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DLC Review: Lightning and Master Sergeant Amodar Battle

By
Don Parsons
– February 16, 2012Posted in: PS3, Reviews, Xbox 360

Note: This material was provided by Square-Enix for review purposes. 

“Come forth, brave protector of Valhalla- incarnation of Etro’s champion!” ~ Arbiter of Time

It was a little off-putting that Lightning, the main protagonist in Final Fantasy XIII, was not a playable character in the sequel, Final Fantasy XIII-2. She’s in the opening scene, you hear her voice throughout the game and she’s even on the box-art and title screen. Her younger sister, Serah, does a decent job at filling the role of a main protagonist, but Lightning has been one of the best designed characters through-and-through that I have seen in a Final Fantasy game in quite some time. Well, Square-Enix has remedied this situation with it’s first piece of DLC; the Lightning and Master Sergeant Amodar coliseum battle.

Costing a mere $2.99 US on the Playstation Store, you’ll unlock a new area with the battle coliseum as soon as the Historia Crux is loaded up. Once the battle is selected, a short cut-scene between Lightning and your party is shown. I did this battle after completing the game, and had a very strong party. While not challenging at this point, one can appreciate the battle itself for the tactics you can use. Amodar shows up after a brief “mini-battle”, which is when the real fun begins.

 

Lightning and Amodar switch up classes in the same manner your own team does, with a few varieties. I make use of Saboteurs in the beginning of battle, so if they switched and had Lightning in a Medic role, all my work to cause ailments on them had little payoff. So even though the battle was not a challenge, different scenarios made it a little more fresh each time you fight the duo.

“Why would I fight them more than once,” you ask? Both Lightning and Master Sergeant Amodar can be recruited and used in your party. The percentage for capture is very limited, mind you, so even though I five-starred all dozen or so fights against them, I only received Lightning in my last battle. Lightning only makes use of the Ravager role and Amodar is a strict Commando role. As I said, I only got Lightning, but once leveled up, she was comparable to the Ravager I usually used, though her Feral Link attack didn’t seem as powerful. I can’t say much about Amodar.

The rewards are decent for such a quick match. 2,000 CP, and 3,000 Gil (that varies on skills; I have a Gilfinder ability that ups the gil received) for a 4 minute match is pretty nice, and the fact it requires a few Paradigm shifts for excitement is a bonus.

Bargain DLC on a regular basis is a great way to add bits of content to a game, and Square-Enix is setting a fine example on how to add post-launch content to an RPG. Another coliseum battle is planned for next month, and a whole chunk of story is also slated for the future. But for now, if you’re looking for a small- but-quality addition to Final Fantasy XIII-2, this is a very worthy purchase.

Pros:

  • value-priced; it’s hard to beat $3
  • Lightning now plays a small role in your party if you want

Cons:

  • capture rate is incredibly low, even if you five-star the fight
  • first coliseum DLC could have been free to new purchases

Score: 4/5

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Second Opinion: Final Fantasy XIII-2

By
Chris Scott
– February 13, 2012Posted in: Blogs, Chris' Blog, Columns, Editorials, Second Opinion, Staff Blogs

Note: Just like getting diagnosed with inoperable blue warts might cause a patient to look to another doctor for a second opinion, gamers sometimes need more than one take on a particular game.

There is little denying the fact that Final Fantasy XIII did not resonate with gamers the way past entries in the series have and for many, XIII signified a directional shift heading down the wrong path. For a variety of reasons, developer/publisher Square Enix set out to right the perceived wrong and the fruits of their labor is the tragically named, Final Fantasy XIII-2.

XIII-2 picks up three years after the events of Final Fantasy XIII. Lightning, one of the main protagonists from XIII, is in Valhalla, serving as a guardian for the Goddess. Everything is tranquil until the mysterious villain Caius appears creating distortions in time that need to be stopped. Enter Noel, a time traveler from the future, who is tasked with finding Lightning’s sister, Serah, and reuniting the two. To try and explain it any further would be a disservice to the gamer but suffice it to say that as in all Final Fantasy games, the end goal is far grander than initially thought.

Time travel is a fascinating subject and one that has worked quite well before in games. However, due to the subject matter’s confusing nature the writing needs to be well thought out and scripted. Final Fantasy XIII-2 fails to do these things and for as interesting a premise as the game brings to the table, the delivery of the storytelling is abysmal. The dialog in particular is some of the worst written in a Japanese roleplaying game this generation and with the game’s focus on only two primary characters (Noel & Serah) the poor dialog leads to poor characterizations which causes additional problems.

As mentioned, Final Fantasy XIII-2 focuses solely on Noel and Serah’s story and in so doing the game takes a drastic turn from how previous games in the series were handled. There is no eclectic band of heroes to team up with. XIII-2 is all Noel and Serah, all the time. If you end up hating either of the two main characters you will undoubtedly be in for a long, uncomfortable ride with the game, granted, not anywhere near as long as its predecessor.

The campaign of XIII-2 will take most players anywhere between 25-30 hours to complete, relatively short for a Final Fantasy title but still a game packed with more content than many other games available. Having time travel as the core concept of the game means there will be a lot of different areas that get visited over and over in a variety of eras. Getting from one area to the next is done by collecting artefacts and unlocking gates. There is quite a bit to collect and unlock, although not all of it is essential to the main quest. With that in mind though, the time travel aspect lends itself quite well to return visits and returning to the game once finished with the main quest will open up additional story aspects worth exploring or re-exploring.

