Amid the usual greys, browns and cover mechanics of many modern games comes Quantum Conundrum, a first-person puzzle game of incredible whimsy and ingenious design.

Developed by Airtight Games and spearheaded by Kim Swift, the creative mind behind the original Portal, Quantum Conundrum is a pleasing mesh of reflexive first-person action and brain-prodding puzzle gameplay.

Players control a twelve-year-old boy who has gone to stay with his eccentric uncle, the inventor Professor Fitz Quadwrangle (what a name!). Unfortunately, the Professor Quadrangle has gone missing and it’s up to the player to find out what happened to him and bring him back.

This is easier said than done, though, because of the layout of Professor Quadrangle's house. It appears as though the good Professor got his home- and his work-life jumbled together, because his enormous mansion is brimming with strange inventions and other scientific obstructions, all of which enter into lockdown mode once the inventor uncle goes missing.

Kim Swift interview

Fortunately, players have access to Quadwrangle's best invention yet: the Interdimensional Shift Device, or I.S.D. for short. The I.S.D. grants access to new dimensions with various different abilities, each useful in progressing through the locked-down mansion. When in the Fluffy Dimension, for instance, all objects become ten times lighter and turn into adorable plushie versions of themselves, whilst in the Heavy Dimension objects become indestructible and weight significantly more than normal.

Early puzzles ask players to use only one dimension at a time, such making objects lighter and easier to transport in the Fluffy Dimension, or obstructing laser beams in the Heavy Dimension. Before long, though, the complexity begins to ramp up, and players are required to swap between more and more dimensions at a time to advance from room to room. One section I played required me to make an object light for transport, and then make it heavier in mid-throw in order to break a window.

Coincidentally, The Fluffy Dimension is also the name of our Senior Editor’s acoustic solo-project. His new album drops Tuesday next.

Quantum Conundrum's puzzles are intensely satisfying to solve. Like Portal, the early levels show just enough of the game's mechanics in action to clue players in on how to use them without spoiling the puzzles’ solutions outright, giving players an opportunity to figure out how to solve it themselves. This show-not-tell learning method allows players to actually feel smart upon completing each puzzle, rather than like they're simply going through the motions.

Graphically, Quantum Conundrum is a treat, mixing fine attention to detail with a silly, broad cartoon art style. Each environment is colourful and inviting, filled with little bits, bobs and in-jokes left strewn about. Objects in the Fluffy Dimension, for instance, are all stitched together and poof out in a jovial way, whereas objects in the Heavy Dimension develop a cruel-looking iron veneer. Even paintings on the walls of the mansion change based on which dimension they're in; in one painting I looked at, a Commander McBragg-type explorer and his tiger took on the appearance of a motorcycle gang when viewed in a certain dimension. Little Easter egg-gags like this will encourage players to snoop through each environment for hidden comic treats.

Quantum Conundrum was one of my favourite games I played at PAX East, and I absolutely cannot wait to see what the rest of the game has to offer. Look for Quantum Conundrum to hit Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and Windows PC this summer.

Labels: Airtight Games, Andrew Testerman, PAX East, Square Enix

Hack-y, slash-y, dungeon crawl-y action RPGs have come back into vogue recently.

It's a trend we've seen develop, with Runic Games' Torchlight becoming an instant classic on Steam back in 2009 and Blizzard looking to drop the mother of all lootfests, Diablo III, later this spring. Developer n-Space is looking enter the hack-y, slash-y, dungeon crawl-y action RPG realm with Heroes of Ruin for the 3DS. Published by Square-Enix and created to be n-Space’s first original IP, Heroes of Ruin aims to bring the thrills of spelunking for treasure to portable gamers everywhere, and I got a chance to try it at this year's PAX East.

The demo I was shown offered a choice between two character classes: Vindicator and Gunslinger. Vindicator is Heroes of Ruin's tank class, replete with abilities to charge into battle and absorb the brunt of enemy attacks. Gunslinger plays similarly to a tech-focussed rogue class, taking ranged potshots with his dual pistols, laying explosive traps for unwary foes and casting debuffs to weaken the opposition.

Once I chose my class, I was able to play around with the surprisingly-robust character editor. Heroes of Ruin allows players to choose from a variety of visual options for characters, including faces, hair styles, skin tones and other sundries. For instance, the Vindicator, a bipedal, werecat-looking creature, let me select the pattern of his coat (I ended up choosing something close to cheetah spots), whilst another set of sliders let me tweak the shape and cut of his mane. With myriad facial and clothing options to choose from, Heroes of Ruin should help give players a sense of ownership over their dungeon-running doppelgangers.

