Weeee, Online Mass Shooterism!!! I just did a review for Call of Duty 4 and I was actually quite surprised how well Infinity Ward made the leap from WWII shooters to Modern Warfare. I don't think I would rank it above Call of Duty 1, too much nostalgia for me :oops: But it is definitely better than Call of Duty 2 or 3.

Call of Duty 4 Review

Guild Wars: Eye of the North Review

I know many of you here aren't big MMO fans, save a few, :P But, GW is the only one that I've truly played and enjoyed and Eye of the North delivered for me. It gave us more quests, more dungeons, more armor sets, more title tracks, and more and more and more and more.....etc :wink:

Here are some in game screenshots that I've taken, I had more....but I don't know where it's saving them to now :? I had 13 or 14, but it shows I only have 4 :? I'll probably add more later.

Team Fortress 2

I love this game, it is the best online shooter I've played since Call of Duty and there are many aspects that it does better than Call of Duty. If you havea PC, 360, or PS3, I'd highly suggest either getting this off of Steam or getting the Orange Box, just for this game.

It has come down to the final 3 of the list, these are the games that you may either be able to find in a store (as in 1 of them :P ) and others you'll have to go to your nearest online store to even find an existing copy. These are the cream of the crop, the games that really should've been publicized more, because they are perhaps better than most games out there, of any genre. Here they are.....

3. Tales of Symphonia (GC Namco, 2004-PS2 Namco, 2004 JP)

I was quite surprised when I first played this game, for the lowly old Gamecube that hardly got much attention at all last gen, to find this little gem of an RPG in its library threw me for a loop. This game also did get ported to the PS2, but only in Japan, so unless you have a modded PS2, you'll have to buy a 'Cube to play this game, but a 'Cube is worth it for this game alone. The story can seem cliched at times, but the overall adventure draws you in to the plot, with memorable characters (Zelos/Sheena :D ), a great soundtrack, and pretty cel-shaded graphics. The battle system is typical Tales of, action, but in this game you can have up to 4 players control your party. So, if you have 4 friends who want to play an RPG with you ( in the battles at least) then ToS is your game. The customization is also pretty well thought out, Exspheres give your characters stat boost, individual ablilites, and many other advantages you can use in battle. Really, if there is anything that will get you into ToS, it's the charcters and the story, they were what mezmerized me to keep playing into the wee hours of the morning and made me not want to stop till I was done. Truly, a game well worth that little purple lunchbox :P

2. Vagrant Story (Squaresoft, 2000)

You know when I said in the last installment that Valkyrie Profile was one of the rarest games out there? Well, Vagrant Story is just as rare if not more. This game, if I would've beaten it already, would probably be number one, but I cannot give it that credit till I fully beat it. But, to rank higher than Tales ofSymphonia is a great feet, well to me :P , since I've only played it for a while and haven't gotten the full experience out of Vagrant Story yet. The guys who did Vagrant Story had a part in making FFXII, which shows at certain parts.... The story follows Ashley Riot (guy on left on cover) who is a Riskbreaker who is hunting down a man name Sydney who is up to no good, to put it simply. The story, combat, music, graphics, everything about Vagrant Story is near perfect, it's hard to imagine that a game this good got looked over by so many. The atmosphere in VS is simply awe inspiring, the background music, graphics of the areas, and sound effects all add to the unique experience that VS delivers. The combat is basically like in FFXII also, real time but with other elements added in to spice it up. Ashley can basically learn any attack, as long as he has had enough experience with each weapon, which turns him into an all encompassing character. But, really, if you manage to find this game online somewhere (which you most likely will) get it....it is soooo worth it.

1. Xenogears (Squaresoft, 1998 )

What game could possibly outdo such a masterpiece as Vagrant Story you ask? Well, if you know me and the only game I havne't mentioned so far that I praise to no end, is Xenogears. The team that originally developed this game (now Monolith Soft) used to work for Squaresoft back in the day. And they created one of the most deep, highly contraversial, and awe inspring stories ever, and a wide cast of memorable characters to push it along and backwards and sideways. Because that is what the story feels like at times, confusing :lol: But, once you understand it, you will think every other story is....kinda meh. The story itself almost caused the game to not get released outside of Japan at all, the highly religious overtones in Xenogears basically goes against the Christian faith all together. But, that is one of the things that makes Xenogears such a unique and awesome game to play, it's an out of this world story. The characters remain as some of the most memorable I've ever played as (FF characters can take a back seat to some of these guys/gals), Fei and his internal Freudian dilemma (Id, Ego, and Superego), Grahf (one of the most bada$$ villains ever), Miang (a girl you'll learn to like and hate at the same time) and numerous others. If you want a game that has it all when it comes to story and characters, with pretty good visuals and a soundtrack done by Mitsuda-san, that ties it all into one tiny little disk, then this is it. This is one of the games, not just RPGs, a person should play at some point in their life.