Considering how Square Enix presented this game, as a title that will fix many of the issues of its predecessor, it is odd to see that what is included in XIII-2 is such a mixed bag. Things like towns and shops make a return but their implementation is so awkward that they might as well not be there. The towns that are in the game are small and have very little to do in them, especially considering the shopkeeper is a time-traveling chocobo lady that sells everything and appears quite often along your story path. The game also includes a weird story progression system called the Live Trigger. Live Triggers are a four pronged dialog choice that steer the current conversation in a particular direction but aside from some seemingly random rewards received after doing one, there is no direct correlation to what is chosen and how the story progresses.

Possibly the most puzzling of all the design choices in the game though is the reintroduction of random battles. Out of all the complaints that I have heard levied at Final Fantasy XIII by critics of the game, not having random battles in the game was never one I heard brought up, so reintroducing them is a major head scratcher. These are not your standard random battles though, instead enemies will randomly appear in the vicinity of the player and combat is initiated by attacking the enemy, having them attack you or simply letting a countdown clock expire. The advantage of attacking first is being awarded a pre-emptive strike as the real battle starts. Initiating said combat though can be a tad big frustrating as the action controls feel wonky at their best.

But for every weird design choice that was made, XIII-2 features some truly worthwhile additions to the traditional Final Fantasy formula. Save points, something that has long seemed archaic to many gamers, are a thing of the past in XIII-2, as players can now save whenever and wherever they want. There is also a fairly decent auto-save system in place so lost progress can be easily avoided. XIII-2 also wisely sticks with XIII’s battle system. The Paradigm system as it is called, keeps battles fast paced and exciting as players are tasked with shifting between different combat roles to quickly take down opponents. The paradigm system was built on the foundation of a three party member system, of which the cast of XIII-2 only fills two of those slots. To get around this issue, XIII-2 allows for the third slot to be occupied by captured monsters. While I did not want to catch them all, I can see many people getting thoroughly sucked into trying to.

Much like Nintendo’s Pokemon series, collecting monsters is only half the fun though. The other half is upgrading them to perform better in battle. These upgrades are done using the retooled Crystarium leveling system from the original game. Instead of using Crystarium Points, which are awarded to Noel and Serah to be used in their own retooled Crystarium, monsters use special items that are collected from battle, chests or the Chocobo lady. There are few things in the game more satisfying than leveling up a Behemoth and watching him lay waste to enemies in battle. It would have been nice to be able to actually control the monsters in battle but sadly that is not the case.

The odd dichotomy of design choices the game exhibits continues along the technical and artistic side of things as well. XIII was a great looking game and its sequel is no slouch. Environments and character models are highly detailed and they blend perfectly with the pre-rendered cutscenes in the game. The artistic design of the environments is top notch and they all have a wonderful sense of place. However the character design itself feels lazy. Tetsuya Nomura, Square’s go-to character designer over the past decade, has seemingly hit a wall. Everything he does is starting to look the same, with Noel even looks like a mature version of Sora from Kingdom Hearts. It just feels lazy and at least for me, is somewhat off-putting.

Even more off-putting is the music in the game. Say what you will about XIII as a game but in my opinion it was the best soundtrack in a Final Fantasy game in over a decade. XIII-2’s soundtrack is the exact opposite. There is no sense of consistency in the musical choices and at times it feels like the soundtrack selection process was done by picking songs out of a hat. Worse than the consistency issues though is how terribly bad a lot of the music actually is. Nothing has so violently assaulted my ears in years like the strange death metal sprinkled throughout the game. For a series that features many of the most memorable themes in videogames to have something that is so sub-par honestly makes me sad.

Inconsistency is the one thing I took away from playing XIII-2. The game features some great high points but it also features some amazing low ones. For the most part the gameplay of Final Fantasy XIII-2 is fun and engaging. Sadly though, XIII-2 is a roleplaying game and the success of such a game, particularly a JRPG, is reliant on having a strong story and iconic characters in addition to that solid gameplay. XIII-2 does not have any of that. It does not have that as a roleplaying game and it most certainly does not have that as a Final Fantasy. There are glimmers of greatness buried beneath all the dreck but judged on its own merits, Final Fantasy XIII-2 is just a passable game, it is nothing more than that and when you bear the Final Fantasy moniker that in itself is something of a disappointment.

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Review: Soul Calibur V

By
Tony Odett
– February 13, 2012Posted in: PS3, Reviews, Xbox 360

Note: This review was done using the PS3 version of the game. It is also available on Xbox 360.

The Soul Calibur series has long held the title of “Fighting Game of the People.” While Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Marvel vs Capcom received all the press, Soul Calibur was the one game you could sit down and play without getting a PhD in combo-ology.  Soul Calibur V continues this fine tradition, sacrificing complexity, challenge and precision in the name of playability, to varying amounts of success.

Applause is due the greatest feature of any fighting game ever: a fully functional character creator. When I was able to make my combatant a massively tall spear waver in a pirate coat, with jester boots (complete with bells on the tips), a top hat, and a massive purple afro, I decided I was in love.  Too long have fighters forced us into using a set of fighters with a couple of alternate costumes. Soul Calibur V allows us to choose a move set, and then build a character that looks like whatever we wish them to be. The editor has extensive features and was definitely the best idea the game brings to the table.

I’m not as excited by what Soul Calibur V presents in the single player campaign. The presentation is distinctly sub-par. The infrequent cutscenes are supplemented by drawings with voiceover. The drawings themselves are, frankly, awful, though the voiceover does do an adequate job of explaining what’s going on. Given what we’ve seen from other developers in this department in recent years, the story presentation was disappointing.

