All Time Favorite

I’ve noticed that amongst the other modern age bloggers they seem to focus only on the present or future of the video gaming industry. I realized that a lot of the past is overlooked or completely forgotten. In an ever-changing medium, I can see why forgetting the old and moving onto the new and exciting is important for business, but what about the consumer? Great, timeless games have been made in the past that these younger kids buying the newest will never get the opportunity to play. Because of this, I’ve decided to mention a game that some of you will remember, and some of you have never heard of. Kingdom Hearts is a game created by Square Enix and Disney focusing on the combination of all Disney characters and all Final Fantasy characters. Unlike most mash-up games, this game has a unique plot that almost makes you forget the game’s usage of non-original characters. This game was the first game I ever played as a youth that made me truly take interest in the day to day news of video games. It offers a very fast-paced, yet creative story that is able to draw comparisons between Donald Duck and Cloud Strife, the main protagonist from Final Fantasy VII. The game is played through the eyes of one character, Sora, as he attempts to find his friends Riku and Kairi after their world was destroyed by an unknown force. Only after meeting several characters from the Disney and Square Enix franchises does Sora realize that something is destroying and stealing the “Heart” of every single world. Accompanied by Donald Duck and Goofy, Sora travels across the galaxy visiting many of the Disney worlds many are familiar with, such as Tarzan’s Jungle, Agrabah, and Neverland. A complete game will take up about thirty hours of your time, but each hour is well spent under the name of fun. Another great aspect of buying old games is that they won’t cost you as much. Buying a decent quality version of Kingdom Hearts will only cost you about $10, less than a sixth the price of a modern day game. However, don’t just go back to old games to play Kingdom Hearts, immerse yourself with the relics of our short but fruitful gaming generation. A proper gaming background is necessary to truly enjoy how far technology has come in the past few decades and only gives hope and inspiration to what wonders wait to be unraveled in years to come.

Greatest Game of 2010?

Friends, Gamers, Countrymen, Lend me your ears. I hereby will relay to you my thoughts on Final Fantasy XIII. But seriously guys, this game was spectacular. I’ve finally been able to finish this masterpiece of a game. The game begins with each character in a different location, even though they all have the same individual mission of destroying the Fal’Cie, a sentient class of being that governs power over the humans. It is only after they meet up with one another and are given special powers that they are able to truly amount to something. As the game progress, it takes you through a long and treacherous journey filled with deception, loss, and incredibly complex battles. I won’t spoil any of the story for you all, because a game like this is made to be experienced first hand. However, I will tell you a few things about the game design. The game is divided into two main parts: Battle Mode and Exploration Mode. Battle Mode of course entails all minion and boss battles, while Exploration Mode includes basically every other aspect of the game. In Exploration Mode, you can only be brought into battles when making contact with an enemy unit on the playing field. For those who prefer to avoid fruitless battles, proper evasion maneuvers go an incredibly long way in this game. The battles usually last anywhere from a few seconds to lengths exceeding over twenty minutes. After each battle ends, the characters present in the battle are rewarded with experience points, which they can invest in their own abilities to improve their strengths on the battlefield incredibly. Obviously, those who prefer to skip battles will end up with a disadvantage at the end of the game because their characters will not be as trained. As for myself, I entered Battle Mode whenever I found it possible, making my characters unbelievably strong. The main tactics in battle are to take control of one of your three characters on the battlefield, and command your allies to help you destroy your enemies through various strategies. The strengths and weaknesses of each individual enemy differ greatly, forcing the player to change up the strategy on the battlefield quite often. I believe this was by far the most entertaining aspect of the game. One other thing I must mention about this particular game is the very evident effort put into the visuals. This game is unbelievably beautiful, a work of art. I think it is possibly the most visually brilliant game I have ever played. I would definitely recommend that any type of gamer venture out and pay the money to take home this masterpiece of a game.

Next Installment of Final Fantasy

Hey guys! I just want to say I’ve finally started playing the legendary new installment of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy XIII. I know the game has been out for a few months now, but I’ve actually only managed to get myself halfway through it at this point. I know what you’re thinking guys, something along the lines of “Wow, I thought this guy was supposed to be really good at games.” However, I must say that this game is HUGE. I’ve put in about 30 hours of my time, enough hours for about 3 normal games, and I’ve only managed to get about halfway through the story. For some of you that might seem a little intimidating, but I can’t really express in words how incredibly entertaining this game is. A wonderful plot guides a very simple yet addictive gameplay style. If I had to associate this game with anything, I would say it is more or less like an ongoing Hollywood movie, yet it never ends! I’d love to continue writing about the other great qualities of this game, but I’ve still got around half of the story left. Look out for the full review once I can find enough time to finish the game.