As that was always the contention by hard-core VGC supporters. Not saying that the site is terribly off in their numbers; apparently they "adjust" figures, but they do tend to over-inflate in the first place. And I'm not even going to mention consoles, let's not start off the New Year with fan-boy fires. But their numbers are a little off. View

Lost Odyssey's visuals are better than Blue Dragon by a wide margin. And even installed on the HD, Blue Dragon suffers from massive screen tearing and slow-down. It was a fun game with plenty to do, but the story-line was very simplistic and trite. Still, you can pick up the game for like $5 nowadays, so if you're a JRPG fan, it's a solid purchase for 100+ hours of game-play.

Just leave the Japanese language track on. And prepare to grit your teeth every time Maru-maru or whatever it's name is, opens his mouth. View

I would call customer support or read the patch notes again. They might have changed things with the launch of the Slim and wanting people to upgrade from an older model.

Oh, and I agree with Vhero. I never use chat on Live and I doubt I would use it on PSN. I'm not much of a multi-player gamer though. I think many people just want this to be part of the PSN so that the "perceived" value matches Live. If I had to pick, I'd weigh the value ever so slightly in favor of Sony's service as I like the interface better (I find Live very cluttered) and I have a PSPGo, which obviously I need an online component for. But as far as content, they're both about the same.

Edit: Wow, just read the full "list". Is that for real? Free PSX games each month? Betting on multi-player games for redeemable "tokens"? (I might actually get into MP for this) 1 hour demos of content? Extended 3 year warranty? Loyalty rewards? I hope that this isn't just internet spew and that those features are real. I'll sign up based on the aforementioned alone. And if MS is charging for CGC, then why is Sony suddenly the monster simply because they're following suit? Honestly, it seems like they're taking Live and ADDING incentives and features. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and if I'm already paying for Live I have no issue paying for a BETTER version of the service. If anything, this will force MS to up their game. View

Insomniac's titles, a few racing games, and a small portion of each console's library are the only titles to achieve this feat. Even the most discerning human eye can't really notice much of a difference over 30 FPS. That aside, if you're dead-set on 60 FPS games, you've missed out on some awesome experiences this gen. Unless you're primarily a PC gamer, then I can maybe understand a bit of where you're coming from.

Personally, I'm very sensitive to frame-rate, and I do game a lot on the PC. But if a game is captivating enough, anything over 20 FPS is usually alright in my book. It's like getting annoyed by a story that's printed on cheap paper. Sure, the binding may not be the best, but it's the narrative that matters. That's my take, anyhow.

Peace and Happy New Year.

P.S. Insomniac recently stated that they will no longer focus on 60FPS as a requirement for their games. Many developers are shifting away from this as well; it's just not needed and pulls away resources that could be better spent. View

Very excited for this game. Too bad that it's been pushed to "somewhere" in 2010. Well, maybe not. The first three months of this year (Jan-Mar) has me purchasing about 8 games for the PS3 alone; most of these are JRPGs too. A little relief on the wallet might be welcome.

But man, this (well tomorrow and onwards) IS the year of the JRPG, that's for sure.

P.S. Don't forget to pick up Last Rebellion in February fellow JRPG nuts. It's selling for budget cost! $39 or $49 depending upon where in NA (US or Canada respectively) you live. The price alone sealed the deal for me. Oh, and Star Ocean International was cheaper than the average retail game when I went in to place my pre-orders. So was WKC ($59 - most games in Canada are $69.99). Don't know if this signals a shift in the market for retail pricing or what, but it all came as a nice surprise. FFXIII was, naturally, expensive :) View

Unless this turns out to be for the DS. Nothing against the system, but 2010 is the year of HD JRPGS. The handhelds have been saturated with that sort of content for years now, I want some shiny for my massive t.v.. View

The author only played about 30 hours of the game, admittedly, leveling the same criticisms against it that everyone seems to: linearity, cut-scene orgies, stripped down design.

I have a feeling that the American media isn't going to be too kind to this game. Fair enough, as with all the pomp and drama surrounding this release, it should be the greatest JRPG (well, you can't even really call it that anymore) of all time.

I will be getting it, but I won't be setting my expectations very high. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised. Either that, or I'll go back to Demon's Souls, WKC or even another play through of Lost Odyssey.

There ARE some magnificent JRPGs this gen, this simply may not be one of them. The series is starting to resemble the Call of Duty of JRPGs. Aside from the development times, of course. But now that they have the engine built, maybe we can expect spinoffs and whatnot on an annual basis.

@ Dragon. That doesn't change the fact that many people who have played the game, RPG sites, "people who avidly play such games" by your own declaration, seem to be having contentions with the game's design elements. That being, no towns or sense of a populated world, a very linear push forward, simplified AI and a lack of freedom till the very end.

I'll reserve my personal opinion until I actually play the game from start to finish. But on most accounts, the initial bulk of the game sounds drudgerous, and a step back from the freedom that the designers offered with XII (I was running around and doing side-quests like an hour into the game).