The campaign itself consists of 20 levels of one of one fights. Occasionally, you’ll fight more than one enemy per level, but the combat themselves are pretty generic.  I understand that there’s a formula to encounters in fighting games, but changing it up once or twice over the course of 20 levels would have been refreshing.  To top it off, the single player AI was pathetic.  In most of the fights, I was able to win by spamming the same single button combo over and over again. I didn’t even need to learn the block function until level 19. This was on the highest difficulty setting.  Side stepping seems to leave the enemy AI facing the wrong direction for the entire battle.   If you are looking for a single player venture, you can skip SoulCalibur V due to the poor AI combined with the mediocre presentation.

Arnold would be proud.

Thankfully for Soul Calibur V, there’s a lot more to it than that.  The multiplayer suite is quite deep, and has a full set of features, including stat tracking. The more you play, the more you level up, and unlock more ways to outfit your character.  And of course, being Soul Calibur, anyone can pick up the controller and stand a chance in a fight (though, actual deep knowledge of the controls, combos and such provide a key advantage).

Doing (or receiving) damage in a fight boosts up your Critical Gauge, which in turn allows you to conduct special attacks and combo breakers at key moments.  As nice as a feature as this is, it seems less impressive than some of its brethren (with Mortal Kombat’s gory X-ray attacks and the screen filling insanity that happens when you fill the gauge in Marvel v Capcom 3).  The attacks don’t seem to do much more damage than normal combos, and don’t look particularly impressive.  If my character can call in his werewolf persona to tear into his foe, I want to see something that awes me.

Soul Calibur has one again called in a well-known character from another series, in this case, Ezio Auditore from Assassin’s Creed 2.  Unlike previous guest characters, I didn’t find Ezio to be completely overpowered, and he seemed to fit the aesthetics of the game a lot better  (16th century folks would not be able to stand up against, say, light sabers, like they did in Soul Calibur 4).  He’s a fine addition to the game, and I’d like to see future guest characters in the series given the same sort of consideration, and be equally as appropriate to the setting.

If you’re looking for a multiplayer experience that’s both familiar and easy to digest, Soul Calibur V is the game for you.  However, the single player campaign is insufficient for a recommendation on its own merits. It leaves the game feeling a bit incomplete, and I can’t help but thinking my opinion of the game would be higher were such a throwaway mode not included. The multiplayer is fun, but if you are used to a more hardcore experience, you might wish to look elsewhere.  The fight between Soul Calibur and Soul Edge continues. I recommend ignoring it in favor of the battle between yourself and random player on the internet.

Pros

  • Very playable.
  • Good online multiplayer.
  • Soundtrack.
  • Full Character Creator

Cons

  • Bad AI
  • Weak presentation
  • Single player adds very little to the experience.

3 / 5

Proper weapon for the man on the right: lighter.

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Coming to Stores: February 14th Edition

By
Don Parsons
– February 13, 2012Posted in: News, Vagary.TV

This week in stores, we see Sony’s next handheld launching. Oh, and Valent- oh, wait, neh. No need to use the “V” word, right? But still, I have to wonder why SCEA would launch their first exclusive PS3 release of the year on a day when anyone in a relationship isn’t playing games. Hm. ~ Don

Don’s personal picks are highlighted in red.

Console

Who needs roses when you can have car combat?!

Multi-platform:

  • Tuesday, February 14 ~ Blazblue: Continuum Shift Extend (PS3 & X360)
  • Tuesday, February 14 ~ Grand Slam Tennis 2 (PS3 & X360)
  • Tuesday, February 14 ~ UFC Undisputed 3 (PS3 & X360)

Playstation 3 only:

  • Tuesday, February 14 ~ Twisted Metal
  • Tuesday, February 14 ~ Order-Up!!
February continues it’s “big game a week” trend with Twisted Metal, David Jaffe’s last Eat Sleep Play effort. Car combat at its finest, you cannot say many bad things about blowing up rivals in an ice cream truck. Fighting game fans get an updated version of the Blazblue series with Blazblue Continuum Shift Extend. This new, enhanced package adds balancing tweaks, new stories, a new character and more. EA serves up Grand Slam Tennis 2, something I’m personally interested in due to Move and Kinect support. And fans of the ultra-brutal UFC get their blood-thirsty mits on UFC Undisputed 3.

Handheld

The day has finally come..

Nintendo 3DS:

  • Tuesday, February 14 ~ Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
  • Tuesday, February 14 ~ Order-Up!!
  • Tuesday, February 14 ~ Tales of the Abyss
  • Tuesday, February 14 ~ Tekken 3D Prime Edition
A little bit for everyone if you just must add to your 3DS library this week. Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games offers another competitive suite of Olympic-based games. Shoo away rats and manage a restaurant in time-management game, Order-Up!!. 40 characters, a 3D movie, and 700 collectible cards promise to finish your battery in style with Tekken 3D Prime Edition. And rounding up this crazy, genre mixer (not the Catalina Wine Mixer, mind you) is another epic and 3D entry into the “Tales of” JRPG series, Tales of the Abyss.

Sony Playstation Vita

  • Tuesday, February 14 ~ Asphalt Injection
  • Tuesday, February 14 ~ Blazblue Continuum Shift Extend
  • Tuesday, February 14 ~ Dungeon Hunter Alliance
  • Tuesday, February 14 ~ F1 2011
  • Tuesday, February 14 ~ FIFA Soccer
  • Tuesday, February 14 ~ Lumines: Electronic Symphony
  • Tuesday, February 14 ~ Michael Jackson The Experience HD
  • Tuesday, February 14 ~ Rayman Origins
  • Tuesday, February 14 ~ Virtua Tennis 4: World Tour Edition
  • Wednesday, February 15 ~ Ben 10: Galactic Racing
  • Wednesday, February 15 ~ Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational
  • Wednesday, February 15 ~ Little Deviants
  • Wednesday, February 15 ~ Modnation Racers: Road Trip
  • Wednesday, February 15 ~ Reality Fighters
  • Wednesday, February 15 ~ Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
  • Wednesday, February 15 ~ Uncharted: Golden Abyss
  • Wednesday, February 15 ~ Wipeout 2048

