Final Fanstasy Versus XIII Axed

Sadly there is talk that Final Fantasy Versus XIII (FFV13) has been axed. It's things like this that make me dislike Square Enix.

I always had a feeling that FFV13 was a pipe dream, but having that little bit of hope extinguished is a little bit of a killjoy. I have a feeling that Square Enix's business model is to ignore what their fan base wants. I know they want to create games that they enjoy but if the masses reject them, what is the point.

Although this game may face the chopping block, there is still hope of a decent Final Fantasy on the horizon. There was news that Final Fantasy XV will have an open world. This is promising, because the linearity of the games in FF 13 games detracted from the RPG experience. For now we will all have to wait how FF 15 turns out, hopefully it doesn't face the same fate as FFV13.

Why iPads Suck

I recently explained why iPad games themselves are rather, how can I put this, terrible. But I honestly think the iPad itself sucks.

From a hardware stand point the iPad is an overpriced toy that under-performs. I mean seriously the maximum storage capacity is 64 gigs and there aren't any flash card slots. The rear facing camera is only 5 megapixels, seriously Apple it's 2012. The latest iteration of the iPad now has a front facing camera for face time, I expected this to be part of the first generation iPad. All these shortfalls and the iPad is one of the most expensive tablets on the market.

To be honest I dislike tablets in general, I find them rather useless. In this day and age almost everyone has a computer or smart phone. So I don't see much point to having a tablet, it's like an underpowered computer or a giant smart phone. Besides I'm pretty sure most people who bought the iPad, have and iPod, iPhone,and a Macbook. My point is If I am going to drop almost a grand on a piece of hardware I expect it to have half decent specifications, something more than just an apple on the back. In my eyes the iPad is just an "iPod Macro", I know it doesn't sound as pretty as "iPad" but it is what it is.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Is Now In HD!

Today I came across some rather delightful information, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (THPS) is being re-released in HD on the Playstation Network and Xbox Live! Shortly after hearing this news from a fellow gamer, I began remembering all those good times I used to have playing this game with my friends after school. The original THPS was awesome and made feel like skateboarding was cool. I even went as far as trying to learn how to skateboard (and I failed miserably). I am glad to hear that my favourite game mode called "Graffiti" is going to be included. Graffiti was extremely entertaining since every object/structure you did a trick on became a part of your territory and when the time ran out, the person with the largest territory would win. It would get pretty competitive once the clock starts winding down and you are racing to complete your last few tricks. A modern twist on the game will be online capabilities so you can play with your friends over PSN or XBL, so huddling up in front of a small sub-didvided screen will no longer be necessary. I must say if I do end up getting this game, it will be very nostalgic. I will probably feel like a kid again, I just hope they kept that kick-ass original soundtrack.

Why Do iPad Games Suck

I have a good feeling that many of you have probably realized that I am not very fond of iPhone games. To put it simply, they bore me relatively quickly. I didn't think handheld games could less enjoyable, until I noticed games on iPads.

Yes the large tablet, a device that has little use; I never thought it would be used as a gaming platform. I will get into why the iPad itself sucks in a later article, I want to focus on why the games are rather lacking. Aside from the fact that they have similar gameplay mechanics and their fun factor are about the same as their iPhone counterparts, the main reason why the iPad games suck is due to the fact that the hardware is so large. I know, I Know the iPad isn't particularly weighty but the sheer size of the thing can make it a little awkward to play games. The fact that the iPad is so large would deter me from hauling it around for gaming purposes. So gaming on an iPad would be limited to the confines of my home and that begs the question would I rather play games on a iPad or make use of my larger library of titles on my PS3, Xbox 360 (I finally decided to get one) and my computer. As you can see, I can't really find a suitable instance to pick up and play an iPad game, which justifies my argument, these game do suck indeed!

