With a 9/10, 8 Mile surprised me surely a damn lot. Not only that it was an amazing movie, also that I never knew Em could actually act in movies. Haha.
What I loved most in the movie was the Rap Battles, and the conflicts between Em and his mom. Not as an insult the last phrase.
This wouldn't really be recognized as a movie for kids, due to repititive sex scenes and frequent use of vulgar language. If not for that, this movie would easily be a family movie, sad its not.
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About me
How to make a guy like meIngredients:
1 part intelligence
1 part self-sufficiency
3 parts
Method:
Combine in a tall glass half filled with crushed ice. Add a little fitness if desired!
Occupation: Student, Basketball Player
SingleAbout my collections
Movies.My movies are in "favorites" order. I haven't taken care of small details for my movie series yet.
Books.
My books series aren't finished either... but I do love reading books.
Music.
Haven't even started musics yet in Listal.
Games.
My highest contribution is on games - lists, series, ratings, reviews, tags, and votes.
Lists
Rurouni Kenshin Listal Collection
(34 items)
Dvd list by ANBU Sasaki Last updated 16 years, 2 months ago
Movies I frequently hear about at School
(1 item)
Movie list by ANBU Sasaki Last updated 16 years, 6 months ago
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Recent reviews
8 Mile review
Posted : 15 years, 5 months ago on 29 May 2009 07:02 (A review of 8 Mile)0 comments, Reply to this entry
Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles 2 review
Posted : 15 years, 11 months ago on 29 November 2008 12:42 (A review of Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles 2)The controls, they aren't bad, balanced and playable, if am honest. There are one or two buttons, which I mixed up from time to time, but I guess that was my fault.
The same can't be said about the enemy AI though,
for a slasher / beat em up type of game I expected the opponents to have a bit more oomph, more bite. But in actual fact it seemed boring. But it has to be said I have been against worse AI. A lot worse.
Maybe as boring are the missions, which are repetitive, I know most slashers are repetitive, that even goes for Devil May Cry, but I would so rather play Devil May Cry. I had a lot more fun playing that game. It was just the theatre of it all; Devil May Cry had so much drama and soul. This however just seems dull.
That's not the worst part and certainly not the last of things. Voice acting, for example, irritating to say the least. I would find it less irritating and more relaxing listening to 100 speeches by Mrs. Thatcher, on surround sound.
Then there's' the plot. What in the name of all that's holy were they thinking, its alright up until the point when actors start talking, which is all the time. Thus making what should be good, great maybe, into absolutely diabolical.
I should talk about the graphics at this point. The designers have gone for japanesey style graphics, similar can be found in the Dragon ball Z Budokai games to give it an anime look. Nice idea just it's not done as well as I'd have hoped. Yeah I'm going to use the word dull again.
The worst part is that this game doesn't know what it wants to be.
Missions are slasher/ beat em up/ action adventure sort of things, fine but then the missions are coupled together by waves of RPG elements and annoying ?choose your destination? parts that really interrupt the flow.
And this game is a sequel! I shan't even attempt to ask what the first one was like.
That would have been my verdict if I had ignored the fan base. Naruto does have a fan base, and I suspect that fans will quite like it, because they will find the one thing that I could not. The one thing, which for me lets this game down; its soul.
It's a game's character and charisma that brings me back to a game. Halo2 was a pathetically made game, it wasn't even finished, but it had so much character and charisma, and that's why so many people played it.
The Spiderwick Chronicles is another example. That was made to a budget and in a rush, but it has more character than Naruto.
I struggled to keep playing this game; nothing really interested me about it nor completely won me over. It was either ok, or just diabolical.
But I'm sure fans of Naruto will find it? somehow.
Every time I played this game I kept thinking, ?I could be playing something else?. Every time I went to play it I didn't smile, I didn't look forward to it. Which is a shame. Because I wanted to like it.