Even if you do run into someone else with your build online or locally, Heroes of Ruin's custimisation options should help your character stand out.

I've you've played any hack-y, slash-y, dungeon crawl-y action RPG before (heck, even if you haven't played that many), you'll likely feel comfortable playing Heroes of Ruin. Players explore through randomly-generated areas from an isometric perspective, accepting quests and fighting trash mobs in an effort to become stronger and find better loot. At one point, the demo I played threw a multi-phase boss at my partner and me, and required a bit of back-and-forth strategising before the great beast finally went down. Though familiar, the gameplay was fun and successfully harnessed the thrill of finding a killer new sword and using it to hack through hordes of spiders or undead skeletons. The combat was simple and felt a bit vanilla at times, but the foundation was solid and should prove enjoyable enough for both fans of the genre and dungeon-crawling neophytes like myself.

Similar to dubstep, a game about collecting loot is only as good as its drops. Heroes of Ruin doesn't quite have the breadth of items that its PC contemporaries do, but it does offer an impressive 80,000 unique weapons, armor and accessories to collect and equip across the game's four classes. Loot is also cosmetic, letting players show off a new sword or gun in-game. Drops aren't as plentiful as in, say, Torchlight or Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, but they came at a steady-enough clip during my play session that I was able to find and play around with more than a few new toys.

When you do pick up that Sword of +5 Casualty, you'll be able to see it wreak havoc onscreen.

One of Heroes of Ruin's most surprising features is its depth of options for playing cooperatively. Up to four players can join drop-in/drop-out via local or Wi-Fi connection, and Wi-Fi users can form strategies together using push-to-talk voice chat. Heroes of Ruin also supports 3DS Street Pass, allowing players to swap items or compete in daily challenges.

Heroes of Ruin offers gamers a chance to play a hack-y, slash-y, dungeon crawl-y action RPG on the go, and unlike Gameloft's recent Dungeon Hunter: Alliance for PlayStation Vita, Heroes is actually pretty fun. Look for Heroes of Ruin to hit shelves on 26 June in the U.S. and later this summer in Europe.

Labels: Heroes of Ruin, n-Space, PAX East, Square Enix

After nearly four years and two name-changes, United Front's gritty open-world action game, Sleeping Dogs, is finally nearing release.

Inspired and influenced by works of Hong Kong cinema, Sleeping Dogs offers a stylish, story-focussed take on the open-world genre already populated with heavy-hitters. I got a chance to go hands-on with Sleeping Dogs during PAX East, and came away impressed at the game's polish and ambition.

Sleeping Dogs's main narrative follows Wei Shen, a San Francisco cop tasked with infiltrating the Triad gangs of Hong Kong. As Wei Shen further penetrates the Triad ranks, he begins to encounter more and more emotional friction and toil over the decisions that he's forced to make to keep his cover, making the story unusually character-driven for an open world action game. Where many sandbox games - Saints Row, or Just Cause, for instance - keep the proceedings light and humorous, Sleeping Dogs features a plot which is straight-forward and hard-boiled, heavily drawing cues from Infernal Affairs, the film that informed the 2006 Best Picture-winner, The Departed.

Sleeping Dogs harbours several different gaming styles in its collective port: shooting, hand-to-hand fisticuffs and driving. During shooting segments, players fire their guns from a third-person perspective whilst using cover to fire blindly at enemies, or quickly pop out for one or two shots. Gunplay is still in development, but even the early build I played felt pretty good, with satisfying headshots and weighty firearms, despite some slightly clunky movements on the part of Wei Shen.

Expect to perform all sorts of stylish vaults when in command of firearms.

Hand-to-hand combat plays as a meld of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Jet Li: Rise to Honor. Like the former, players take on multiple enemies at once, attacking in the direction that the analogue stick is pointed, and countering with a quick button press. Like the latter, Wei Shen can perform context-specific attacks using objects littered around the environment, encouraging players to be aware of their surroundings if they want to best their opponents. Unlike the T-rated Rise to Honor, though, Sleeping Dogs's object-specific attacks are one-hit kills that can become quite messy; impaling a thug on an outcropping piece of wood, or giving someone a shave they'll never forget by means of a table saw, for instance. I hate when that happens.

More than just third-person action, United Front has also crafted a series of well-designed driving sequences. In addition to providing transportation throughout the world, certain missions revolve primarily around vehicle-use. One level I played was a straight-up street race, driving from point-to-point in hope of leaving the opposition eating dust. Cars can accrue damage, both in races and in free-world driving, but it is unknown at this time if it will impact vehicle performance or whether it's merely cosmetic.

