Ben-DutkaWarm weather is just around the corner…I can feel it…
What is L.A. Noire's potential…really?
Maybe it's just me, but it seems like every new promotional trailer looks better than the one before it. Am I going crazy? Am I suffering from hype dementia? It really seems as if Team Bondi continues to iron out minor visual kinks, even 6 weeks before the game is scheduled to hit store shelves. Of course, that doesn't make much sense; in terms of the development process, they have to be way past graphical tweaks. But no matter how good it looks, there's no chance of it topping Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception ; let's face up to facts, here. That being said, could L.A. Noire – provided it actually lives up to expectations in every possible way – be a legitimate contender for Game of the Year? We all assume it'll be Naughty Dog's latest, but let's not jump the gun.
Okay, so there's a darn good chance the best game of 2011 will be Uncharted 3 but every time I look closely at what L.A. Noire offers, I begin to get excited. Really excited. It's a different sort of excitement, too; I know Drake's new adventure will be amazing, whereas there's a semblance of doubt that goes along with Rockstar's new promising project. How do you feel about comparing the two games…?
Okay, maybe I should play both WKCs when WKC2 comes out
So D3Publisher will be bringing White Knight Chronicles 2 to the U.S. this summer , which only reminds me that I never got a chance to play the original game. I saw enough of it to know I wanted to try it, but other things got in the way. Now, I hear tell that you can't even start the sequel until you've played the first; i.e., you must either have a completed game save from WKC before you can start WKC2. If that's true, it's a darn good thing the second game comes packed with the first…and I'll be able to start from scratch and play 'em both. I know the combat mechanic is similar to FFXII (at least, that's what it reminds me of), and I like the setting. I feel bad about missing the first game; I really do.
And considering there's little chance of me liking Skyrim and playing Mass Effect 2 reaffirmed my feeling that I just can't get into BioWare's great series, I think WKC2 fits the bill. I just hope it comes out in July, or something, when there are few games coming out. June is getting packed, damnit. Not that I'm complaining per se.
Personal gaming update
So I finished Crysis 2 and while the ending was a bit of a rip-off in some ways, I loved the game. It's definitely recommended for anyone who wants to play a slick sci-fi shooter with a lengthy campaign. I think it took me around 12-13 hours, or something like that, and I've missed those days. So now I have to go back to Dragon Age II , which I'll do this week. But because Dungeon Siege III came onto my radar recently, I just had to start a new game of Champions of Norrath . I'm in Vanarhost's Castle now. 🙂 Love those types of games.
Yeah, Mortal Kombat is coming and so is the review. I'm not into fighting games but I was once an MK fan, so I'm interested to see how it turns out. Also, I'm hoping to take the next big step for our special project; we're getting closer and closer…any forward progression is a good thing. 🙂
In terms of excitement, Uncharted 2 takes the cake. I don't believe I have different types of excitement beyond means of anticipation and sexual…IDK. But in terms of graphics I believe Uncharted will again reign supreme in a world where developers just aren't as meticulous in graphical design as Naughty Dog. They mastered snow physics and I believe they will do it again with sand and fire elements in their new entry. As far as LA Noire goes, I'm intrigued but not a whole lot more can be said besides it looks interesting and like a good compliment of Heavy Rain's design scheme. I'll pick up both definitely but if I had to choose one it would be Nathan Drake FTW.
Last edited by JMO_INDY on 4/9/2011 9:32:36 PM
LA Noire just isn't for me. And I still haven't done Heavy Rain.
Murder mystery/detective is an area of gaming that doesn't appeal to me.
I could've lived without playing through Crysis 2. I liked it, alright. I think I would've enjoyed it a lot more on a higher end PC gaming rig, but that's just not going to happen anytime soon for me.
PGU: So I checked out AC:Brotherhood after finishing Crysis 2. I like it. I can't say I consider the AC games as a favorite series of mine, but I do admire a lot of it from a design stand point–I think the Infamous fan in me just loves having all of those powers and high-speed abilities. Outside of RPG's I generally don't place a lot of value in video game stories, but AC is an exception. The characters are interesting to me and I think the voice acting is some of the finest. With the few hours I spent with BH I can tell it's a subtle evolution of the series, offering more by way of refinements. Anyone who hates when devs tinker too much with a favorite formula won't have anything to worry about with BH. I still wish, though, the combat didn't feel so sloppy in large battles. I'll wait for a large price drop (15-20) before I buy and play the rest of it.
