It's been a little while, so this post will be a mash-up of random stuff...
Of Bioshock
Sure it's a year late, but this game was great!
I want to say right now that had I made it to Andrew Ryan the first two times I had started this game in the past, I know I wouldn't have quit playing (something I really struggle with when it comes to games). Perhaps that was the problem; it just took a bit too long to get to that point. Once I met Ryan, the game got seriously good and I was hooked. Amazing!
For those that haven't played the game yet because you don't have a 360 (or didn't play it on the PC), you have got to get this game when it hits the PS3. It's not everyday that I tell people a game is a must play, but this is one of them.
The combat was fun with a good mix of shooting and special plasmid attacks and the exploration (while dragging a bit in the beginning maybe) was very cool too. I thought that the story in the game was great (esp. once you meet Ryan) and it is probably the best I've ever seen in a shooter.
Conclusion... I think this game is fantastic!
Of Eternal Sonata
I am now five hours into the game and just reached Chapter 2. So far I am enjoying the game pretty well with no real complaints, but along with several things that I like a lot, there are a couple of things that have sort of gotten under my skin...
Pros:
- The game is very pretty. I love the art style.
- Combat is fun and I find myself seeking out fights even if I don't have to.
- I enjoy the various skills the game gives you to use and I've been trying to make the most of them.
- The soundtrack is excellent.
- I like the story bits mixing with information about Chopin's life, very nice.
Cons:
- The character conversations (story parts) can drag on quite a while, to the point where your controller will shut off due to not pressing any buttons. This has happened a couple times so far and it is lame each time.
- Beat is annoying. I know he's supposed to be 8 yrs. old, but come on... Ugh.
Neutrals:
- The inventory system took me a bit too long to figure out. Probably my fault though.
- The hit points are a bit high aren't they? I'm not used to RPGs where your characters start off with 1000+ HP. It works in the context of the game, but I wish all of the regular battles were as hard as the boss fights. I love a challenge.
All in all, it's good stuff though. I hope to blaze through this game in about a week.
Other Stuff
I am going to see the Smashing Pumpkins in Charlottesville this weekend. They have been one of my favorite bands since I was just a kid and this is the first chance I've ever had to see them live, so I'm pretty excited.
Well! That's all I got to say about stuff for now, have a good weekend.
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There was a recent demo for "Tales of [whatever]" game and Eternal Sonata felt a lot like that. With the random battles where you run around fighting people. Would take me some time to get used to.
I also really loved the face to face against Ryan in Bioshock.
As for how this compares to Tales games, I like this system much more. I like that I am only controlling one character at a time (since I love turn-based far more than action) and that until you take an action (like moving, etc...), you can think about what you want to do for as long as you like. Overall, I think it is a really neat hybrid of the two traditional systems that works well and keeps the player from getting bored.
@Zanyice: Yeah! See that is the point that made me think "holy crap!". After that, I was really motivated to play the game to the end as fast as I could. That's why I said that had that moment come sooner, I wouldn't have quit the game twice before. Then again, had that moment come sooner, it wouldn't have had the impact that it does either, so...
One thing is for sure, I quit a lot of games. I don't know why I do it either. I don't have ADD or anything (don't even believe in ADD to tell the truth) so I guess it's just a thing of getting bored and moving on. It could be a side effect of having so many games that I haven't played yet too, since I own a lot of games.
There lies the catch-22 of it all though... I have a lot of games to play and it doesn't help when I quit halfway through one game to start another all the time. If I never finish games, then how can I ever hope to have less games to move on to? Another reason I have so many games is because I keep on buying more, thus compounding that problem. So far this month alone I have added 20+ games to my collection (granted most all of those are old NES games I won on ebay from a "lot auction" for really cheap, but still, it's just more games I have to play now.
I suppose I am my own worst enemy when it comes to this, and don't even get me started on some games (like CoD4) which I can sometimes get addicted to playing online for months at a time, but what am I gonna do, stop buying games? Fat chance of that happening!
That said, I really liked Eternal Sonata's battle system and it definitely kept me playing. I can't speak as kindly about the story because it was building up nicely in the first half, but sort of fell flat in the second.
@randombullseye: Yea I'm in the same boat waiting for Lost Odessy to drop in price since I'm always behind and playing older games cause their cheaper.
and the pumpkins rawk. I saw them in like 96 or 97 on devil's night (the day before halloween) after the show we went around the neighborhood and smashed pumpkins.
That 8-year-old kid annoyed the hell out of me in the 10 minutes I played, so I can't imagine going through the whole game with him.
About Eternal Sonata, there is no story... absolutely none. They introduce a vilain (Clovis) and he's using the mineral powder to turn citizens into monsters blablabla..., but Clovis has nothing to do with the game. You see him once, beat him, then never see him again. Why introduce a story about mineral powder if you never use that story? It makes absolutely no sense! I hated the story so much, but the gameplay is fun and i played the whole game with my girlfriend so that was nice.
As for Bioshock, I've got a copy that's sitting right in the middle of my queue.
The battles were alot of fun though I liked the way it continualy evolved.
Must say i'm not really a fan of the music though, it was ok but not nothing memorable or special. Infact I used the FF7 soundtrack for some places and it fit so much better lol.