Late Night Consoling
I'm still playing Final Fantasy X-2, and last night I got up to that part in every Final Fantasy where I spend a week doing nothing but going around the world, leveling up and completing as many side quests as I can stomach. But this is the first time I can recall where I'm totally unmotivated to do so...I don't hate this game, but at the same time, I'm not terribly engaged by it. So my question to anyone that's finished the game is this...will I screw myself over by not massively leveling up before getting on with chapter 5? Those of you that did so, what level were you at when you jumped in the hole? My characters are all around level 34, which is pretty scrawny for a Final Fantasy game. At the same time however, I haven't found any battle to be overwhelmingly difficult so far, so I would hate to waste time leveling up for no reason. Any advice is appreciated.
| Silicon Knights Ends Partnership with Nintendo I nearly did a spit-take when I read this one...Silicon Knights, the developers of Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes and Eternal Darkness have announced that they have ended their four-year exclusivity deal with Nintendo. Prior to joining Nintendo, the company developed a handful of PC titles, including the original Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, and it should be pointed out that this doesn't mean the studio will never make another GameCube game again -- it just means they now have the option to develop for any platform they (or their publisher) choose. Does this mean the eternally-in-development Too Human will wind up on Xbox? Don't hold your breath. |
| N-Gage 2 Revealed It's not supposed to be formally announced until tomorrow, but Computer and Video Games has nonetheless posted the first real information to surface from Nokia's next N-Gage model. Here's what's confirmed: the phone no longer has the MP3 playback or FM radio, but it takes a huge step forward by putting the media slot on the side. If all that text is too much for you, some pictures of the thing also found their way online today (thanks Engadget for the tip). |
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| Bungie.net 2.0 Actually, it's probably more like 3.0 or 4.0...Bungie.net goes back to the Myth days...anyway, Bungie today took the wraps off their radically redesigned Bungie.net, which now has all sorts of new community features, including the ability to link your Xbox Live gamertag to your Bungie account (which is now powered by MS Passport). Presumably all of that will be further explored when Halo 2 ships, and to give you all a taste of what's in store, the site has posted a new multiplayer screenshot and song from the game's soundtrack. For still more on Bungie.net, head over to Team Xbox, where they have posted an interview with Brian Jarrard and Frank O'Connor, Bungie's community and content manager respectively. |
| PSX Production Halted? According to GameScience, a Japanese magazine is running a story reporting that Sony stopped production of their PSX uberconsole at the start of this month. Sony PR says the halt is based on current stock levels and waning demand for the system in Japan, although the magazine says the production has been plagued with problems, resulting in "some of PSX's functionality being mismatched." Thanks Slashdot Games for the tip. |
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| Devil May Cry 3: Back to Basics? A report on Eurogamer today says that Capcom will indeed announce Devil May Cry 3 at their pre-E3 press conference on May 10th. Furthermore, the site claims that the game "goes back to the original", that is to say, it returns to the style of the first game, which was received much more positively than its universally derided sequel. |
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| Hideo Kojima Interview GameSpy has conducted an interview with Hideo Kojima, the creator of Metal Gear Solid, who talks about the genesis of the game, how he designs a game like this, and even his thoughts on the PSP. Thanks Slashdot Games for the tip. |
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| MLB Slugfest Interview 1UP's MLB Slugfest interview talks with Adam Boyes, Midway's producer on this upcoming baseball title. He talks about what will separate this game from its formidable competition, and how the game integrates the PC title Baseball Mogul into its franchise mode. |
| KoF NeoWave Details GameSpot has posted details on King of Fighters NeoWave, the latest game in the venerable series, which marks SNK's graduation from the NeoGeo MVS to Sammy's Dreamcast-based Atomiswave hardware. The game is in beta testing in Japanese arcades, so there are lots of details here, including the character lineup. |
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| New Releases This Week Slim pickins this week...for PS2 is World Tour Soccer 2005, for Xbox is TOCA Race Driver 2: The Ultimate Racing Simulator, and for GameCube and PS2 is Serious Sam: Next Encounter. |
| Misc. Media/Previews | |
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| Both The Magic Box and Planet GameCube have a ton of shots from the awkwardly titled Legend of Golfer. |
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| GameSpot has a new preview of La Pucelle: Tactics and IGN has new media from Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain. |
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| IGN has yet another preview of Sudeki, and we have a second trailer from The Chronicles of Riddick up at FileShack. |
| IGN has a first look at Duel Masters: Sempi Legends. |
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| A new preview of Van Helsing (PS2, Xbox) is up at GameSpot and Rockstar Games has launched their official site for Red Dead Revolver (PS2, Xbox). |