I think the last 3 were predicted pretty well by some of you (gives Jake a glare) :P

Final thoughts? I also uploaded the openings to each of these games under my videos, so you can see how they start.

Yes, the next installment is here!Here are the picks for numbers 6-4, some older games are present as well as some more recent ones that gamers may not have played or even seen on a store shelf.

6. Grandia II (PS2, Ubisoft/Game Arts 2002, DC 2000)

While many will say that the original Grandia deservers to be on this list more, I've not played Grandia so that would be why :P While it was many years ago that I played this game I remember enjoying it through the entire adventure. It was first released on the DC, which we all kinda know how that console ended up :( But, was then later released to the PS2, where it got a little bit more publicity but I feel was still overshadowed. The story followed Ryudo, a young theif/bodyguard who takes a job and of course gets more than he bargained for and etc. etc. The story is above your average RPG, I really felt a connection to the characters throughout the whole adventure and didn't want to get seperated from them. The combat was typical Grandia, in other words, fun. While the graphics were kinda meh and the sound design was also so-so, the entire game was still an enjoyable experience, while it may not compare to the original (or so I've heard) it is still a game worthwhile, unlike Grandia III which is nowhere near as good :P

5. Ogre Battle (SNES 1993, Enix America Inc/Quest, PS1 1997, Atlus/Artdink)

This is one of the best SRPGs out there, right up there with Final Fantasy Tactics in my book. Originally released for the SNES, it was remade for the PS1 for those that may have missed out on it, though many most likely still did even after it was ported :lol: The amount of customization you can have for each character in a unit is deep, depeding on the formation you have them in, the job they are, and what type of characters are in the unit, they all can have different attacks or affects. Ex. 2 foot soldiers in front and a mage in back is a deadly combo at first, a mage can easily wipe out most of the units in the beginning with Fireball or Tornado while the foot soldiers take the damage. The battles are real time, units move on the field at the same time and can change their orders whenever you want. Time passes by in real time as well (in the game that is) day goes to night and that also affects how your units do. In short, there are many factors that go into a battle and all of them can turn the tide for either side. It's hard to find a more customizable and difficult SRPG out there besides Ogre Battle.

4. Valkyrie Profile (PS1,Enix/Tri-Ace 2000)

Talk about a rare game....Valkyrie Profile is one of the rarest games you can possibly imagine. I've never seen a copy of even the Greatest Hits version of this game in any store. It helps this game came out around 2000, same as Final Fantasy IX and Chrono Cross so the monolithic franchises that had games released that year overshadowed this game most likely. The games story is one of it's strong points, you are Lenneth a valkyrie from Valhallah sent by Odin to harvest souls of warriors to fight for Asgard in the war of the heavens. The combat is also very unique, you assign a button for each character (up to 4) and they use whatever attack you have assigned to them, which can lead to deadly combos. The graphics weren't too great, even for those days, but the sound design was superb. Lenneth has many cameo appearances in other Tri-Ace made games, Star Ocean Till the End of Time and Radiata Stories come to mind. She is typically a bonus boss and is very hard to beat, cause she is a valkyrie! Just recently the game was re-released for the PSP, which let this game get the recognition it deserves.

Comments on the additions to the list? What will be number 1? Have to wait to find out :P

This is the start of a little series of blog posts about RPGs, that I feel, were missed by many because they didn't get much publicity or were just never talked about period. But, they were great games in their own rights and are more than able to stand up to the more popular RPG series out there. The cult followings that go with these games, have more than enough of a reason to do so. These are also all games that I have played, so there are most likely games that aren't on this list that should be, this is just from my own gaming experience.

10. Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure (Playstation 1, Atlus/Nippon Ichi 2000)

:lol: I know you all are probably wondering what a cutsie RPG like this is doing on my list? Well, I actually played this game back when it first came out...for my sister who couldn't play it at the time, she was only 4 *tear, they start so early :cry: * But, I actually really enjoyed this: carefree, easy, yet adorable, RPG that was basically a standard SRPG. Sure, it was developed by Nippon Ichi and Published by Atlus, but really this game is hardly ever mentioned or seen anywhere. Why? Because of one of the reasons I mentioned above, it's cutsie and not serious at all. It is a simple, yet emotional love story that has simple yet addictive combat and is quite possibly one of the easiest RPGs ever. But, there is something about it that keeps me thinking about it to this day....

9. Arc the Lad Series (Including the original 3 for the PS and Twilight of the Spirits, ArL Coll, Working Designs 1995 and TotS PS2Cattle Call 2003)

Yeah, yeah, I know these are more than one game. But, the series itself was overlooked by many from the point the original 3 came out in America in 2001 (originally came out in 1995 in Japan). The slightly pushed back release date in the states is one reason why these games were most likely overlooked. They came out as the, then, next generation of consoles were coming out and these were for the now "old" Playstation 1. That and not many copies were released here, in all the times I've gone to gaming stores, I've only seen the original collection twice (on the 2nd time I bought them). But, since all 3 games are linked by story, characters, locations, the whole shibang you really get into the conflicts of the world and the unique Turn-Based/Action Battle system make the games unique and worth it.

Twilight of the Spritis came out a couple years later for the PS2 and got a little bit more credit where it is due. It maintained the battle system from the originals while porting it to a next gen system. Which held the "Arc the Lad Feel" to the game, as well as the interesting and unique story. The graphics, for the time, weren't half bad and the voice acting was done superbly well. This one is slightly easier to find and is worth it if you do manage to find it.

8. Legend of Dragoon (Playstation 1, SCEA 2000)

Just recently I did a review for this game, where I also noted this as being an underappreciated game. I truely believe that this game was one of those overlooked titles, simply because it was compared to other games of the time; FFVIII, Chrono Cross, etc. And was not looked upon as an individual title on its own.The game follows Dart as he goes along an epic journey, where the past and present collide, as he must fight to save the one he loves and learn to wield the power of the dragoons to save the world. The cast of characters is one thing that got my to enjoy the game, along with the combat (which is either you like it or hate it thing), and the story. If you enjoy the combat system (which invovles timed button presses to pull of Addition moves) and like the characters, you'll enjoy this game.

7.Shadow Hearts: Covenant (Playstation 2, Midway/Nautilus 2004)

While I didn't get to play the first Shadow Hearts before I played Covenant, it didn't really matter once you got into it. The Shadow Hearts series period is underappreciated in my mind, but since I've only played one that is all I shall talk about. This game was most likely overlooked since, for one, it was published by Midway who typically doesn't do RPGs, which most likely turned off many to the game. Another, is that the original is nearly impossible to find, so many didn't know that the series existed or it garnered a sequel. But, this is one of the most fun RPGs you can find on the PS2, due to the Judgement Ring battle system that makes the game stand out on its own anyway.Besides that, the characters are a group that you will enjoy traveling all over the real world with. Oh yeah, that is another thing that makes SHC unique, it actually takes place in OUR world, not some fantasy world. This allows the player to relate to the locations more and get into the adventure. And the voice acting is not too shabby either, particularly the voice for the Grand Papillon :wink:

Well, that is it for the first segment, post your agreements/flaming/suggestions/views on my list so far. Would your lists include these games? Or what would your lists look like so far?

Edit: I've been pumpin out reviews here a lot recently :lol: I've just been in one of those moods I guess :P Because now I did a review for Chrono Cross (yes it has nothing to do with the blog :P But, if you get a chance read it and give me some feedback on it. As an aspiring gaming journalist, I need to learn how to improve my writing, linky

Probably few outside of the Tales of Symphonia fangroup know of this OVA feature.

It is a 4 episode OVA that depicts Colette's journey as the Chosen (or Priestess as she is referred to in the OVA) going to save Sylvarant from its enevitable destruction, due to losing the Goddess Martel's favor. Also, due to the constant Desian attacks on neighboring human villages and taking the humans off to one of their Human Ranches. Well, the OVA is something any fan of the series should watch (though not all the episodes have been released yet) and is fun to watch Tales of Symphonia played out as an anime rather than in an RPG video game.

