Mass Effort

One can only wonder.

Jump in my car

So there's a game doing the rounds on the PS4 called Detroit: Becoming Human.

Thing is everyone's calling Detroit - which is funny to me because I recall in 1994, a game called Detroit on the Commodore Amiga. It was a management sim where the player ran a car-manufacturing business.

I assume this....Detroit: Becoming Human has nothing to do with cars?

Sunset on the Eighth Age

Perhaps the most significant news for this week was the announcement from Sony that the PlayStation 4 is nearing the end of it's life cycle.

Source 

In a way perhaps this should not come as a surprise. The current console generation (eighth) started in 2013 and it's been five years - the usual amount of time for any console generation. So does this mean the ninth console generation is just around the corner....?
Or most likely it is already underway with the release of the Nintendo Switch.

In any case, the news of the PS4's march off of stage is meaningless to me. Ever since the PS3 callously ditched backwards compatibility, I divorced the PlayStation and have never really looked back. No doubt Sony will repeat their familiar tactic of offering some new tech with their new console (ie PS2 = DVD, PS3 = Blu-Ray, PS4 = 4K UHD....kinda) but Sony's cavalier attitude to their history still doesn't sit well with me.
A wise man once said: you can't scrap a library's worth of gaming from the outgoing console and call it an improvement. For Sony to increasingly move away from backwards compatibility, when they originally introduced it with the PS2, is mind-boggling to say the least.
I am open to the potential PS5 being completely backwards compatible but, what are the odds of that happening?

We like the Moon

Apparently there's an anime movie in the works based on indie darling To the Moon.

Source

Seems Grave of the Fireflies has some competition for 'biggest tear-jerker'

Falcon Around

Ya gotta love Sieg.
He's the only sane one in the entire party

Who ya Gonna Call?

Hey Estelle, does a trip to New York appeal to you?!

Reach for the Sky

Lately I've been playing Legend of the Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter.

Man, has this has been a long time coming. I enjoyed the first game but, to be honest, I came away from it flat out drained: It was a very demanding game with tough boss battles and a very strict linearity (which made achievement hunting challenging as there was little to no room for error). Needless to say, it would have to be while before I took up the sequel.

But that time has now come. Maybe it was the fact this was a Steam game going unplayed, maybe it was the well documented trials and tribulations the localization team had to go through, maybe it was wanting to know what would happen next or maybe it was me being put off by the linearity of Final Fantasy X. Whatever the case, here I am.

So far, I'm enjoying this game a lot. I'm seeing some familiar faces, I'm finding the dialogue constantly amusing and the cooking mechanic is still unmatched. However the linearity is still creeping in, with the aforementioned demands and little room for error. Never in such a game have I seen such a rigid approach to game design: There's so many things that can be missed, whether they be items, recipes, sidequests or treasure chests. There's no room for deviation and is indeed frustrating. It certainly makes my grumbling about the linear nature of FFX look feeble by comparison.

Still, it would be interesting to see where this goes....

Shadow dancer

Well a new Tomb Raider game is now on the horizon, going by the name of Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
Meaning Lara Croft will be rubbing shoulders with a Beast and a Colossus.

Joking aside, the Tomb Raider series has a nasty reputation for being formulaic - even for outsiders like myself. I only hope that this new game does something new with Lara as opposed to retreading the ground made by the reboot.

But therein lies the dread that such a statement may turn out to be wishful thinking....

Voices from the Wilderness

Here's something that caught my eye recently: With this year being the twentieth anniversary of Panzer Dragoon Saga's (limited) release in the U.S., someone tracked down various figures of developer Team Andromeda and got their recollections on making the game.

This was a fascinating read to me. The trials and tribulations the development team is an engaging read on it's own. But what makes it for me is that these people finally have their voice. They finally have a platform to talk about the experience - moreso when one considers that hearing the people behind Final Fantasy VII talk about their experiences would certainly generate a lot more interest.
Of course, Panzer Dragoon Saga was a game that was crushed by the runaway success of FFVII but i find this article for more interesting: they are talking about a game that was cobbled together, on a system that was a nightmare to work for, to challenge the opposition but ultimately crashed and burned in spectacular fashion - leaving only a game that has reached legendary status as a true lost gem.
Sometimes it's the losers who have the more interesting stories to tell.

I Want to Break Free

Progress on FFX:

At time of writing, I am working my way through the 'post-game' phase of the game. I call it 'post-phase' because, in current terms, this would be the point where the narrative's done (more or less) and I have the freedom to do what I want ie, the Monster hunting, unlocking all the Aeons and finding secrets among others.

My play time is at 50 hours.

Deduct the 19 hours of being confined to the demands of the narrative and that's 31 hours.
Well, the gaming time has surpassed the story time - as it should have - but i admit it: The adore-mentioned demands wore me down. I finally have the freedom to do what I want but somehow, it doesn't seem that great.
Did I feel the same way when i originally played this game? Of course not. But now, take away the rose-colored glasses and add in years of experience, and the problems of FFX are more obvious.
And can't be ignored.
Especially when this type of thing has been resolved before and since.

Oh well......