A reasonable perspective?

[HaNGMaN]

Well, good news is, Versus-13 will have all of that.
Open world, and were talking really big, able to go into the city and explore all of the streets..kind of like GTA...able to take enemy vehicles and use them, Kingdom Hearts battle system, which I love. So far all the characters seem pretty likable, so far....we need more details is all.

I never played Kingdom Hearts actually, the Disney motif sort of ground at my nerves personally. This is the first I am hearing about the GTA style of open world. If that is true, that is mind bogginly amazing. Okay see now I want this game in my arms in front of a fireplace, drinking wine out of a box with some Kenny G playing in the background. I want it in my mouth.

 

[Winterfrost]

I never played Kingdom Hearts actually, the Disney motif sort of ground at my nerves personally. This is the first I am hearing about the GTA style of open world. If that is true, that is mind bogginly amazing. Okay see now I want this game in my arms in front of a fireplace, drinking wine out of a box with some Kenny G playing in the background. I want it in my mouth.

The fighting system is Kingdom Hearts, but damage still appears as numbers...and IMO there is no greater feeling than seeing numbers go above 100k.

 

[Ether0]

I will give you Lightning, and Fang to add to it. However, Snow's "Fabio" persona of the knight saving the damsel in distress, the Hope's Brady Bunch revenge plot, AND OH DEAR GOD VANILLE.....those left a horrible taste in my mouth. Then instead of giving me something like mouthwash to clear my pallet, they give me Sarah who sounds like an 8 year old squeekie toy, and Noel who tried so hard to be Tidus but ended up being one of those cheap imitation knockoffs, like Pear computers, or Best Buying, or Wallgreenish. No thank you. Versus-13 needs to have a likeable cast, towns, a deeper combat system (though I didn't mind 13's), and side quests until my thumbs bleed. If they can do that, then I am sold, but another linear quest of babysitting morons and children won't do it for me. IX was my favorite, and I think that always will be. Ironic considering my dislike for the helpless obnoxious kids in XIII killing my buzz. At least in IX they could hold their own. Vivi ftw!

Lmao! Your like the only other person I have encountered who say ff9 is the best, my favorite too. Yeah the character besides Lightning and Fang sucked. I did not mind Hope so much and Sahz was okay, did not care for the bird infested afro though. Snow was awful and Vanille was just as bad. I liked her relationship with Fang and wished square had the guts to actually make them a real couple and not just "friends". I remember a long time ago hearing that Versus would have a proper final fantasy world map as well as the ability to actually pilot an airship again and the combat looked really great. I would just not get too amped for it given Square's current track record lol.

 

[Winterfrost]

Lmao! Your like the only other person I have encountered who say ff9 is the best, my favorite too. Yeah the character besides Lightning and Fang sucked. I did not mind Hope so much and Sahz was okay, did not care for the bird infested afro though. Snow was awful and Vanille was just as bad. I liked her relationship with Fang and wished square had the guts to actually make them a real couple and not just "friends". I remember a long time ago hearing that Versus would have a proper final fantasy world map as well as the ability to actually pilot an airship again and the combat looked really great. I would just not get too amped for it given Square's current track record lol.

FF8 and 9 were my favorites, actually...dunno why.
And Hope in 13-2 sounded weird as hell.

 

[Ether0]

FF8 and 9 were my favorites, actually...dunno why.
And Hope in 13-2 sounded weird as hell.

He was way less annoying but the only characters who were any good in that game were Caius, the bad guy and Lightning who was barely in the game

 

[Winterfrost]

He was way less annoying but the only characters who were any good in that game were Caius, the bad guy and Lightning who was barely in the game

You would think Lightning being on the cover, you'd see more of her...sad really.

 

[Ether0]

You would think Lightning being on the cover, you'd see more of her...sad really.

