xenoveritas.org

There are times when I sort of miss Final Fantasy XI. I did have some fun playing it.

Then I read about things like a boss that takes over 18 hours to beat and decide that, no, maybe I don't really ever want to play a game like that again.

So I'm playing FFIV DS, which is a remake of the original FFIV. It keeps pretty much the same features. The same damage levels, the same characters, the same abilities.

They increased the HP for the Demon Wall boss from 28,000 to 99,999. (According to online FAQs.) This is a timed fight.

That's more than 3 times more HP. (3.57 times more to be exact.)

I need something to bump that Square Enix blog entry off the top, so it might as well be something related: my initial impressions of the new Final Fantasy IV game for the DS.

Well, it's in 3D. I'm not sure I really like this. As The World Ends With You proved, the DS can do pretty well with a sort of mixed 3D/2D environment. I think I almost would have preferred something like that.

From the Square Enix blog we get this entry, which reads:

And a mandragora visited our booth! How cute!!!

Two more days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Come see us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Booth #5001!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes!!!!! How Cute!!!!!!!!! And this certainly seems professional!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And not desperate for attention!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course, if they really wanted attention, they'd release more details about Final Fantasy XIII or announce Kingdom Hearts III or something.

We've recently been playing Devil May Cry 4, which got me back into playing Devil May Cry 3.

You see, Xeno, with his shiny black colossus that he theoretically got to play MGS4 and then promptly ignored it, can play DMC4. See, I don't have an XBOX or a PS3, and don't feel like getting the PC version (DMC is the epitome of a CONSOLE game) so I'm stuck with my older DMC3SE. You know what, though? I don't mind.

System:	Windows
Score:	3 (OK)

In The Wonderful End of the World, you play as a nameless red-haired goddess who wants to save the world. You do this by rolling things up into a giant Clump of Souls and - wait, I think I've got this story confused with another game.

Actually she does this using a "marionette" which "absorbs" items into its body as it runs around the level. If you caught the earlier reference, then yes, this game is a Katamari Damacy clone. And there's nothing wrong with that.

With the addition of trophies, it was inevitable that eventually Sony would copy the online profile aspect of Xbox Live.

And they have, sort of:

That's it. An avatar, your user name, and what would be an "about me" message if I ever bother to fill it in.

System:	PlayStation 3
Score:	4 (Good)

Devil May Cry 4 introduces a new main character named Nero. This, of course, introduces fears of Raiden Syndrome. And Devil May Cry 4 falls prey to this: Nero isn't really an annoying character, but ultimately, he's Not Dante, and Devil May Cry 4 is not Devil May Cry 3.

It has to be said, plain and simple: I have far more fun playing Devil May Cry 4 than Metal Gear Solid 4.

Despite Devil May Cry 4 receiving an 84 on MetaCritic and Metal Gear Solid 4 getting a 94.

In short, while MGS4 is by no means a terrible game, it's vastly overrated. DMC4 is, simply put, more fun (to me at least) than MGS4. That's all there is to it.

(Not that DMC4 isn't without its problems. It's got them.)

System:	Wii
Tentative Score:	3 (OK)

I haven't actually finished the game yet or bought any of the optional addons, so this review might change in the future.

In short, it's a very simple city sim in the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles setting. You play as a 10-year old king who uses the power of Architek (the magic to summon buildings) to rebuild a destroyed kingdom.