PETA is a highly effective and mind changing organization that deeply influences the actions of people the world over. Oh, and on an unrelated note the West African Black Rhino is believed to be extinct now.
I loved Nintendo from the time I felt their oddly sharp cornered NES controller in my hands, but the Wii really burned me. Yeah, I liked Wii Sports and WarioWare for a while, but I didn't really subscribe to Wii Play, Mario Party, etc. I was waiting for ... real games I guess, and not party games. I'd beaten Twilight Princess on Gamecube before I ever owned my Wii, but I got it again anyway just to have something to play on it. I dusted it off for No More Heroes, and again for Smash Brothers, but after that I gave it to my friend.
I don't know what I was expecting. Perhaps I had unrealistically high hopes, but with that being said I can't get excited for the Wii U. I'm not speaking as an industry expert or as if I have some more informed opinion about it, but I do think that Nintendo might have burned a few bridges with the way it handled the Wii and might now be paying for it. I also think the Wii U is a mistake. I know Nintendo wants to get an early jump on the console market before Sony and Microsoft put out their new systems in a couple of years, but their new consoles will be obscenely more powerful than the Wii U. I think it would have served Nintendo better to wait the extra time and release a system with just as much power as their competitors.
I understand the point the article is trying to get across. A call for inventiveness with story and setting for JRPGs, so that they can grow and surprise long time fans. That being said though, I'd rather save the world an infinite number of times than play through a single, rehashed, war game. Games like Battlefield and Modern Warfare do nothing for me, but admittedly they aren't for me, they are for fans of those series.
I think, in part, that saving the world is a stable vehicle on which to put stories for RPG developers. Those types of stories seem iconic for the genre, it's a comfortable and familiar frame on which to build the rest of the game. I don't think it should have to always be about saving the world, but with a genre like this eventually they have to up the ante to something more than clubbing rats. As your characters gain in power they usually experience some higher calling either though self realization or tragedy.
At the end of the day it is all about the characters though. You could make a game about walking down the street to a lemonade stand if it had well conceived and interesting characters. A lot of the time it seems like saving the world is a subplot to the story that they are trying to tell with the characters. A primary example of this, though not the only one, is the Persona series of games. Persona 3 blew my mind when it came out.
Sorry, this comment has probably run way overlong. Suffice to say I like my JRPGs.
I'm waiting on Skyrim, as Fallout 4 will most likely be built on it's engine. If it can play without crashing all the time then it will be limiter released for Fallout 4.
Yeah, what is the deal with that? I mean if you are going through the trouble of remastering 2 and 3 why not a little love for that one that started it all.
My experience with Fallout NV was that it crashed more than Fallout 3, which I don't even know how that is possible. The problem is that I really like RPGs and these games are a lot of fun when they aren't crashing. I'd gladly buy the whole game over again, in spite of getting the collector's edition, if it meant the game wouldn't crash all the time.
Apologize for the Horde? Never. An interesting take on the lore and worth the read, but it certainly is not definitive. There are a lot of gray areas not fully explored and while I don't have the time or inclination to write a three page article (nice job by the way) I will say that I like the Horde more for their failings. I like the fact that Thrall tries his best in the face of adversity from the Alliance and his own subjects of the Horde. The difference between the two factions is that Thrall and Saurfang openly admit their failings and lamentations in story text, and the Alliance believe they have not done anything wrong, nor can they in fact do anything wrong as if morally justified to use any measure of assault, I.E. Zealots. Bolvar was the finest amongst them and Wrynn is a poor replacement.
Anyway, despite arguments for and against I still don't like Wrynn and I still don't like Garrosh.
PETA targets Mario, we challenge the facts
Nov 16th 2011 1:43PM (Joystiq)Hey, wait a minute...
Aeris returns to life as Theatrhythm bonus character
Nov 15th 2011 1:50AM (Joystiq)Experts on Nintendo's immediate future, post-losses
Nov 5th 2011 10:38AM (Joystiq)I don't know what I was expecting. Perhaps I had unrealistically high hopes, but with that being said I can't get excited for the Wii U. I'm not speaking as an industry expert or as if I have some more informed opinion about it, but I do think that Nintendo might have burned a few bridges with the way it handled the Wii and might now be paying for it. I also think the Wii U is a mistake. I know Nintendo wants to get an early jump on the console market before Sony and Microsoft put out their new systems in a couple of years, but their new consoles will be obscenely more powerful than the Wii U. I think it would have served Nintendo better to wait the extra time and release a system with just as much power as their competitors.
Hey Japan, stop making me save the world
Nov 5th 2011 9:28AM (Joystiq)I think, in part, that saving the world is a stable vehicle on which to put stories for RPG developers. Those types of stories seem iconic for the genre, it's a comfortable and familiar frame on which to build the rest of the game. I don't think it should have to always be about saving the world, but with a genre like this eventually they have to up the ante to something more than clubbing rats. As your characters gain in power they usually experience some higher calling either though self realization or tragedy.
At the end of the day it is all about the characters though. You could make a game about walking down the street to a lemonade stand if it had well conceived and interesting characters. A lot of the time it seems like saving the world is a subplot to the story that they are trying to tell with the characters. A primary example of this, though not the only one, is the Persona series of games. Persona 3 blew my mind when it came out.
Sorry, this comment has probably run way overlong. Suffice to say I like my JRPGs.
Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition announced for 2012
Nov 3rd 2011 10:43PM (Joystiq)I'm waiting on Skyrim, as Fallout 4 will most likely be built on it's engine. If it can play without crashing all the time then it will be limiter released for Fallout 4.
2012 goes Silent Hill crazy with Book of Memories, HD Collection, and Downpour launching in Q1
Nov 3rd 2011 4:14PM (Joystiq)Yeah, what is the deal with that? I mean if you are going through the trouble of remastering 2 and 3 why not a little love for that one that started it all.
Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition announced for 2012
Nov 3rd 2011 4:05PM (Joystiq)Varian Wrynn is Right, Part III
Apr 26th 2009 5:01PM (WoW)Apologize for the Horde? Never. An interesting take on the lore and worth the read, but it certainly is not definitive. There are a lot of gray areas not fully explored and while I don't have the time or inclination to write a three page article (nice job by the way) I will say that I like the Horde more for their failings. I like the fact that Thrall tries his best in the face of adversity from the Alliance and his own subjects of the Horde. The difference between the two factions is that Thrall and Saurfang openly admit their failings and lamentations in story text, and the Alliance believe they have not done anything wrong, nor can they in fact do anything wrong as if morally justified to use any measure of assault, I.E. Zealots. Bolvar was the finest amongst them and Wrynn is a poor replacement.
Anyway, despite arguments for and against I still don't like Wrynn and I still don't like Garrosh.