Though, I have a few complaints about it, of course it can't be dead on :P For starters, I don't see how they're going to fit a 30-40 hour RPG into a 4 episodes OVA series.....it just doesn't seem possible to me. I've already noticed they've skipped over parts of the story, for times sake, and have put in stuff that wasn't in the game at all. If you've played the game you'll notice them too and notice a few other things. I guess it had to do with the translation, some of the names are different, Genus is Genius, Raine is Refill ( :? Refill? I would see why they'd change that :lol: though, she is always called Sensei or Nee-san by Genus) and a few other things that fans will notice.

If you are interested in watching it, they are releasing episodes every other month, the next is due out Oct. 10 and the final on on Dec. 10 (why the 10th I have no clue).

here is a link to the 1st episode and

here is a link to the 2nd episode

I've also uploaded the special bonus feature at the end of the 1st episode into My Videos section, enjoy! :D

Edit: I know this has nothing to do with ToS :P But, here is my Heavenly Sword review :D

Today, I was given the assignment from my English professor to write on one of the most interesting subjects I can think about, myself :PAbout, a certain social or cultural group that I belong to, in a written paper called an Autoethnography. Never even so much knew that word existed until she uttered it today in class. But, I now see that it is a word that can send us down a road to help figure out who we are and why we do the things we do. Also, how we defend and elaborate on activites that we participate in, to others who may know little to nothing about it.

Well, you'll never guess what cultural/social grouping I've already decided to do mine on.....gamers/gaming :shock: :shock: :shock: :P

More specifically, my online gaming activities with my Call of Duty clan, the Dead*Prez clan. I've decided to describe a typical evening on Teamspeak playing with the other guys/gals in the clan and what else goes on. Like, what we talk about, how we play the game, how we interact with one another, ect... This is definitely one of the few papers in my life that I've been actually....excited to write about. The typical paper for any class is a research essay (booooriiiinnngggg) or some other kind abomination that the professor/teacher comes up with. Though, this one most definitely has my and my classes attention, since we are talking about a subject we don't really have to do any research on.

However, the paper isn't so cut and dry, we must go into excruciating detail in our situation with our social/cultural group. As in, include all 5 senses in how we describe certain events that go on during our situations. I find including taste to be rather...erm well, I just think that'll be interesting :lol: But, I feel I'll be able to pull off the detail part pretty well, I've noticed that I have become far more detailed in my writing than I used to be (look at my recent reviews, they're much longer than my first ones), so I don't see much problems with that.

One of the main things we must discuss in our papers, is sterotypes give to our social/cultural group by outsiders, who just go by what society says. And, how we interpret those, as in; "Are these sterotypes true?" or "Are these sterotypes false?"

Which is what I'm going to ask you all now..

What do you think are the main sterotypes given to gamers nowadays? Do you feel those are true? How do you think an outsider to the gamer crowd looks upon us?

Despite the negative hype/reviews surrounding the highly anticipated PS3 game Lair, I decided to go through with my pre-order and purchase the game. Now, most of you are probably going to say, "Why? After all the subpar reviews (especially GS's) why would you want to go out and waste $60 on that piece of crap?" And my answer to you would be, don't simply base a game off reviews done by the major gaming magazines/websites. Because, from what I've played so far Lair isn't the bad game they've made it out to be. I'm not saying its, Da Best PS3 game EVER!!!!111ONE!, but its not terrible.

The story follow Rohn a dragon rider who is now fighitng in a war between two nations. The story isn't very inspired and the characters I could care less about, this is a game about flying dragons around, burning stuff, and killing other dragons. Which, so far, I feel was pulled off pretty well.

I know one of the major gripes with the game was the controls, the dragon doesn't do what you tell it to and the use of SIXAXIS controller is completely horrid for this title. Now, I don't know if all these people were intoxicated or what when they tried this game out....because I've had no problems maneuvering my dragon...at all. Honestly, it doesn't take that much to move it yes, all you have to do is tilt the controller slightly and the dragon wil turn..slightly, not in the full 90 degrees that I've seen people complain about. If you want it to turn right tilt the controller almost 90 degrees and it'll turn right. I haven't been tempted to throw my controller.....at least so far, unless the controls decide to change in the next coming mission, I won't have any problems maneuvering my giant lizard.When flying, Xflaps the dragon's wings, L1 and R1 lock on, R2 and L2 brake or stop you, jerking the controller downcauses the dragon to flyforward in a burst of speed, and jerking it upward does a 180. Really thecontrols are very responsive and sensitive, but afterdoing the training mission and the first real mission, I've already become acustomed to them.

