VideogameVagabond.com

Can a 45-year-old man maintain a marriage and a videogame habit? Let's find out!

Daily Archives: March 29, 2010

Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands

The next big game release my wife and I are looking forward to that will qualify as a “must have right away” title is Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands. The first PS3 Prince of Persia was a revelation for us both, and a game we both played through to the end more than once. We even bought the four-hour expansion from PSN.

But now, the follow up to that title is only about six weeks away and I’m jazzed, though not to the point of needing a pulse oximeter or anything. But excited? You bet.

Really, the big appeal beyond the gorgeousness of the game is the appealing storytelling of the relationship between the prince and the princess. Sure, it’s pure Disney’s Aladdin stuff, but it works for me, OK? And it’s one of a select group of action games that I genuinely enjoy as much as even my favorite RPGs.

More FFXIII impressions

I’m not the world’s fastest gamer. At 43 and counting, I doubt I’m the world’s fastest anything. But I have made it about six to 10 hours into FFXIII and I’m still impressed by the 1080p level of detail (thanks, SquareEnix!), the appealing characters and the patient storytelling.

Rather than explain everything up front before things get rolling, FFXIII moves you into some action right away. Sure, it’s not free-roaming exploration until about 15 hours in… so I’m getting there soon… but it is a way to get the player into battling and leveling up right away while doling out the story in smaller, bite-sized doses.

Massive story sequences and long waits between save spots have been a long-standing complaint I’ve had about SquareEnix RPGs, so I’m pleased to see someone listened… especially since I know I’m not the only one with this complaint. It’s practically a Symbol LS2208 among those in the know.

Plus, I have to say I’m overjoyed that, this time out, I am far more involved in the battles than I was when playing Final Fantasy XII on PS2. If I want to see a movie, I’ll see a movie; I play games in order to feel involved in the outcome. Thanks also, SquareEnix, for recognizing that and responding to this not-infrequent complaint in which I’ve not been alone.

Final Fantasy XIII is to Final Fantasy XII what Windows 7 is to Windows Vista…

Dragon Age: Awakenings

I recently picked up the almost-full-priced expansion to Dragon Age: Origin… Awakening. I was a bit shocked at the sticker price: $40 for something that doesn’t seem to add much more than some $5-$8 expansions I’ve bought through PSN. Of course, at least those one could play right away; Awakenings is designed for high-level players who’ve finished the first game and its expansions and want to continue on for another 20-30 hours.

I guess it’ll be fine, though I still wish whiny developers would get off their butts and design 1080p games for 1080p systems. Now that my wife and I have a 1080p set, we’d really like a few titles that actually take advantage of it… otherwise I’d be better off spending my time on a bumbleride indie twin.