Sleeping Dogs's Hong Kong setting feels distinctly Eastern. From the densely-packed, tight streets, to congested buildings, neon signs and small stands dotting every street corner, Sleeping Dogs shines with polish and attention to detail. For instance, one early mission takes place during a festival, with lanterns strewn above every alley and a stage where several residents performed a traditional dance.

It's been a long nap, but Sleeping Dogs is almost ready to stretch out its legs and raise hell for the neighbourhood cats. Look for Sleeping Dogs on shop shelves 14 August in North America and 17 August in Europe.

Labels: Andrew Testerman, PAX East, Sleeping Dogs, Square Enix, United Front

It's happened. After years of waiting, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is finally here, and it rocks. I know the masses of faithful fans are somewhat divided on the pros and cons of its new game mechanics, but I don’t think anyone can deny that the game is loads of fun (especially for a comic fan like yours truly). A big part of the fun factor in this classic series is the opportunity to see iconic and disparate characters clash in visually stunning over-the-top battles.

Simply put? It's fanboy heaven.

Yup, there is definitely a special appeal to any 'vs.' series, and contemplation on this subject got my brain gears grinding. Once the resultant massive headache subsided, I was left with one very distinct thought: "I want more". If Marvel and Capcom can somehow put all their characters into one single awesome fighting game, why can’t everyone?! Sure, the logical non-fanboy half of me immediately started blurting out some nonsense about character rights and copyright infringement, but in grindy-gear-brai-fantasy-land there's no room for naysayers. So, after I shut him up, I thought it’d be a good idea to share my little wishlist; nay! My list of demands.

Videogame industry? These are the 'vs.' fighting games I want. Get on it!

1: Marvel vs. DC

Go ahead, call me obvious. Scream to the top of your lungs about my lack of originality, and see if I care. Sure, any gamer who’s ever glanced sideways at a Spider-Man comic or a Superman novel has at one point or another dreamt of a videogame crossover. It’s a cliché, guilty as charged, but it’s one of the awesomest clichés in awesometown. I’ve been dreaming about this game since I was six years old, and I’ll be damned if it isn’t made in my lifetime.

Our chances of playing a Marvel vs. DC are not as low as you might think. The comic publishing giants have collaborated several times before upon comic book crossovers, and the commercial success of a product pitting the two sides against one another is practically guaranteed. Marvel’s characters are back in the fighting game spotlight thanks to Capcom, and the DC catalogue wet their toes in the arena with the lacklustre, yet still undeniably fun Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. There is no reason why both companies can’t have another go, only this time against one another. Superman vs. Thor... Batman vs. Captain America... Wonder Woman vs. Ms. Marvel...

Tell me you’re not excited.

I’d hand over development of the game to Capcom, as they are the undisputed masters of fighting games and have proven that they can recreate the out-of-this-world battles that go hand-in-hand with superhero comics. The tricky part will be to get DC’s parent company, Warner Brothers, to sign off on this. But, hey, we can all just share the money... right guys?

Make it happen!

2: Mortal Kombat Vs. Killer Instinct

I am hoping that most of you out there remember Killer Instinct. The original Killer Instinct was released on the Super Nintendo way back when, in 1995. With crazy characters, insane one-hundred-hit combos, and finishing moves pulled straight from the Mortal Kombat editing pile, this game managed to have a voice all of its own. A sequel was produced for arcades in 1996, but home consoles have been left wanting and waiting for a Killer Instinct title since the release of the original.

Granted, the franchise is pretty obscure. Though originally developed by Rare, various other studio heads have expressed interest in revisiting the franchise front time to time, perhaps via a release on the XBLA arcade. As of today, we fans haven’t heard anything but rumours. So why pair up this game with the MK franchise?

If you're the one asking that question, you probably haven’t played Killer Instinct.

Killer Instinct was a brutal game - the only fighting game I remember playing which evoked the same gore and brutality as Mortal Kombat. The two franchises are a perfect fit. The creators of Mortal Kombat at Midway actually published the original Killer Instinct, so the necessary relationship is there. All signs point to a return to form for the Mortal Kombat franchise later this year; if Rare can get Killer Instinct out onto XBLA sometime soon, I can see enough positive buzz being generated to give this prospective crossover a concrete chance of coming to fruition.

Make it happen!

3: Capcom vs. Sega

Oh, Sega, I truly do miss your glory days. Once a company leading the charge against Nintendo in the console race, you've now dropped out of console development and dedicated yourself to publishing games. Even though your golden age may be behind you, your catalogue of characters is more than suited to take on the Capcom bunch.

