Ben's Week In Review: December 21

Final Fantasy XIII

After a very busy week, I don't have much energy left, but...well, I can summon enough for the readers. ;)

NOW I remember why I love Final Fantasy

I've been reluctant to jump on the anti-Square-Enix bandwagon over the past year, and I've often argued that nothing they've done can be considered as "biased." I could consider all their moves and decisions as logical. But recently, I've become more annoyed as I've started to realize that there most certainly is some bias going on over at S-E headquarters (how else can one explain something like Star Ocean: The Last Hope being a Xbox 360 exclusive?), and I was all set to jump on that aforementioned bandwagon. Then I saw the FFXIII and FF Versus XIII trailers, and it was like a giant bell went off in my head. See, so long as they're capable of something like that, I am forced to remain a fan; I can't help it. I fully realize there's no gameplay in either of those videos, but let's face it: the visual has always been a major component of any FF experience, and dear God...that's a set of visuals. Downright beautiful from front to back, and my hype/psych meter just maxed out for both titles in question. Seriously, didn't yours?

I know everyone wants to be negative and focus on the fact that it's just CGI sequences and they don't mean anything and blah blah blah. Yeah, well, they do mean something. At the very least, they mean Square-Enix is once again going balls-out to deliver a jaw-dropping Final Fantasy title (or in this case, titles), and that's good enough for me. At least for now. ;)

Hope you enjoyed the interview

Our big exclusive Eat Sleep Play interview is up, and I'm hoping everyone here enjoyed the read. I had a great time talking to both Scott Campbell and Dave Jaffe, and as I mentioned in the conclusion of that interview, I could've spoken to both for a very long time. Look, I've conducted many interviews in the past - most of which outside the game industry - and at no point did I feel like I was able to relate to the interviewee. Obviously, all three of us are gamers, so that's where the connection came from. But when speaking to a musician or comedian or what-have-you, I was never quite able to establish that kind of easy rapport. Sure, I'd get along well with plenty of those celebrities, but while you're talking to them, you realize that - deep down - you really don't have a lot in common. With Jaffe and Campbell...hell, we had everything in common. The other interesting point I took from that process was that Jaffe must've been misquoted and misinterpreted about seven billion times in his career. I mean, anybody who uses that many disclaimers when speaking must've experienced that problem.

It's actually kind of funny. He'll say something, and even if it's not a particularly strong statement, he'll add a quick disclaimer so certain people won't be offended. For instance, he said he thought Sony had the best exclusives then immediately said, "not to say Microsoft doesn't have great exclusives." You know, stuff like that. I'm chalking that up to a whole lot of so-called journalists misquoting him for the sake of starting huge rumors. But anyway, the whole thing was pretty cool.

Personal gaming update

So I'm just waiting patiently for Christmas when I can get a fresh haul of games to play. I have enjoyed playing Penny Arcade Adventures: On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode Two; Sony sent me a voucher code for the game yesterday, and I've always loved PA. The game is pretty good, too (the review will go up in just a few minutes). Other than that, I played a little Resistance 2 with Val, some online Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds with a friend of mine, and got most of the way through Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Yep, again. I play that game a few times a year, and it's easier to do than trying to play through either FFVII or FFT. ;) Of course, I have a touch of cabin fever due to this unbelievable winter weather we've had over the past few days, so I'm just about ready to climb the walls... But hey, that's what games are for, right?

As for "the girl," who I'm afraid just about every loyal reader is aware of at this point, I have more than a few things to report. But I'm waiting until the year is over...so you're just gonna have to wait for the third and final installment of "Once Upon A Time..." Heh.