Tales of Xillia: My Thoughts

Well I finally beat Tales of Xillia for the Playstation 3. It took me over 40 hours and some mindless grinding, but I did it. The worst part is, I missed some quest and did not defeat the weapon monsters during my adventure. I definitely will have to do that on my second playthrough in the future. I also need to finish collecting all the skits and defeating all the monsters too. There really was and still is a lot to do in this game.

I really enjoyed the combat in this game. I can't say the battle system is as complex as former Tales of games, but it was still a lot of fun. I have always enjoyed the real-time fighting in these games, and this installment did not disappoint me at all. You still have the ability to run around and pummel your enemies with the added benefit of linking with other characters to add new strategies like linked artes. That's one thing I did really enjoy, the linked artes. Basically, when you link up with another character and fill up a bar in the overlimit meter, you can both perform a single arte together. It's pretty cool and effective, especially when you exploit an enemies weakness with it. If I had one qualm with the overall battles, it was the enemies weaknesses. The majority of them seemed to be weak to wind. If I wanted a quick victory, all I really had to do was link Jude and Millia and use linked wind artes. Besides that one thing, I thought the battles were fun...even if most of them weren't challenging like past Tales of games.

I am going to make this short on the graphics. I know it's one big flaw this games has, but I did not find them to be terrible. It's apparent the game has aged--it came out in 2011 in Japan--, but the harping on something that's not so bad is stupid. I honestly thought the overall graphics were fine. It didn't hurt the gameplay one bit and that's what really matters. For a game that came out two years, they still work fine. Not the best pictures, but again, doesn't hurt the overall game.


For the most part, I enjoyed the story despite feeling like it was dumbed down like Graces f. It was your typical save the world with the added twist of it not being against evil. That's right, for once, it was not fighting against evil but against beliefs. I felt like the morale of the story is that one person's justice isn't the same as another, but that does not mean you should stop fighting for what you believe is the lesser of evils. The end kind of ticked me off though. I felt like it was rushed. That really killed the game for me. Still, a good stereotypical rpg story.

The music in Tales of game is always stellar and this was no different. I enjoyed all of it. The voice acting for the English translation wasn't terrible either. I actually enjoyed it. I thought Rowen's voice was perfect for him. I think people expect too much out of voice acting or are too stiff on excepting that English voice acting can be done just as fantastic as the Japanese audio.


I think the overall score for this game would be an 8/10. It wasn't my favorite Tales of game, but it still was fun and I still enjoyed it. There were a lot of things that needed to be worked on, but it was still worth the money and a good game to pick up and play.


Score: 8/10

Tales of Symphonia Unisonant Pack Confirmed for the PS3

That's right, for all the Tales loving fans out there, one of the best games in the series is being remade for the Playstation 3. It was both confirmed at the Tales Festival and to be localized in the West! That means we will have an opportunity to play this great game again in HD with the added bonus of Dawn of the New World. This is great news for new fans to the series and to those that never had the chance play this spectacular game. I can't tell you how excited I am, even if it's a remake of two classic games.

The release of this remastered game tells me two things. First, it tells me that Namco Bandai actually cares about their fans in the West and listens to us in generally. They realize that people over here actually enjoy playing there fantastic games and that makes them willing to localize it for us. Two, it tells me that the fan base for the Tales games are continuously growing in the western world. It really should be no surprise since the popularity of videogames has exploded--it still begs the question why it still is a stigma to many--and more and more people are playing them. Despite how niche the rpg genre is in generally, it still has a huge following of loyal fans willing and ready to play and even Namco Bandai knows that they should capitalize on the situation.

I really am excited for this game though. It's been too long since I have had the chance to play Tales of Symphonia and I will finally get the chance to try Dawn of the New World. For newcomers to the Tales series, not many make it out here, so it's kind of a big deal. After the break, you can find the trailer for this game.

Guest Writer: My Problem with the Industry

My name is Tom Butto, and this is my first post on this blog. Matt has been kind enough to let me contribute, and I thank him for how wonderful of a person he is on a daily basis. Matt and I have been friends since high school, and we have many things in common. We both like sports, trolling, drinking beer, and of course, video games. You put the both of us in front of a video game we both like, and we will play that game for hours upon hours without stopping. That’s how we are; we are bingers, especially when it comes to video games. We love video games, we love to play video games, we love to beat each other in Madden or The Show, we have been playing the same Madden franchise in Madden 2011, and during the Halo 3 days, we loved to jump in a Hog and trash talk people while mowing them down with machine gun bullets and some sweet driving. I have never had a problem with video games, or the video game industry, until now.

