Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

Rating:
EU Release Date:	11 July, 2017
Developer:	Square Enix
Publisher:	Square Enix
Total play time:	02:01:00 (Chapter One)

Final Fantasy XII is my favourite game of the series. I love the characters, the story, the soundtrack… Everything. The remastered version keeps everything I loved about the game with a few improvements.

The story of FFXII centres on the Kingdom of Dalmasca, invaded and taken over by the Archadian Empire two years ago. The game’s protagonist, a teenage boy named Vaan, is an orphan, his brother killed by the traitor and kingslayer Captain Basch fon Ronsenburg in the war.  Spurred on by dreams of becoming a sky pirate, Vaan steals from the royal treasury and crosses paths with real sky pirates – the dashing  Balthier and his moody partner Fran. Along the way, they team up with Vaan’s childhood friend Penelo, the traitor Basch himself and the rightful Princess of Dalmasca, Ashe. Together, they fight to see their kingdom freed from Archadia’s rule. There are plenty of twists in the story along the way and nothing is ever quite as it initially seems.

Episode Prompto: Final Fantasy XV (2017) Review

Rating:
EU Release Date:	July, 2017
Developer:	Square Enix
Publisher:	Square Enix
Total play time:	02:31:00 (story mode)

In my eyes, Episode Prompto leaves a lot to be desired. The story is okay, if lacking in one or two vital details. The graphics are fine. The gameplay is all right. The music is quite good. Put these pieces together and you’ve got something that’s… adequate. It’s better than Episode Gladiolus, but it still doesn’t shine.

It’s a shame, because this could have been a really good side story. Prompto is arguably the most interesting character in the XV main party. He’s not like the others, born into the luxury of the Crown City, knowing his future was tied to royalty. He’s more like the rest of us – insecure, lost and not quite as ‘okay’ as he makes out. This story probably resonates with most of the game’s audience. And to make him even more interesting, he’s got a dark secret.

We rejoin Prompto just after Noctis threw him off the train and we trudge around a Niflheim base trying to work out what his secret is and what new weapon the Nifs are building. Later on, Aranea pops in for a bit. She’s mostly there to kick your arse into gear, but it’s still nice to have some company in the battles.

There are a few cool new gameplay elements when playing as Prompto and as you explore the base, you can pick up a variety of weapons to use including a bazooka and a more useful sniper rifle than the one offered in the main game. Prompto also has a few special moves that trigger in certain situations. Unfortunately, seeing how kickass he is in this part of the game does make you wonder why he seems so underpowered in the rest.

The music is good – but then I nearly always say that about game music. It has a good mix of tracks familiar from the main game and new pieces by XIII-2 composer Naoshi Mizuta. One track does sound uncannily like Adele’s Rolling in the Deep, but aside from that, it all fits with the atmosphere of the story. In the promo video, Mizuta said he wanted to capture Prompto’s more serious side. I think that’s been achieved.

What bugs me most about it are the small things. The intro is ridiculously slow and despite being thrown off a train, Prompto has somehow managed to find a change of clothes. Some of the little lines of dialogue don’t quite gel. The ‘side quests’ are ludicrously overpowered – you know that We still don’t know quite how Prompto ended up in Gralea; the implication is that it has something to do with Ardyn – but that was obvious anyway. And I really could have done without the reminder of that song from Frozen. Seriously, Square, is it really necessary to fill this game with rubbishy, overplayed pop songs? Stand by Me was bad enough.

However, with all that said, it is a fun little detour. You get to ride around on a snowmobile for a bit – tip: it’s much easier when the snowmobile isn’t upside down and in a tree. There are some cool weapons to play with. You even get to save a garulet from some baddies. I’d say it’s two hours well spent.

Final Fantasy XV (2016) Review

Rating:
EU Release Date:	Nov 29, 2016 (for XONE and PS4)
Developer:	Square Enix
Publisher:	Square Enix

EDIT: I previously rated this game 7/8, but the end of the game has vastly altered my opinion. See Review Part II for more details.

ORIGINAL: POSTED 14/12/16

This is the game I’ve been waiting for.

