All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

I'm about 3 hours in as of now. So far, it's all good; it raises the bar for videogame production values, acting as an "Avatar" of sorts for videogames.

As for the linearity, while it is more linear than FFIX and earlier games in the series, honestly, I think people may have been exaggerating, as the level design is no worse than FFX's (And FFX was an awesome game).

The battle system is just as I expected it to be; ATB perfected. This is, without a doubt, one of the most fun and engaging battle systems in the series; it is true that you can only control one character during battles, but that is a minor issue that really doesn't detract from the experience at all.

As for the cutscenes, some people were saying that the game was incredibly heavy with them, calling the game a "movie" of sorts; so far, this seems like bullshit. The game is no more cutscene heavy than FFX was (And FFX was an awesome game). I like the way the game handles cutscenes, as well; the cutscenes are shorter and more scattered around than other games that elect to just put out less, but far longer cutscenes (I'm looking at you, MGS4).

There aren't any towns, but honestly, I can't say that I miss them. Since when did an RPG need "towns," anyway? In some situtations, they just feel too artificial and non-fluid; in a game like FFXIII where you're seen as terrorists and pretty much hated by everyone, honestly, being able to walk around towns and in to random people's houses and shops would be stupid and completely take you out of the game's atmosphere and plot. Having no towns can really add to the atmosphere, as well; in Metroid Prime, there were no friendly NPCs and everything wanted to kill you, which made it feel special. In Demon's Souls, aside from the Nexus and the odd merchant placed here and there, there was little to no human interaction whatsoever (Adding to the overall feeling of hopelessness the game possessed). In FFXIII, you're outlaws being hunted down by an autocratic, highly religious government. It works.

Speaking of plot, so far, the game's narrative and characters (Save for Vanille, who is really starting to piss me the hell off) are far more interesting than XII's. This is a true step up, and a return to form for the series. And that's without mentioning the lore of the world of Coccoon and Pulse; overall, it's a very interesting setting. Let's see if the rest of FFXIII's plot can make the most out of the setting.

So yeah, overall, so far, so good. The way FFXIII is structured, however, brings to mind a theory that I've often considered; that the video RPG genre is slowly going to die as other genres adopt RPG elements and hold better-developed stories, making "true" RPGs harder to distinguish. FFXIII is a more streamlined experience, with a greater focus on combat than some of the previous FF titles in the series, which had the occasional puzzle in addition to combat. Overall, it's a very experimental title (Of course, then again, the FF series is a more experimental series than most other JRPG franchises).
 

Can you say, “Biggest meetup ever?” Because if you made it out to San Francisco on Wednesday, you experienced it first-hand. Not that we didn’t expect an early God of War III hands-on event to draw a mega-crowd. But still, hats off to you guys for making it out in spades. A HUGE thank you to everyone who came out for an entire day’s worth of festivities, culminating in a chance to play God of War III before it hits stores tonight/tomorrow! Thanks also to those who followed along at home — hopefully it will make picking up the game even more exciting!

And you East-coasters that have been asking and asking for us to come to you…well, it’s official. The PlayStation.Blog is coming to New York City and Boston (PAX East) next week! Specific details coming soon.

As for San Francisco, it was a day-long celebration of God of War III. Several of you lined up as early as 5am to secure a spot in our massive tent. (Check out ALL the pictures of our God of War III GDC 2010 Meetup on Flickr!)

At around noon, we unleashed the burrito truck upon the line! Now that spells CHAOS!

Shortly after, we opened the tent “doors” to the masses. Everyone was greeted inside by PlayStation 3s loaded up with God of War Collection, and a special challenged awaited. The test? Complete the God of War II Challenge of the Titans “Blind Fury” the fastest…in one try. You die, you’re out. And the winner would lock down a God of War III Ultimate Edition!

We thought we’d see plenty of quick deaths, but in fact, many of you utterly blitzed this challenge. But only one came through with a time that could arguably last through the ages. 16 seconds! 16 freakin’ seconds! Here’s your winner:

Throughout the day, we raffled off TONS of games, posters and other unique PlayStation goodies. Anyone who brought a PSP took home God of War: Chains of Olympus, but we also gave away MLB 10: The Show PSP, Heavy Rain, Fireteam Bravo 3, Killzone 2 and much more.

The highlight of the meetup was definitely the presence of Stig and the Sony Santa Monica Studio team who stopped by to sign autographs for everyone who came! All attendees also scored a limited-edition God of War III art book!

And finally, there was the chance to take your picture and create a personalized God of War III cover! There are some truly great shots in Flickr, so flip through ‘em!