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Filed under: Reviews

Like a child counting down the days until Christmas, I’ve been looking forward to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King. I’m a sucker for Square Enix anyway, and the prospect of a $15 game (even if there is pricey DLC) was too much to resist. That’s why it was so shocking to discover that my first few game days in Padarak were … well, boring. Everything was very controlled and linear, and I couldn’t run around and explore. Instead, I sat through cutscenes explaining more than I wanted to know at that point, when all I wanted to do was flex my new architek power. And then, once I was free, I had very little in the way of resources! Frustrating.

Several hours later, since I was still playing, I realized that maybe I wasn’t so bored after all. The simple directive of get more stuff sucked me in as soon as I had a free hand with the game, and before I even had time to think, I was obsessed with building up my little kingdom. Without my even realizing it, My Life as a King had gone from boring to fun.

While we have a full review of the WiiWare title coming later, initial impressions of the simulation are that it’s a lot like MySims, but better. My Life as a King manages to be even cuter, but with a gloss that’s unmistakably Square Enix, and the characters are engaging. Even the random chatter with the townspeople is somewhat interesting. There’s no awkward building; once you have the ability to construct something with your power, up it goes as directed. While it means the buildings are somewhat lacking in variety, it’s quicker and frees up more time to do the important things, like hunt down the darn moogle who makes your blueprints for new buildings.

Early impressions of the adventuring system are also positive; as soon as that opened up, it quickly became the most interesting part of the game (so far). Since you’re limited, in the beginning, in what you can build. it’s nice to know that you can easily multiply your stable of adventurers and send them out in search of knowledge and resources. Every time you build a house, you get two new people: one citizen, and one would-be adventurer. As soon as you can afford to commission them, they’re able to head out to the surrounding dungeons in search of elementite, the material used for your architek power.

Here at the beginning, there isn’t a great deal to do, other than marvel that there are only single parents here (several single moms and one single dad in my kingdom), and wonder where that damned Mogtillo gets off to when I need him, but the game days are short. Later, I’m sure managing everything will become a challenge of time.

Check back with us later for a full review, in which we’ll also take a look at the already-available downloadable content!

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Filed under: Video

Filed under: News, Interviews

After nearly 50 million series sales worldwide since its Gran Turismo debut on PlayStation 1 back in 1998, Polyphony Digital’s Gran Turismo 5 set for late 2008 promises to possibly be the most exacting and detailed racing game ever created. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue due in early 2008 gives you an online-enabled sampler of the GT5 experience on PlayStation 3 exclusively. What follows are some choice quotes from a recent interview with the Gran Turismo series creator Kazunori Yamauchi, where he discusses how high-definition the game really is, that it will feature rumble, and that they will work on Gran Turismo Mobile after they finish Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and Gran Turismo 5.

Question: Would you say it’s getting incrementally harder to continue the high standard of visual quality with Gran Turismo? Because obviously, GT4 was already extremely good looking.
Answer: Well I feel that yes, there are obvious difficulties, but the passion we have is always to create the best visual qualities available, that we can possibly extract from PlayStation 3. In a racing game, one of the most important aspects is that, because you are travelling at high speeds, you need high resolution to accurately create objects in the distance, and also to give you enough sense speed, sixty frames at 1080p resolution display is another must-have to further enhance the racing experience.

Question: Can you tell us about some of the background to achieving this standard on PS3?
Answer: On average, the car models in GT5 Prologue is 200,000 polygons - this is fifty times more than what we used to have on GT4 PS2, which was on average 4,000 - so fifty times upscaled. We are now able to see very fine details. Another new feature is the in-car camera, because we are now modelling the interior of the car as well. You’ll also notice that we have taken the extra step to represent the stitching of the leather, to the full extent, and the dashboard and so on. We’ve notice throughout our development process that to allow for an in-car camera it gives you a further enhanced experienced that is even more real that it was in GT4. To the extent of even reverse, or other angles, it’s not just the front dashboard that is detailed like this. GT5 Prologue will also allow up to a maximum fifteen [other] cars on the same track, previously it was six. And the visual quality in-game is 1080p, 60fps.

Question: How far have you come in terms of adding new vehicles to your line up since the last game?
Answer: Nissan will unveil their Nissan GTR Prototype production vehicle at the Tokyo Motor Show later this October, so between the window of now until the end of the year, we will be featuring lots of new and upcoming performance vehicles.

Question: So this is the first time this Nissan has been seen?
Answer: Yes, that’s right - first time in a game.

Question: How important do you think rumble feedback is to the GT experience? Everybody knows that a rumble controller is coming, so is it something that you have already been working on with this in mind?
Answer: Yes, that is correct.
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Filed under: Reviews

My sim ... literally.