Right now, I'm on a fighting game kick, doing DOA4 and T6 online a lot. I also checked out SC4 again. I've never been very experienced with the SC games, but I do admire them.
Anyway, I've been busy with lots of stuff, like eating better. I'm not a big guy, but I'm more concerned about my health as I'm in my early 30's. I've been eating a lot of Tilapia fish, steamed veggies, brown rice, oatmeal and other healthy stuff. It feels good.
Are you ever gonna try HR?
Granted, I haven't seen recent trailers, but from what I have seen (shoot-outs, cutscenes), LA Noire seems more GTA than HR.
I know Sensei Temjin isn't much into GTA, so I can understand if it's not on his radar in either case.
Me? HR was a great experience. A very bleak one. And the few nights I was playing it felt I was on a temporary fast from gaming, as it is a very different kind of gaming, but it was still engrossing.
LA Noire. I know it's gonna be quality title with a strong story, and that's all I need to know. Am I psyched? Not particularly. But that's how I am coincidentally about Uncharted games, too. I'm not waiting to exhale, but when I play them (Uncharted games), they take my breath away.
This week of gaming? Yakuza 3 (interesting game, but I'm pushing through), Spiderman: Shattered Dimension (Surprisingly good game, and I'm not even into comic book heroes), and Just Cause 2 (was expecting a far worse product based on Psxextreme's review, but, again, I'm surprised how good it is, and I like good surprises).
@Shams: It warms an old Marvel heart like mine to read your opinion about Shattered Dimensions. 🙂
And regarding Just Cause 2 I very much agree – I even think it *looks* good. Very holiday island'ish and I like how they've also modelled the sea bed. All in all a very good sandbox game if one can see past the poor acting/voices, story and cliche macho attitude. The game itself is fun!
Just cause is a blast to play. What other game can you tie a boat to a 747, then take off and getting the boat in the air?
@Temjin001
You should give Heavy Rain a chance. It's completely different from any other game, well until Qunatic's next game of course.
Yeah, I'll eventually try HR. But only because you guys think so highly of it =)
Last edited by Temjin001 on 4/10/2011 10:39:07 AM
You better.
Funny thing is, I KNOW Uncharted 3 is gonna be shockingly amazing and for that reason I don't need to have a great deal of anticipation for it. We know when its coming so I can just wait peacefully. However, Uncharted 3 can deliver without adding much to the gameplay.
Contrast that with what looks rather unique in LA Noire and what's sure to be a massive upgrade in inFamous 2 and those things make me anticipate those titles more so.
I think it might be folly to try to decide the GOTY now with so much good stuff coming.
I have my WKC save but I want to go through the original again with the updated graphics and battle system. Ben I can tell you that you'll love all the customization, weapon and armor levelling, and custom made special moves. I just hope I can import my avatar character into WKC2 and be allowed to start the game at the WKC1 beginning cuz I don't wanna have to try to remake her perfectly, that took me some time.
I beat ME2 last night, whew finally, what a good game. Gotta get Dead Space 2 under my belt and I'll be caught up enough to work on Ar Tonelico until Noire and inFamous 2 come out. Thank God for summer.
I'm hoping that the WKC2 uber awesome pack of sweetness will give us a couple of options. Being that if we load a previous save we can choose to keep our original avatar or redesign them. I was not completely happy with mine, but did not realize the gravity of my decision to go ahead until I was about 20 hours in and didn't want to go back.
I also don't believe in paying $5 to change my avatar. So I'm hoping that the new game will let us keep them if we like them, but give us a chance to alter them if we'd like to.
Yeah what's up with paying to change your avatar?
D3 announced that they got rid of the must play WKC1 1st rule. You can start the sequel whenever you want.
Also, your character will be the same 🙂
I just wanna know if SCEE are deleting that rule for us too come May.
I'm gonna go through WKC1 again though, regardless. Anything to visit Greede again…one of the most memorable, amazing towns i have ever visited in an RPG.
WKC is L5 giving us, yet again, a golden age JRPG ala Squaresoft, but dipped in a modern, fresh ingredient.
Last edited by Lotusflow3r on 4/9/2011 10:21:51 PM
lol I paid the $5…
I just HAD to remake my character lol
Lotus, Greede is downright one of the best towns I have seen in a rpg as well. So much so that I actually "think" about the place more than I would like to.