I remind you, first and foremost, that the guys and gals at Sega are the ones behind the Virtua Fighter series, and that alone gives them a slew of characters worthy of taking on Ryu or Chun Li. And let’s not forget that hasty blue hedgehog, Sonic, and his supporting cast. Just the thought of Sonic and Tails wailing on Megaman and Roll gives me goose bumps. For those of you that have played Valkyria Chronicles, can you imagine Welkin, Alicia and Selvaria taking on the S.T.A.R.S. team, of Resident Evil fame?

The main reason this game needs to happen is that some day, before I leave this mortal world, I need to see Dante take on Bayonetta. This fight needs to happen, and I need to be at the controls. 'Nuff said.

Make it happen!

4: Namco Bandai vs. Capcom

One of the first games I ever played on the original PlayStation all those years ago was Tekken. It was the first 3D fighting game I had ever played, and I was in awe. I vividly remember thinking to myself "Huh. So this is the new Street Fighter...". Tekken was the fighting game to beat for a few years in many respects, and Namco has made quite a reputation for itself in the fighting game arena, having also created the excellent Soul Calibur series.

Granted, Tekken x Street Fighter is going to happen (haven’t heard? Look it up, people!), but why stop at making a Street Fighter-esque game featuring the Tekken characters, when you can create a crazy, over-the-top 'vs.' series featuring all of Namco’s characters? The Soul Calibur roster is just itching to get out there, and seeing Kosmos from Xenosaga ripping on Zero (of Megaman fame) is one of my more awesome recurring dreams. Seriously.

The two companies have already come together twice in the past to create the quirky RPG Namco x Capcom, and the aforementioned Street Fighter x Tekken, so what's the hold up? Let's take it the whole nine yards!

Oh, and remember that Namco merged with Bandai a few years back? You know Bandai, the guys behind the Power Rangers... it's morphing time, amigos!

Make it happen!

5: Square Enix vs. Capcom

Have you played Dissidia Final Fantasy? You haven’t? Let me boil it down for you. Turns out Final Fantasy characters in a fighting game are downright unbelievably fun. This is really a no-brainer. Square has a great catalogue of characters, and can call on anyone from Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest fame, arguably the company’s best-known franchises.

Capcom has long-since established that it has the talent necessary to put a great 'vs.' game together, and Square has the roster it takes to make what could feasibly be the most epic game in the 'vs.' genre. Ryota Niitsuma, the Capcom developer behind Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, has already stated that he would love to work with the Square Enix characters.

This could actually happen.

Wait a second... Square Enix is publishing Tomb Raider now. Does this mean a Square vs. Capcom game could have me pitting Lara Croft against Jill Valentine?

...please excuse me whilst I go to the corner and nerdgasm.


So that’s it, guys: my wish list for 'vs.' games that need to happen. Any great ideas of your own? Sound off in the comments section below.

Labels: 2011, Capcom, DC, Joey Núñez, Marvel, Namco, RePlay, SEGA, Square Enix

Few can muster the innovation and sheer role-playing force that Final Fantasy has brought to the game industry’s table. Solely responsible for the resuscitation of its parent long, long ago, Square Enix’s intellectual property contains the very recipe for success. Along with legions of rabid, die-hard fans willing to throw themselves in front of a speeding rickshaw to get their hands on another game, Final Fantasy will never truly be 'final'.

Ahem. Unless, of course, Square Enix continues to mould each successive game using Final Fantasy XII as a template.

That’s right: Final Fantasy XII, otherwise known in smaller circles as the harbinger of doom, has created an anomaly in the otherwise pristine Final Fantasy formula (F3), but we’ll get to that later. Back in 2006, the PS2 exclusive rang in impressive scores from around the industry, garnering a superb 92 from Metacritic and even Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu’s perfect '40' score. Though being vastly different to previous installments, it seemed XII could do no wrong.

My friends, what happened in the past is a crime. Final Fantasy XII didn’t deserve the praise it received. This monster is responsible for the degraded, unruly husk of gaming that the Final Fantasy series has become; a travesty that needs to be explained in full.

Could you take this guy seriously?

We at Gamer's Guide to Life have covered some reasons why the Final Fantasy series is going in the direction it’s headed, but what we haven’t yet addressed is the catalyst to the problem. Coming fresh off the heels of a successful MMO, Square Enix decided to borrow much from FFXI and infuse its next console game with MMO elements. On paper it didn’t sound bad; actually it was sort of enticing. A console, single-player Final Fantasy that plays like an MMO? Could Square-Enix actually meld great storytelling with exceptional gameplay, effectively MMO-ifying Final Fantasy for the solo player? I’d be damned if I didn’t admit I was excited about the idea.