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Ragnarök Online review
Posted : 15 years, 11 months ago on 23 November 2008 11:20 (A review of Ragnarök Online)Ragnarok Online (RO) is a persistent world based on the manga works of Myung-Jin Lee. The game has seen huge popularity in its native Korea as well as other neighboring countries such as Japan and the Philippines. Gravity has advertised aggressively and many Westerners have come to play on the international server.
Ragnarok Online is a MMORPG by any definition, but those familiar with the EverQuest/Ultima Online/Dark Age of Camelot paradigm that has proved so popular in the US and Europe may find themselves in unfamiliar territory. RO is more about combat and speed than detail. This is evident in the character generation phase. The new player is limited strictly to altering stats and choosing hairstyle when building an avatar. Sex is chosen upon account creation. If a new player is a female and she lists her sex as F when she registers, her account will be limited strictly to female avatars. The same goes for men. The logic behind this seems fuzzy. Gravity's website says, "Because users play character (sic) based off their gender, community involvement becomes livelier with a willingness to participate," but that is certainly up for debate. In a roleplaying environment, it is common for women to play as male characters and for men to play women. Veteran MMORPGers know that the cute wood elf wiggling her behind through the forest may actually be 6'3", 225 lbs, and in need of a shave. At least restricting the players to one sex keeps them honest, but it limits the roleplaying opportunities of the game.
Neither does one have the opportunity to alter size, body shape, facial features, or other such characteristics. There are a few hairstyles and several colors from which to choose, but the main focus of character creation is the stat points. The six stats are strength, agility, luck, vitality, intelligence and dexterity. They are placed on the vertices of a hexagon with opposing stats on opposite ends of an axis. Raising the number of points in one will lessen the number in its opposite. Strength and intelligence are two stats that situated as such. Maxing out strength means minimal skill in intelligence - good for a Swordsman, but not so good for a Mage.
New players start at the training grounds. This is not unlike many current games that place a new player on a "newbie island" and bid him complete quests and hunt creatures until he is ready to proceed. RO's training starts out with a multiple choice test and it's not easy. A new player must complete a circuit of NPCs, each of which describes a part of the game. While the information is helpful, some of it is obvious to anyone who plays the game for more than a few minutes. It gets a bit tedious reading all the verbiage and one must read closely to get enough information for an 80% passing grade. After the test, the instructor only repeats the grade. He does not mention which questions were missed. Although he apparently gives the same test over and over, it still can be frustrating to have to revisit the instructor NPCs and wade through their spiels to find the answer to the two or three answers that may have been wrong.
Ragnarok Online is a MMORPG by any definition, but those familiar with the EverQuest/Ultima Online/Dark Age of Camelot paradigm that has proved so popular in the US and Europe may find themselves in unfamiliar territory. RO is more about combat and speed than detail. This is evident in the character generation phase. The new player is limited strictly to altering stats and choosing hairstyle when building an avatar. Sex is chosen upon account creation. If a new player is a female and she lists her sex as F when she registers, her account will be limited strictly to female avatars. The same goes for men. The logic behind this seems fuzzy. Gravity's website says, "Because users play character (sic) based off their gender, community involvement becomes livelier with a willingness to participate," but that is certainly up for debate. In a roleplaying environment, it is common for women to play as male characters and for men to play women. Veteran MMORPGers know that the cute wood elf wiggling her behind through the forest may actually be 6'3", 225 lbs, and in need of a shave. At least restricting the players to one sex keeps them honest, but it limits the roleplaying opportunities of the game.
Neither does one have the opportunity to alter size, body shape, facial features, or other such characteristics. There are a few hairstyles and several colors from which to choose, but the main focus of character creation is the stat points. The six stats are strength, agility, luck, vitality, intelligence and dexterity. They are placed on the vertices of a hexagon with opposing stats on opposite ends of an axis. Raising the number of points in one will lessen the number in its opposite. Strength and intelligence are two stats that situated as such. Maxing out strength means minimal skill in intelligence - good for a Swordsman, but not so good for a Mage.
