Quick Post

Not been on the internet much recently; darting between playing my 360 and my DS. As predicted, the new Phoenix Wright rules. I've convinced Jaszon to get both games - he will thank me for it.

Decided to start Final Fantasy XII again, since I am FAR too low level for my area and I feel disconnected from the plot. Seems to just be cut-scene, run through enemy infested area, cut-scene, run through enemy infested area, OMG shop, boss, cut scene, etc.

Reading has slowed down a bit. Waiting for games to arrive in post (namely, Atelier Iris 1 and Final Fantasy III). Watched all of Series 1 to 4 of Scrubs and almost all of Black Books. Trying to decide which RPG to start playing again on my PS2 (so many to choose from!). Right now, however, I'm going to bed. Sleep is simple and always enjoyable.

Quite the Shopping List

It has occurred to me that I buy a lot of stuff. Not useless stuff, mark you; proper gaming / entertainment supplies, usually. There aren't that many weeks that go by where I don't have something delivered to my door. Normally, the delivery is a game, or several games. Sometimes it might be a DVD. Once or twice I might go crazy and get something like a Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers Power Morpher (nostalgia is a powerful thing), but not often.

This Spring is apparently a very busy season, however, as I seem to have an inordinate amount of "stuff" coming to me in the next few days. Lots of stuff. Take a look at this inventory, which I can't be bothered creating hyperlinks for:

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All (DS)
Final Fantasy: Tactics Advance (GBA)
Atelier Iris - Eternal Mana (PS2)
Atelier Iris 2 - The Azoth of Destiny (PS2)
Scrubs (Series 1) (DVD) (Box-Set)
Scrubs (Series 2) (DVD) (Box-Set)
Scrubs (Series 3) (DVD) (Box-Set)
Scrubs (Series 4) (DVD) (Box-Set)
Black Books (Series 1-3) (DVD) (Box-Set)
Final Fantasy VII Sword Materia (Accessories for my BUSTER SWORD)

Yes, each of the Scrubs entries are individual; they all have 4 discs each. I really like Scrubs. And I've got some more stuff pre-ordered, too:

Scrubs (Series 5) (DVD) (Box-Set)
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (PC)
Final Fantasy III (DS)

I've also just realised how many console RPGs I have lying around that I've still got to play. Ever since I discovered MMOs, my time playing good old fashioned role playing games has decreased. I don't think I can list them all, but I've got at least 6 - old and new - with another load being ordered or pre-ordered. I really need to sit down some time and play through them.

But then again, it's nice to know that I have this huge backlog of games to tide me over should I need them. RPGs are the best games in the world, bar none; I'll play every single one I own, right to the end. You'll see.

Jaszon, stop laughing.

Lack of News

Yeah, nothing much has really happened in the last few days. To be honest, this will probably be a recurring theme within this blog. My life is by no means exciting, and the very small number of people to whom I have linked this blog are probably never going to come back to it unless I link it to them directly. Again.

And yet I keep updating it, which is what I've intended to do from the outset; from the very first blog I started. It wasn't about who read it, but that it was there.

I've been playing Final Fantasy XI a lot over the last few days. I'm only a Level 9 Red Mage on the Remora server, but I've read a lot of guides about being a RDM and it seems like it could be fun. I'm having a bit of trouble getting into it in the same way that I did World of Warcraft, but I'm sure that will pass with time. Right now, I'm just leveling up enough to venture into the Dangruf Wadi without those damned Rock Lizards ganging up on me. I can cast Cure, but it's rather ineffective when you're dead in 15 seconds regardless.

Oh, and I've found that it is impossible to buy a copy of the third expansion pack for FFXI (The Treasures of Aht'Urhgan) online. There just aren't any copies anywhere. Seriously, take a look. They're all out of stock. Even eBay has nothing. It's unprecedented.

I've been slacking off a bit in the 360 and PS2 department of late, with no real progress on Crackdown, Dead Rising or Final Fantasy XII. Granted, I got owned pretty hard on FFXII by some stupid flying blotch of red... think it was called a Salamandite or something. It was floating around that sort of oil-rig structure over the Sand Sea. Figure I must have taken a wrong turn or something.

I'm sure I'll get back into the swing of things in the next few days. I've been reading Discworld novels more than anything else, with The Last Continent and The Fifth Elephant already digested in a few days. On to The Truth now, which I've only read once before. Then onto Thief of Time, which I'm pretty sure is my favourite Discworld novel, if only because I've read it the most. I'll go and get something to drink now... ran out of Bru again.

Buster Sword Again

Couldn't help myself. Here's another picture of my sword. My bed is a standard size single, and this beast is much bigger than that. It is WIN personified.

Well... swordified.

Belated Birthday Present

So my friend Jaszon tells me today that my birthday present (from him and another friend of mine, codename: Dante) has arrived at his house. Considering that my birthday is the 31st of December, it is somewhat late. This is alright, though, because there's nothing better than getting a late birthday present that you weren't expecting in the first place.

Well, maybe there are a few better things, but shh.

Anyhoo, I keep pestering both Jaszon and Dante to tell me what it is. Dante just does the MSN equivalent of smirking and says nothing. Jaszon is a little more descriptive, saying that I might want to get a lift there and back, as walking down the street with it would be most amusing. He also said it was a lot heavier than he thought it would be and is well over a meter long. At this point, I'm fearing the worst. But when my Dad got home, I got a lift up to Jaszon's house... and this is what I find there waiting for me:

It's a freaking BUSTER SWORD. I really shouldn't have to explain why this rules so much. The thing weighs a ton, but that's a ton of pure amazingness. It has a leather scabbard and a wall mount, to boot. It's going above my window, because the only other wall big enough just happens to be the one my bed is up against. As cool as this sword is, I don't trust my walls not to let it drop on top of me at 4.30am.