At first, FFXII’s execution is pretty solid. The visuals look grand, the cut-scenes are their requisite year length, and the voice-overs are extremely well done. Soon after its serious and comically exaggerated opening though, you’ll be exposed to the controversial combat. Being the MMO wannabe it is, in FFXII you can see every single hostile in your immediate surroundings. That means you’ll no longer have to worry about being ambushed by the Giga Behemoth inside of a bar. It’s a great feature for the series and gives you the freedom whether you engage or not. Once a fight is picked, the game seamlessly transitions into the scuffle and its MMO-ification is brought to the forefront.

Would you believe me if I told you that little tyke is a dude?

In short, the combat in this game is nothing short of astral vomit. It’s a rather complicated explanation, but I’ll do my best to tackle the beast. Like an MMO, your party of three will attack in real-time and use the abilities you designate. You can also revert to the old-school turn-based approach, but it’s pretty clear that FFXII was built to destroy that notion. If you opt to take the old-school road, you’ll pull your brain from your heart before you can enjoy any aspect of the fighting. You see, it’s your turn to attack again every second since, you know, it’s real time - so if you have the action paused every nanosecond, you’re effectively playing in bullet-time. Slow-mo combat is not cool, it’s not fun, rewarding, or anything else nice sounding.

Controlling your party members is pretty weird in this game. In previous Final Fantasy titles you could control every action your characters take. You can still do that, but like I said above, it’s very unrealistic since the game would need to be paused every 2.459 seconds. I’ll remind you that FFXII is built on MMO principle which means that combat against monotonous enemies, like jack rabbits, should be dealt with exceedingly fast and without thought. Enter the new Gambit system. These little babies allow you to give AI to your digital followers so you don’t have to constantly tell them to attack the dudes in front of their face. Gambits suck.

There's a Viera named Krjn in the main city. How the hell do you even say that?

Allow me to explain. Gambits are great for this game since it allows you to push through the garbage to get to the nicer smelling garbage. They also allow you to control a single character without having to micromanage your party members. The problem I have with Gambits is that they take too much away from the game. Sometimes I’d seriously walk away from my TV when I was in a lengthy fight. I didn’t need to be there; think about that. My other issue was how FFXII dealt with mana or magic power. The only way you could get mana back effectively was by running – just moving around. One boss fight entailed me running around an antagonist dubbed 'the Judge' in a large circle, healing the people who needed it and attacking when he didn’t do enough damage. I didn’t have to press a single button to win the fight. To make matters worse, your companions do not move around like you do, so they’ll never gain that mana back in the heat of battle. Maybe it’s just me, but running back and forth or running circles around enemies while I attack just doesn’t seem to be as rad as it sounds.

You aren't moving! Get that mana back! No, I don't care if you're bored!

Much like in FFX, characters achieve new abilities by moving around a welfare version of the Sphere Grid called the License Board. After every fight you’ll gain XP and some License Points (LP). You can move around the board by expending your points but here’s the kicker, everyone starts in the same place. That’s right, unlike FFX which started you on a HUGE different edge of the grid, this damn game just gives you all the same starters. I think the worst part about Licenses is that you can’t even use certain armor or equipment unless you unlock it on the board. So you can be wearing Plate Mail Assless Chaps, but if you happen upon a Cloth Toga? You can’t wear it unless you have it on the board.

Limit Breaks, Trances, Desperation Attacks - whatever game they’re from, Final Fantasy veterans know that these finishers help define the series. FFXII instills a new name to Limit Breaks they dub the Quickening system. Quickenings are probably the worst Limit Breaks of all time but are perhaps the most effective in a game like this. Each character can find three Quickenings of varying power and they can all be strung together in one lengthy, repetitive movement. To shoot one off, you have to have full MP and then you’ll be taken to a cut-scene where you’ll be prompted to press a button. As long as you press it before the timer runs out, so-and-so will do a move and the screen will fade to another cut-scene where you’ll be prompted to do the same thing. This string can last forever as long, even though doing just one Quickening will reduce your MP to zero. How it works after I’ve done 12 Quickenings I couldn’t care less about, but I hit one boss for over 10,000 damage at level 10 and won. Awesome.

Looks dynamic, right?