That's one thing Final Fantasy did so well, towns that stayed in your memory years after. I still remember FFVIII's "Dollet" and of course FFX's Besaid, Zanarkand, etc.
You KNOW when a town is legendary, Greede is one of them.
I'm so replaying WKC1 too.
Good point about the towns Scarecrow, taking them out of an FF game is like a bullet to its brain.
Ahh Greede, who could possibly forget a big city on the back of a giant monster?
"a big city on the back of a giant monster"??? Apparently I have to give wkc a second (third?) try. I gotta see that! 😀
Tell me about it scarecrow.
Everything about it was extraordinary. From the hypnotic music that matched the current condition and population the city had. The amazing things NPC's said to you, some philosophical, some just poetic….and everything just looks beautiful. SO atmospheric.
I remember when i arrived at Greede, i had work early next day and i stayed up to 6am-ish just getting absorbed by Greede and it's underbelly.
I have seen another town in WKC2 that looks like another killer. It had great music, asian influence and looked stunning.
God, i cannot wait.
Well, Of the towns in White Knight, I have to agree about Greeded being best, but Balandor has a huge scale, especially the main plaza outside the palace gates. Albana is well done too, there are some odd little backstreets you can find, and occasionally something completely new. I found a georama character I can't find mentioned in any guide inside one of the buildings in Albana. The towns of WKC are just so deep, they're excellent!
All this talk about Uncharted, oh how I wish it was november…
I won't be picking up LA Noire right away but I will down the road. I find myself more excited for UC3 though. Resistance 3 tops all of them for this year though.
PGU: I finally found a copy of Lost Odyssey so I've just started that tonight. My ps3 is still broke so I haven't finished Dead Space 2, AC:B, or Crysis 2. Along with Lost Odyssey I picked up Borderlands GOTY edition for $20, also, POP: The Sands of Time, along with Final Fantasy XIII.
As for the reason I'm not picking up LA Noire right away. Well it's because of the three lenghty RPG's i just picked up. I foresee myself spending a lot of hours with these games over the next few months along with the others I have to finish.
Last edited by PasteNuggs on 4/9/2011 10:12:24 PM
You didn't get FFXIII for your 360 did you? You'd be better off waiting till your PS3 is fixed. Ugly port that one.
No, I only buy exclusives on the 360. I don't wanna run it too hard and have it blow up on me 🙂
Last edited by PasteNuggs on 4/9/2011 10:29:04 PM
@ pastenuggs
I meant to ask why you got rid of the 2 in your name? In the AC article.
Woo Hoo! Lost Odyssey rocks the house
@Pandacastro
I just wanted to simplify the name. In high school my friends started calling me paste for reasons I'm sure you can assume. Then it evolved into pastenuggs because I love the Denver Nuggets. So I just added the "2The" for my screen name on most things. That started to be too much to say so I just changed it back to the original.
I think naughty dog would have to stray far off track for us to worry about UC3 and I don't see that happening so I have no worries there.
I'm excited for L.A. Noire, but as with any new IP, I have my worries and I just won't trust it until I see the review.
Infamous 2 and WKC2 are my biggest blips on the radar, I can't wait for them. I know I will love them both and even though I have no worries there, the anticipation of playing them makes me so excited I think I might need to take a sedative. lol
PGU: Well here's a quandary I've never had to deal with before. A friend who I share downloads on psn with sold me his copy of ME2 for the trade in price of $20, something we do every once in a while. He buys all of his games at release and sells some of them to me.
Anyway I didn't expect my games from Ben to get here so fast and now all in one day I have 3 full size rpgs begging me to play them and FF Dissidia which I guess is a fighting game/rpgish. So I'm left trying to decide what to play on my ps3. Any suggestions?
I'll play dissidia here and there while my wife has the tv and or I'm away from home, but on my ps3, Ar Tonelico, Hyperdimension Neptunia, or ME2.
haha! That post on the bottom isn't for you Kraygen, that was posted under the bad spammer who got deleted and it moved up to you.
You're cool.
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 4/9/2011 11:11:15 PM
either I'm blind or it's been deleted, darn would be funny to see.
yeah it got deleted, I'll quote it for you though, its from South Park; Mr. Garrison to Cartman:
"You go to hell and you die!"