New players start at the training grounds. This is not unlike many current games that place a new player on a "newbie island" and bid him complete quests and hunt creatures until he is ready to proceed. RO's training starts out with a multiple choice test and it's not easy. A new player must complete a circuit of NPCs, each of which describes a part of the game. While the information is helpful, some of it is obvious to anyone who plays the game for more than a few minutes. It gets a bit tedious reading all the verbiage and one must read closely to get enough information for an 80% passing grade. After the test, the instructor only repeats the grade. He does not mention which questions were missed. Although he apparently gives the same test over and over, it still can be frustrating to have to revisit the instructor NPCs and wade through their spiels to find the answer to the two or three answers that may have been wrong.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
Pokemon Ranger review
Posted : 16 years ago on 2 November 2008 04:10 (A review of Pokemon Ranger)First when I got my DS I had nothing except my stylus and a NFSMW game for the GameBoy Advance, but when I got my Pokemon Ranger I was just excited. The unique capture system requires quick, careful use of the DS touch screen, the good sized quest it offers can keep you busy for days, weeks, or even for months if you're more of a nerd. Attractive 2D Graphics and animation bring the Pokemon to life.
Pokémon Ranger is more than a one-trick pony, because the process of capturing different Pokémon has some variety and strategy to it. This still isn't as deep or involving of a role-playing experience as some of the other Pokémon games, though, because you don't get to level up the different Pokémon directly. In fact, you don't even get the sense that you're keeping all of the Pokémon you're capturing, as you promptly let them back into the wild once you use one of their special abilities. This means Pokémon Ranger doesn't give you that same sense that you're building up a huge collection of creatures, even though you still log the data for each breed you successfully capture. And at any rate, the whole theme of the game is different; you're cast as more of a nature-loving peacekeeper, as opposed to an animal trainer. But the result is another original Pokémon game with plenty of challenge, a unique spin, and an underlying "be good to the environment" message that both kids and grown-ups should be able to appreciate.
This is one of those games that are deceptively easy at first. Thanks to the variety of Pokémon (it's not the most of any Pokémon game, but there are around 200 different breeds), the capture process stays interesting. The same can't necessarily be said of the field-exploration sequences, most of which boil down to some pretty basic dungeon crawls with a whole bunch of thinly veiled key hunts in them. You'll often need to capture a certain type of Pokémon to proceed further into an area. Some Pokémon can cut through gates or wire fences, others can crush rocks, others can swing you across ravines, and so on, but all of this boils down to you getting some sort of obstacle out of your way. The level design of the different mission areas isn't bad, but isn't particularly imaginative, either. In between the game's equivalent of dungeon crawls, you'll get to explore a few towns and may undertake some optional capture challenges, which entice you to capture as many wild Pokémon as possible in a few minutes' time.
Pokémon Ranger is more than a one-trick pony, because the process of capturing different Pokémon has some variety and strategy to it. This still isn't as deep or involving of a role-playing experience as some of the other Pokémon games, though, because you don't get to level up the different Pokémon directly. In fact, you don't even get the sense that you're keeping all of the Pokémon you're capturing, as you promptly let them back into the wild once you use one of their special abilities. This means Pokémon Ranger doesn't give you that same sense that you're building up a huge collection of creatures, even though you still log the data for each breed you successfully capture. And at any rate, the whole theme of the game is different; you're cast as more of a nature-loving peacekeeper, as opposed to an animal trainer. But the result is another original Pokémon game with plenty of challenge, a unique spin, and an underlying "be good to the environment" message that both kids and grown-ups should be able to appreciate.