The Playstation Vita makes it’s grand debut with the slightly more expensive “First Edition” on February 15th. If you had planned on getting the 3G version, it is not much more since you get Little Deviants (Sony’s “show off the features to all audiences” game) and a memory card. Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Sony’s flagship Playstation 3 franchise, strengthens the lineup with its first portable  entry. I’m not a sports-guy at all, but even FIFA Soccer looks fantastic on the Vita. Ubisoft shows strong support for the Vita with a huge list of launch games, a few of the ones I am personally interested in being; Dungeon Hunter: Alliance, Rayman Origins, and Asphalt: Injection. I won’t touch on every game launching this week but the Vita shows promise with a strong lineup out of the gate, with just as many titles hitting the following week.

 

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What’s Up With Vagary #2

By
VTV Staff
– February 12, 2012Posted in: Blogs, Columns, Editorials, Staff Blogs, What's Up

While the Vagary staff is comprised of a large group of like-minded individuals, that group has an eclectic range of tastes. What’s Up With Vagary is a chance for a selection of our staff to fill you in on what is sucking up the majority of their time during the past week.

Billy Milby – Podcast Host & Staff Contributor

In terms of absolutely fresh games that I’m playing there really isn’t much that I have to offer. The game I’m playing through currently is actually Uncharted 3. Despite all the divisive comments I had heard about it before hand, I am really enjoying it, though I will hold my judgment for when I finish it. I have also been playing some of the hot new demos, notably Resident Evil: Revelations. As you might have found out if you have a 3DS, it is an absolutely beautiful game, and from what I played, it is a nice return to a creepy demeanor. So, I will definitely be looking forward to the full release.

Some other great things I’ve checked out this week have been “The Artist” and the brand new restoration of the long lost hand colored version of the hundred years old, Georges Méliès’ film, Le Voyage dans de Lune; and the accompanying score/extended album by one of my favorite bands, Air. The Artist was so good my wife and I are dying to go back and see it again. My wife’s words after the film summed it up best; she said that she “had not connected with a film and characters that intensely in years”. That, I think, says a lot. As for the Air album and film, I purchased the CD/DVD Limited Edition that came with the movie as well. And while the album is obviously meant to go along with the film, it completely stands on its own. Air was actually approached by the restorers to create the soundtrack with only one month to complete it in order to make it in time for the Cannes Film Festival. Even though the album could stand to be longer (clocking in at just over 30 minutes), it is still twice as long as the film that inspired it! I’m just glad a film that is well over a hundred years olds can still be enjoyed.

Khristopher Reardon – News & Reviews Team

This week I decided to pick up Gotham City Impostors and I’ve been playing it pretty much every night. The game puts you in the high tops of a spunky Batman/Joker wannabe. I’m not a first person shooter fan and I shudder whenever someone mentions online multiplayer but I’ve been finding this title a lot of fun. I think it’s a combination of the game’s surreal character design, sense of humor and fast as hell gameplay that’s really grabbed me. The tweaks that Monolith instituted after the beta helped to maintain the balance that the game is looking for between its various weapons and gadgets. So far the game has been a blast.

I also saw the movie Chronicle. It is a movie about some teens who get telekinetic powers, all of it is shot in point of view (POV) from the camera like the Blair Witch Project or Cloverfield. I really felt a connection with the characters on screen, as there was a genuine nature to them that reeled me in. Maybe it is because they felt like people I’d expect to meet and befriend in real life. That kind of realism really made the drama that erupts between them during the movie more personal.

Additionally, the special effects were really good. The movie had a very steady camera for POV because one of the characters used his telekinesis to control it allowing for better shots and camera work. I got the effect of POV without the nausea. The action scenes were also quite intense. This is the first movie I think that has ever made me feel the action on screen. The last 10-20 minutes of the movie are especially intense and shook me in my seat a couple of times.

Chris Scott – Executive Editor Reviews

The past week has been a weird one for me, I’ve been playing Final Fantasy XIII-2 and NeverDead for site content, which you will be able to read this week, but my personal time, has been spent primarily running through a new playthrough of Mass Effect, sampling Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and getting my handheld scares on with Resident Evil: Revelations. It takes a special game to get me to return to it after I’ve completed it and an even more special game for me to return to it four years later and hold my interest, Mass Effect fits that bill. Playing through it again, and spending time in The Old Republic, has made me realize that no matter how hard I try to play a roguish scoundrel, I always end up choosing the “good” thing to do. I can’t wait to take my Fem-Shep into Mass Effect 2.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a nice chaser to my adventures in space. Due to the pedigree the game has, comparisons to Skyrim are going to happen but Reckoning is not really that game. It is brighter, more cheery than Skyrim, and has a far more satisfying combat system. On the flip side it feels more confined and far less open than Skyrim. The closest comparison I can personally draw is to Microsoft’s Fable series, and Reckoning seems to be a far better game than any of the Fables, at least from the short amount of time I’ve spent with it. I can say this, I am glad I am not reviewing it.

Resident Evil is a series I have a long history with, dating back to the original big box Playstation release, before the introduction of the Dual Shock controller. I’ve soured on the series in recent years, starting around the release of RE4, a game most people praise to the highest, and nearly falling completely off the wagon with RE5. Revelations on the 3DS has the precarious responsibility of either driving me away from the series forever or drawing me back in. Currently, it is drawing me back. It is still a little too much of shooter and too little of a survival horror game for my tastes but at the very least the game gets the vibe of the classic Resident Evil games down. Setting the game on drifting cruise ship was an inspired choice and the narrow hallways deliver a true sense of terror that has been missing from the series for a long time. It also doesn’t hurt that the game looks absolutely phenomenal on the handheld.

