The Save Spot

Where have you been all my life Final Fantasy XIII?

I love RPG’s.  They are far and away my favorite genre of games.  To me they are the closest we get to telling a true story in a video game.  That’s why I eagerly look forward to each release of the Final Fantasy series, which are quite possibly the flagship RPG titles.

Well about 5 hours into Final Fantasy XIII I can say that it hasn’t disappointed at all.  In fact, it’s jaw droppingly amazing in many of the same ways that Final Fantasy VII was.

Because Final Fantasy VII has taken on such an epic place in gaming lore, people have been in backlash to it for some time.  But they forget (or never played it when it launched) just how epic a game it was.  Final Fantasy VII changed everything about RPG’s.

Characters became important.  Personalities mattered.  Story telling took a huge leap forward.  We actually cared about those characters in ways that very few games before (or since) have captured.  I will never forget walking into my apartment in college seeing my roommates playing Final Fantasy and being blown away by the graphics.

Why do I tell you all this?  Because Final Fantasy XIII is the first game in the FF series that captures that feel.

The characters are laugh out loud funny.  They each have their own personalities, motives, and attitudes.  They aren’t just cookie cutter characters – they are characters to care about.  Even though I’ve only spent a few hours with them, I like them already.  And in the age of “whiney boy turned manly hero” that’s saying something.

Of course it’s not just characters.  The graphics are astounding.  I’m playing on the 360, so I can only imagine that the PS3 version is even more amazing.  I have never played a game where it’s hard to tell the difference between FMV’s and game play.  Maybe they are out there, but it’s not on my radar.  The only game that really captured that same seamless feeling was Half Life.  Another brilliant game.

I don’t know if Final Fantasy XIII will be as awesome 50 hours in, as it is at 5 hours.  But something tells me I won’t be disappointed.



First Thoughts on Final Fantasy XIII

Final Fantasy XIII is the first game I have ever preordered. And we can thank my wonderful fiancée for that. So I, like most of the gaming world, is looking forward to the March 9th release date. But what kind of gamer would I be if I wasn’t willing to share my uninformed well thought out views?

After playing Final Fantasy 12 and not liking it very much, I have been very interested to see the latest version of Final Fantasy, specifically around save spots and random encounters. Now unlike most people, I love random encounters. Sure it’s sometimes annoying and frustrating. But most of the time it reminds me of the old NES days of playing Dragon Warrior. Oh how I used to take my little character and walk him back and forth over the same 4 blocks to unleash Goldmen. But I digress.

But I recognize that a lot of people hated the random encounters. So over time those disappeared to make it more “realistic” and “believable.”

So here is my question – why do we get rid of random battles, but keep the same out-dated save point system? For the love of gaming, can we get rid of save spots?!

All of us here on The Save Spot love gaming, but we’ve grown to detest hunting for the next save spot. And while the Final Fantasy XIII guide tells me save spots will be “no more” than 10 minutes apart, in my world 10 minutes is a long time. Anyone who has kids know that within a 10 minute window any number of disasters can strike. Anyone in a relationship knows that within the next 10 minutes it may be time for “talking” (whatever that means!)

Save Spots used to not bother me, because I had hours and hours to game. Now when my gaming is measured by minutes, not hours, risking a 10 or 20 minute search for a save spot is likely to drive me do something else.

Maybe even read a book.

So please future versions of Final Fantasy if you’re going to take away my random encounters, please take away the save spot system! You did it with The Last Remnant. I have confidence you can do it for Final Fantasy.

Gaming on the Go?

It has been a long time since I’ve bought a laptop. In fact the last laptop I owned had Windows Millenium installed on it. Well just this weekend I braved the black friday crowds and bought myself a new laptop. Now I can finally do some gaming on the go.

Of course before I can do that, I need to get a new laptop bag. Or else I won’t be traveling very much with the laptop!