I have a problem because the video game industry is killing itself. Facebook, mobile phone games, free-to-play are threatening the industry because they are as popular as ever, and yet the video game industry and the companies who make the console, I’m looking at Microsoft, seem like they are trying to distance themselves from their consumers. They are becoming greedier as the years go on, and seemingly keep shooting themselves in the foot. With the announcement of the new Xbox One, this was the final straw for me. The system has to be connected to the Internet at all times? Game prices are going to go up? If you borrow a game from a friend, it will cost you five dollars? This is all ridiculous. They want people to only buy new games, and subscribe to Xbox Live, which costs people more money. Either these people who came up with all these ideas for the new Xbox are so disillusioned and detached from society because of how successful the Xbox 360 was, or they simply don’t care. Last time I checked, people are still struggling to make ends meet. People do not have money to have subscriptions to Xbox Live, and pay 70 or 80 dollars for a video game.

Add this to downloadable content getting more and more ridiculous, and I want the video game industry to fail. I want people to stop buying video games and consoles when the new generation of systems comes out. Or at the very least, people stop buying the Xbox One, because the PlayStation 4 seems fine from what I have heard. Maybe if people go on a little unofficial boycott, the suits at these companies will have to change some ideas and actually look like they care about their customers. Because at this rate, you will have to pay an entry fee to get into a video game store, and have to put a strand of your hair in your console so they know your DNA and where you are at all times. Maybe if the industry collapses on itself, real, innovative ideas will come to the forefront. Until then, I will be content playing my Xbox 360, working on the fifth or sixth season of our Madden franchise.

Persona 4: Arena Review

Persona 4: Arena picks up where Persona 4 left off. I am not going to spoil the story so I will stop there. That being said, I had the opportunity to try this fighter out for an hour thanks to being a Playstation Plus member. I have always been a quiet fan of fighting games that weren't Tekken  and I figured it would be a good chance to try out the game. I have to say for the hour I was able to play, it was a lot of fun. It's not as complicated as say BlazBlue where I needed to study a textbook to understand all them mechanics of the game, but it also left me with the impression that I still needed to know what I was doing beyond button mashing.  It's an easy pick-up and the game doesn't seem to have a steep learning curve to be able play competitively. 

The time I spent playing this fighter was in the Arcade Mode. There, I chose the main protagonist--Yu Narukami--from the 13 playable characters, and battled my way up to the final boss. There were many wins and few loses, but I would be lying if I said many of the matches did not present me with a decent challenge. It was fast, flashy fighting with fantastic artwork that made me sweat when my health was pretty low. It actually felt good to beat this game with one of the characters. Plus, there's even a decent story involved in this game to continue the story from both Persona 4 and Persona 3. I won't delve further into that in case some of you never played either one.

For how cheap this game is, it's a definite pick up for your collection. It's fun, fast, and can bring you hours of play. It may not be as complex and competitive as BlazBlue or Tekken, but it's still fun and worth your time.

Date Set for Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5

According to the Playstation Blog, you will finally be able to own this updated masterpiece September 10, 2013. For anyone that cares enough, if you pre-order this game soon, you will get a limited edition art book. A really cool item to keep on your coffee table to impress your friends with...or have them question your maturity in my case. This is a must have for both collectors and fans. It was a great game for its time and a unique one at that. For anyone who has not played this game in the past, this is the perfect opportunity to see what all the hype of these games are about.

Personally, I think it's great that an updated version of this classic is coming out. Many of the younger generations or people who were not really into gaming in the early 2000's really missed out on a gem. Now, they will have a chance to play and live through Sora's tale as he tackles adventures in Disney worlds with his companions, Donald and Goofy, while looking for King Mickey. You encounter various characters from Disney and Final Fantasy during the course of the game. You even team up with some of them while in their worlds! I am not going to spoil the game so I am stopping there. Will I purchase this item? I think I will. I wish they packaged both 1 and 2 together but I will take what they give.

Time and Eternity: The Creepiest Game Trailer Ever

I don't think I have ever felt so uncomfortable listening to a narrator then watching this game trailer for Time and Eternity which is set to be released in North America in July for the PS3.  Honestly, take five minutes of your time and listen to him. It's a turn off to this game and that upsets me. The trailer explains the premise of a game while finding a way to make you feel like a pervert for wanting to play this unique take on the RPG genre.

 

I hope you watched this video. Doesn't it make you lose hope in humanity? No wonder why RPG's that aren't Skyrim get such a bad reputation in the West. You have game trailers like that--not to say this game would appeal to most gamers--and it takes away from what can be a potentially awesome experience.

Anyway, this game is set to come out July 7th according to GameStop.com. It seems like a game that might be worth while to play.