helios_eclipsed

@SpikePoint

I haven't researched it, but I believe I heard they took him off the property after he more or less ran the formula into the ground. There was little to no evolution between titles, and his last attempt to solve that in Order of Ecclesia was to ramp up the difficulty by giving enemies (especially bosses) more HP and higher attack stats without making the fights truly more interesting.

Could be they're just resting it up (I think there was a game per year for several years there) and hopefully trying to do more with it. Most of the handheld games (as good as they were) depended on the formula and many of the same tricks set in 1997 with Symphony of the Night.

I hope it makes a strong return, but more of the same probably won't cut it anymore.

@RedRaptor82

"Why do you have that barcode tattoo?"

"It gives me +47 dexterity."

You can't show that picture when you start your headline talking about the new Hitman game as published by Square-Enix. Nearly gave me a heart attack.

@Darklink2009

Yeah, this isn't the first time Amazon actually increases a game's price before putting into a promotion. I remember once I was about to buy a title by itself, then the "sale" started and the price jumped $20.

I was so mad, I read a book instead.

@Andrew12h

Protip: If Amazon (or anyone) sends you a package in the mail for your "game download," DO NOT OPEN IT.

@(Unverified)

Hah. I was too obstinate to quit. I actually started over after a couple hours to change the difficulty to easy so I could see the presentation. I beat the game over 3 or 4 play sessions, and each time I literally began to doze off. Given my general interest for something with both the artistic and religious focus as this had, I was genuinely shocked at how boring it was.

The art was pretty to look at, but I felt the experience was emotionally and intellectually vacant. I'm not above admitting if I missed something, but for my part, the verdict is that the game was bizarre just for the sake of being bizzare. I didn't find any new ideas in there.

Just me, anyway.

Next article:

GAME not stocking games, changes name to to "Space for Rent"

Enthusiasm like this is always fun, but it ignores the model of successful consoles. Going back, I think it's fair to say the SNES beat the Genesis, and the PS2 beat the XBox, despite both of them being the weaker tech in comparison; this was a result of a larger library of games available to their respective owners.

A look at the launch of the PS3 reveals how "bleeding edge" consoles discourage many developers from getting involved until the market catches up. High production values are already threatening creativity in an industry too dependent on established IPs to secure a decent budget. Jumping too far too fast will only exacerbate the problem.

The PC is the place for the bleeding edge. It's more readily upgradeable, and gaming PC owners are the kind to invest in that future. But the expense is the largest reason why there has been such a drought of unique titles there. Getting too far out ahead leaves you beyond the market's interest.

The tech will get there eventually. Until I see games that demand better, I'm happy with what I have.

@DreamingDarkly

I had almost completed my own George R.R. Martin (cloning project, if you must know), but I found it very difficult to make him literate enough to finish the series before the 2012 apocalypse.

Sorry everyone, I tried.

When I first saw the still shot of the video, I thought the plant in the background was his hair, and with the shopping cart next to him, thought he was some crazy homeless person (in a house somehow).