welcome. everything I write here is something I felt to be important to some degree; game reviews, life updates/vents, and philosophical musings. I do my best to make my statements truthful. everyone is welcome to post comments, provided they are relevant.

11.10.2006

more rentals: Enchanted Arms and Saints Row

to be honest, neither of these games have anything that really draw me in, at least so far as I've played.

Enchanted Arms
this one's designed as a typical RPG; a team of playable characters minding their own business until they're pretty much forced to save the world, fighting random battles to get stronger, and killing time with side-quests. From what I've seen, the only thing that sets this apart from previous RPGs is visual details - character models and special effects - that you could only produce on a next-gen console. Everything else, well... it's pretty disappointing. the sound and music do nothing for the graphics, the voice acting is pretty bad (i'm guessing most of the actors are japanese,) and the animation during conversations consists of single-frame poses. when they switch poses, anything that hangs from the character model jiggles around violently for a second, especially the main character's hair. And why do main characters always have spiky hair!? FFS, enough with the over-the-top designs! I guess I shouldn't expect anything less from a Japanese RPG though. I think the early Final Fantasies worked because the simple graphics forced them to spend more time on story and gameplay to make it fun. That said, nothing has been done to make the gameplay any better than previous RPGs, and it shows right through their oh-so-spiffy graphics. They should have stuck to cel-shading so that the graphics would fit with the quality of the game and story.
I've only just gotten past the ice queen (3rd achievement), so there might be some other redeeming quality in this game, but I haven't found it yet. And I really can't be bothered to find it.

Verdict: do not want. i might need to adjust the stereo positioning settings... maybe that's why it doesn't sound right. but I KNOW EA's music is crap, and the whole lot just bugs the heck out of me. They tried so hard, and got so far, but in the end it doesn't relly matter. OH GOD KILL ME NOW /wrist

Saints Row
Obviously, the only other game you can compare this to is Grand Theft Auto. However, being made for next-gen console with more polygons doesn't make it better. The first thing that pisses me off is the character generation. There is no way to make a character that looks genuinely intelligent. Granted, if this game had anyone fitting that description, they would be a glaring exception from the norm. Also, facial hair looks like modelling flock. wtf. My only hope is that the in-game plastic surgeon can give me better options. Second, for a city that's being controlled by gangs of street thugs, it's awfully clean. Detailed, and very clean. It feels like a city made for micromachines. However, there's a lot more gameplay made readily available near the start, so it should keep me occupied for a while. I'm just kinda pissed that I've died 3 times already. once was on level 5 drug trafficking, level4 snatch, and once in a mission, i think. something like that. At least I don't lose my weapons. The car-select garage is a nice touch too. (* edit: I'm definitely dieing too much. there's probably something I can do to fix that, but i'm still just renting)

furthermore, the pacing of Saints Row, the cutscenes particularly, feels forced. there is little focus on dramatic pauses, and everyones lines go by fairly quick. Also... the commercials on the radio suck. where GTA have subtle references to crime and profanity, SR has profanity coming out of every conceivable orifice. it's really quite annoying.

Verdict: maybe. need money. or gift card. need to rent more stuff.

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