I was able to score an entry.

My adventures in Eozrea have been interesting. I’ve had to struggle to get the game to run decently on my machine, learn how to work the controls and navigation in the game itself, and deal with keyboard controls that I am not used to using. Yet I haven’t run in to many of the other complaints leveled at the game as detailed by MDH’s Wes last week and various other websites around the internet.

The following are just my very first impressions after only a few days of playing the game.

Not so Viewtiful

The game can be ran on a machine that is slightly below the minimum recommended level, but it won’t be the prettiest game on the block. I have seen videos of FFXIV running great on machines that can handle it and it really is a beautiful game. On my machine? I can see what the game is meant to be. However it does not look like many of the videos that are populating services like youtube. The game, as it is running on my machine right now, looks more like FFXI then a modern game. I can handle that for the time being: at least I can play the game. I do plan on upgrading my video card and power supply as soon as possible. (Not just for FFXIV, but my computer is almost two years old and is needing some upgrades.)

Un Interesting?

If I weren’t a veteran of FFXI, I am not sure I would really understand the way Square has set up the User Interface navigation. I don’t think it is bad, it is just not as icon heavy as many modern online games. In fact the whole game, including the User Interface, reminds me more of an offline Final Fantasy game then the previous online Final Fantasy ever did. It isn’t something that might be considered intuitive, but it isn’t something that is so hard to fathom a person can’t get the gist of it. What I didn’t like is that the game didn’t have many tutorials on how to use the UI. Or if it did, I didn’t see them. It threw me for a loop for a second when I tried to interact with the NPC’s the same way I did in FFXI. It doesn’t exactly work like that, most of the interacting is through the main menu. This is almost like it is in the previous online Final Fantasy but not quite the same.

Controlling my destiny

For almost the entirety of the first week I struggled to control the game. It isn’t uncontrollable with the keyboard, but it doesn’t feel as natural as using a keyboard does in FFXI. The main reason is the fact they move the camera from the arrows keys, which are locked out, to the J K L and I keys. My hands are just to close together like this, it feels uncomfortable. I have small hands so if I feel uncomfortable I shudder to think what a person with bigger hands might think. Yet I persevered, but I just did not like controlling my character. Luckily that changed when I was able to get a controller for the PC. It made all the difference in the world… well in terms of this game.

Thoughts so far

Though I dealt with many technical issues in getting FFXIV started, I finally have been able to sit down and invest some time in the game. There are some issues I still have with it, like there seems to be a lack of content outside the guildleves quests. Yet I like the battle system, even if it is one that takes a little bit of adjustment. The game, even with my limited resolution, looks good. I Like the races that are available even if they are just twists on the FFXI races. The intro cinemas to the three cities are stunning and it makes me want to explore more of the story. I also like the fact the moogles I have seen, in the cinema leading to Gardinia, are a throw back to the old style moogles. I also like the fact the cities do not have load times when you are entering or exiting them. Also each city has it’s own feel: One city and surrounding area is not like the other.

To me it seems they have a good platform to build more on to. Yet with only two weeks go to, I think thegame may be launching to early. However I can understand a game needs to launch at some point. I am just not sure the content is there to support it, or maybe Square Enix is just holding back until release. There are also technical issues that are being fixed with each patch.

In the end I have to remember that this is still a beta. It may be open beta, but it is a beta none the less. Will these issues be there at launch? I am sure some will, at least. Also there is still so much of the game I have yet to explore, so much I need to do. I haven’t even switched weapons yet and tried another class on my main character. I also want to try the pure crafting and gathering classes…

Bottom line is there I both like many things and dislike some things about this game. Yet I want to keep playing and I guess that is all that matters.

- Warren Bennett

I loved Portal and now Portal 2 with co-op is looking pretty good.  The series is one of the most refreshing and unique games I’ve played in years.  Rarely do you get something so creative and fun.  Usually it’s more of the same but not with Portal.

Today’s Lesson: Never piss off a giant robot.

Allods Warden Class Roleplaying Journal Issue #1

Day 1:  Today our homeworld came under attack and we were forced to evacuate to a new location.   I played babysitter to the civies and bodyguard to our casters who held open a portal so we could escape.  I had to kill everything from rats to an escaped Manticore.  I hope the idiot that was storing a live, fully mature Manticore in the palace made it so I could get the satisfaction of killing him.  I’m sure my peers would look down on that statement but I’m old and grizzly.  I lost my patience and tree hugging sensibilities many a year ago.  Now I’ve even lost my homeworld and all I have is my baby bear Yogi.  Hopefully I can focus on training him in the face of such utter devastation.  If I can keep him from nabbing goodies from people eating outdoors and train him to obey an order or two I’ll feel I’m doing ok.  In the end it was I who held back the demon horde and was the last to step foot off our world.  We’ll see what the future holds.