P.S. Sorry for the wall of text :P View

However, it's from the Cavia team, who made Drakengard (one of my favorite series of all time), so I'll probably pick this up anyhow. Maybe I'll get lucky and this will get the "budget" pricing like 3D DOT Heroes and Last Rebellion ($39.99 and $49.99, respectively). SE is publishing the game though, and they are such money whores that I doubt we'll see a lower price on this; until it hits the bargain bin, that is.

I don't mind purchasing trash JRPG games (as I'm an addict), especially if they have a lower sticker price. View

If I want multi-player games, I'll switch to MMOs for a while. Consoles, for me, are for immersive, story-driven experiences (which you generally don't find in MMOs - Guild Wars being an exception or sorts).

And I'm not a PC snob, I love my consoles, but I'm not a fan of FPS targeting on a controller. At least when I'm spazzing out with the analog sticks in an offline, single player game, no one is laughing at my ineptitude :) View

The black borders around the game-screen really pissed me off. Apparently, according to the product packshot, it has: "enhanced graphics" and whatnot. I'd assume that means an increased resolution and/ or native HD output.

The added content and lack of disc-swapping made this a purchase for me. View

And if you like JRPGs (I'm a junkie for the genre), the PS3 is where it's at next year.

That said, I have both systems, and the software forecast is looking amazing for both consoles next year.

360:
- ME 2
- Alan Awake
- Crackdown 2

PS3:
- Star Ocean International (sorry, but the 360 version didn't even stretch to fill my 50" Samsung, and was a bit of an abortion).
- GOW 3
- Heavy Rain (this game looks to offer a really unique experience, you should check it out if you're a new PS3 owner)
- The Last Guardian
- Bunch of JRPGs

And for multi-plats, pretty much just Darksiders, Final Fantasy XIII, Dead Space 2 and maybe Bioshock 2, if it doesn't appear to suck. Too many other games vying for my time and cash in 2010.

Peace and gaming to all. View

Some weird self-mutilation scene, a random battle in a burning city, a really lame assassination (like seriously, after pwning and army of ppl, he get's stabbed by one little creep?). Oh, and there was a dead woman and some tit thrown in for good measure.

I'll rent this, probably, but it's not a purchase for me. "Mature", cinematic games are still in their infancy when compared to the medium (film) that they try to emulate. It's like a romance novel written by a teenager. Still decent, but lacking the nuances, subtlety and skill of a seasoned writer. View

but if your trade is reviewing games, you'd think that one would be equipped with all the tools to properly do so - HD t.v., for example.

You can pick up a small 720p/ 1080p set for like $200 nowadays. View

And this is from the PS3 version, so at least these developers can code on par and not create sloppy ports (for which, there is NO excuse moving into 2010).

Very excited for this game. Already pre-ordered. View

Turn based > semi-turn based/ ATB. And they've revamped their internal systems about as much as well: LVLING > Classes/Job LVLing > Point Distribution/ Grid Systems.

Everything else about the series - melodramatic cut-scenes, summons, even spell names - has remained mostly the same.

Probably not the best example of an innovative series. I'm not hating on the game, I will be getting it; but if anything, they're streamlining and trimming options out of the series (from the information gleaned off previews and reviews thus far), not innovating and adding new features. View

Kind of a safe bet. Their runners up were: Demon's Souls, Mario and Luigi. Honorable mentions to: Legend of Zelda, Borderlands and, erm... Last Remnant.

The last choice kinda calls the whole selection into question for me, as that game was a turd on almost all accounts, by pretty much anyone who touched the game. Maybe they meant the PC version, but even that was dreadful. View

The graphics were sub-par. The gun-kata (see Equilibrium - fantastic movie - for the reference) was kinda fun, but I don't see it remaining so for the 80+ hours the game is supposed to clock in at.

That said, WKC, whatever Mistwalker is cooking up next and FFXIII with all of it's faults will be making my wallet burn next year. Oh, and for die-hard JRPGers (like me) there's a wealth of other titles being released next year: Ar Tonelico 2, Star Ocean International, that soul breeding SRPG I can't remember the name of, Last Rebellion, to name a a few.

Addressing the article itself, I hardly see how the JRPG genre is dying, especially if you look at Lost Odyssey, Valkyria Chronicles and Demon's Souls. If anything, 2010 will be a JRPG renaissance. View

Amazon.com won't allow shipping of this title to addresses outside the U.S., but the Canadian storefront doesn't appear to have such restrictions. Pretty sure you could order it off of Gamestop online as well. Just a couple of suggestions for those who haven't played this phenomenal game yet. View

If so, an exclusive might not be out of the question. That, paired with the obvious success of XIII in Japan might be enough to convince SE to publish only on the PS3.

I know that Sony own a small portion of Square Enix, bought after the tragedy that was the "Spirits Within" movie (I personally liked the film). But if anyone can provide me with a link to back up the Sony/ VII thing, that would be great. Otherwise, this will likely be multi (with "exclusive" status in Japan), as SE are $ whores. View

So you'll probably want to pick up the first installment. View