On another hand though, Square Enix brought back the Espers. For those of you who don’t know, Espers were the magical forms from FFVI (the best in the series) that rock total house. Unfortunately, even the good name of the Espers can’t save the new ones in FFXII. Once summoned, your party is teleported away from the area except for the caster itself. The Esper cannot be controlled and wanders around for a certain time period doing whatever. Funnily, the caster him/herself is usually getting hammered on by the creatures you were hoping to kill with the Esper. If you die, the Esper is unsummoned. If you think that stinks check this; usually Espers have several attacks, but they all contain at least one super. Upon completing the super attack they leave the area and your party is teleported back in. Sometimes they come in and use that attack, leave, and effectively did nothing. I want my old summons back.

Balthier is the coolest character in the game. Fran is the rabbit woman with high heels and no clothes.

Perhaps the worst part about FFXII is its headache of a story and the bland characters. Story for the Final Fantasy games is its most important foundation so it’s confounding as to how they looked at this and thought it was all good. I don’t think I’ve ever played a Final Fantasy game where I haven’t cared about the protagonist or the group he’s gathered. Actually, FFXII doesn’t even have a clear enemy since it’s too busy trying to make civil war and unrest the most complicated political thing of all-time. There’s no clear-cut good dude either, just an androgynous guy named Vaan who I immediately swapped out of my party when given the opportunity. 30 hours in and I still have no idea what’s going on or what people are trying to accomplish.

I’ll finish up here by stating how atrocious boss fights are. As I’ve described the combat to be a pancake drenched in the sweat of a 400lb male equestrian, the battles with the bosses aren’t nearly as exciting. Once a boss fight is locked in, they begin bashing you with their physical attacks just like every other game out there. The issue is that they really don’t do much else. Occasionally they’ll throw out a magic spell or some flagrant taunt but once they hit the 50% HP mark, the fight changes. Something drastic happens where the boss utilises some extreme area of effect ability that takes you for a ride; they will continuously do it until the fight is over. It’s almost like a time check saying, “You got me this low, I’ll keep spamming this until I’m dead. Haha!” Every boss follows a similar pattern or at least something close to it.

There's the boss! If you win you get nothing! Hurrah!

Oh and once it’s all over? You don’t even get items or ANY type of reward for winning. No I’m not kidding – Boss fights with no cool rewards. I’m sorry, you actually are rewarded – you get a huge “Congratulations” text message across the screen as it spins for about a minute around your party, who is posing for the non-existent camera man.

...just like this.

FFXII is an insult to the RPG world and an embarrassment to the Final Fantasy name. This console MMO-ification is pure evidence that what we’ve seen from FFXIII and the coming games can only lead to unrivaled terror. Do yourselves a favor Square Enix, revisit your older games and see how a real title plays.

Labels: 2011, Andrew Whipple III, Feature, Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XII, PS2, Square Enix

Game Information


Basic information
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers
Developer: Square Enix PPD 2
Publisher: Square Enix
Expected: February 2010

Where to find more
Official Homepage
Wikipedia article

After first being announced way back at E3 2005, followed by years of virtual silence, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: the Crystal Bearers has been off the radar for some time. However, it is finally hitting U.S. store shelves on December 26th, with the European release set for early February 2010. The apparent lack of focus on the game’s development has taken much criticism, but hopefully the extended creation time has allowed it to be polished and prepared for anticipated gamers.

The story takes place a thousand years after the Great War, the premise of the first game in the series released on the GameCube. While other games bear the name Crystal Chronicles, Crystal Bearers would likely be classified as the sequel to the first game, tying in many story elements that follow the natural progression of its predecessor. While the game is chalk full of colourful and interesting characters, as is common in nearly every Final Fantasy, Crystal Bearers lacks the capacity to control an entire party. You take the reins of a single character named Layle, a Crystal Bearer from the Clavat tribe, one of the four clans which make up the world.

The progressive Lilty tribe defeated the dissident Yuke tribe during the Great War, shattering the Yuke Crystal and supposedly annihilating the Yukes. A theory in the game is that after its destruction, fragments from the Yuke Crystal attached themselves to individuals all across the globe, granting them special magical powers and thus labelling them as Crystal Bearers. This game’s timeline is more industrial, with machinery in the forefront, and magic seen as a taboo ability all but lost except by the few Crystal Bearers, who are feared and scorned by the public. Although young, Layle is a world renowned mercenary who has been hired by the Lilties to escort their newest airship called Alexis, a technological marvel and symbol of Lilty superiority. However, during its maiden voyage the airship comes under attack by monsters and Layle confronts a nemesis who was thought to have vanished.