This is one of those games that are deceptively easy at first. Thanks to the variety of Pokémon (it's not the most of any Pokémon game, but there are around 200 different breeds), the capture process stays interesting. The same can't necessarily be said of the field-exploration sequences, most of which boil down to some pretty basic dungeon crawls with a whole bunch of thinly veiled key hunts in them. You'll often need to capture a certain type of Pokémon to proceed further into an area. Some Pokémon can cut through gates or wire fences, others can crush rocks, others can swing you across ravines, and so on, but all of this boils down to you getting some sort of obstacle out of your way. The level design of the different mission areas isn't bad, but isn't particularly imaginative, either. In between the game's equivalent of dungeon crawls, you'll get to explore a few towns and may undertake some optional capture challenges, which entice you to capture as many wild Pokémon as possible in a few minutes' time.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
Crysis review
Posted : 16 years ago on 2 November 2008 04:02 (A review of Crysis)Well, first of all Crysis has a type of dynamic, emergent shooter gameplay It's unparalleled visuals with destructible environments just sometimes shocks your eyes when playing it, the graphics are astonishing, better than ANY shooter ever, and Crysis is an amazing accomplishment overall.
Well, stuff that didn't satisfy me is the high stats Crysis needs for it's own good, but sure that is possible if you have ALIENWARE Laptops and PC's with Quad Core Extreme's and 8 - 16 gb RAM. Video card is also something that wonders me from time to time. NVIDIA 8800 and above is sure not a joke, but this game ain't a joke either, comparing it with Counter Strike, CS would be foul shit compared to Crysis.
Crysis gives you all of these toys and ratchets the action higher and higher the deeper you get into it. The first level of the game introduces you to the sandbox combat and the nanosuit. From then on, the battles become larger and more intense as the action escalates. You'll storm North Korean-held villages and bases; encounter their counter to your nanosuit; take part in a chaotic assault on a North Korean harbor; and from there the game accelerates. Next is a wild tank battle in a tropical mountain valley, with helicopters and jet fighters roaring overhead. There's a sheer rush as your tank plows through vegetation and knocks down trees as missiles and tank fire erupt all around you. Meanwhile, the vehicle explosions are convincing, right down to the way ammunition cooks off and sends spirals of smoke outward. It's visual poetry of destruction. You're not confined to your tank the entire time, either. You can jump out at any time and use your suit powers and rifle to take on enemy infantry. When they're dead, pick up their dropped rocket launchers and engage vehicles in a cat-and-mouse-style game.
Well, stuff that didn't satisfy me is the high stats Crysis needs for it's own good, but sure that is possible if you have ALIENWARE Laptops and PC's with Quad Core Extreme's and 8 - 16 gb RAM. Video card is also something that wonders me from time to time. NVIDIA 8800 and above is sure not a joke, but this game ain't a joke either, comparing it with Counter Strike, CS would be foul shit compared to Crysis.
Crysis gives you all of these toys and ratchets the action higher and higher the deeper you get into it. The first level of the game introduces you to the sandbox combat and the nanosuit. From then on, the battles become larger and more intense as the action escalates. You'll storm North Korean-held villages and bases; encounter their counter to your nanosuit; take part in a chaotic assault on a North Korean harbor; and from there the game accelerates. Next is a wild tank battle in a tropical mountain valley, with helicopters and jet fighters roaring overhead. There's a sheer rush as your tank plows through vegetation and knocks down trees as missiles and tank fire erupt all around you. Meanwhile, the vehicle explosions are convincing, right down to the way ammunition cooks off and sends spirals of smoke outward. It's visual poetry of destruction. You're not confined to your tank the entire time, either. You can jump out at any time and use your suit powers and rifle to take on enemy infantry. When they're dead, pick up their dropped rocket launchers and engage vehicles in a cat-and-mouse-style game.
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Jak X: Combat Racing review
Posted : 16 years ago on 1 November 2008 09:15 (A review of Jak X: Combat Racing)Naughty Dog's popular 3D action franchise has transformed into something quite different this year. Gone are the days of Jak and Daxter's on-foot run-and-gun antics; they've been replaced with revving engines, burning rubber, and all-out vehicular mayhem. Jak X: Combat Racing is a good solid racing game skewed more towards to the karting-genre than straight-up arcade racing. There are hints of Twisted Metal thrown in for good measure, but for the most part, you can look forward to some challenging asphalt carnage and a little Jak-style humor to mix things up a bit.