So that is what we have been up to, what about you? Fill us in by dropping us a comment.

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Review: Final Fantasy XIII-2

By
Don Parsons
– February 11, 2012Posted in: PS3, Reviews, Xbox 360

Note: This review is based off of gameplay on the Playstation 3 console. It is also available on the XBOX 360. Square-Enix provided this game to Vagary.tv for review purposes.

Releasing a sequel to a game with such polar-opposite reactions as Final Fantasy XIII is a bold move, but Square-Enix proceeded to do it anyways. It’s really a rare thing when you see a sequel to a Final Fantasy game. But the fans that enjoyed Final Fantasy XIII and the world contained in it, rejoiced.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 picks up a few years after the events of Final Fantasy XIII. In a drastic shift in the party model, you only control two characters throughout this journey, Serah and Noel. Serah is trying to find her sister, Lightning, who strangely disappeared after the grand reunion at the end of XIII. Noel’s story is more complicated, but in short , he was sent from the future by Lightning (from a place outside of time) to help Serah. In controlling just these two characters, it really strengthened the focus on their stories instead of trying to tie together half a dozen random individuals in typical JRPG fashion. There’s nothing wrong with that, mind you, but this really allowed for a more streamlined experience without the comments in the back of your head about “oh yes, fate at work again.”

Finding Lightning is the routine “starting goal”, but things grow in scale as you learn more and more about what is going on. I don’t like to hand out spoilers to games rich in story, but outside of one instance later on in the game (the obligatory “have to collect x amount of things” plot point), the story flowed well and kept me playing. It flowed so well, in fact, that I didn’t even want to bother with a majority of the side-missions. Outside of wandering around the more-open area on Pulse (which is much smaller compared to XIII’s version), I only did the small quests that were along the way.

Once finishing the main story, the option to go back and do “paradox endings” adds length to the rather short story-arch in XIII-2. These ultimately change the ending of the game altogether. My only problem with these paradox endings is that there is no real indication (that I could find, anyhow) on what exactly could trigger these events. To be honest, I used a guide to figure out what would trigger a few, and went and did them. Some hints would have been great, because I truly enjoyed these alternate endings and would have preferred to be coaxed along towards them instead of resorting to a guide.

Time travel plays a large part in XIII-2, with different eras and areas of Cocoon and Pulse unlocking as you make your way through the story. So think of each time period as a small sandbox, with its own item shop, individuals to talk to and get quests from, hidden items, monsters, etc. Square-Enix has removed the “point-to-point” nature of XIII by switching to this system, but you are still confined to a certain path in each area so in reality, the game is still rather linear. In order to access these areas, you must unlock them by going through a time gate. This requires a specific artifact or a generic “master key-type” wild artifact. Wild artifacts are usually hidden well, or received from side-missions. Story related artefacts can’t be missed.

While combat remains similar to its predecessor, XIII-2 has overhauled the Paradigm Shift system. As I said earlier, you control Serah and Noel. Your third party member is now a tamed monster, and you have slots to bring three types into battle. These three slots affect your Paradigm Deck choices. Each monster has a specific role and can be leveled up with certain items (usually gained after battles in decent quantities). You have no control over the monster AI, so if you are using them for buffers and ailments, you have to hope they are using the things you want them to use. Granted, the AI is smart when it comes to attacks in XIII-2, but aggravating when I wanted them to cast Brave, and they chose Imperil instead!

That said, the addition of monsters being in your third slot for battle makes things so much more dynamic. Each monster also has its own attack, known as a Feral Link ability. A gauge slowly fills up at the bottom of the screen, and when you chose to use it, you have to input certain commands (it differs per monster) to establish how powerful it will be. The possibilities for team setups are staggering, and I bet you could ask ten people what group they used at the end and it would be wholly different.

Now, approaching combat has returned to its “random battle” roots. In XIII, you confronted the free-roaming enemies in the open. Square-Enix has made things feel a little more classic by the enemy appearing randomly (and frequently, might I add), and the “Mog Clock” appears. The clock starts in the green position, giving you a chance for a preemptive attack. Once the clock reaches yellow, they start attacking you and you lose your Haste and chain-boost bonus’ (you can still hit them first and get the bonus, mind you, they are just more aggressive). Once the clock hits red, no matter how far away, you are locked into battle and no longer get a “retry” option. You do have the chance to flee, but the clock ticks down at different rates for different enemies. Some are completely unavoidable. It’s a functioning system that caters to long-time fans of the series.

The Crystarium (your path of progression in the FFXIII series) has also been overhauled. It now resembles the shape of your character’s weapon, and once you trace the complete path, you level up the Crystarium. This gives you a choice of opening a new role (you only start with two), adding to your Accessory limit, adding another ATB bar (giving you more options for powerful moves), or boosts to your role ability. You can select between the roles you have unlocked to level up, which grants you stat bonus’ or moves accordingly. The amount of abilities seems reduced as well. No more Haste or Regen, for one. And certain Final Fantasty-standard abilities are also missing, such as Mug for example. The updated Crystarium works for what it is intended to work for, but once I hit the 30-hour mark, I was done getting new abilities and it was simply a matter of boosting my stats.

