Now that I have a full lunch hour to kill again (first in a while) I'm able to settle in and elaborate on some of my thoughts the past few posts.
First off, let's talk sharing and trading games. I'm a part of a little "lenders network" (more coined by me for this blog than anything) where we swap games back and forth between one another so we all don't have to go out and buy a new title. Granted, sometimes a title requires we all buy it (Gears of War 2, for instance) so we can all play together. But games like Dragon Age: Origins are great examples of games that can be purchased by one and traded off to a friend for something else (I currently have Lost Odyssey from the guy who has Dragon Age) as it is a single player experience and once you are done with it, it will likely sit on a shelf for months on end before you get back into it.
Trading games and sharing them is fun, as long as the people who are borrowing remember to actually give the games back. There have been times I've lent a title to someone where I've literally had to go and get the game back from their house 9 months later. To me, this is can be downright rude. If the guy was playing the game, that's one thing. Play away, I'm not using it or am playing something else, go mad. BUT... if it's just on his shelf, taking up space and they just can't be bothered to give it back, well... these people will find themselves out of the traders network real quick. This person I speak of I haven't lent to since, nor has anyone else.
Next, let's talk Sega CD. I like to drop a little random gaming history stuff into conversation once in a while. (32x... you are next!!!) I was first introduced to the Sega CD back in the late 90's when it was on it's way out. There were a bunch of titles with some really, REALLY bad FMV video in them, and some really GREAT RPG experiences. If you ever get a chance, check out these titles:
- Snatcher (one of the best games ever, similar to the Ace Attorney series)
- Lunar Silver Star Story (Great JPRG)
- Lunar Eternal Blue (Great JPRG)
- Vay (Great JPRG)
It also had some decent ports from Genesis in NHL 94 and Sonic CD.
The system itself was basically a genesis with CD capability (it was plugged into a Genesis actually) so it's color palette and processing power was very limited. The FMV games were really grainy and hard to watch, and a lot of the audio, which could have been so much more, was really, REALLY terrible. The system was very expensive as well, which was a real donkey killer in the end. The concept of making the Genesis "more" was great. The execution caused by the limitations and narrowmindedness of Sega executives really killed it.
Now onto Divinity 2. I've spoke quite a bit about this title over the past week or two simply because it's what I'm playing right now. The mini review, hopefully, will give you a brief window into what you might expect in the game with it being a little less jaded, which is what I have been gathering from numerous online reviews of the title. I didn't play it on other platforms, so I cannot compare it to them, I can only go by what I see and play on the 360. The game looks great until you move and then it gets really choppy with lots of screen tearing. Pretty basic stuff. The control is sound, the music is good. The story is engaging enough. I'd recommend STRONGLY that you try the demo available on XBL. It's a true representation of the game, not just beta coding. I personally felt some of the more harsh reviews (4.8 on IGN) may have been the sum of:
- Played the PC version which is likely better because a good PC can cut down on choppiness.
- The reviewer is jaded a little from playing too much in the ways of similar games. This is something that has to be taken into account from ANY reviewer site, as this is their job. Personally I love my job but also love to complain about it. Catch my drift?
- The game is a definate "7 out of 10" title, which means you either love it or hate it. I'm guessing the reviewer drifted to the dark side and hated it. I drifted towards the light. I really enjoy the game but can see it's flaws. I like it enough to not actually "recommend it", but to certainly recommend checking it out and deciding for yourself. The free demo makes this an easy choice for gamers looking for a decent RPG experience.
Well, that's it for today, see you tomorrow and thanks for reading!
C
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