It's worth stating that Jak X doesn't really bring anything radically new to the racing genre. It's all been seen and done a thousand times before. From the notion of picking up power-ups on the track to winning cups and unlocking new cars, parts, and drivers, it's all pretty standard stuff. But that's not a bad thing. Naughty Dog has paid attention to what makes a good, fun racer. The end result is an experience that works very well. There are times where you'll hit a wall when running certain events, and even a few times where you'll want to break your controller into small hate-filled pieces as the CPU A.I. cheats you out of a gold medal, but you'll keep coming back for more until you win. And ultimately, that's the hallmark of a good racer.
There's a story behind why Jak and company are competing in the "Combat Racing Championship" which unfolds nicely through the game's bulky single-player adventure mode. I'll not ruin the ins and outs of the plot, suffice it to say that unless they succeed, Jak and his teammates will wind up as worm bait. Adventure mode is split up into four distinct cups. You'll need to work your way in a linear fashion through the various different styles of races in order to earn enough points to unlock the next cup, and so on and so forth. Needless to say, the more points and races you win, the more credits you earn, enabling you to purchase upgrades for your cars.
It's worth stating that Jak X doesn't really bring anything radically new to the racing genre. It's all been seen and done a thousand times before. From the notion of picking up power-ups on the track to winning cups and unlocking new cars, parts, and drivers, it's all pretty standard stuff. But that's not a bad thing. Naughty Dog has paid attention to what makes a good, fun racer. The end result is an experience that works very well. There are times where you'll hit a wall when running certain events, and even a few times where you'll want to break your controller into small hate-filled pieces as the CPU A.I. cheats you out of a gold medal, but you'll keep coming back for more until you win. And ultimately, that's the hallmark of a good racer.
There's a story behind why Jak and company are competing in the "Combat Racing Championship" which unfolds nicely through the game's bulky single-player adventure mode. I'll not ruin the ins and outs of the plot, suffice it to say that unless they succeed, Jak and his teammates will wind up as worm bait. Adventure mode is split up into four distinct cups. You'll need to work your way in a linear fashion through the various different styles of races in order to earn enough points to unlock the next cup, and so on and so forth. Needless to say, the more points and races you win, the more credits you earn, enabling you to purchase upgrades for your cars.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
Meet the Fockers review
Posted : 16 years ago on 1 November 2008 09:08 (A review of Meet the Fockers)I wasn’t expecting much from Meet the Fockers, a sequel to 2000’s pretty successful comedy Meet the Parents in which jokes about bad last names are made. While I like watching Ben Stiller suffer, I’ve seen him humiliated so much, it’s begun to give me tired head. But Meet the Fockers is a pleasant surprise. It carries on a lot of the same gags from the first film, but freshens things up by make the jokes about more than how many ways there are to sizzle Stiller’s Gaylord Focker.
At first things are going uncharacteristically well for Gay. He, along with fiancée Pam (Teri Polo) are headed to the home of her parents the Burns, where they will take a flight to Miami for a pre-wedding meeting between the two families. On their way to the airport a stranger offers to give Gay and Pam his cab. All the lights turn green for them and a ticket screw up lands them in first class where the evil stewardess from the previous film treats our Focker like royalty. After a bit of jostling in which Pam’s father convinces them all to take his massive, tank-like RV to Miami instead of a plane, we’re introduced to Gay’s parents the Fockers, who in an unexpectedly inspired bit of casting are played by Dustin Hoffman and Barbara Streisand. The film quickly returns to familiarly uncomfortable territory, as the two families’ different ideologies clash and Stiller tells ridiculous lies to cover up for his own parents’ oddities.
Aside from a few moments of embarrassing humiliation at the hands of Jack Burns, Stiller comfortably takes a side seat as more of a reaction man while Gay and Pam’s parents handle most of the comedic heavy lifting. For instance, his mother is a sex therapist who likes talking openly to the Burns about her family’s sexual history. Doing so is prone to make Stiller fall backwards out of his chair. His constant state of paranoia is for the most part justified, his attempts to hide his family’s oddities understandable in the face of his father-in-law’s manic, judgmental, over-protectivity.
