A Woman's Prerogative...

...is to change her mind. We finished Eternal Sonata. Everything I said about the beautiful look of the game still stands, and I still really like the hybrid turn-based/real time combat system! However, the story was a big disappointment, repetitive, predictable, and very heavy handed on moralizing. The battles also grew repetitive because there wasn't enough variety in monster types. Optimistically, I have high hopes that the same game engine and graphics style will be used in future games with better story lines and a bigger diversity of enemies.

I'm currently playing and enjoying Lost Odyssey and Enchanted Arms on the 360. Eternal Sonata did put me in the mood for some good, old-fashioned RPGing. Both of these games have the classic feel with updated look and characters. The stories are thin so far but that's not a huge surprise.

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Credits: Custom Avatar graphic by Recycle Bin Graphics. Header composed of images by Primlicious.
Meet the Magnificent 7 MausCats at http://www.mauscats.com/.

Anyone Lost?

I played Lost: Via Domus this weekend and liked it a lot despite all the bad reviews. My biggest complaint was that it's too short. I thought the designers did a good job capturing the mood and characters of the show and integrating the game's new characters and storyline. Flashbacks were even an integral part of the game! It was fun exploring the locations I'd seen so many times on the TV show. I wish they'd had more of the characters and I wish they would let you bypass cut scenes you've already seen instead of making you repeat them when you can easily get killed in a couple of places. I also wish there'd been a better variety of puzzles instead of variations of the same one over and over. I've heard complaints about the voice acting because it is not done by the original actors; however, I thought the game's voices were quite well done. Same with the graphics. All of the characters were recognizable. Ben and Desmond looked least like themselves. There's lots of material from the show and you are treated to quotes from the show on the load screens.

I played the Xbox 360 version and it was a funny coincidence that my final achievement score was 815/1000! (If you're not a Lost fan, the previous statement will not mean anything.) On a final note, I think this game is intended only for fans of Lost--I don't think it would be interesting or fun for someone who has not watched Lost on TV. It would be confusing, too!

An Ornate Steal

The new TV arrived and it exceeds even my highest expectations. We are delighted. My husband and I treated ourselves to a couple of hours of playing Eternal Sonata last night. There's a nicely done review of this gorgeous game at RPGamer. We liked the demo we downloaded from Xbox Live but the game is way better! Each of us has such different playing styles, it's most unusual to find an RPG that my husband and I can play together. Eternal Sonata is working out well in this regard. Although only the primary controller can walk around and access the menus (we take turns), battles allow each character to be controlled by a separate controller. The RPGamer reviewer complained about the battles being too easy but this isn't bothering me so far. It's refreshing to have an engrossing story, interesting characters, great voice acting and background music, and cut scenes that are nearly seamlessly integrated into the gameplay. Admittedly, we're not that far into the game yet but I'm finding the balance surprisingly just right. 

We also watched a bit of the BBC series, Planet Earth, on the PS3 Blu-Ray player. We were blown away! If you have HDTV and a PS3 or other Blu-Ray player, you definitely should treat yourself to this beauty.

Finally, did anyone notice that the title is an anagram?

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Meet the Magnificent 7 MausCats at http://www.mauscats.com/.

Temporary Withdrawal

There was a time not so long ago that I could've unplugged my television and not given it another thought again until I craved watching a movie--my husband and I simply don't watch TV shows (except on DVD). Not only do we live in an area where cable and satellite TV are a problem, we're computer geeks and gamers, and that's pretty much what occupies our leisure time. We've been board gaming our whole lives and computer gaming since the early 80s. It's only been in the past year that we've gotten into the consoles much. We had the SNES and PS2 but they didn't get much use. So now between the Xbox 360, the Wii, the recently acquired PS3, and several TV series on DVD, I've been using the television at least several hours a day.

The new HDTV is being delivered tomorrow (weather permitting) so we unhooked everything and moved out the old one, a 33" diagonal aperture grille monstrosity that literally weighs about 250 lbs. and is 3' cubed in physical size. To tantalize me, several games arrived in the last couple of days from my favorite trading site, Goozex.com as well as the latest buying spree at Amazon.com: Eternal Sonata, Test Drive Unlimited, Folklore, and Heavenly Sword, not to mention the Culdcept Saga game I won in a contest at the Gaming Steve site last week. Never mind that I also have a huge stack of computer games awaiting my attention--it's the idea that I can't play the consoles that makes me want them all the more!

What's a grey geek game girl (G4) to do!

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Credits: Custom Avatar graphic by Recycle Bin Graphics. Header composed of images by Primlicious.
Meet the Magnificent 7 MausCats at http://www.mauscats.com/.

Favorite Racing Game? Favorite Fighting Game?

Racing games and fighting games aren't my favorite genres but I would like to have at least one or two good ones of each on hand to play now and then. What is your favorite of each for either Xbox 360 or PS3? I've tried some via demos or loans from friends but am still open to new suggestions.

MotorStorm came with my PS3, and it seems good. I also like Test Drive Unlimited on the 360. I like DiRT on the 360 but the controls seem  a tad too sensitive for me. I didn't care for PS3 Ridge Racer. Those are all I've tried thus far. 

For fighters, I like the classic Mortal Kombat II and am awaiting Tekken 6.

Thanks for any suggestions!