Lost Odyssey: should I?

Today’s post was going to be about Roger Clemens, but after a respected fellow blogger saw and commented on my DMC4 rant, I figure I’ll stay with the gaming thing for a bit. Besides, Mistwalker has given me plenty to talk about with the crossover (Japan-U.S.) release of Lost Odyssey.

To those who don’t know (which is probably everyone reading), I am a massive console role-playing buff. I currently have 4 different RPGs in the works, of all kinds, past and present. For the curious, these would be Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings [DS, 2007], Eternal Sonata [X360, 2007], Tales of Symphonia [GameCube, 2004] and a fan translation of Shin Megami Tensei [SNES, 1992]. I intend to finish all of them, but now Lost Odyssey is out, and its reviews leave me less than enthused and cloud my mind with doubt.That being said, I’ve never not trusted Hironobu Sakaguchi… even if he DID make Final Fantasy 2.

Gametrailers rates the game 8.8, but I don’t exactly take it as gospel. I do like ratings that include “story” as one of the factors, though, especially in terms of an RPG. Since the 90’s, I’ve always thought that game stories are one of the more underrated elements of a game. It always adds that extra layer of depth when you, because of events in an engaging storyline, actually WANT to beat up whoever you’re going up against.

IGN, who I take far more seriously, gives the game an overall 8.2, and that’s saying something. Apparently, it is only truly full of appeal for those who are already okay with slow, turn-based RPG systems. Since I find Shin Megami Tensei to be the best game I’ve played in the last 5 years, and it plays like Earthbound, but with all the flair of Dragon Warrior, turn-based is okay with me.

Now it gets interesting. GameSpy, equally as respectable, gives the game 2.5/5, citing “shamelessly derivitive story and characters” and “hideous load times” as major game negatives. Now, load times are something new to me. As an old-school cartridge RPGer, the idea that I might have to wait to enter a town or begin a battle is strange and unusual. I’m sure it’s not deal-breaking, though.

Gamespot, a notably tough reviewer, slaps it with a 7.5, which is okay for a site that practically has to hold a press conference every time they give something higher than 9.0. Still, I can’t help but wonder if this thing is worth the money (and the time I would otherwise spend on Eternal Sonata – review scores of 8.6, 8.3, 3.5/5, 8.5). Maybe I should just wait for that inevitable price drop?

Even if it DOES look incredible…

Thoughts on modern gaming

Much to the chagrin of Joe Lieberman, Hillary Clinton, and Jack Thompson, I rather feel like discussing recent themes in modern gaming. On top of that, I’ll be speaking about a game in which weapons are brandished and evildoers are harmed, instead of hugged and made to see the light of goodness and sharing before being sent to Sesame Street. Therefore, I am clearly about to commit an act of atrocious violence, presumably on a school playground or college campus. There is, after all, such an indisputable causal link between violence on and violence off a screen. Maybe I should be writing this in a rubber room so I do not cause harm to myself or others. Well… I’ll take my chances, I guess, but if you don’t hear from me for a while, check the local news in Middle Tennessee.

The game I speak of today is one of unusual origins. The original game in this series had the working title “Resident Evil 4.” The year was 2001, and Developer Capcom had dreamed up a new direction for its classic survival horror series. It turned out to be a bit too new a direction and Capcom decided to take a different path with it entirely (the actual Resident Evil 4, of course, was released in January 2004, and did indeed redefine both the series and the survival-horror genre).

I am speaking, of course, on Devil May Cry, whose fourth iteration hit store shelves last week. We’ve been well-teased about this game since E3 2005 or so, in Los Angeles. A video here, a teaser trailer there, a bit of info. Well, it’s here, and thanks to the poor initial performance of the PlayStation 3, the game has been simultaneously released for PS3 and Xbox 360 (the series was once exclusive to the PS2). My initial feeling about the game is that not much has changed, and in the spirit of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” there’s very little to complain about there. Much was made of the new character, Nero, and his “Devil Bringer” arm, but the fact is, he plays almost identical to Dante in previous games, and the “Devil Bringer” is really just a clever sort of grappling hook. It adds an extra layer of depth to the gameplay and the battles, but it breaks no molds, it just makes a good one better. My only complaint is that Nero’s gun, while very cool (fires two bullets!)  lacks the versatility and firing rate of Dante’s twin pistols, Ebony and Ivory. It’s a minor complaint, overall, though.

The music is what fans of the series would expect. Industrial punk rock mixed in with some unusually classical overtones. This time, the game opens with an absolutely gorgeous aria-type song, “sung” by the game’s new female lead Kyrie (pronounced “kee-ree-ay,” don’t ask me why). It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it’s a welcome departure from the choral or even Gregorian tones of previous games.

The plot carries a heavy theme – a cult-like religion known as the “Order of the Sword” means to do something sinister involving angels, gods, demons, etc. It’s not terribly profound, and I’m not one to spoil a decent, if stereotypical, plot (which this is), but some of the similarities to real-life Christianity are a little frightening, despite the exaggerations involved.

Should you happen to own a PS3 or 360, I recommend a pickup if you’re at all a fan of Devil May Cry (or have been at any point during the series) or fast-paced action. For you PS3 owners who don’t know, DMC4 is effectively Heavenly Sword with more style and more than 7 hours of gameplay. Just be prepared for the 25-minute mandatory install period. The PS3 requires you install this massive game to your system’s hard drive, which gives you the luxury of game cartridge-like load times (am I the only one old enough to remember that?), but the inconvenience of waiting 22-25 minutes to play for the first time and about 3 less gigs of space on your hard drive. Don’t bother asking Sony or Capcom why. It will only end in tears. They will tell you to shut up and bask in how awesome they are. Also, go make a sandwich.