Crystal Bearers combines gameplay elements of both the first Crystal Chronicles game and of traditional Final Fantasies, and yet is an original game in its own right. While you might think this to be a standard turn-based RPG, it is actually better classified as an action game with some platforming and even on-rails shooter facets. As Layle, you take control of his telekinetic powers, harnessing the ability to manipulate objects, enemies, and even townsfolk, often against their will. As you progress, you will learn new combinations and methods of using your powers, and obtain accessories to even further enhance them. In addition to defeating foes, you can use your abilities to shake chests, grab onto ledges, and seal enemy producing vortexes, among other things.

As expected, the controls for this game are unique, utilising the capabilities of the Wii remote to interact with the environment. The Nunchuck attachment is used to control Layle’s movement, while the Wii Remote is used to target and manipulate much of the world and its inhabitants. As the story unfolds and new obstacles emerge, players will discover new ways to use the gravity based magic. Since the Wii lends itself to more action based gameplay, Square Enix wanted to give as much freedom to the player as possible, allowing innumerable ways to dispatch enemies. So use your creativity, and enjoy the expansive and interactive world.

As mentioned before, Layle can purchase different accessories to increase his gravitational powers, but also to improve his defenses, and other upgrades such as expanding his reticule to influence a greater number of targets. Along with shops to purchase items, you can also collect materials from defeated enemies and other sources, and take them to the workshop to create your own rings, amulets and earrings. This allows a nice level of customization for Layle, to tailor his abilities to the player’s liking.

Although the graphics will never be as awe-inspiring as in Final Fantasy XIII for the PS3 and Xbox 360, this game definitely looks gorgeous, and is quite possibly the most beautiful-looking game for the Wii thus far. The characters are full of detail and expressions, and the world is colourful and inviting. It will be interesting to see after playing the game how the camera will react to Layle’s movements, and how well the frame rate is when combating multiple enemies.

The musical score sounds great, and it is refreshing to finally have the script voiced on a Nintendo console, rather than the typical “subtitles with grunts”. However, from the trailers and videos viewed, the script and voice acting seem to be of moderate quality, but I will reserve that judgment for the full review.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers looks to give a fresh take on the venerable series; much like the Wii did for the video game industry. With a gamut of interesting characters, a huge world to explore, and a (so far) engaging storyline, Crystal Bearers is on track to revitalise Square Enix’s audience of Wii owners. Be sure to check back in the coming weeks for the full review.

Sean

Labels: Final Fantasy, Hype Train, Preview, Sean, Sean Engemann, Square Enix, Wii

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I'm a little wary of any Final Fantasy titles released after FFX. Actually, make that any after IX. So, when I watched the new english-language Final Fantasy XIII trailer released on Sunday by Square Enix, I did so from between narrow, doubting eyes.

My problem with Final Fantasies released after IX is that they just seem too 'poppy', too flashy and stylised, too... anime. Now anime is a fine genre with a noble tradition, but there comes a time when I want to play a good, solidly built Eastern-style RPG and not be sent to the hospital with an epileptic attack. Anime, especially interactive anime, does that to me. It inspires epilepsy.

That being said, I am definitely going to play this game. I pride myself on the fact that I've played all the main Final Fantasy titles released in English, and many of the spin-offs. It may be naïve nostalgia, but I consider Final Fantasy Legend II to be one of the most unfairly overlooked and underappreciated RPGs made to this day. I don't think I've ever played a Final Fantasy that was bad, ever. The only thing that comes close is the Kingdom Hearts series, that horrible abomination born of the forbidden union of Disney and Square Enix. The Little Mermaid levels of both the first two games in that series will still inspire frightened and helpless feelings in me if spoken of in my presence. It's like mentioning Cthulu. Or better yet, Voldemort.

I really don't expect Final Fantasy XIII to be even nearly as bad as Kingdom Hearts. Actually, anime styling aside, the gameplay and mechanics of the game shown to us so far look really, really good. Good enough that I can forget that my some of my characters are summoning transformer cars (see 2:30 in the video), while others look like a pirates-turned Abercrombie models (freeze on 5:15, 6:18), that for no apparent reason one of the villains speaks in a tacky Australian accent (see 6:31), or that every single character, even the afro-sporting black guy, looks and acts overtly Japanese. I guess that's part of the charm.

Enough said for now, we'll talk more about this game when we can actually play it. Until then, here's the video, compliments of Square Enix, Gametrailers, and, of course, Gamer's Guide to Life. Bon appetit.