Yeah....they did release a dlc episode with her but I am happy the next game is just a solo Lightning adventure, no Noel or Snow or Vanille and her weird fishing rod weapon to make it suck hopefully

 

[Shin Muramasa]

Given my detachment from certain franchises and joining them very late, I enjoyed FFXIII and XIII-2. At first I was on the Versus-train and absolutely was against playing FFXIII ever. Reviews ended up reinforcing that. For one, I prefer action orientated combat over turn-based strategy. I just suck at long term strategy compared to on the fly strategy. Well, one day I took a chance and decided "What the hell? Why not just try FFXIII?" and I did and I loved the game from the start. The setting and melding between turn-based and action combat for me were wonderful. The story was all right, not the greatest, but not the worse. FFXIII-2 became one of the few games I bought on release; the others being Super Smash Bros. Brawl and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (I needed the motion-plus controller since I didn't have one). I enjoyed XIII-2 for the change in gameplay. It was more free than XIII, but still linear. Combat was smoother and more fluid in my opinion. The story was more engaged than XIII in my opinion, it was there rather than set in the background sort of.

Character-wise, I liked everyone, but Mog. The high-pitched voice annoyed me. Snow was the idiot hero who tries whatever to help. While that frustrates others, his dedication to it was what redeemed him for me. And Snow reminded me of (Classic) Dante in appearance. Sazh was great. He's the fatherly, humorous character that we don't often see. Vanille I didn't hate, but didn't like. Everyone was hiding something, she hid behind a facade of happiness. It's tragic, but what can you do if you knew you were responsible for the deaths of millions. I could go on with the rest of the characters but I'll cut to the chase.

In playing FFXIII and loving it, I learned not to take much from reviews and others opinions on games, films, books, etc. Facts, however, cannot be ignored though, like say game A while having a good story and gameplay, suffers from game-breaking glitches and inconsistent frame rate. That I wouldn't be able to ignore. At the same time, I learned not to make such a big deal over a game for whatever reason. Such as never playing FFXIII because Versus appealed to me more in combat. Or having a ridiculous hatred for Uncharted because Naughty Dog "abandoned" Jak & Daxter; probably the stupidest reason for hating a game, good thing I was able to get past it and enjoy a fantastic series.

Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith. Although I sort of knew this before when it came to food; mom said to try whatever and if you didn't like it, then you don't. Just don't like it from never trying. Now, that's applied to other things.

And for whatever reason a person would like to trash me for liking the FFXIII series, I have played X and XII, just never got to completing them. And I the ones before X, I never got a chance to play, except IV? The one with Cecil Harvey.

 

[Ether0]

Given my detachment from certain franchises and joining them very late, I enjoyed FFXIII and XIII-2. At first I was on the Versus-train and absolutely was against playing FFXIII ever. Reviews ended up reinforcing that. For one, I prefer action orientated combat over turn-based strategy. I just suck at long term strategy compared to on the fly strategy. Well, one day I took a chance and decided "What the hell? Why not just try FFXIII?" and I did and I loved the game from the start. The setting and melding between turn-based and action combat for me were wonderful. The story was all right, not the greatest, but not the worse. FFXIII-2 became one of the few games I bought on release; the others being Super Smash Bros. Brawl and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (I needed the motion-plus controller since I didn't have one). I enjoyed XIII-2 for the change in gameplay. It was more free than XIII, but still linear. Combat was smoother and more fluid in my opinion. The story was more engaged than XIII in my opinion, it was there rather than set in the background sort of.

Character-wise, I liked everyone, but Mog. The high-pitched voice annoyed me. Snow was the idiot hero who tries whatever to help. While that frustrates others, his dedication to it was what redeemed him for me. And Snow reminded me of (Classic) Dante in appearance. Sazh was great. He's the fatherly, humorous character that we don't often see. Vanille I didn't hate, but didn't like. Everyone was hiding something, she hid behind a facade of happiness. It's tragic, but what can you do if you knew you were responsible for the deaths of millions. I could go on with the rest of the characters but I'll cut to the chase.

In playing FFXIII and loving it, I learned not to take much from reviews and others opinions on games, films, books, etc. Facts, however, cannot be ignored though, like say game A while having a good story and gameplay, suffers from game-breaking glitches and inconsistent frame rate. That I wouldn't be able to ignore. At the same time, I learned not to make such a big deal over a game for whatever reason. Such as never playing FFXIII because Versus appealed to me more in combat. Or having a ridiculous hatred for Uncharted because Naughty Dog "abandoned" Jak & Daxter; probably the stupidest reason for hating a game, good thing I was able to get past it and enjoy a fantastic series.

Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith. Although I sort of knew this before when it came to food; mom said to try whatever and if you didn't like it, then you don't. Just don't like it from never trying. Now, that's applied to other things.

And for whatever reason a person would like to trash me for liking the FFXIII series, I have played X and XII, just never got to completing them. And I the ones before X, I never got a chance to play, except IV? The one with Cecil Harvey.

That's great buddy, I think despite both of the flaws and issues I persona;lly had with both games, they were still really good games who got way to much fan backlash just for shaking things up. While the 13 series did not live up to my personal hype I initially had for it, I do really appreciate the fact that they have become a hotbed of gameplay experimentation for Square

 

[Shin Muramasa]

That's great buddy, I think despite both of the flaws and issues I persona;lly had with both games, they were still really good games who got way to much fan backlash just for shaking things up. While the 13 series did not live up to my personal hype I initially had for it, I do really appreciate the fact that they have become a hotbed of gameplay experimentation for Square

More developers need to experiment more. And I believe that gamers should be more accepting of experimentation and understanding towards developers. Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, Full Frontal Assault; the FFXIII series, and Vanquish comes to mind for me. Insomniac Games tried to experiment with co-op gameplay and tower defense. Both games were reviewed harshly. Being a Ratchet & Clank fan, I acknowledge the fact they were trying something new, but at the same time, I felt All 4 One and Full Frontal Assault were not as fun as previous Ratchet & Clank games. They still had the charm and humor though. Insomniac Games were really humble with the reviews though. I think it was a reply to Destructoid's review, I don't remember what they said, but they never blamed the fans or people who played them.

FFXIII, already talked about. Vanquish was another TPS game, but it tried to be fast paced. Most TPS's from what I played are not that fast paced, but Vanquish was. And while it received high marks, I don't think it sold well. How good did experimenting go with that? Yet Platinum Games continues with Anarchy Reigns, a game focused on online multiplayer fighting. Low reviews, but it tried online multiplayer with a different gameplay. Santa Monica Studios is doing that too with God of War: Ascension.

I don't want to point fingers at certain games and disrespect those who enjoy them, but many games that make a lot of money have similar gameplay throughout sequels and different franchises. Games that try to be different are hit or miss. Borderlands 1 & 2 were hits with a fusion of FPS and RPG similar to Diablo and a loot system. Darksiders 1 & 2 were a hit and a miss; both combined gameplay of Zelda, Prince of Persia, God of War, RPGs, and almost Devil May Cry into one, but the success of the first did not translate to the second, especially considering THQ's status. Dishonored was a hit by being a game near the end of a generation and combining sandbox gameplay in a linear story. Spec Ops: The Line while having a generic gameplay deviated from most modern shooters by examining the dark, twisted realities of war and combat. Nier follows suit with a good story as stated by players of it, but the gameplay looked uninteresting. Both were misses.

But there are more misses and that discourages many developers to try something new. Development isn't cheap compared to last generation. And gamers avoiding sleeper hits, "unknown" titles, or games outside of their preferences hurt developers even more. How many ads have we seen with big, blockbuster, AAA title compared to obscure, new IP?

Still, there are more variables besides that. Money, economy, age, religion, area, etc.

 

[Ether0]

More developers need to experiment more. And I believe that gamers should be more accepting of experimentation and understanding towards developers. Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, Full Frontal Assault; the FFXIII series, and Vanquish comes to mind for me. Insomniac Games tried to experiment with co-op gameplay and tower defense. Both games were reviewed harshly. Being a Ratchet & Clank fan, I acknowledge the fact they were trying something new, but at the same time, I felt All 4 One and Full Frontal Assault were not as fun as previous Ratchet & Clank games. They still had the charm and humor though. Insomniac Games were really humble with the reviews though. I think it was a reply to Destructoid's review, I don't remember what they said, but they never blamed the fans or people who played them.

