesting and fun is the Paradigm Shift. There are six classes, each suited for different tasks (Commandos are physical attackers, Ravagers are Black Mages, Medics are White Mages, Sentinels will draw enemy attention and shield themselves, Synergists will buff the party, and Saboteurs will debuff the enemy), and you can set up different combinations that you can switch to on the fly. You can have a Sentinel have a strong enemy focus on them, while a Commando and Ravager whale away at it, or have a Medic heal while a Synergist and Saboteur stack the odds against your foes. It allows for a very impressive amount of customization, and you’ll need to be quick on your feet in order to survive some of the tougher fights.

The story, the main draw for a Final Fantasy game, or any RPG in general, is actually pretty good once you figure out what the hell is going on. The game drops you right in the middle of a big conflict and starts throwing around all kinds of terms, like Fal’cie, l’cie, Pulse, Cocoon, and PSICOM and just kind of expects you to pick it up as you go. Luckily, there’s a “datalog” in the menu that acts as an encyclopedia so you can do a little bit of reading when you need a break from all the fighting.

The linearity that the game has taken a lot of flak for isn’t really that big a deal, to be honest. Yes, the game is essentially a series of “hallways,” and you’re pretty much pushed from point A to point B with a few battles in between, but in the context of the story, it makes sense. My only complaint is that the game is so gorgeous, you’ll want to look around and inspect things but what you can look around at is somewhat limited.

The characters are a lot of fun, and the voice acting is fantastic. A lot of people were complaining that the Japanese language track wasn’t selectable in the North American release, but honestly, it’s not needed. All six of the main cast are wonderfully brought to life by their voice actors, and considering some of the cheeseball lines they have to read it’s an impressive feat. Don’t listen to people when they complain about Hope or Vanille, though; both characters are a bit much at first but the more time you spend with them, the more you start to really understand where they’re coming from.

All in all, I’ve been very pleasantly surprised with the game so far. I always known it would be a good game, but I was unsure if it would be a good Final Fantasy game. Honestly, so far I’ve only seen one Chocobo (the one that lives in Sazh’s hair that I’ve come to call Frocobo), and I’ve seen Shiva and Odin, and that’s really it. Still, despite the lack of Final Fantasy elements, the game has a very Final Fantasy atmosphere, and you’d be able to tell even if the name wasn’t on the box.

Also, a word to Xbox 360 gamers: the game still looks fantastic on the 360. The reports that it doesn’t look as sharp as the PlayStation 3 version are true, but honestly you can’t tell unless they’re side-by-side. The only issue is the cinematics are compressed to fit on DVDs, but I probably wouldn’t have really noticed if I hadn’t read about it beforehand.

So if you were unsure about whether or not you should take the plunge, I say dive in. For a game that’s received so many mixed reviews, you’ll be very pleasantly surprised.

I’d like to take a moment to talk about the PlayStation Move, and how it’s a complete and total ripoff of the Wii. I’d also like to take this chance to say that if you think the Move is innovative and refreshing, you’re a freaking idiot and should probably stop breathing.

I’m not going to go into crazy specifics about how Move works, because there are plenty of other sources for information out there. I’m just going to present kneejerk reactions and call it like I see it, but Sony is pulling some BULL SHIZNIT this generation and I can’t believe that people are praising them for their lazy business practices.

Before I really get into the Move itself, I want to say that the PlayStation 3 is nothing special. Up until recently, I had every intention of getting one eventually, because there’s a handful of games I’d really like to play (LittleBigPlanet, Heavy Rain, 3D Dot Heroes, Ratchet & Clank to name a few), but this whole Move thing has really pushed me over the edge. I can’t respect Sony as a company anymore, and for me to effectively boycott a console takes a LOT of pissing me off.

Last gen, I owned all three consoles for the very first time. I was really happy! Every game that came out, I could play. I’d see fanboys slinging all kind of vile filth back and forth about how their console of preference was so much better than the others. I’d descend into the conversation and offer my words of enlightenment: “If you choose not to buy a console, the only one you’re hurting is yourself.” Why would you choose to deny yourself of great games? I decided that from then on, I’d never badmouth a console again.

But dammit Sony, you make it too hard.

