Ben-DutkaHappy bunny day, everybody! We've talked about the PSN enough, so let's dwell on other topics for a while.
No Last Guardian this year? Bummer.
When I saw the disappointing announcement , I felt a little irritated…and I felt guilty about that irritation. That guilt arises from the obvious fact that we have plenty of top-notch titles scheduled for 2011, especially for the second half of the year. I mean, why should I be complaining when we already know Resistance 3 , Batman: Arkham City , The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim , Twisted Metal , and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception are coming between September and November…? And that's only a small sampling! So what right do I have to complain? I still remember futilely scanning the shelves back in the early '90s, trying to find something even remotely interesting to rent. Times have changed for the better in regards to frequency of awesome games.
That's undeniable. And yet, I can't help feeling like the loss of The Last Guardian is significant. It would've been a really invigorating breath of fresh air; an artistic high watermark for the year, and it would've been especially useful against a myriad of familiar formats and styles. Well, I can be patient. And when the game does arrive, I'm sure I'll be more than satisfied.
Wow, that NGP launch could be damn attractive
I'm not the biggest portable/handheld fan but even I'm interested in the Next Generation Portable, and it appears Sony is planning to bypass the traditional software launch woes. Historically, many new pieces of hardware just don't release with a lot of must-have games, but look at the four titles on tap for the NGP's release. If the information is accurate, there could very well be three AAA titles available on day one, and that's pretty bad-ass. Uncharted and Wipeout have yet to let anyone down, and Sony has said – numerous times, in fact – that they fully intend to give the NGP huge software support. They know it's crucial.
And analysts know this, too, so if we can confirm more of the 50 scheduled NGP titles developers are currently working on, it would go a long way towards increasing the consumer's enthusiasm. And that goes double if a lot of those titles are easily recognizable, and the franchises in question have a fantastic reputation.
Personal gaming update
So I finished Portal 2 and I loved every second of it. But I need to apologize for a small error in that review: when describing the length, I said the first half was puzzle-based while the second half was more about progressing in puzzle fashion (so-to-speak). However, I hadn't quite finished at the time I wrote the review; I was convinced I was at the end, but there was another set of puzzles (similar to, but more complex than the first half) before the adventure is over. Just wanted to clear that up. Anyway, I enjoyed myself immensely and that ending is freaking hilarious . GLaDOS' song is just perfect. The whole production is so worthy of the praise it has received, even if any claims of a "great story" are exaggerated.
I'll return to Dragon Age II now, but I had to get involved in the Final Fantasy IV: Complete Collection for the review. Unsurprisingly, I'm glad I did and yeah, it's proving hard to go back to DAII now. 😉 Mortal Kombat is great fun, too, but it's not really my thing. Looking forward to L.A. Noire !