Last of Us, Talk About Potential

It seems like Naughty Dog never ceases to amaze me this gaming generation. The Uncharted series had some of the best games that I have ever played. So I don't have any doubts about Last of Us being another hit. As more game play footage has been rolling in since E3 I can see that this game has a lot more to offer than shiny graphics. Just like in the Uncharted games the voice acting is superb and it seems pretty believable. The dialogue between characters is pretty entertaining, like watching a film with a great script. Although this game is visually similar to Uncharted due to art direction, the tone of the game is completely unique. This game seems very tense, exactly how surviving in a post-apocalyptic world should be. At this point I am confident the Last of Us will be the beginning of a great new franchise. It may be a little too early to tell but I have a gut feeling that this game has the potential to be even better than the best games in the Uncharted series.

Ok I'm Guilty, I Have A Buster Sword

Back in the summer of 2010 I went to a gaming/anime/comic book/Sci-Fi  expo in Toronto, it happens annually and is called FanExpo. That day was pretty amusing to say the least, besides seeing a playable version of Halo Reach before it was released, I decided to acquire a Buster sword.

Yeah, that's me, and that fairly large thing is my Buster sword, it looks fairly similar to the original sword that Cloud used in Final Fantasy 7. I guess you can tell that I am a pretty big fan of that game. This sword is meant to be put on display as it has no practical use. I mean the sword is nearly 5 feet long and close to 15 pounds, all the weight is in the blade so one must be careful if they decide be swinging this around when they are doing cosplay. The best part about owning one of these is the look on my friends faces when they first see it, and realize how difficult it is to balance it, it's priceless.

To be honest the day that I bought this sword my intention was to find a Keyblade from Kingdom hearts that I saw at FanExpo the year before. I guess this Buster sword was an impulse buy, but surprisingly I can say that I have absolutely no buyers regret.

Controllers, Do They Really Make A Difference?

I have owned a Playstation, Playstation 2 and Playstation 3 and one factor that led me to buy these consoles was the controller. I honestly believe that a controller can make or break a console.

I remember back in the 90's using the Nintendo 64 controller for the first time, it was awkward to say the least. To this day I can't use that piece of junk effectively. Don't get me started on the horrendous GameCube controller.  I never thought Nintendo would be capable of producing a more terrible controller than the N64's, well they proved me wrong. The GameCube controller had buttons of different sizes and an asymmetrical layout which would confuse the hell out of me. I for one don't enjoy repeatedly hitting the wrong buttons due to a poor design. It was as if a toddler came up with the design for that controller. As you can tell, I never played N64 or GameCube very often.

Aside from those two pieces of molded plastic, I don't have that much of a beef with any other controllers that Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony have released in the past two decades. I know what it is, I prefer symmetrical button layouts on controllers, it just feels more natural. I'm curious to see if the next generation of controllers will be the same for Microsoft and Sony, it would be amusing to see a PS4 with that E3  2005 "Batarang" controller.

I Can't Wait For Forward Unto Dawn

Yeah, Yeah, I know I'm a giant Halo Fanboy, I have played all of the games (except Halo Wars) and beat them on legendary multiple times. I find that the Halo novels are pretty awesome and the Halo lore is pretty cool. So a live action series about about character origins in the Halo universe has me pretty excited.

Forward Unto Dawn is the name of the series, which will air on Youtube in the fall. There will be 5, 15 minute episodes that will air just before the launch of Halo 4. I recently watched a behind the scenes segment  of the Halo series and it seems like the production quality is top notch. I always thought the live action trailers and ads (namely the Halo ODST ad) were awesome and got me on the hype train since I'm love playing the Halo campaigns and experiencing the progression of the story.

Hopefully, the acting, scripts and special effects come together to make this series great. If this short series ends up exceeding expectations, who know maybe a Halo movie may not be that far off.

I May Be New School But I Still Like Old School

I know it may seem odd since this blog is called The New School Gamer but I still enjoy playing games that most people refer to as "dated". Pretty graphics, complex physics engines and online battle grounds generally make me happy but they don't provide the nostalgia of older games.