They initially launched the PlayStation 3 under the mantra “This is what you want, because this is what we’re giving you.” They figured after the PlayStation 2 sold a hojillion units, anything with the name “PlayStation” on it would surely sell just as many. But it didn’t work. Wii was doing things that were exciting and new, and the Xbox 360 had already gained a HUGE head start as a hi-def gaming platform.

So what did Sony do?

Backpedal, and start ripping people off.

They had initially told people that the SIXAXIS didn’t have rumble because you couldn’t have rumble and motion sensing in the same controller. Nintendo laughed. So they came out with the DualShock 3 after falling on their faces. The Xbox 360’s achievement system was a huge hit, so Sony decides to start implementing their own “trophy” system into their games. They put their hands on their hips, a smug look of accomplishment on their faces. “Check out our trophies, they’re awesome and unique.” Now that the Wii has sold a hojillion units and is on par to outsell the mighty PlayStation 2, Sony’s Creative Department does what they do best and just steal a good idea someone else came up with and slap their name on it.

The worst thing is, PEOPLE THINK THEY’RE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT.

“Oh, this is what the Wii Remote should have been. Accurate 1:1 movement. To get that, you have to buy the Wii Motion Plus. That’s a ripoff.”

$20 to improve the controller the system is built around is a ripoff?

HOW ABOUT HAVING TO PAY $90 FOR A WHOLE NEW CONTROLLER SETUP?

This thing is a CARBON COPY of the Wii Remote and nunchuck, save for a few SLIGHT differences. All the people who mocked the Wii for being childish, for saying “I want to play with a real controller,” who’d scoff and say “enjoy your waggle” are now bowing down to Sony, thanking them for their innovation.

I can’t understand this.

It goes back to console fanboyism. Another company did it, so it’s bad and it’s a stupid idea. Now MY company did it, so it’s awesome.

These “gamers,” and I use the term loosely, have the audacity to call Nintendo a lazy company. They complain about minigame compilations (keep in mind very very few of these are actually made by Nintendo), and they say that motion control doesn’t add anything to the games.

But by taking an existing idea and applying it to their brand, Sony is driving the industry forward.

I facepalm’d so hard my face turned inside out.

So the next SOCOM is going to have motion control, huh? You use the pointer to shoot? Wow, I can’t believe no one’s thought of that before…

The Move is not going to catch on, I’m calling it right now. I’m not saying this with any kind of bias against Sony, because like I said, up until this stunt I didn’t really have anything against them. I’m saying this because they’re taking one part of what made the Wii successful, and effing the rest all up.

The Wii is a huge, runaway success not just because of the motion control, but because it’s ACCESSIBLE. The Wii is appealing to people who don’t play video games. The graphics are simple and colorful, the games are easy to understand, and how much fun is it to play as a little cartoon version of yourself? The console itself is small, with a clean, glossy white exterior. It looks nice in your living room.

From what we’ve seen of Move’s games though, they’re not recreating this. They’re using the graphics technology of the PlayStation 3 to make a realistic looking “PS3 Sports” if you will. They have a gritty looking gladiator sword fighting game. These games are not going to be appealing to people who don’t play video games. They’re intimidating. They’re not approachable. They don’t have any charm. They’re an example of technology existing simply because it can, not because it was designed to be fun to use.

Besides, the PlayStation itself is still $100 more than the Wii. Sony may get some of its existing customer base to buy the Move setup and maybe a couple of games, but it’s going to be a much tougher sell getting a first-time buyer family to choose the PlayStation 3 over the Wii.

It’s not a good fit for the PlayStation brand. They have a fantastic piece of hardware, and developers are finally starting to get the hang of it and they’re producing some really great games. In Japan, the PlayStation 3 is the ONLY choice for hi-def games, because the Xbox 360 can’t get a foothold there. They had a pretty good thing going, relatively, and now by trying to beat Nintendo at their own game, they’re shooting themselves in the foot. They’re entering a fight that they absolutely cannot win.

I don’t want a PlayStation 3 anymore because I’m getting really sick of being told what Sony does is great simply because Sony did it. For motion control, I have a Wii. For hi-def games with an overall score for every game I play, I have my Xbox 360. I have a standalone Blu-Ray player for hi-def movies. All they’ve shown me as a consumer is that their system will perform the same functions as hardware I already own, and I’d rather take that couple hundred smackers and buy more games and movies for what’s already plugged into my TV.