Gran Turismo 5 - PS3

Gran Turismo 5 brings together some of the biggest names in the auto industry and places them at your fingertips. The game brings some of the best graphics onto the screen and includes 3D viewing and online play. Some of the sleekest cars on some of the world's premiere courses are included in this huge game. I've been playing it since November, purchased it on Black Friday, and haven't scratched the surface.

I've been a fan of Gran Turismo and played the first two in with great enthusiasm. The first one definitely blew my mind, with all the cars and all the ways to tune them. The second one had even more, and then the licenses and endurance races. But as you go to three and four, you start to wonder if the game was more for playing or just for watching. Even in Gran Turismo 5 you're tasked with completing just as many races in A-spec mode than on B-spec. The new element in B-spec is that you now get the option of entering in more than one racer. I haven't got to that point yet. I do have three racers now, all above level 10. It feels more and more like a RPG.

As for the rest of the game, not much has changed. The races are broken into five modes on A-Spec, and the first three (beginner, amateur, professional) are relatively easy. You're going to have to get back into the groove of racing since GT4 was five years ago. The licenses are hard and easy. Hard if you want to get Gold and Silver, but relative simple. Just concentrate a bit more than usual and you'll get the bronze. Some of the newer tracks takes time to get used, but nothing is too confusing.

The special events have been amp'ed up. There are now go-karts, the Top Gear track, and even a selection of Nascar races. I went through a lot of them, but still haven't got the trophies yet. The Go-Kart races and the WRC stuff seem the most fun so far. I didn't like the Nascar trials, and I think it's going to be a grueling time finishing it.

I've yet to finish one game online, but my connection is slow and the races online didn't interest me. Most people don't mind running into you at full speed or being ran into for that matter. I just hope that more interesting DLC's will come along. As for now, I'm sticking with single player mode. Until then, keep racing.

Dragon Quest 9 - NDS (part 1)

When I write about Dragon Quest I know I'll be writing for more than just one part, so just for my own sake, I'm calling this part one. While the last Square Enix game took about 100 hours plus to completely attain all the achievements, and I didn't even get there, this game might take even more. I wasn't even sure if I was going to play this game. I mean, Dragon Quest? again? Why?

Well why not? I found myself starting this game in a hotel room in San Jose. Before long I wanted to play through the night. Playing through eight games, and the sound and feel of it has not changed a bit. From the opening score to the cheerful themed songs in the towns, I feel like I'm instantly transported to another world. Final Fantasy 13 took my breath away with it's 1080P graphics in a 30 gig blu-ray disc, but Dragon Quest 9 does the same on the NDS with just 250 megs!

But the game is not just all tradition, there are many new aspects about the game. To start, you not only can choose your hero's gender, but you can create his look. It's like playing the Sims to a small extent. Then you they expanded the inventory slots to more than just four, there there are seven items that a character can equip. Plus everything that you equip is displayed on the screen. It's just sad that you sometimes have to wear something uncouth like a tortoise's shell.
Next, there are no more random battles. Perhaps that bugs players that are learning about Dragon Quest, but I've lived through so many of it through the series and don't find it too much to complain. Although now with the ability to pick and choose which enemies to encounter, I find myself rushing to attack when I see a metal slime (or any of the metal family for that matter). Next there is the experience point splitting system. After the battle, the ones with higher levels will get more EXP. I guess this prevents you from power leveling a new person you create from level 1. And yes, most of the party members you get (at least from the beginning anyway) are those that you create and recruit yourself. I start with a priest (pole arms), martial artist (war fans), and theif (daggers). Another new development I notice is that when a character dies in battle, at least for boss battles, if the party wins, he still gets EXP. That's quite helpful as I tend to fight bosses under-leveled and I win by a hair many times. I don't like to "grind" much any more, so I tend to fight bosses before the recommended levels.

There are more game concepts that developed, but I'll have to reserve those for the second post.
For now, I'm trying to hack my way through the game. But life is busy at the moment. My game time has been reduced significantly. Until then, I'll be wearing slime earrings. Screenshots to come too.

Final Fantasy 13 - PS3 (part 2)

(img: a beautiful new era.) Final Fantasy 7 traditionalists will always say that Final Fantasy 10 does not compare to the classics. Final Fantasy 3 traditionalists will always say that the Final Fantasy 7 does not compare to the classics. Then again, Final Fantasy 1 traditionalists will say the same about all the other Final Fantasy games. So every new generation of Final Fantasy seems worse than the previous. Or so it seems.

(img: the highly advanced culture of Cocoon) After a grueling 55 hours of game play, and half of it wasn't really playing, I completed Final Fantasy 13. It wasn't that bad. Any game that you put in over 20 hours on, it probably wasn't that bad. I think in the big scheme of things, it's a good RPG. It didn't fare up to the older Final Fantasies, but I still think it's a good game.

(Img: Gran Pulse is a land of nature)The adventurers fall out of Cocoon and eventually arrive on Gran Pulse, a world totally undeveloped by humans. There are ruins of course, but as far as the eye can see you feel like you're on a great plain. It reminded me of the great Veldt in Final Fantasy 6. I wanted to see if there was a young kid named Gau roaming around. The monsters are huge, and the first time you see the adamantoises you can't help but be intimidated.

Not long after Pulse, well depending on how long you want to grind experience points, the group re-enters Cocoon and Eden. Talking about crashing the party. It's one of the most intense CGI / FMV's in the game, and I'm still wondering how to replay it after the game. With them going back, a warp gate is formed and hordes of Pulse animals pour through. I'm not saying just the wolves and the winged beasts, but the giant adamatoises as well. What a fun sight.

(img: the mood before the big fight.) I won't go into too much detail over the battle in Eden. But it leads you into Orphan's cradle where you battle the evil Barthanthelus and Orphan. The battle with Orphan was actually a difficult boss at my level. I did not have a fully powered team and my weapons were barely leveled up. My final party was Lightning, Fang, and Hope; quite standard I believe and it mostly hinged on Fang being able to hold up with her Sentinel role. But with a little luck, I was able to win the game. Well, I was able to complete the central narrative of the story, but the many side quests await.

(img: why is there a couch here?)

• Game Time: 55 Hours
• Completed game
• 30% of trophies collected for PS3 version