At first things are going uncharacteristically well for Gay. He, along with fiancée Pam (Teri Polo) are headed to the home of her parents the Burns, where they will take a flight to Miami for a pre-wedding meeting between the two families. On their way to the airport a stranger offers to give Gay and Pam his cab. All the lights turn green for them and a ticket screw up lands them in first class where the evil stewardess from the previous film treats our Focker like royalty. After a bit of jostling in which Pam’s father convinces them all to take his massive, tank-like RV to Miami instead of a plane, we’re introduced to Gay’s parents the Fockers, who in an unexpectedly inspired bit of casting are played by Dustin Hoffman and Barbara Streisand. The film quickly returns to familiarly uncomfortable territory, as the two families’ different ideologies clash and Stiller tells ridiculous lies to cover up for his own parents’ oddities.
Aside from a few moments of embarrassing humiliation at the hands of Jack Burns, Stiller comfortably takes a side seat as more of a reaction man while Gay and Pam’s parents handle most of the comedic heavy lifting. For instance, his mother is a sex therapist who likes talking openly to the Burns about her family’s sexual history. Doing so is prone to make Stiller fall backwards out of his chair. His constant state of paranoia is for the most part justified, his attempts to hide his family’s oddities understandable in the face of his father-in-law’s manic, judgmental, over-protectivity.
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Great way to kill time... and Final Fant
Posted : 16 years, 7 months ago on 5 April 2008 09:28 (A review of Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII)The graphics in this game was quite cool and beautiful in its FMV movies. The learning curve for the controls is short, which is good, and the characters in this game have great voice actors (thankfully, most were kept intact from the Advent Children movie). The story was great, adding a twist to itself and the other Final Fantasy VII spin-offs, although it still seemed lacking. Other nice features included the little shop music-box, the end of level trade-in, which gives you the option to either gain levels (thus becoming stronger) or trading it all in for money (thus becoming richer).
Another thing to compliment is the fact that Square-Enix chose to make the main character run faster, and the weapon lighter, thus no sluggish gameplay during the heat of battle; which really helps during boss battles.
Sadly, the graphics in-game were no up to the standard one would expect at the time of the release, and the gameplay within the game slowly become boring - jump, shoot, kill, collect key-card, open gate with key-card, and repeat. Sure, there were a few missions which required unique goals but most of the time, the same procedure was required. Also, the bad level design was a major flaw, with most places having repeated graphics in many locations. all the item boxes looked the same, boxes, TNT crates and even some of the surroundings. Why couldn't they add variations?
This game, in my own opinion, is strictly for Final Fantasy fans. Most people who haven't played any of the series before will find themselves confused. And, most fans of Final Fantasy may not even like it anyway, as some feel that it kills the spirit of Final Fantasy VII. If you want fast-paced shooter RPG action, look elsewhere unless you watch gameplay movies from a website to let yourself know what you're getting. It'll vote "Graphics" as fantastic only because of its superb FMV quality.
Another thing to compliment is the fact that Square-Enix chose to make the main character run faster, and the weapon lighter, thus no sluggish gameplay during the heat of battle; which really helps during boss battles.
Sadly, the graphics in-game were no up to the standard one would expect at the time of the release, and the gameplay within the game slowly become boring - jump, shoot, kill, collect key-card, open gate with key-card, and repeat. Sure, there were a few missions which required unique goals but most of the time, the same procedure was required. Also, the bad level design was a major flaw, with most places having repeated graphics in many locations. all the item boxes looked the same, boxes, TNT crates and even some of the surroundings. Why couldn't they add variations?
This game, in my own opinion, is strictly for Final Fantasy fans. Most people who haven't played any of the series before will find themselves confused. And, most fans of Final Fantasy may not even like it anyway, as some feel that it kills the spirit of Final Fantasy VII. If you want fast-paced shooter RPG action, look elsewhere unless you watch gameplay movies from a website to let yourself know what you're getting. It'll vote "Graphics" as fantastic only because of its superb FMV quality.