Firing a fireball at an enemy is kind of easy, all you have to do is be in the general area (as in about 100 feet) and the fireball will lock on to the enemy closest to you (or you can manually lock on) and hit. The close range fighting is pretty intense, either you or your enemy can initiate close range fighting and when you do certain buttons do certain attacks, Square=Fire X=Claw Triangle=Bite and Circle=Tail (not too sure about Circle, haven't used it that much so far :P ) and they all meet with devastating results for your victim. On the ground fighting is pretty much like Dynasty Warriors ( :D ) Square does firebreath, Circle doesa claw sweep that can take out dozens of soldiers at a time, which is awesome.

The stages of the game are played out with objectives that push you further and further towards completing the main objective of the stage. Which, the stages aren't that long, or they haven't been so far. I've done the first two in less than 10 minutes (I died on the 3rd one :oops: stupid poison insects :P ) So there hasn't been too much time to enjoy the spectacular visuals of this game. Lair without a doubt has some of the best visuals for a game that I've seen, the environments are incredibly detailed and the characters look ridiculously realistic.

So, I don't think that Lair is as bad as some have made it out to be. I'd give it between a 7.0-8.0 right now, its just an ok game as it stands right now. I'm hoping the battles get more intense and epic as the story goes on. I also noticed that Kevin VanOrd is the one who did the review for Lair....he also did the review for Blue Dragon and gave it a subpar score, is this guy just overly critical about one aspect in a game and rips it to shreds and calls the overall game bad? When I read his reveiw on Lair, it seemed like all he did was bash the controls..which in my opinion aren't bad at all, he gave credit for the graphics, but basically made it sound like that was the only positive aspect to the game. I don't know, I guess after playing Lair for myself, I'm just saying I disagree with his review :|

No, this isn't some kind of deep philosphical blog post about the universe, life/death, or contemplating reality. :shock: :?

It is just a simple post to say,

I GOT A PS3!!! :D

Yes at long last the console I've been craving for the past few months is finally into my greedy, fincky, and button pressing ready hands. But, to get the new, the old had to go. It was a tearful goodbye, as the man at Gamestop took the PS2 from me, realizing how many good games and times I've had with that little black box *sigh* Final Fantasy XII, Okami, Shadow of the Colossus, Resident Evil 4.....and so many others :cry:

By the way, I managed to get a 60 gig PS3, I wasn't going to spend an extra $100 on an extra 20 gigs and Motorstorm, the 60 gig was just fine for me :D And so far, it is a pretty cool err....not so little machine :lol: The thing is pretty heavy and big, it actually does in a way look like a grill, from the side that is :P I got Resistance with it and its a pretty cool game,theweapon variety is nice (what would you expect from thepeople who made Ratchet and Clank?)I also pre-ordered Lair while I was there :D

To start off I set it up of course, got the Internet setup, blahblahblah, you know the drill with the now this gen consoles. So much setup time is needed now, what happened to just pluggin and playin? But, whatever, I got all that setup along with my PSN ID (its on my profile now :wink: its Jiang_Wei, named after one of the people from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms saga)

I hooked up my PSP to it and downloaded the stuff I had on there to my PS3, pretty neat if you ask me :P And while I was browsing the Playstation Store I spied a demo of Heavenly Sword :D :D So, I've downloaded that and have played it.........and it is one damn fine lookin game! Although, it seems like they just added in button sequences to the trailer they've shown, but besides those scenes (which are jaw droppingly well animated/graphically designed) are still awesome to behold. Fighting seems a lot like God of War (from what I've played of GoW that is) Nariko just seems to pull off a little bit more fancy moves than Kratos though. Oh, and that attack where she slices a guys.......you know, parts off, you can do that as a special move :shock: I cringed as I pulled that move off....poor soldier :P

So far the PS3 is a pretty cool machine, and with the games that will be coming out here in the following weeks, I think it'll stay on for quite some time :P