It's easy to write off EA's MySims as a clunky combination of the cuteness of Animal Crossing and all the worst aspects of The Sims, especially if you only try out the title for a short period of time. Unfortunately, the beginning seems specifically designed to turn players off. Initial loading times are terrible, the create-a-sim process could use a lot more depth, and the first part of the actual game neglects to give players any control over their newly created little person. Instead, you follow the mayor around for a while. When you finally get to dip your toes into the building process -- a good chunk of the game -- it feels clunky and ill-designed. Compared to the PC Sims games, this is not only disappointing -- it's devastating. Building and decorating has always been one of the best aspects of those titles, and in contrast, putting together furniture in MySims at first feels like playing with a Lego set after rolling around in a vat of oil-slicked butter ... at least, if you're a creative builder who wants to explore all the possibilities. For the most run-of-the-mill designs, the needed pieces are highlighted for ease of choice, but building outside of the blueprint can result in a few minutes of huffing, puffing, and swearing to get that piece rotated just right.

At first glance, MySims just doesn't seem like a keeper. We're sure a lot of people turned it off after building their first chair in the workshop -- if they even made it that far. And that's a shame, because the game really just requires a short adjustment period, and then it becomes apparent that not only is it indeed a lot like Animal Crossing, but it lacks a lot of the more tedious functions (in this reviewer's opinion, at least) of that franchise, and instead offers some creative ways to personalize your home and your town. Even the loading times seemed to improve greatly after the initial introduction to the city, almost the point that they were unnoticeable at times after we got into the swing of things.

And once you do get into it, MySims is a fluid experience. You control time, since you can sleep through the day or night at will. There's no mortgage hanging over your head or a need to get a job; all you have to deal with is the occasional request from the Mayor or your neighbors for furniture or buildings, and doing so is as simple as collecting the proper essences and trundling over to your workshop or the building site. And essences are (mostly) easy to find; some grow on trees (fruit, flowers), others are produced by merely interacting with other sims or watching for anything they leave behind when outside in the town, and some must be -- you probably guessed it -- fished or dug up. Essences provide different feelings and moods for your creations. Neighboring sim happen to like something tasty? Paint their creation with red apple essences and see how much they appreciate it.

As simple as the premise seems, just like any Sims game, it can get a grip on you and drain away your free time, even if, like us, you weren't too impressed at the outset. Like a needy flower, MySims blossoms as you spend time on it, and once you get the hang of building, the game is highly engaging. Due to the streamlined, simplistic nature, it's easy to fall into the habit of "okay, just one more thing before I turn it off ..." and then suddenly hours have passed and you're still there, staring at the screen, crowbar in the hand of your little Sim as you break down a barrier to expand your territory.

After a while, however, it becomes a cycle. Get task. Find essences. Build thing. Rinse and repeat until you get tired and decide to turn off the Wii. Social interaction, while a source of essences, isn't really necessary in this simulation, and some may find that to be a turn-off from the outset. If you prefer the building and designing aspects of simulations, however, MySims will be heaven on a disc, and the reactions of the little sims as they go about their business will keep you entertained while you work.

The basics, or the review is in the details:

Controls: Navigation is simple, thanks to the numerous paths and the map, but the building process may have a bit of a learning curve. Also, we found the use of the + button for "okay/enter" somewhat unintuitive, but it doesn't really hamper gameplay beyond a raised eyebrow in the beginning.

Visuals: Completely adorable. While it might have been nice if MySims used Miis, ultimately, the short, squat sims are ten times cuter than just about anything we've ever seen.

Sound: This version of "Simlish" is as irresistible as the look of MySims, and every time a sim laughed, we were pretty sure that somewhere flowers were magically sprouting and angels were receiving their wings. The music, however, is a little more forgettable.

Story: There's a story? It's rather thin, but what's there works for a simplified game. As ever in a Sims title, the "story" is largely up to the player.

Difficulty: There are really no issues with difficulty until later, when things start to get more complicated and essences more rare. It's the sort of challenge that can sneak up on unsuspecting players, particularly since the first hours of gameplay are so simple.

Verdict: While MySims may be lacking in depth, it's long on charm and simple fun. We would have loved to have seen some further tweaks -- for instance, if you pick up and adjust one building block, and then pick up another of the same type, it would be lovely if it automatically fell into the same position -- but most of the issues are quickly surmounted. You probably won't be able to wring as many hours out of this one as you would from a different version of The Sims or an Animal Crossing game, but it's a lovely diversion that offers the one thing the Wii promises: fun.

Final score: 7/10