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Final Fantasy XII review
Posted : 16 years, 7 months ago on 4 April 2008 12:46 (A review of Final Fantasy XII)When I finished Final Fantasy X-2, I thought it was time to say good-bye to Final Fantasy. It's not that the game was bad, but the lack of genuine spirit of the series, flat characterization and rather thin story made me think that perhaps the creators of the series have finally run out of creativity. I say "finally", because up to that unfortunate installment, every single Final Fantasy game was blessed by artistic inspiration, no matter how controversial it was.
I felt that there was a need for a radical change. A change that would take Final Fantasy onto a whole new level. The gameplay innovations of "Final Fantasy X-2" were too superficial and didn't make up for the lack of story-telling quality. I dreamed about a departure from the conservative, static battle system of Japanese RPGs, about expanding the game world, about introducing new story-related ideas while preserving the serious, emotional approach to the story.
And then "Final Fantasy XII" came, and it was like a miracle. Everything I was hoping for was there. A gameplay revolution in the world of Japanese RPGs, which was at the same time a genuine, high quality Final Fantasy game.Customizing your characters has always been one of the strongest aspects of Final Fantasy series. Every game provided you with new and entertaining ways, be it switching jobs in Final Fantasy V, junctioning GFs in Final Fantasy VIII, or using the sphere grids in Final Fantasy X. The system in "Final Fantasy XII" is actually quite similar to this last one. You also have a large board with all kinds of abilities you can unlock. The difference is that here every possible ability can be gained from this board and you are not restricted to a certain path, allowing a totally open-ended customization. You decide what kind of weapons and armor your characters will be able to equip, what spells they will learn, what enhancements they will get. Everything is up to you. You can turn the cute little Penelo into an axe-wielding barbarian clad in platinum armor, or you can have the powerful soldier Basch wear magician's hat and cast white magic. There are also plenty of very useful augmentations to learn, such as automatically gaining MP when dealing damage, increasing defense when HP critical, and so on.
Most of the complaints I've heard about this game are highly subjective, and I don't want to descend to the fanboy level and to ramble about how they took out my favorite feature X from Final Fantasy Y and how it utterly ruins the game. Yes, I also loved Nobuo Uematsu's music, but this game has a totally different musical style and nothing can change the fact that it is excellent in its own way.
Lets see the positive and not positive points of it:
+ Great overall concept and execution
+ Exceeds the boundaries of Japanese RPG
+ Fantastic combat system
+ Plenty of exploration in a large world
+ Excellent story and characterization
+ Lots of creativity in style and design
+ High production values
- Story is not always perfectly paced
- Some minor gameplay problems
I felt that there was a need for a radical change. A change that would take Final Fantasy onto a whole new level. The gameplay innovations of "Final Fantasy X-2" were too superficial and didn't make up for the lack of story-telling quality. I dreamed about a departure from the conservative, static battle system of Japanese RPGs, about expanding the game world, about introducing new story-related ideas while preserving the serious, emotional approach to the story.
And then "Final Fantasy XII" came, and it was like a miracle. Everything I was hoping for was there. A gameplay revolution in the world of Japanese RPGs, which was at the same time a genuine, high quality Final Fantasy game.Customizing your characters has always been one of the strongest aspects of Final Fantasy series. Every game provided you with new and entertaining ways, be it switching jobs in Final Fantasy V, junctioning GFs in Final Fantasy VIII, or using the sphere grids in Final Fantasy X. The system in "Final Fantasy XII" is actually quite similar to this last one. You also have a large board with all kinds of abilities you can unlock. The difference is that here every possible ability can be gained from this board and you are not restricted to a certain path, allowing a totally open-ended customization. You decide what kind of weapons and armor your characters will be able to equip, what spells they will learn, what enhancements they will get. Everything is up to you. You can turn the cute little Penelo into an axe-wielding barbarian clad in platinum armor, or you can have the powerful soldier Basch wear magician's hat and cast white magic. There are also plenty of very useful augmentations to learn, such as automatically gaining MP when dealing damage, increasing defense when HP critical, and so on.