Monsters work in a similar manner, but cap out much sooner. Depending on their level cap and grade (there are five grades, each needing a different quality of item to level up), some can be maxed out very soon while others can take the course of the game to max out. Another neat feature about monsters, though, is that they can be infused into another monster to pass on their abilities and stat increases. The stat increases are things unlocked in the Crystarium such as “+44% Poison Resistance”. Since each monster has its own, usually small, move pool, passing one to another can be very beneficial in the long run, though each monster can only have so many moves. Again, this whole new system adds a wildly-huge difference to the combat system in general.

The last change to battles of note are the Cinematic Action sections. These are just what they sound like: quick-time events. During certain boss fights, you’ll be prompted to hit “x” button or direction on the analog stick during an epic cut-scene. Now, why we couldn’t just watch the cut-scene with the awesome finishing move is beyond me. I never understood the fascination developers had with quick-time events. They detract from what is going on by forcing the player pay attention to button prompts.

I do have a serious complaint with the musical score at the end (though, admittedly, I enjoyed it up until that point). Without giving too many details, it simply doesn’t fit. Music is supposed to heighten moments, and it should be fitting for the mood. The final cutscene and its music just don’t match up correctly, and nearly ruins everything the scene is trying to invoke.

If you enjoyed aspects of Final Fantasy XIII, the sequel is definitely worth a shot. What Square-Enix overhauls and changes in the sequel make it feel fresh enough for people that put 60-100 hours into the first game. They also included a primer to get people caught up with what happened in case they either forgot or didn’t finish the story to its completion in XIII. While not a drastic change in the series from the previous installment, it’s a great extension to the Final Fantasy XIII universe.

Pros:

  • good continuation in the story from Final Fantasy XIII
  • the monster system allows for a more dynamic party approach
  • great post-game material to play after beating the main story

Cons:

  • the narrative isn’t as strong as its predecessor
  • more limited skill sets for main two characters
  • much shorter main story than XIII

Score: 4/5

1

Review: All Zombies Must Die!

By
Magnus Risebro
– February 6, 2012Posted in: PS3, Reviews, Xbox 360

This game was played on the Xbox 360

All Zombies Must Die is an odd case of modern game design-tropes working to a game’s detriment. The oft-celebrated model of fusing RPG-structure with action-gameplay is spread a little too thick here, hurting what is an otherwise solid title.

As with most zombie-related titles nowadays, AZMD is very tongue-in-cheek about its story. This is something I’m often skeptical of, as certain games seem to use it only to escape the effort of a serious narrative. Luckily, the plot, which sees four comedy characters assemble to survive an unexplained zombie apocalypse, doles out sincere chuckles on a consistent basis. Specifically, the sub-plot involving the main characters’ conviction that he is in a videogame provides good laughs. Throw in some strong pop-culture references and you have a one of the funniest games to come along in a while.

As for the gameplay, anyone familiar with dual-stick shooters will quickly be at home with the controls – Top-down perspective, left stick to move, right stick to aim. Zombies will home in on you and you’ll navigate around them, lining up shots and collecting pickups. Where the game differs from the basic formula is mainly in structure. Instead of a linear series of levels, the game is set in a mostly open world segregated into arena-like zones. To progress, you’ll complete a series of standard kill/fetch-quests, upgrading your stats and crafting new weapons on the way.

For a while, this spattering of RPG design has the desired effect; the carrot-on-a-stick of new weapons and better murdering-capabilities will motivate you to continue, making what is in reality well-trodden gameplay ground sparkle with new life. But it’s only after a few hours that fatigue kicks in: When running through the same 8 arenas, carrying out what is only a slight variation on an objective you’ll have done 15 times beforehand, the appeal starts to wither. It becomes a grind.

It’s a shame, because the moment-to-moment gameplay in AZMD is actually rather good: There’s a great, tactile feel to mowing down the zombie hordes, much thanks to some nifty and suitably cartoony animation. The weapons are all distinct enough in function and feel to warrant changing your inventory regularly. There’s a cool mechanic of zombies being affected by elements like fire, electricity or radiation, each with different effects, which also transfers to the crafting system, where you can modify weapons to apply those effects when fired.

The problem arises when this solid yet quite by-the-numbers gameplay is tasked with supporting the RPG-like structure. There’s simply not enough substance to it for it stay meaningful in the face of the six-hour series of treks through the same few environments the game has you endure. Playing the game in four-player co-op mode (local multiplayer only) or in shorter bursts remedies this problem somewhat, but still does not remove it outright: AZMD is simply too repetitive.

All Zombies Must Die asks too much of the basic dual-stick shooter formula and suffers for it, but it’s still a well-crafted game that will please fans of its genre. Play it in Co-op and pay attention to the jokes for maximum enjoyment.

Pros:

  • Good feel and some depth to the gameplay
  • Charming presentation
  • Funny

Cons:

  • Becomes far too monotonous
  • Occasional glitches

3 out of 5

0

Review: Madcatz MLG Pro Circuit Controller

By
Don Parsons
– February 6, 2012Posted in: Hardware, PS3, Reviews, Xbox 360

Meet Mad Catz Newest Controller

Note: This was tested on the Playstation 3. It is also available for the Xbox 360. 

We recently got our hands on the new Mad Catz MLG Pro Circuit controller for the Playstation 3, and from the moment it was unboxed, it was clear it trumped many aftermarket controllers. With any controller, really, you are stuck with whatever options you are given and have to hope for the best. For example, the PDP Afterglow controller is slightly smaller than the stock PS3 controller with the Xbox 360 analog stick layout. But the sticks were concave, so I trashed the controller. Mad Catz has an answer for that, but at a steep $99.99 US pricetag.

With a unique modular design, the Pro Circuit controller allows players a very customized experience. After you unbox this glorious controller and pick it up, you’ll immediately notice the extra weight and soft, velvety backing. The weight is added due to an interchangeable  weight cartridge with two 35 gram weights in it. You can remove one weight or replace the whole piece with a cover. Even without the weights, the controller is heavier than the standard Dualshock controller.