I hear you on Neptunia and Ar tonelico. I finally finished off whee I was trying to get to in the online grind-fest that is guild ranking solo in White Knight Chronicles (1). Now I can move on to Neptunia and Ar Tonelico.
I am thinking GOTY will be uncharted or inFamous. As for Noir I have no idea at this point. I will need to play it to see if it is good or if it was slightly too hyped.
PGU: I have recently replayed DA:O and all the DLC. I am also still trying to find all the shards in inFamous, just two more and I am half way through my block by block search of the Warren. I am also playing a lot of KZ3, medics are so fun now.
You ever think of adding a deals section to this site where we can post deals on games or accesories, cause I've been finding a lot of slick sales around lately and feel bad if I don't share them.
There's one in the forums I believe.
Are you gonna be posting in the forums again anytime, World? We need some of your creativity on there. Or are you too busy now with your new gig at Titan reviews?
Hard to say, I'm busy there and I'm busy with college and trying to actually play some games. Still got to finish this book I'm writing too. I won't rule anything out though.
For the record World, Spartan is gone.
haha, took him longer to get booted than i thought.
Long story. Kept him around until he outed himself.
Milonakis,
Just an FYI,
There's already a "Good deals for Gamers' thread in the forums that I had made back in February 09.
And that thread is still currently running with daily & weekly gaming related offerings, so feel free to post any good deals you find.
BTW, once in that thread, you can also check mark that thread so it will also send you an email showing that every deal that gets posted, so that way you'll always be on top of the deals.
Here's the PSXE forum link to it….
http://www.psxextremeforums.com/gaming-discussion/9265-good-deals-gamers.html
Ben,
Glad to see Mr. forum nazi Spartan gone.
He acted like a real know-it-all a-hole, so of course I just had to go & have a few words with him.
Oh well, at least it was fun while it lasted borrowing under that thick cowhide just so I could agitate him.
Indy, talking about sexual excitement… Ain't you like, 13 or something? That sxxt ain't proper, homeboy. But I guess it's that time in your life ;P
Haven't online with my PC/Laptop in a while, so I know little-to-nothing about L.A Noire.
The online trophies screwed me outta my platinum with Uncharted 2. So the first thing imma do is get before the gigantic update comes in U3.
PGU; Playing DJ Hero, Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions & Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 mostly, I have like 10hrs a week free time. I had to restart GT5, so I decided to Gold all the liscences before I race, I couldn't get the Gold for IC-10 so I gave up. Hehe
Dude I'm turning 18 in August but yea with 13 you were real close >_> I was simply saying there's only two forms of excitement in most cases, anticipation and sexual, unlike where Ben described LA Noire as a different type of excitement. So chill out home-boy! 😀
I just got Dragon Age last Monday, at first it was kinda meh, now it's pretty awesome.
I also picked up SWFUII, It was a pretty solid game, on par with the original with nice improvements in all the right places IMO, however I was more shocked than a fresh f**ked fox after a forest fire at how fast it was over. I also went back and played some Mirrors Edge and I'm still blown away by it, too bad there won't be another.
I assume it's DA2 and not DA:O? I was intially happy with DA2, then I think I got too focused on the limitations, then after that again the game turned out to be pretty darn fun after all. I especially love how they jump in the timeline, that's an excellent idea.
Nah, it's DA:O. I was able to save some money up so now I have to backtrack on some titles I missed.
Aha! Good choise, that's a game no rpg'er should miss 😉
yea, i'm finding that out. and before I get DAII i'm gonna go back and play WKC
I'm holding off on pretty much anything and everything being released this summer, including L.A. Noire. I'm mildly interested in it, but there's something about the way the game looks that throws me off. Yeah, the animation in the faces is impressive, but the eyes seem lifeless and the environments don't seem to match up with the faces. I'll probably get it eventually, but not on release…
…because between April 19th and September 6th — I think that's when Resistance 3 comes out — I'm making an attempt at beating every game I own on the PS3 in order of release date. The reason why is 'cause I lost all my save files last year and haven't replayed a lot of the games I own, and I've got a great gob of games I've still not beaten. Final Fantasy XIII, Fallout 3, Demon's Souls, etc., etc.
I dunno if I can do it, but I sure as hell am gonna try! Heh.
I'm eating m&m's and waiting for 1:00am so I can finish downloading Reverie for Castlevania LOS. I haven't played much of anything lately, but I do want to check out chapter XIII. Hopefully it's worth the ten dollars.