I grew up in the era where Super Nintendo, Playstation and Sega Genesis were at the top of the gaming industry. I remember playing Sonic the Hedgehog, Crash Bandicoot and Super Mario Bros., those were the good ol' days. When I was a kid going head to head with a friend in an arcade would have been the highlight of my day, no matter how terrible I was.

I guess a little nostalgia is always good, I can see why I decided to download Final Fantasy 7 and Crash Bandicoot Warped from the Playstation network. They bring back a lot of memories of simpler times and  they make me realize that everyone gets older, even me. 

Looks Like I Am Getting An Xbox 360

It was 2005, and I stayed up late to hear the announcement of the Xbox 360 on Spike TV, after that I was certain I would be an early adopter of Microsoft's new console.

A few months later the Playstation 3 was announced at E3 and the infamous Killzone 2 tech demo was shown, I had a feeling it would be a difficult choice between the 360 and the PS3. During the first year following the launch of the Xbox 360, there were several hardware failures, mainly the feared Red Ring of Death (RROD). The whole RROD situation, made the choice between consoles significantly easier. Seeing several of my friends Xbox's suffer from the RROD, I did not want to be in the same boat. So I decided to wait overnight, a cold and raining night in November of 2006, the PS3's launch day.

Now, several years later, it seems all of the kinks in the Xbox 360's have been ironed out, not to mention the fact that I am a huge Halo fanboy, it seems like I might be an Xbox owner after all. I know, I'm going to be a little late to the party but on the bright side I will have all those Xbox 360 exclusives to catch up on. I think, I will enjoy the fact that I won't have to go to my friends houses to play Halo anymore.

Hey Sqaure Enix, Get your Head Out Of The Sand!

Over the past few years I have grown to dislike a the game developer know as Square Enix. I have a feeling that I'm not the only one who feels this way.

As some of you know, I have posted about my frustration with this developer, mainly that their games have become rather undesirable to put it politely. My reason for getting vexed is the fact that Square Enix has been apparently hinting at the production of Final Fantasy XIII-3.

I played FF XIII  and I just couldn't get through it, to linear for an RPG and the lack of an interesting plot put me off. The I began hearing poor reviews of FF XIII-2, which leads me to believe that the developers really don't care about what the gamers want. It seems like all the games that people want (ie. FF Versus XIII, Kingdom Hearts 3 and A FF VII remake) are all disregarded just to produce sequels to a rather uninteresting game.

I understand that the developers have the right to produce what ever game they like, but when it comes down to it, they are a business and a business most definitely cannot survive if their products are consistently sub-par.

Angry What?

Believe it or not, I have yet to play Angry Birds. I have an itouch and an iphone but for some reason I still haven't played this game that is loved by so many.

As I have stated before in a previous post I do have a beef with games on mobile phones, mainly iphone app. But from what I have seen Angry Birds seems mildly entertaining, as there is some type of progression through the game. Although the progression in the game is as simplistic as an increase in difficulty level it's still something. I think my problem is that I am so used to playing long and complex games that require a significant amount of attention, that simple games bore me rather quickly.

So based on the fact that I haven't dabbled in Angry Birds yet, I have a feeling that I won't be getting around to anytime soon. But who knows, with the lackluster announcement of Final Fantasy 13-3, I might be bored enough to start slinging around some poultry.

Black Ops 2, Well That's Different...

I know, I know I always criticize games in the Call of Duty franchise due to the lack of creativity, but I will give it to the developers this time around. Black Ops 2 seems like it is finally start to break away from the trend of "copy and pasted"FPS'.

I like the idea that this new COD will be set in the near future. This means the developers can add their own creative touch to the weapons, vehicles and accessories. I don't know if it is just me but when ever I played a COD game my loadouts were pretty much the same as most of the games were generally set in the same era.

As usual, like everyone else I will have to wait and see how this next installment in the COD franchise will ultimately turn out, but I will still remain optimistic.