The back’s texture offers great grip during intense situations (ie. Major League Gaming), and when my hands started to sweat, there was no slipping off or re-gripping the controller, unlike my Dualshock. While the back surface can’t be replaced, the front can. The front plates can be swapped out between matte and gloss finishes. The middle, larger piece is easy to remove and attach, but also stays in place like it should thanks to small magnets. The small side pieces (the “legs” of the controller) were a little harder to swap off and on, but once you decide which finish you want, it shouldn’t be an issue. I preferred the matte finish just because it matched the rest of the controller, though the shiny finish didn’t actually feel any different during gameplay (as opposed to having the shiny finish on the back, which would have felt different).

Back to the modules, this is what truly sets this controller apart and puts it in the major leagues. The Pro Circuit controller comes with a pair of D-Pads, a pair of convex analog sticks and a pair of concave analog sticks. After lifting off the front plate, you turn the module counter-clockwise to unlock and remove it. The analog sticks (both styles) have little notches around the base, making the whole process a lot easier. The D-Pads, though, don’t, so you actually had to use the lifted button part to get a grip and lock/unlock it. I found that to be a small problem, and didn’t like switching D-Pads at all.

One of the D-Pads is a cross-style, while the other is button-style. I preferred the seperated, button-style as opposed to the other when playing shooters. But if I was using the button-style one to navigate menus, if I didn’t hit it just right it also moved in another direction. However, this could have been me not being used to the setup I was using (X360-style).

Both of the analog options have the same tension setting as the other. After going back and forth with the Dualshock and Pro Circuit controllers, the Mad Catz offering has a much stiffer analog stick. This is something that might be easier for X360 gamers to get used to, but someone who only plays on a PS3 might have some issues getting comfortable with the difference in tension.

The varying degrees of controller layout offer each individual player their own way to play. You can play with the standard Dualshock option, the standard X360 option, or any mix in between. For awhile, I played with a X360 layout that had a concave left stick, button-style D-Pad, and a convex right stick. But I eventually went back to my comfort zone of having dual convex sticks.

The controller is also considerably bulkier than my usual Dualshock controller. It has the X360 shape, and even the triggers resemble the X360. The Home, Start and Select buttons are all positioned towards the top of the controller which made certain things more difficult. I’m sure it keeps some people from accidentally hitting those buttons (I don’t run into that problem, myself), but when you are playing Battlefield 3, my shooter of choice, it made it much more difficult to spot people with the Select button.

If you are looking for a wireless option, look elsewhere. While the 9 foot cable has considerable length, certain home-gaming situations just don’t work well with me (and I’m sure some other people). That said, this is designed for competitive gamers, specifically MLG combatants. For those unfamiliar with their rules; you can’t take controllers that have a “turbo” or “macro” option, and controllers have to be wired if not stock controllers. Mad Catz was thoughtful and designed one sturdy cable that actually screws into place.

A last minute addition to the Pro Circuit controller is a “reverse trigger mode”. I saw this advertised and it wasn’t in the manual, though I have been told this will be fixed for future manual prints. Holding the Start and Select button (it should be noted this is a PS3-only feature) for around 5 seconds will reverse the L1/R1 and L2/R2 trigger functions. I played the first night with the standard setting and it just wasn’t comfortable at all. After enabling this mode, everything felt more natural with this particular controller.

All of these goodies, and the controllers still give you more. How about a nice little carrying bag? It fits nice and snugly, so you can take the ownage with you anywhere you go.

If you want to replace your standard controller, and want something more customizable, the Pro Circuit controller from Mad Catz has you covered. In the future, different colored modules and plates are going to be available too, so you can not only own the battlefield, but do it in style.

However, if you are not into competitive gaming, and just need a new controller, the high price-tag may be a big factor in your decision on purchasing or not.

Pros:

  • Modular design offers multiple controller configurations
  • Soft, velvety backing gives great grip
  • Ease of swapping parts on the fly, and a carrying case to keep everything together

Cons:

  • High price-tag
  • Re-positioning the Home, Start and Select buttons
  • Difference in tension between the Pro Circuit and Dualshock analog sticks

Score: 4/5

5

What’s Up With Vagary

By
VTV Staff
– February 5, 2012Posted in: Blogs, Columns, Editorials, Staff Blogs, What's Up

While the Vagary staff is comprised of a large group of like-minded individuals, that group has an eclectic range of tastes. What’s Up With Vagary is a chance for a selection of our staff to fill you in on what is sucking up the majority of their time during the past week.

Kyle Baron – Editor in Chief

I’ve been playing Swords and Soldiers. It’s a side-scrolling strategy game where Viking, Aztec, and Chinese armies fight one another using spells and a small assortment of units and structures. Despite its simplistic and charming appearance, things get complicated quickly.

After the entire campaign and a couple online matches, I’m still not sure if the game’s surprising depth ends up making all of the units balanced. Online matches and much of the second half of the campaign result in some messy games won or lost in some surprising ways that feel like exploiting the game rather than exploring more than one strategic option. Despite all of the game’s charm and interesting touches for each faction, I can’t recommend it as a purchase.

Tony Odett – Review Staff

Soul Calibur 5, my life, my bane. I like the occasional fighting game, but when there’s an awful story combined with ridiculous button mashing, I go crazy after a while. Still, at least it looks pretty and the soundtrack works for me. I think I’ll slog through more of this during the week and then get the crap beaten out of me online.