Of course now comes the hard part.  What laptop bag do I get?  Do I go with the Timbuk2 Commute 2.0 Laptop Messenger Bag or the OGIO Hip Hop Messenger?  Man, compared to this decision, buying the laptop was the easy part…

Why Tecmo Rocked

zombie fire ants

Yes, you read that correctly.  There are zombie fire ants.  And here I thought Umbrella corporation had finally been defeated.  But according to the news, a certain type of fly has been introduced to control the fire ant population in Texas.  They lay eggs on the ants, then when the egg hatches it burrows its way (ewwww) into the ant and slowly eats it’s brain.  Which I suppose is an ironic fate for a zombie.

Rock Band? Yuto rips “Freebird”

 

 

      

We are gearing up for another GAUGE.  This time of the mini-variety.  Which means it’s time for me to practice up on my Rock Band skills.  Admittedly out of the three of us, my skills are the weakest.  However, I believe we’ve all been put to shame by 8 year old Yuto.  I am rightfully put in my place.

Plants vs Zombies

  

 

 

One of the great things about the internet is the random things you stumble across. Plants vs. Zombies is one of those things.

The song is performed by Laura Shigihara who writes songs for video games, as well as performs them.  I’ve never heard her work before, but everything on her website is fantastic, and I look forward to a long career from her.

 

Windows: reloaded

 

 

 

This is one of the funniest parodies I’ve ever seen.  As a wise man once said, “it’s funny ’cause it’s true.”

 

 

 

Fallout 3 Diary: Day 13

 

 

 

I’m playing Fallout 3, and it’s captured my imagination like few other games have.  So instead of writing about the game in a standard “journalist” way, I want to capture my impressions in a more “immersive” way.  Every time I fire up the game, I can’t help but envision myself as a survivor of a post-nuclear world.  How would it feel to roam the wastelands?  How would I respond to the strange, terrifying, and brutal world?  Would I choose to remain faithful to God?  Or would I respond to the horrors around me by becoming a monster myself?

All of those reactions are captured in these diary features. 

 

Today was a hard day.
 
I had a long hike today.  Frankly I never thought I’d make it.  I ran out of water a few clicks back, and I am starting to feel the heat of that thing the upworlders call “the Sun”.  I have to admit, I miss the comforts of the vault.  Living underground wasn’t great, but at least I had food and water. 
 
Eventually I made it to a place called “Germantown police HQ”  I’m not really sure what that means, but it looked like I might be able to scavenge for some parts.  That was a mistake.  Instead of finding parts, I found supermutants.  With clubs.  Why must supermutants always have clubs?  With nails?
 
It took some work, but I found through trial and error that my shotgun was pretty effective.  It only has 2 rounds, so I have to let them get pretty close before I squeeze off a few rounds.  I’m glad my dad taught me how to shoot back in the Vault. 
 
In many ways today was the most disturbing day yet – I hacked into an old computer terminal.  Looks like it was an old abandoned medical facility for people immediately following the nuclear blast.  I found myself surprisingly disturbed by what I read.  For some reason it made all of this miserable wasteland feel more personal.  All those people who died.  Are we humans destined to kill one another for ever?  Am I destined to kill people to survive?
 
Today was a hard day.

   

Gaming Culture Officially Mainstream

Ok, maybe video game culture has been mainstream for a while already.  But as a cubicle-dwelling business professional, it often feels like gaming as entertainment is atypical - perhaps a straightforward consequence of adult responsibilities.  So I was pleased when during a routine check of the Bloomberg financial news and data service I saw an article with the following headline:

“Mark Peroff Wins ‘Final Fantasy’ Maker’s Law Business by Discounting 20%”

To me this said a lot!  Bloomberg is an established, respected source of business news and they could have titled this article “Mark Peroff Wins Square-Enix Law Business…”  I wonder if the Bloomberg news team expected higher click through rates or google search hits by including ‘final fantasy’ (hey, why not!)  Or, did they expect that more readers would be familiar with Final Fantasy as a franchise than with the company that produces it? 

Either way, this is a nice call-out for gamers in the business world.  You are not alone!  Or maybe it’s simpler than all that - now more than ever finance professionals need an escape, and what better way than a good RPG?  An excellent suggestion, and I think I’ll act on it right away!