Blog

Ok, I've managed to finish Final Fantasy XII a couple of nights ago. Overall, I think it was an enjoyable experience, and there were many positive points about the game. Despite the fact that Vaan was designed to be the 'main character', he didn't actually dominate the storyline. This aspect particularly appealed to me, maybe because I have never been a fan of the first lead character of any groups, be it movies, games, cartoon, etc. The focus of the story itself took a refreshing detour from the typical 'love story' or the 'a journey to learn about myself', which was seen in several previous titles. I read some reviews that the music was 'good but not memorable', but I liked it, and actually found myself whistling to the opening tune every now and then (hmm...).

Good things must be balanced with the bad. My first complaint: don't design an offline game as if it is an online one! There are just too many tedious and repetitive things that one has to do in the game. Examples (slightly exaggerated) include the need to kill a million of the same enemies in a row to even have a faint chance of obtaining a rare item; or the fact that you have to fight monsters with more hit points than the number of stars in the Universe. I can understand (though not necessarily agree with) why game developers use these tactics for online games, where their income increases with the play time. For offline games, this is just unnecessary.

Speaking of stupidly long fights, let's talk about one of the optional bosses - Yiazmat. This beast had an insane 50 million hit points, and it took me about 2 hours (yes, TWO hours) to bring it down to just over 3 million. Then, that beast started to go mad, and was dishing out damages like there is no tomorrow. Now, until about that point, the fight was fairly routine, it was only the last part that was vaguely (I mean *very*) challenging, and I had to drastically alter my RPG fighting strategies. You see, one makes an RPG more challenging by forcing the player to continually adapt to the situation, not by forcing people to endure repetitive and mind numbing decisions.

I really believe that FF12 was marred by the OTT repetitions that one has to go through to get the most out of the game. However, on the other hand, I guess one will never see a 'perfect' FF game, as it will then be impossible to top it with the next title. Then it will really be the *final* Final Fantasy...

Labels: Game, journal, rant

So, a few days after my thoughts on the state of console games, this article appeared. Sequels and spin-offs are the way forward, eh? May if games developer actually spend more effort on game design itself, rather than trying to push technologies to the limit for the sake it, they might end up with a more manageable development cost...

Meanwhile, the European launch of Final Fantasy XII result in some, er... interesting photos... Better start saving up to buy the game!

Labels: Game, news

I had an interesting conversation on video games in the office yesterday. With a new generation of console such as the Xbox 360, Wii and PS3 lurking around everywhere thesedays, one could not stop marvelling at how much games technology has improved since the days of NES and Sega Master System (well, at least that's as far as I can stretch my memory back to!). However, is it just me, or do game makers thesedays just concentrate on improving the graphics and the realism, whilst innovation and gameplay have been put to the sideline? I mean, how many more movie spin-offs do we need? Also, I may be the minority here, but don't you think complete photo-realism doesn't actually go too well with many games? We are playing games afterall, so a little bit of cartoon feel doesn't hurt!

Take the Final Fantasy series as an example - one of my favourites by the way. Check out some info on Final Fantasy XIII for PS3 (BTW - somewhere in the website they mentioned that Shiva the popular summon can now transform into a motorcycle?! eh?). The graphics are stunning, and for those of you who have seen the trailer, everything was very fluid - there is virtually no noticeable differences between pre-rendered video sequence and real-time game play. However, personally, I find the cartoon-like FF9, or the anime-like FFX more charming. The graphics are good enough to capture fine details (in particular FFX), but the overall feel is still a fantasy world.

Speaking of Final Fantasy, only a couple more weeks before FFXII is *finally* out in Europe! Hurrah~

And going back to the theme of classic games, Altered Beast must be amongst those!

Labels: Game

Thanks Milan for this game...

The original concept is that you can trash the buildings of your least favourite bank in this flash game. You enter the name of the bank and you must obliterate the building within the time minute. I guess many people are frustrated with the services provided by their banks!

However, with a little bit of imagination, you can put in names of institutions other than banks. You get my idea..... hehe

Labels: Game

No, no, before you get the wrong idea, my website is not closing down (sorry to disappoint... haha)!

I'm talking about ending sequences for computer games. Despite a big RPG fan, I've only managed to complete four of those within the last five years (three of them within the last year). You would probably spend 50+ hours on each game, especially if you decide to attempt a lot of the side quests. Most RPG thesedays would, at worst, offer a semi-decent introduction sequence. Many would offer much more. Not surprisingly, they will need a good introduction to lure people into playing. Now, after all the hard work, you would want a decent ending sequence to finish off.

Some games, such as the Final Fantasy series, are good at this (or at least the ones I've played). For example, FFX-2 is short but nice, but you really should do the relevant side quests to get the extra ending sequences. On the other hand, I still find the ending of FFVIII a bit confusing, but at least you get an insanely long sequence.

Other games are not as good at wrapping things up. Neverwinter Nights offers a spoken script with a few background pictures, whilst Morrowind has a video which ended before I even realised it's the ending sequence! Not the most pleasing reward after all the effort...