Greg

Labels: Final Fantasy, Greg Mengel, Square Enix, Trailer

I love fighting games. I love the Final Fantasy Franchise. Needless to say when Dissidia: Final Fantasy was announced for the PSP I was pretty darn excited… so excited that I finally made up my mind to go out and buy a PSP. A demo of Dissidia was recently launched on the PlayStation Network and, of course, I have been playing it non-stop for a couple of days now. As the responsible gamer that I am, I figured I could rip my claws off of my PSP for a while and put you guys in the know, GGTL style.

What’s that? You've been living as a hermit for the last few months and don’t know what the heck “Dissidia” is? Fear not, faithful reader! We’ve got your back. Dissidia is a Square-Enix fighting game which pits the main heroes of the first ten Final Fantasy games against their respective villains, in an all out war of Good versus Evil. Ever dream of pitting Terra, of FF VI fame, against FF X’s Jecht? Or delude endlessly about taking on the infamous Sephiroth with FF X’s Tidus? Well, now you can. A fan boy couldn’t have set this up better.

When starting up the demo you'll have the choice of choosing from either a normal or hard mode. Once you’ve decided just how badass you are and what difficulty you can manage, it’s time to choose your character. A total of 5 characters can be selected: The Onion Knight (Hero of Final Fantasy III), Cecil (Hero of Final Fantasy IV), Terra (Hero of Final Fantasy VI), Cloud (Hero of Final Fantasy VII) and Sephiroth (Villian of Final Fanstasy VII). This is a pretty decent roster for a demo version of the game, especially since all of the characters offer up very different play experiences, and not to mention both Cloud and Sephiroth, obvious fan favorites, have both been included. I should also point out that in your battles you’ll encounter a set of completely different opponents (so far I’ve run into Zidane, Squall, Kefka, Firion, and others).

So you’ve chosen your difficulty level and you character. Now it’s on to the good stuff. Cue epic battles please.

Setting aside the recent comeback of 2-D fighters (spearheaded by Street Fighter 4, and propelled even further by Blazblue), Dissidia decides to stick to a fully 3-D battle field, and when I say 3-D, I really mean 3-D. If you’ve ever played Kingdom Hearts 2 you have sort of an idea of how these fights work. With the press of a button you can send your opponent flying across the huge 3-D battle field, which you move around on by running, jumping, gliding and (a very cool transport option) grinding on surfaces and lines of light set up across the field (à la Infamous).

I won’t get too into detail on the fighting system given that this is just a demo version of the game, however, I can give you the basics. As stated, you and your opponent are on a huge 3-D field and, like most fighting games, your objective is to beat your opponent into humiliating submission. There are three basic gauges you have to be aware of: Your HP gauge, Your EX gauge and, the FF twist, your Bravery points.

The HP gauge is pretty standard fare - each time you get hit with a square button attack you lose Hit Points, or HP, and once you lose it all, you’re done for. As for the EX Gauge, you don’t have to worry about this depleting; rather, you need to set your mind to filling it up. You can accomplish this by nabbing EX cores on the battlefield, and once the gauge is full you can enter EX Mode. This is a special mode which can entail a transformation of your character, or a switch of your character's weapon. In any case, what it really means is your opponent is in for one hell of a beating, as you can unleash special Limit Break style attacks while powered up.

Finally there are the Bravery Points: now pay attention, this can get tricky. Both characters have an assigned number of Bravery Points, or BP; every time you successfully land a circle button attack you gain BP, making your attacks stronger and your opponent's defense weaker. Get it? BP attacks won’t deplete HP but they will make your standard attacks a hell of a lot stronger while, at the same time, weakening your opponent. The system is odd, and can take some getting used to, but it works.

As for the technical stuff, well the demo looks and sounds beautiful. Dissidia has highly detailed 3D characters, with gorgeous animations, and yet the battlefields (all in all) are a bit bland. However, the somewhat boring locations are completely made up for by the awesome music score - all battles are accompanied by remixed versions of famous Final Fantasy songs, which are of course of an incredibly high quality.

Controls are easy enough, as PSP controls go. I did have some trouble handling the camera, and movement in the huge field can get tricky (there are a lot of options open to you so it can get confusing), but the more I play the easier it becomes.

If you haven’t been able to tell so far, I am very excited about this game. If you’re at all curious, do yourself a favor and download the demo (it's free!) off the PSN, and see if Dissidia might be for you - you’ll need about 78MB of free space. However, if you're not into demos, just wait for GGTL’s official review once the game is released on August 25th.

Joey

Labels: Demo Impressions, Dissidia Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy, Joey Núñez, Square Enix