On the other side people were looking to me as a druid to gather healing herbs, kill stag for meat supplies and thin out the giant adder population for safety.  Yogi kept eating the berries I was trying to gather so one hand I picked and the other I keep the runed menace at bay with an occasional dog rose berry.  If he wasn’t so cute I’d see how far in the woods he couldn’t find his way back from.

The leaders are jumping on my last nerve.  They think because I have a special relationship with nature that when they ask me to get pelts and parts from lynx that the vicious little felines just lay down and give up.  That greater lynx just about had me when Yogi charged him, knocking it unconscious.  It was hard not to stick a clawed fist through that elf when she smirked saying “see that wasn’t so hard”.  She jumped when I quickly brought up a hand full of sharp claws then gently brushed something off my nose…heh.  My Gibberling scout buddy said there was a special place in heaven for people like me like right next to druids that molest squirrels.  I replied that I’m sure I’d see him there someday and that he’d better leave those squirrels alone.  He puffed up and left me to my cantankerous mood.  Anyway what Gibberling mother names her son Gibbering?  Either one with no creativity or one that hopes the cruel jokes will make him a stronger furry midget.  That’s a conversation for another day I suppose.  Right now all I can think about is sitting by the fire, smoking my pipe and petting Yogi.  Maybe I’ll be in a better mood tomorrow but the chances of that are slim.

This song is pimp!  No seriously the song is by the Sneaker Pimps and called “6 Underground”.  It’s a genre called Trip Hop from the early 90’s.  Still a dope beat and I dig it.

Heading into this Labor day weekend we should have grab a new game and relax with the quality entertainment that only video games provide like blowing up stuff to kingdom come.  Ahhh wasn’t that nice!

First up is Direct2Drive’s End of Summer Sale where they have a number of titles for only $6.  Two that really standout for me are Defense Grid (my fav tower defense game) and Titan Quest Bundle (solid Diablo style crawler set to ancient Greece).

Direct2Drive End of Summer Sale

GoGamer is having yet another round of their famous 48 Hour Madness Sales.  You can get title starting at 90 cents and up.  Enjoy!

48 Hour Madness Sale

Geeks has Xbox 360 Core Systems for only $79 bucks.  If you’re like me with a hard drive but a rrod system then this is a smokin’ deal.

Geeks 360 Sale

Ah the 80’s! At the worst, the 80’s were full of shlock and copy-cat productions. At it’s best, the decade tended to be optimistic and full of life. It also had a lot of kick a…er kick butt action movies where bad guys were bad, good guys were good, and lots of stuff exploded. Good times.

It is nice to see a movie that harkens back to that bygone era. The Expendables is one such movie.

The actors that are assembled are all vets of their own action movies. They range from 80’s stalwarts like Arnold, Bruce, and Sly to 90’s and 00’s action heroes like Jason Statham and Jet Li. It is an ensemble piece, but one that mainly centers around Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham. All the other actors do have their set pieces, however, and come through in style.

Like many action movies from the 80’s, this movie light on plot. Yet there is some plot and at least one poignant scene involving Mickey Rourke and Sylvester Stallone. Rourke ruminates on what a life of violence can bring and how forgetting what you are fighting for can make a man a hollow human being. A very deep scene in a movie where you wouldn’t expect it.

Though the age of the actors involve tread towards older, you could never tell by the way they act. I am sure that there must be some stunt doubles in use, but I didn’t notice any. The actors portray a group of burnt out mercenaries that are world weary and not exactly sure about their place in existence. Life is etched on their faces and you can tell that each one of the characters has lived a full life, if not a comfortable one. One is trying to figure out why he fights while another is trying to save a relationship, his only anchor to a normal existence. A third speaks about his family, but you are never sure if he is lying or just wanting more money…

This is all good, but what I really came to see was the action scenes. Sometimes it is nice to have a movie where the good guys can blow the crap out of the bad guys and win. This movie has good action scenes in abundance. It does feel a tad slow while things aren’t being shot at or exploded, but that is often how these movies work. The action scenes are so good that you don’t really want them to stop. The action in this movie satisfies that need to see things explode that most men seem to have. From the first scene to the last, the action is intense and satisfying.

The movie isn’t as realistic and bloody as the last movie Stallone made (Rambo), but don’t think there won’t be some type of gore. There is one shotgun that tears through the enemy like they are nothing. The effects used to show the results of this weapon are very…fluid.

As I said before, every actor in the ensemble has their set piece: From Jet Li hitting people with martial arts to Dolph Lundgren looming over everyone. (Seriously, I didn’t know realize the man was that big.) it is obvious that all the scenes are set up just to show the individual actors do their thing, but that isn’t necessarily bad. It is nice to come to an action movie and find what you are expecting: A fun time where everything wraps up well at the end and you leave in a pleasant mood.

The movie, outside of the great action, reminds us that good guys still exist and not all bad guys are complex individuals that search their soul. They can just be in it for money and profit and need to be *Cocks gun* disposed.