FFXIII, already talked about. Vanquish was another TPS game, but it tried to be fast paced. Most TPS's from what I played are not that fast paced, but Vanquish was. And while it received high marks, I don't think it sold well. How good did experimenting go with that? Yet Platinum Games continues with Anarchy Reigns, a game focused on online multiplayer fighting. Low reviews, but it tried online multiplayer with a different gameplay. Santa Monica Studios is doing that too with God of War: Ascension.

I don't want to point fingers at certain games and disrespect those who enjoy them, but many games that make a lot of money have similar gameplay throughout sequels and different franchises. Games that try to be different are hit or miss. Borderlands 1 & 2 were hits with a fusion of FPS and RPG similar to Diablo and a loot system. Darksiders 1 & 2 were a hit and a miss; both combined gameplay of Zelda, Prince of Persia, God of War, RPGs, and almost Devil May Cry into one, but the success of the first did not translate to the second, especially considering THQ's status. Dishonored was a hit by being a game near the end of a generation and combining sandbox gameplay in a linear story. Spec Ops: The Line while having a generic gameplay deviated from most modern shooters by examining the dark, twisted realities of war and combat. Nier follows suit with a good story as stated by players of it, but the gameplay looked uninteresting. Both were misses.

But there are more misses and that discourages many developers to try something new. Development isn't cheap compared to last generation. And gamers avoiding sleeper hits, "unknown" titles, or games outside of their preferences hurt developers even more. How many ads have we seen with big, blockbuster, AAA title compared to obscure, new IP?

Still, there are more variables besides that. Money, economy, age, religion, area, etc.

Your right and it is a shame that the biggest most popular games these days use the same exact mechanics while games that do try to do new things with gameplay or story are often too harshly judged or just overlooked. I wish it was different but I think it will likely get worse as the next gen stuff starts happening. Games will become more expensive to make and developers will be even more afraid of taking risk . Hopefully we still get the few gems that add variety to the indusrty.

 

[Shin Muramasa]

Your right and it is a shame that the biggest most popular games these days use the same exact mechanics while games that do try to do new things with gameplay or story are often too harshly judged or just overlooked. I wish it was different but I think it will likely get worse as the next gen stuff starts happening. Games will become more expensive to make and developers will be even more afraid of taking risk . Hopefully we still get the few gems that add variety to the indusrty.

I'm not sure if I heard correctly or not, but wasn't the Unreal Engine 4 designed to be less expensive and more user friendly to combat the rising cost of game development? If so, that would benefit the gaming industry greatly. Unreal Engine 3 appeared to be just a shooter engine, but it ended up being used for action, platforming, and even a hack n' slash engine. Frostbite 2.0, while still limited to EA games, I think, is being used for RPGs. Though, it appears to some that it's just a marketing move by EA to tout its engine. Square Enix I think wanted to release their engine about as well. And the Cry Engine 3 is already being used for a multitude of games. But it all comes down to cost and UE4 I think is the one aiming to be cost friendly. If it ends up similarly to UE3, a versatile, but old engine, that would be great.

 

[Downfall]

Those are very good points. However, I believe that experimentation must be set within certain boundaries. If not, then there wouldn't be enough of the original essence within the newest installment of the series.

 

[Ether0]

I'm not sure if I heard correctly or not, but wasn't the Unreal Engine 4 designed to be less expensive and more user friendly to combat the rising cost of game development? If so, that would benefit the gaming industry greatly. Unreal Engine 3 appeared to be just a shooter engine, but it ended up being used for action, platforming, and even a hack n' slash engine. Frostbite 2.0, while still limited to EA games, I think, is being used for RPGs. Though, it appears to some that it's just a marketing move by EA to tout its engine. Square Enix I think wanted to release their engine about as well. And the Cry Engine 3 is already being used for a multitude of games. But it all comes down to cost and UE4 I think is the one aiming to be cost friendly. If it ends up similarly to UE3, a versatile, but old engine, that would be great.

Cool I know the Unreal 3 engine was used in a lot of rpg games, although some people complained that using Epic's engine was very tough to work with if you didn't speak english. I hope all these new engines help keep cost down. I think it's way passed time the Square started licensing out it's own engine, hopefully it does that with it's next gen engine as well.