I’ve also been playing NBA 2K12, AKA The Best Sports Game of All Time. Tony O’Connor is taking the Jazz to an NBA championship. I’m unstoppable shooting off the dribble, even with a hand in my face. Really, this is a sports RPG and the finest you can play. For fans of basketball, this is a must own game.

Magnus Risebro – Editor

Since Gears of War 2′s Horde, the bite-sized co-op mode has has rapidly become a staple of shooters, with CoD, Halo, Battlefield and many more each with their respective versions. Resident Evil: Revelations too features such a mode, and I’ll be damned if it hasn’t sneakily chewed up a sizable amount of my time:

Raid Mode, as it’s called, takes segments from Revelations’ campaign, slaps on a scoring-system, and lets two players run through them, ranking their performance. Gunning down mutants side-by-side with another player provides quick-fire thrills, and is made all the more satisfying due to a surprisingly fleshed-out leveling/progression system. There are a handful of guns to unlock, each one found in variants with randomized stat properties (so even if you have the same assault rifle as I, mine could have a higher rate of fire), as well as weapon modifications that boost stopping power, damage, capacity and so on. This, as with any good persistent leveling system, makes the game hard to turn off, as you’ll be too eager to test the power of whatever new gun you just unlocked. A few matchmaking issues aside, Raid Mode is a strong addition to a very solid game. Look for the full Resident Evil Revelations review soon here at Vagary.TV.

Don Parsons – Publisher Relations Liaison and Review Staff

I’ve spent a majority of my week playing Final Fantasy XIII-2. Not to spoil too much of my review, but I am really enjoying it. I love the new “monster taming”, giving the focus of the story to the two main characters yet still offering a vast, dynamic party selection. I’m about 25 hours in at the moment, and while the past hour has been a little frustrating, it has been very hard to put down.

Completing my menu for games this week is my love-affair with Battlefield 3. I’m been playing with the recently-released Mad Catz MLG Pro Circuit controller (another review coming soon), putting it through its paces. Battlefield 3 never gets old, and each time I tell myself “I can only play for an hour, I have work to do” I end up playing for two to three hours.

So that is what we have been up to, what about you? Fill us in by dropping us a comment.

0

Review: Scarygirl

By
Don Parsons
– January 30, 2012Posted in: PS3, Reviews, Xbox 360

Scarygirl, meet dragon-machine-thing.

Note: This game was reviewed on the Playstation 3 platform. It is also available on the Xbox 360.

Scarygirl, originally a free-to-play web game, takes you on a journey through a vast set of environments and will make you remember just how much rage old-school platformers can cause.

Scarygirl, the protagonist, mixes platforming and combat with the use of her whip-arm. For transportation, the whip-arm is used to cross gaps by holding the jump button. This lets you to helicopter across and outside of this fundamental reason, it also serves as “jump correction”. The floaty physics of Scarygirl can be forgiven because you can just hold the jump button to perfect an otherwise awkward jump. 

The game relies heavily on its simple combat. That’s not a bad thing, but there are some frustrating parts later on in the game that are sure to provoke yelling and (possibly) throwing things. Sometimes i’s frustrating because of some moments that feel busted, but other times it’s a matter of design; Between a bad checkpoint system and trying to figure out what moves to use against what enemy, I was at wits-end during certain portions of the game.

One of the many pretty environments.

The 21 levels vary in length. Each level has enough of a varied design and theme to keep you intrigued as to what you will come across next. The few water stages, for example, were simply beautiful. The graphics in general are a little on the bland side and don’t pop as much as I had expected, but the neon seaweed was quite mesmerizing. Checkpoints, however, are a different story. Sometimes, they are well placed, but other times they are spread so far apart I wondered why they even bothered. Clearing four waves of incredibly difficult enemies time-after-time just to die on the fifth wave made me want to pull my hair out. Other times I’d be greeted by a checkpoint a few platform jumps later and I’d be greeted by a checkpoint.

The quirky level design, with fun little camera shifts, is something that immediately stood out.  Skipping along through a stage, the level will suddenly shift to a different angle and you just keep on skipping. It may or may not rotate back, but it was little additions like this that made the game different than others in its genre.

By collecting gems in the game, you occasionally come across a weird Octopus shopkeeper where you can buy new moves, equipment and vinyls. The latter is simply a collectible to get a trophy/achievement, and I spent most of my gems on the moves as they unlocked. Most of the equipment didn’t seem to affect gameplay in a significant way.

It's a scaryworld if owls are out during the day.

The single biggest fault Scarygirl has is its grappling mechanic. I am no stranger to whip-across-the-chasm gameplay, but it gets a little frustrating when you release from one point and can’t grasp the next point easily. Wall-climbing is the same; climbing across a wall, jumping over an obstacle, and hitting up on your controller’s d-pad should make you re-grapple the wall. It didn’t all the time, and it was inconsistent things like that which totally killed my joy of strong platforming sections that should otherwise be fun. You can also grapple onto rocks or stunned enemies in order to throw them at targets, but I had the same issue of it not aiming in the direction I had it pointed at.

Couch co-op fans will be pleased. While there is no online play available, you can partner up with a local friend and tackle the levels together. From the little bit of co-op that I played, it didn’t change anything drastically, but it can be fun if you have a significant-other or family member who enjoys platformers.

For people who enjoy a decent platforming experience (especially with an old-school frustration element), and are looking for something new, this game is a perfect addition to your digital library. But casual fans of the genre may steer clear; the grappling and difficulty of certain sections can be a little too much at times.

Pros:

  • great level design and shifts in perspective
  • quite lengthy for a platformer
  • upgrades give you a sense of progression

Cons:

  • bad grapple mechanics (aiming, swinging, wall climbing) can add unneeded frustration
  • inconsistent checkpoint system

Score: 3/5

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