Most of the complaints I've heard about this game are highly subjective, and I don't want to descend to the fanboy level and to ramble about how they took out my favorite feature X from Final Fantasy Y and how it utterly ruins the game. Yes, I also loved Nobuo Uematsu's music, but this game has a totally different musical style and nothing can change the fact that it is excellent in its own way.
Lets see the positive and not positive points of it:
+ Great overall concept and execution
+ Exceeds the boundaries of Japanese RPG
+ Fantastic combat system
+ Plenty of exploration in a large world
+ Excellent story and characterization
+ Lots of creativity in style and design
+ High production values
- Story is not always perfectly paced
- Some minor gameplay problems
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Criminal Red Hood?
Posted : 16 years, 7 months ago on 29 March 2008 05:55 (A review of Hoodwinked! (2005))The first time I watched this with my baby brother I didn't get the story line. After I started from the beginning to the end - I understood, it was as funny and as crazy as ever! My baby bro always chose that movie when he was having lunch, and I enjoyed it, with some episodes the most, like when the fan hit the grandmother's Parachute, or how the hamster or whatever found "Candles", which were revealed as "DYNAMITE".
This is one of the movies I enjoyed MORE than some boring old movies...
This is one of the movies I enjoyed MORE than some boring old movies...
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ANBU Sasaki commented on a list
15 years, 10 months ago
ANBU Sasaki commented on a list
16 years, 7 months ago
ANBU Sasaki commented on a list
Hall of Shame: Product Placement (20 movies items)
"Who said I, Robot sucked? It didn't suck at all, to me. Well, your hall of shame, not MY hall of shame..."
16 years, 7 months ago
ANBU Sasaki commented on a list
ATARI 2600 Bestsellers (11 games items)
"UPDATE to Pacman. Added various Front Covers, Back Covers and Media for Pacman on the following consoles: Apple II Atari 2600 Commodore 64 Game Boy Intellivision Neo Geo Pocket Color. IF you want to "
16 years, 7 months ago
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Lynn~Myracle~Uchiha
Posted : 3 weeks, 2 days ago at Aug 14 19:02 Delete
FAKE FRIENDS: Never ask for food.
REAL FRIENDS: Is the reason you have no food.
FAKE FRIENDS: Call your parents Mr / Mrs
REAL FRIENDS: Call your parents DAD/MOM
FAKE FRIENDS: Never seen you cry
REAL FRIENDS: Cry with you
FAKE FRIENDS: Borrow your stuff for a few days then give it back
REAL FRIENDS: Keep your stuff so long they forget it's yours
FAKE FRIENDS: Know a few things about you
REAL FRIENDS: Could write a book about you with direct quotes from you
FAKE FRIENDS: Will leave you behind if that is what the crowd is doing
REAL FRIENDS: Will kick the whole crowds butt that left you
FAKE FRIENDS: Would knock on your front door
REAL FRIENDS: Walk right in and say 'I'M HOME!'
FAKE FRIENDS: Are for awhile
REAL FRIENDS: Are for life
FAKE FRIENDS: Will talk bad to the person who talks bad about you.
REAL FRIENDS: Will knock the person out that talked bad about you
FAKE FRIENDS: Would ignore this
REAL FRIENDS: Will send this to all their real friends and hope to get it
back!
If you were killed today, I'm sorry I wouldn't be able to come to your
funeral, because I'd be in jail for killing the
person who did it.
First, I wanted to let you know that I love you to death & think you are
amazing!
Second, if I don't get this back I understand...
I have a game for you. Once you read this letter, Try to send it to 14
people that you really care about, including
the person that sent it to you. If you receive at least 7 back then you
are:
**Amazing
have you played Crisis Core?