the singularity of being and nothingness
Posts tagged Video Games
Final Fantasy XIII Review
Jul 7th
Final Fantasy XIII was one of my most anticipated games in a long time. Heck, I more or less bought an Xbox 360 so I could play it (well, and Left 4 Dead 2, of course!).
For those who know me, it is well understood that I am a big fan of the Final Fantasy franchise. With the exception of a few spin-offs for the various hand-held devices (and XI, which doesn’t count), I’ve played every Final Fantasy to date. I’ve reveled in the unparalleled awesomeness of VII and VIII, vigorously defended IX as a GOOD game, and even suffered through others like X-2 (remember that one?). I’ve watched both movies, and have trudged through spin-offs of the franchise like Dirge of Cerberus. My love of Final Fantasy, of course, guided me infallibly to Kingdom Hearts which, although probably consistently better than FF games, rings in at a close second.
Given my history, then, I feel I am an adequate judge of the games. So without further introduction, here’s my breakdown of Final Fantasy XIII.
StoryFFXIII is the story of six otherwise unlikely comrades bound together by a common curse which has transformed them into L’cie, the hated and feared subordinates of the Fal’cie More >
Another Notch in the Belt: Final Fantasy XII
Aug 10th
Well, it’s done. I stayed up until 1:00 this morning and finally put Final Fantasy XII to rest. Total gamplay hours: 72:32.
On the whole, I enjoyed this installment in my favorite video game series. At first, I HATED the battle system, but as I progressed in the game, it became pretty interesting and became a formidable weapon in my hands as I cut through the pathetically weak enemies which I encountered.
The plot was not as good as some, and at times I felt as if I had missed gigantic sequences of storyline as characters, events and other random factoids were presented as if already well-established. One interesting aspect of the storyline is that it was not as single-protagonist-focused as other FF games. Although the player begins with Vaan, the story quickly transforms into an epic about another character (the Lady Ashe), while still drawing into the narrative the lives of several others. Although the storyline felt rushed at many times, it was engaging and satisfying on the whole.
Typically, I finish most FF games in about 30-35 hours. The reason for the over two-fold increase on this installment is multifaceted. First, with most games, finishing the game is my only goal. More >
