Ben's Week In Review: June 22

Final Fantasy XIII

Two of the biggest games of the generation are already here, but I'm all about looking down the road this week. Stagnation sets in if we don't continue to advance!

I wanna know when FFXIII is coming

No, seriously. I have no problems giving Square-Enix as much time as necessary to make the game as amazing as humanly possible, but I'm just annoyed that we don't even have at least an estimated release date straight from the publisher. The latest rumor says Final Fantasy XIII will be available in Japan by this December, and we do know that the biggest RPG of the generation will be in attendance at E3. So couldn't we at least have a vague release date from S-E? Even if that rumor from the EA employee about launching in December is untrue, I don't understand why we have virtually no estimate whatsoever. I mean, this game could quite literally hit store shelves somewhere in this world between December 2008 and probably early 2010. I'm not a release date goon, who absolutely requires exact dates, but the complete lack of any feedback from S-E on the issue of FFXIII's release concerns me.

It's my favorite franchise in the video game industry, it will probably continue to remain my favorite franchise, and I have no doubt that FFXIII will be an incredible experience. But I really want some sense from S-E that they're alive over there in Japan, and maybe that evidence will come at E3. No more random trailers; some actual news, please!

Bioshock a year late, but still worth it for PS3 owners

Okay, so Microsoft pulled a fast one and nailed down 2K's masterpiece for timed exclusivity, thereby robbing PS3 owners of one of the best games of the generation. However, 2K is doing absolutely the right thing by revamping the game for what can be considered a re-release on the PS3. It will be a year late, after all, and with another year comes a lot more competition. Plus, it'd be a nice gesture to have a few extra bonuses for taking Microsoft's cash and making PS3 users wait. Now, I have no idea if the latest rumored details are true, but I'm hoping they are. We do know for a fact that the game will boast plenty of new additions, and wouldn't it be great to have other enhancements, like those two new levels and a 6-minute movie intro? I wouldn't mind seeing what Rapture looked like before everything went to hell.

There is the distinct possibility that I will trade in my Xbox 360 version of Bioshock to get the PS3 version later this year, for two simple reasons: 1. the PS3 version will, quite obviously (I hope), be the best version, and 2. it'd give me an excuse to play through it again. I did this before, when I traded in the original Ninja Gaiden for the Xbox and picked up Ninja Gaiden Sigma for the PS3. I mean...why wouldn't I do that? Makes sense, yes? And once again, yes, Bioshock really is that good.

Personal gaming update

So now that my last trio of fun is complete (Grand Theft Auto IV, Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds and Gran Turismo 5: Prologue), I have to move on. I do plan on picking up Top Spin 3 this week - I have to check on one little detail before I do, though - and yes, I do plan on playing MGS4 at some point, here. But Arnold has informed me that most of the storyline will go right over my head if I didn't play MGS and MGS2. I played the third (and I loved it to pieces), but as that is a prequel to the original MGS and MGS4 is more like a sequel to the first two, it's not doing me much good. Therefore, I picked up The Essential Collection this past week so I can play through the first two entries in the franchise; I'll probably just set them to easy and fly through them so I can see the story. Then I'll get MGS4. Other than that, I can't really think of a game I'll absolutely need until the fall...

Unless, of course, some of our loyal readers out there could give me some suggestions for the summer. :)