Oh, just a note for those of you who fail at life and don't know what a Buster Sword is, check this link (look under Buster Sword and First Ken) for more information. It's an awesome replica of the Buster Sword used in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children; part of the six swords of the First Ken. The best one, if you ask me.

Rules SO MUCH.

Minor Update

Not really much to update on, come to think of it. My earlier post regarding the play time of Crackdown reveals that the critics were accurate; the game really is too short. Whereas before I hadn't even taken down the first "boss", I've now almost completed the thing. Granted, it's on the easiest difficulty setting, but that's how I've always played my games. I start on the easiest, then I move through the difficulties. It adds longevity to any game. Still kicks ass, though.

Work is going well, too. Despite having only ever taken one or two Marks & Spencer calls before (email team, you see) I managed to do quite well on Monday and Tuesday. It's now Wednesday, and I'm on my first of three days off. Then back in for four, which sucks, but at least the calls are only flower orders and stores calling in to check things. I mean, come on... "Do we deliver to Wales?"

We do, in case you're wondering.

Aside from Crackdown, work and sleeping, I've mainly been re-reading some Discworld novels. Started from the beginning and I'm working my way through. It only occurred to me a few weeks ago that I still didn't have Carpe Jugulum, which was both shocking and exciting - I love reading Discworld novels that I've never read before. I'm up to The Fifth Elephant at the moment, which I'm thoroughly enjoying. I seem to be able to forget almost everything that happens in a Discworld novel, so reading them again is almost as good as the first time. That, and the Vimes novels are my favourite.

That's about it, really. Might head down to Tesco for some IRN BRU. Two 2 litre bottles should do me until Saturday, when I can just buy some 500mls from the cafeteria at any time. I'll be sure to post again should anything interesting happen, though.

Games and a Party

I've not been online for the last few days - Final Fantasy XII, Crackdown and Dead Rising arrived, and I've been playing those basically non-stop. Three amazing games, from what I've garnered so far.

Final Fantasy XII was always going to be excellent. I've not yet found a Final Fantasy game that doesn't kick ass (quietly ignoring certain spin-offs which didn't quite measure up, in my opinion). Having played nothing but 360 for a while now, the graphics do look grainy and pixelated in comparison, especially on the environments side of things; graphics didn't ever matter to me, though, and Square have really done a god job of pushing the PS2 to its limits.

Battles are a thing that bothered me initially. I mean, yay, no more random encounters, but it just doesn't feel like Final Fantasy without them. This feeling has waned a little now that I'm progressing through the plot; when watching the cut-scenes and FMV, I know that it's a Final Fantasy, but the actual gameplay is missing something. A weird cross between Vagrant Story and something entirely new, the whole real-time / turn-based battling thing doesn't do it for me in the same way previous versions did.

The Gambit system is good; I like not having to worry about healing myself so much, as the battles are far too quick paced for my liking. Even slowing the fights down via the Config menu is far too speedy. The Licences system is, for want of a better word, bad. It's clear that Square have tried to take the best features of Final Fantasy X's Sphere Grid leveling system and apply them here, but they've failed. There's just too much to choose from, and I feel that Square have over-customised the whole character development side of things. They got it right in VII with Materia - go back to that!

Despite it being, so far, my least favourite Final Fantasy in terms of gameplay, the story is what I'm really interested in. It's shaping up to be pretty damned cool. The characters, acting, voices, plot... everything is there, and it is brilliant. I'll give a more in-depth review after completing it, but right now the general feeling is "kudos to the writers, but the game designers need to sit down with FFVII for a while".

Crackdown is equally amazing, albeit in a different way. It takes what I liked about GTA (driving cars about like a madman, basically) and combines that with a really intuitive combat and exploration system. I can't describe how cool it is to jump off a ten floor building, firing an SMG at a perp on the ground, lobbing a grenade at a group of four others, watching them and their vehicles explode and then landing safely.

I've seen reviews that praise the game highly for the gameplay, but criticise its longevity. A lot of people are of the opinion that the game is far too short; I can't really comment at this stage, as I've not even defeated the first gang kingpin yet, but I'll get back to that after I've completed the game.

Dead Rising is a different kettle of fish. It's got what I expect to be a corny storyline, some really poor characters, the on-screen writing is far too small for anyone without a 42" HDTV to read... but I'll be damned if ploughing through a hundred zombies with a lawnmower isn't some of the best fun to be had on any gaming console today. I pick up a bowling ball, and I can smash their heads in with vim. I've taken to shouting "FACE!" every time I do so. It's just good, clean, zombie-killing fun from the masters of survival horror (Capcom, in case you fail at gaming entirely).

Aside from gaming, I got very drunk last night. It was the Vertex "End of Vodafone Contract" party, and it was a lot of fun. I had a very small but very nice meal (I'd eaten not long beforehand) and I imbibed copious amounts of alcohol before making it home at about 3am. Somewhere in there, I also managed to dance with a couple of very lovely ladies and have a very interesting conversation with another. I was a gentleman to the last, though, ensuring that one of the girls got home safely after a taxi or two failed to arrive.

Felt rank today, though. Had to stop by the roadside when I was getting a lift to work to air out my stomach a bit. Feeling just fine now, though... not sure if all of the alcohol is out of my system yet, but I'll live. But the good news is that I have an impromptu day off tomorrow, thanks to the Marks and Spencer training being so damned easy. For now, I think I'll install my copy of Command and Conquer: The First Decade (just arrived this morning) and see about giving one or two of the games a shot.