Go see the movie, it is worth it. Especially if you love a good action flick reminiscent of the best action movies from the 80’s.

The movie is rated R for violence and profanity. There are absolutely no sex scenes.

- Warren Bennett

Welcome to “The Final Times,” the new weekly Final Fantasy Online column for MDH. I plan to talk about all things FF Online related, concentrating on both FFXI and FFXIV.

My initial article was going to be about my reactions to the FFXIV beta, if I had been lucky enough to get into the open beta that is, but the beta as moved to tomorrow. I also don’t want to point out issues that have been dragged out already (Wes did a good job of going over them here) so I decided to just talk about FFXI for this week.

(Forgive me if I go over some points I hit on in my Returning to Vana’diel articles last week.)

Final Fantasy XI. The game has been on the market for 8 years. I can’t believe I am still interested in it, much less play it. Yet I love older, non massively multiplayer games so I guess this fits the same idea. FFXI is. more or less, an old school MMO and I have a tendency to be an old school gamer.

I recently returned to FFXI and plan to stay for while. (You can read about my first week by clicking here.) After playing a few other MMOs this week, it interests me to see why I keep coming back to such an old horse as FFXI.

The battle system in FFXI can be considered laid-back. It is not fast paced, but much more tactical the many modern online games. When you are attacking the in game monsters, I find that I can relax and let my mind wonder a little bit. I am not in a rush to beat the game and sometimes the battles take time finish. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing and it very much reminds me of playing the other console based Final Fantasy games. Most modern MMO games are a bit more hectic and much more fast paced.

I also like the fact there is a sense of exploration in FFXI. When you go to or from a location, you are hoofing it (for the lower levels anyway) and have to take time to stop and smell the roses. Though the graphics are aging, they still can make me awe struck when I come upon a new place I haven’t seen before. I really like the fact that I feel like an adventurer headed into the unknown. Some MMOs make me feel like I’m in a predesignated arena. I rarely feel that way in this game.

There is also variety: 18 different jobs a character can do. All the jobs feel unique and one isn’t like the other. Though you only start out with six jobs, the other 12 can be unlocked later. A person can also unlock a subjob with the aim of using two jobs as once. Not all abilities can be used with whatever job is in the subjob slot, but you still get benefits from it. This leads to a high variety of customization…if you are willing to put in the time.

That is probably FFXI’s biggest weakness: You have to be committed to doing things in the game. It takes time to run from place to place, to battle, to see new lands. Everything does feel like a journey instead of roaming around a huge arena, but that comes at the expense of a time investment. A friend told me you have to be willing to spend at least four hours on the game when you log in… I don’t know about that (there are many things to do that don’t take that much time) but it is a game you want to stick with over a long period.

At least Square Enix has made many items more accessible inside the game world. Leveling your character is much easier then it used to be. With items like the Emperess Band, you can level with a much faster pace then you used to be able to do. It is not as fast as many MMOs, but it is still not the same as when the game shipped.

Yup I am glad I am back in FFXI.

Over the next year I plan on delving deeper in to what I have written about here and many other subjects with both FFXI and FFXIV.

Next week: My intial thoughts on Final Fantasy XIV.

- Warren Bennett

Mike B has posted a great hands on review of his Vindictus beta impressions.  The game is an action MMO that allows you to pick up items to use in combat.  Graphically it doesn’t look like anything to write home about but the gameplay is intriguing.  I especially liked the scene where one person chained the boss’ legs and was dragging him around while other players beat on him.  I like!  It will be a f2p title and one I’ll be keeping an eye on as it progresses.

Vindictus Homepage

Here’s what’s happening in our world today and what we think is interesting.

First up Square has done yet another 180 and FFXIV open beta will start tomorrow (9/2).  I was actually hoping they were going to take more time and fix some of the issues that is plaguing the game but obviously they are under the gun to push this thing through hell or high water.

FFXIV Open Beta Begins

Apply Here

Diablo III is well still being build.  Sadly it doesn’t sound like they are at the polish stage and they are in the process of creating content with some areas that aren’t even done yet.  It’s safe to say “not this year” and I pray they make it this time next year.  Needless to say, this ranks high on my “must have” list of games.

Diablo III Development

New 360 controller now open for viewing.  The new controller looks nice and I especially love the chrome D pad.  Nice touch!

Redesigned 360 Controller

Vindictus is hinting at a build your own golem mechanic.  That would be very cool and I wholly support the idea.  I mean really who hasn’t wanted that at one time or another?  I’m keeping my eye on this f2p title.  It looks like an interesting action MMO.  I’ll be posting a hands on video later today so keep your eyes peeled.

Build Your Own Golem

Just in case you’ve been living under a rock the past week or haven’t seen it posted on this site….the Necromancer class has been released for Guild Wars 2.   It looks awesome.  I wanted to mention this again because this level of goodness doesn’t come around often.

Guild Wars 2 Necromancer