If you’ve not played Final Fantasy before, XV is a great place to start. It even describes itself as “A Final Fantasy for fans and first-timers”. I absolutely love the Final Fantasy series and this is definitely one of the best. It combines the best aspects of FFXII, in particular the vast, open map and the real time battles and combines it with something similar to the battle controls found in Nier or perhaps Lightning Returns.

The game focuses on Prince Noctis and his companions as they try to retake their homeland Lucis from the world-dominating empire Niflheim. The plot is really that simple – a return to the basic narrative of the older games in the series where the characters are what matter. Prince Noctis and his buddies are definitely a strength of the game and a welcome change from some of the irritating and miserable protagonists of the series’ last few releases. Rather than just being a bunch of dudes you got lumbered with on a coach trip, they feel like your friends – people you might actually want to know.

Abe’s Oddysee Retro & Remake Review

Rating:
EU Release Date:	Sept 19, 1997 (Original) Jul 23, 2014 (Remake)
Developer:	Oddworld Inhabitants (Original) Just Add Water(Remake)
Publisher:	GT Interactive (Original) Oddworld Inhabitants (Remake)
Total play time:	1:28:00 (Level 1)

Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee was a platform game in 1997 for the PlayStation and PC. The game focuses on a strange creature called Abe, a Mudokon slave in the Rupture Farms meat processing plant. After discovering that the farm bosses want to turn the Mudokon species into snacks, Abe begins an escape attempt, taking as many of the others with him as possible.

The gameplay is really quite straightforward. You move around the levels, getting the others to follow you to the escape portals while avoiding the armed-guards, traps, bombs, holes, motion-detectors, carnivorous creatures, gas clouds, electric beams and meat saws. Simple.

Life is Strange (2015) Review

Rating:
EU Release Date:	Jan 30, 2015 (for Steam)
Total play time:	20:00:00 (approx)

Life is Strange is an episodic game from the makers of Final Fantasy. The story focuses on an eighteen-year-old called Max, an awkward photography student who discovers she has the ability to rewind time. This ability is one of the game’s greatest features.

The effects of rewinding time start off quite small – say the right thing and get people to like you – but the further you go, the more dramatic the consequences until you’re the only one who can decide if another character lives or dies. And, to make things even more complicated, the actions that have positive consequences in the short term might have worse consequences later on. It’s like one of those choose-you-own-adventure books, but not quite so easy to just undo that bad choice you made ten pages back.

The game also tackles a lot of issues that few others dare. In a game that is essentially about teenagers trying to work out who they are and where they fit in, issues like sexuality, mental health and friendship are difficult to ignore. These are the issues that pre-occupy the teenage mind. Hell, these issues affect many of us well into adult life.

Of course, every game also has downsides and this is no exception. Sometimes, the dialogue is a little hammy and the lip-sync is frequently really bad. Sometimes, the choices you make seem pointless. The graphics seem a little lack-lustre (perhaps a super-high-end graphics card would perk them up, but I doubt it).What’s more, the whole time-travelling thing is completely skimmed over in the story. It’s almost as if the only reason she can do it is that she is the main, playable character.

Despite its flaws, Life is Strange is an excellent, thought-provoking game. I would recommend it to anyone. And I dare you not to still be thinking about it days later.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (2013) Review

Rating:
EU Release Date:	Oct 29, 2013 (for Xbox 360)
Total play time:	55:00:00 (100% Single Player)

I can’t think of many things that would make this game better. Pirates, swords, an awesome soundtrack… this game has it all.

You play as Edward Kenway, a privateer-come-pirate with dreams of prizes, plunder and adventure. Along the route, you meet with a number of famous characters from history (as you would expect from an Assassin’s Creed game), including some of the best known pirates of the age. And, even better, it’s not all generic Hollywood pirates with the tired, clichéd phrases (although there is a cheat for that). What I probably love most about this game is that, with the exception Kenway himself, all of the pirates actually resemble their real life counterparts – Blackbeard’s showmanship, Black Bart’s love of fine clothing, Charles Vane’s cruelty… Sure, there were a few inaccuracies, but it all made for a good story and isn’t that what really matters?

