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Daily Archives: August 23, 2007

Where would you rather vacation?

Where would you rather vacation? In a nice house on some tidy West Palm Beach real estate, or in a videogame fantasy world of your choosing?

A few years ago, I might’ve gone for the videogame world. After all, nearly everyone in a videogame world is at least mildly pleasant-looking and you don’t even need to worry about using the can in most of them; no one needs to!

But of late, I’ve come to favor someplace like West Palm Beach over a fantasy land. Why?

Easy: who needs to be hounded by chocobos, evil nasties, out-of-control wildlife transformed into monsters, the evil dead and all sorts of other unpleasantness that pops up in videogame worlds? And who needs the fate of the world resting on their shoulders when you’re after a vacation?

Give me the real world any time over all that mess.

save our homes

Persona 3′s the one for me!

The secret gaming obsession I’ve held this summer is centered around one game: Persona 3, by Atlus. It’s a supernatural, kinda spooky thriller that comes in the form of an RPG with some action elements, some turn-based, and some strategy.

And it’s a school-year sim.

How’s that for odd? A dating mini-game is part of the fabric of school life and to get a girlfriend in the game all you have to do is: don’t say mean things, spend time with them and buy them nice things. Like that would ever…

…umm, never mind.

Anyway, if you like your games with a touch of the supernatural and lots of steel buildings, Persona 3 is for you!

No-brainers for PSP Slim

While many of the adjustments and tweaks for the upcoming redesign on the PSP sound great, here’s some things I haven’t heard mentioned that I’d love to see included, or else we may have to exile Sony’s design group to an Orlando vacation rental until they think of something better and… err… they’d like that too much! Back to the drawing board for a more appropriate punishment, men! Meantime, here’s some no-brainer improvements that could be made to PSP Slim, but haven’t been announced so far:

1) A screen that can be left uncovered by a thick, clear sticker without scratching.

2) Better carrying case options that don’t cost half as much again as the PSP itself.

3) Better ways to acquire music and video and get it on your memory stick without all the hassle.

4) Cheaper memory sticks!

Not bad for a Top 4, is it?

Jeanne d’Arc has staying power

Jeanne d’Arc has staying power. Although it’s just hitting store shelves about now, I’ve been pleased to say I’ve been playing it for over six weeks and the game is still going strong when it comes to holding my interest.

I’m logging a lot of hours on it, looking for that miracle burn transformation that allows Jeanne and select other characters to transform into super-soldiers who can wipe out large groups at a time thanks to the addictive One More battle system.

Seriously, this is every bit the must-have I’ve been saying it is for some time now.

Credit where its due

I have to give credit where it’s due. Namco-Bandai’s Tales series is getting better.

While Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology isn’t groundbreaking by any means and still eats tailpipe from a game like Jeanne d’Arc, it is one of the more playable Tales titles in quite a while. And it’s on PSP!

Costume changes from armor to jewelry is reflected on-screen in the nice graphics, and the load times are kept to a minimum.

It’s not my first RPG of choice on the system, but it’s playable for certain. Hopefully more solid, playable RPGs will soon appear.

The entertainment stand of tomorrow

Finding the right cabinet hardware for a modern entertainment system is harder than ever. Just think of all the stuff you need to fit on it. Here’s a list of what I’d want, if budget were no barrier:

1) 48-inch TrueHD (1080p) Sony LCD HDTV

2) 6.1 Surround Sound stereo system, preferably by Bose

3) DirecTV HD digital video recorder

4) 80GB Apple video iPod with docking station for home play and charging.

5) Xbox 380 (top bundle available)

6) PlayStation 3 (top bundle available)

7) HD Radio and Satellite Radio tuners

8) Blu-Ray DVD player (HD-DVD sucks and I don’t want to overuse my PS3)

9) Entertainment center chairs

10) Nice cherrywood construction on the entertainment center

Think about it. How easy is it to build all that and yet have room for some DVD / games / music CD storage racks nearby? They don’t come cheap, that’s for sure.

Heavenly Sword ok, not heavenly

If scantily clad women in HD is all it takes to please you as a gamer, then Sony’s forthcoming Heavenly Sword for PS3 will make you dress up in an animal costume. However, for the more discerning gamer, it might not end up being quite all it’s cracked up to be.

The game casts you in the role of a Xena Warrior Princess-style hero and has you play out a very God of War-style plot. The story’s OK, the graphics are solid, but the game play feels no different than God of War or any other top action game.

Actually, it doesn’t really feel at all, per se; with the PS3 controller lacking the Dual Shock 2 tactile sensation that both God of War games afford on the PS2, God of War actually is a bit less immersive.

But hey, it’s a pre-release build and sometimes these games turn out better than the preview code makes them appear. We’ll know soon enough.