So, based on recommendations from SVGLers I'll probably snag The World Ends With You today. Maybe. Kinda want to take Baroque for a whirl, too. Weird, because I generally dislike dungeon grinders. But historically I've generally disliked run-and-guns, and yet I've gotten into several of those over the last year -- because there have been expansions and innovations on the formula. I think, for me, it really began with BioShock, and since then I've been picking up pretty much all of the major shooter franchises, whether there's a twist on the mechanics or not.Doesn't mean I love them all, though; most of the recent blockbuster titles have only held my attention for a short while. If you haven't seen Chris Dahlen's recent GSW column on the "One Game Diet," you should check it out. Like him, I'd sort of prefer to deal with one longer, more in-depth title over a few months rather than this sort of triple-A flavor-of-the-moment thing we've got going on right now.
Why am I thinking of this? Well, because when I swing my my neighborhood game boutique today, I'll be dropping off some trade-ins to fund whatever new acquisitions I come away with. Dropping off? Condemned 2 and Dark Sector. Both were good-looking titles. Neither were perfect; Condemned 2 was more enjoyable than not, Dark Sector was a lot more of the "not", but I agree with Chris when he says these are the kinds of games that you play for a weekend and then ditch.
But yeah, perhaps surprisingly to some, The World Ends With You was never on my radar; I've had a couple other reviews to do lately, have been concentrating on Persona 3 and am vaguely interested in catching up on other recent weird Atlus PS2 titles. But I guess I'll go get it; the only ill word on it I've heard so far from a couple of you is that the protagonist is a typical Square Enix emo kid.
I actually tend not to have a problem with the Squeenix emo protagonist. I despise the overly energetic ones -- like, I so don't care for Vaan and Tidus, ew, and while I don't mind Zidane because he's somewhat more genuine, he's still not high on the list.
As I told Chris Plante at Hardcasual, I don't often raise the "HEY GAIZ IM A GURL" thing in my writing, but this will be one of those once-in-a-whiles. Guess who I love? Squall. I know, I know, nobody likes Squall, he's too emo, et cetera. But dude. Squall is ten kinds of gorgeous. I love his intense, troubled innocence.
I can see why people don't like Squall, but from where I stand he's very pretty. Girls might feel differently about him than boys do. Look at the picture! Come on, awwwwww! Right, ladies? When FFVIII came out, Squall and I were close to the same age. Now I'm 26 years old, almost ten years older than he is in that game. Which makes me the "older woman," I guess. That's kinda hot.
...Actually, as Squall is one year underage in VIII, this technically makes me a pedo, so, yeah. Alas, while we grow older, our video game crushes stay the same age. Sigh. But given the average age of RPG heroes and heroines, we've probably all been pedo at some point. Pretend for a sec I don't totally loathe Kingdom Hearts and enjoy pretending it doesn't exist, and Squall is 25. Everything's OK!
Anyway, okay, yeah. I just had one of those insane TURBO ICE coffees from Dunkin' Donuts, so thanks for passing through Tangent City.
UPDATE: After publishing this post, I just noticed that, hilariously, my sidebar bio photo currently makes it look like I am gazing adoringly at the picture of Squall.