Assassin’s Creed Rogue (2014) Review

Rating:
EU Release Date:	Nov 13, 2014 (for Xbox 360)
Total play time:	Approx. 60 hours (story mode)

I’m a total newbie to the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Having only played the Black Flag demo before, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this game, which is apparently the seventh in the AC series. The running, killing and hiding bit was obvious, but you get so much more than that.

You play as Shay Patrick Cormac, a young assassin working under the mentorship of Achilles Davenport, who I am sure will be familiar to fans of the series. After a literally earth-shattering experience, Shay defects, intent on stopping the plans of the assassins and willing to give his life in the course.

There is a huge free-roam element to this game, if not others in the series and a lot of hidden treasures to find, so although the story is quite linear, there is plenty to distract you from it, should you want to take the scenic route through the game. Warehouses to loot, gang headquarters and settlements to liberate, hunting, frontier clashes, citizens in distress… Even once you’ve finished the story, there will be other things to keep you playing, especially if you’re an achievement hoarder like me.

Final Fantasy XIII (2010) Review

Rating:
EU Release Date:	Mar 9, 2010 (for Xbox 360)
Total play time:	48:14:05 (story mode)

I’m fairly certain that everyone knows my views on this game. I did once say that I wasn’t going to play it, but after a fairly boring week, I changed my mind.

I do, however, stick by my other comments on the game. The gameplay is very dull. Most of the battles are either easy or rely on you levelling further. There is no problem solving and the free roam element is lacklustre. The fact that I like the story doesn’t outweigh these downsides. It’s a brilliant Final Fantasy movie, but a poor Final Fantasy game.

The story follows Lightning and the inhabitants of a world called Cocoon, terrified by forces from a world they call Pulse. The worlds are run by gods called Fal’cie, who use the humans to serve their tasks. These chosen humans are known as L’Cie. When a Pulse Fal’cie appears in Cocoon, the people demand that anyone who has been in contact with it are sent to Pulse.

Lightning, a former soldier, is among them, along with a man named Sazh and two kids, Hope and Vanille. Lightning busts out of the detention train, freeing all of the deportees. Sazh stays with Lightning to fight the other soldiers while another man, named Snow takes care of the kids. Although they take different routes and for different reasons, they all end up confronting the Pulse Fal’cie – united by Lightning’s sister and Snow’s fiancée, Serah. The Fal’cie then turns them into L’cie – setting them on a journey that makes them re-evaluate everything they’ve even known.

Nier (2010) Review

Rating:
EU Release Date:	April 23, 2010 (for Xbox 360)
Total play time:	34:58:29 (Normal Mode)

I loved this game. From the very first line of dialogue, this game was working its way into my favourites. And the longer I played, the more I loved it.

The tutorial level begins in 2049, in the ruins of a big city. You are introduced to your character (referred to by the game manual as “The Father”), struggling to protect his young, ill daughter Yonah from shadowy monsters. After a seemingly endless wave of monsters and a whistle-stop tour of all the magic available in the game, something happens and you find yourself 1300 years in the future.

Lightning Returns (2014) Review

Rating:
EU Release Date:	Feb 14, 2014 (for Xbox 360)
Total play time:	69:56:00 (Normal Mode)

I have entirely mixed feelings about this game – and the XIII series as a whole. Final Fantasy XIII began with a great story, but practically no gamer input required. XIII-2 was better on gameplay but didn’t feel like a sequel and Lightning Returns… Well, the trailers looked great, but I just didn’t enjoy it.

So, it’s the end of the world (again) and Lightning has been chosen by God once again to save the world. And forget about the Fal’cie from XIII and the goddess Etro from XIII-2. This time she has been chosen by Bhunivelze the real top god. In thirteen days, Bhunivelze awakens and creates a new world for humanity. The trouble is, the world ends in six, destroyed by the Chaos that flooded in from the unseen realm at the end of XIII-2. In order to get humanity to the new world, Lightning has to extend the time world has left by saving souls of the surviving population. Save enough should to reach day thirteen and you win… sort of.