Oh well, time to look forward to the release of FFXII in Europe!

Labels: Game

Ok, back to more flash games! This time, all you need to do is to make lots of money to buy your dream house. Simple. In fact, once you've got used to the game's interface, it is indeed really simple! Oh well, good fun 15 minutes or so anyway...

Labels: Game

Haven't had a flash game link for a while now. Try this!

This is Shanghai Mahjong. For those of you who aren't familiar with the game, it's really simple. Just match identical tiles! However, you can only match them (and therefore get rid of them) if only the side edges (left/right not top/bottom) are not touching another tile. Try the "kids" version (easier) before tackling the full set ("Shanghai").

Oh, and in case you have never seen a mahjong set. There are two sets of four tiles which look different but have identical "value". Here, the four tiles that depict sceneries form one set, and another four that have plants pattern form another.

Labels: Game

If a particular receipe is making money, why not squeeze more out of the punters by changing the things ever so slightly, and pretend to be something completely new? For some reason, many people seem to accept this idea, including myself every now and then.

What do I mean? Take music singles as an example. There was a time when singers or pop groups (in particular the *manufactured* variety) seem to be happy to churn out cover versions of old classics, rather than doing their own music. Other examples include computer/console games - a 'new' version of the same game is often planned when a new gaming platform is being developed, or re-releasing games with 'extra graphics' or 'extra background music' (more common in the old days during the floppy/CD-ROM transition period). Another successful strategy is to release 'Xth anniversary edition', or 'limitied edition'. This is notorious in the beat 'em up genre, including my favourite, Street Fighter II.

Nowadays classic board games repeatedly reinvent themselves with new editions. Monopoly is a prime example - you get international/regional editions as well as themed versions related to sports or movies. However, the fact that Monopoly has been around for 70 years inevitably means that some aspects of the game is now severely outdated. Guess what the company behind Monopoly decided to do? Yes, you've guessed it - a 70th Anniversary Edition! They have updated the game in several aspects, most notably prices are now brought to the 21st century levels. Other changes include new landmarks, and new game pieces.

Speaking of updating Monopoly, one of the selling points in the regional sets is that the game should reflect the local community depicted. However, I've played the Cambridge set and, to be honest, I was rather disappointed. Yes, I got the relevant landmarks, but that's about it. It would be nice if they can go further in their 'regional touch'. For example, a couple of 'scholarship worth $500' or 'Got drunk in student bar and then got arrested' cards would make a lot of differences.

Oh well, I guess having so many editions of the same thing means that you can start a collection. A nice change from coins or stamps perhaps. However, if you are not careful (or the manufacturers keep releasing 'new editions'), you could really spend a fortune on these kind of things.....

Labels: Game, links

Hot and sunny today, that's how I like it. Played tennis this morning, but it's already scorching hot! However, for some reason I couldn't get my serve going today, grr.....

Too hot to play outdoor sport? How about some virtual bowling?

Labels: Game, journal

Still feeling rough, probably made worse by having had a big fat lunch...

I guess today is destined to be a lazy day, oh well, I guess I'll just have to resuce some stupid rodents then..... (Thanks Rich for the link!)

Labels: Game

Back to being a devil here, hehehe. More opportunity to waste your time during work! Hang on, I meant use your work time efficiently by squeezing in a few extra jobs here and there...

Labels: Game

I must say, as a research student, one must be in a rather unusual situation. You are technically still a student, so you don't really mess around with the politics of academia (although you do get a pretty good insight by the end of your study); yet much of the work you do will be similar to that of full time researchers (except whilst they get paid to do work, you pay to do them).

Some research students regard their study as an extension to student life, but for others, such as me, I definitely regard it as (sort of) work. Maybe this is partly because I have worked in the "real" world before, admittedly only a short period of time, so I look at the things I need to do from a "boss-subordinate" point of view (although my supervisor would probably think otherwise). The work experience would probably also explain why I find academia frustrating (see my endless previous entries... haha!) - and I'm not the only one to think that luckily...

Anyway, I guess life in academia is, to a certain extent, a dog eat dog world - or should I say a fish eat fish world? As a research student, you are certainly under pressure to perform, at least you've got to finish your work within the three or four years of study, which isn't always possible. Time pressure is always a fact of working life. Part of this is about sorting out a prudent schedule, as the cargo logistics industry will no doubt agree.

I remember when I was working, I would often go to the cafes nearby for some quick lunch. Cafes and restaurants in business districts are usually very efficient (or at least the ones I've been to). They need to deliver food quickly as most people only have about an hour off lunch, and they will want to do several sitting to maximise profit in that hour. Again, it's quality output under time pressure at work again... (well, food quality... hmm...)

Well, enough rambles on a Monday morning - yes - I do get into this work vs study self debate every now and then. I guess better get back to work now, or should I say, *study*... haha!

Labels: Game, journal

Well, I haven't been posting time-wasting games for a while now, so here's one - Slime Volleyball! I've *only* spent three consecutive hours on it yesterday. So you can see it's not really that addictive, honest!

Labels: Game