0 aPrediction: Could the price of Xbox Live skyrocket?

According to Michael Pachter, a well-known gaming analyst, Xbox Live prices could double in the coming year. He projects this increase because Microsoft's profits have mostly been due to Live fees. This news comes from GameInformer.com, and the comments have been very negative. The article, linked below, has received a one-star rating from disgruntled Xbox users.
http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2009/10/19/news-Xbox-Live-Subscriptions-Could-Rise-To-_2400_100_2C00_-Says-Analyst.aspx

Thank you, Microsoft, for generating so much support for Sony!

Remember, though- Pachter has been wrong many times before. He also claimed the Mass Effect series was headed to the PS3. Of course, much to my dismay, it has not as of the writing of this post.

0 aClassic Review: Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy VII

In The Realm of Half-Life 2, God of War, and Fable, This One Shines

Simply put, I have not played a better game... ever. In my entire life. And that's saying something- I've played so many games, and despite the newest and best graphics, the algorithmic physics engines and resolution upscalers, there simply is not a game on the planet that measures up to this game in any way.

In fact, the only game I have played that verges on this perfection is Half-Life 2- a game brimming with originality and brilliant level design. Barring that, though- and I know I'm

comparing apples and oranges with an FPS vs. an RPG,- there has never been a game to match the caliber of this epic.

On to the game itself. The storyline has been criticized as banal and cliché- but in actual fact, it does a solid job of progressing the game along (I actually think HL2 might be superior to that of FFVII). The characters are cool, and it's more than exciting enough when you encounter a character as famous as Tifa, Vincent, and Sephiroth.

The graphics- yeah, they fail a bit. There is no reason to write them off, though. FFVII is perfectly passable if you have seen images of what Cloud's model looks like with modern graphics. If you've played Crisis Core (which is an okay game but gives a great backstory with kickass cutscenes), you'll see what they would have done with a PS3. The character portraits suffice for your imagination, and the battle models are more than adequate.
The gameplay in this game is out of this world. From the deep Mako combination system to the incredibly easy to master combat, the game shines like no other. There are chocobos to catch and ride, countless items and mako to find, and a healthy dose of weapon upgrading, too. There are also minigames to play, as well;

I only picked up this game about a year ago- so with a background in the best new games, FFVII was bound to disappoint. Except it didn't. Do yourself a favor, and find a friend who has the game. That, or go on the PSN if you have a PS3 and download the game for your system (and your PSP if you'd like). For a sixth of the price of a current-gen game that is likely to piss you off, you can have literally the best game ever made. Do it, bruh.

This is part of an upcoming Best Games of All Time list. Look out for further installments!

0 aReview: inFamous

So, thanks to my friend, I was finally able to catch up on some excellent titles from the PS3 catalog. Most recently, I have finished inFamous, the open world sandbox game that came out a few years ago. The verdict? Not bad.

It didn't blow me away- I'll say that much. There were some "wow" moments, I suppose. The biggest problem with a game that is trying to "wow" so much is that they often skimp on story. inFamous is a perfect example. The storyline is alright, but nothing special. In fact, I found it pretty cheesy until the final few missions where the twists started showing up- but that took a good two-thirds of a very, very long game to get to. Some people might not have the patience, and for good reason.

Mission variety is very exciting... for the first few hours. At a certain point, you begin to realize that missions are recycled with very little variation. In addition, difficulty is often erratic and the same type of mission on the third island might end up much easier than a previous iteration.

The gameplay is where this game shines. There is very little wrong in this department. Virtually everything is scalable and running around the city is very fun- the biggest problem is that after playing inFamous, you will probably try doing the same in another game and end up dissapointed. My experience with the Uncharted 2 demo was hindered a bit by the lack of grabbable objects (but it was still incredibly fun). Unlocking new abilities in inFamous is very rewarding, and the progression is timed well to upgrade just in time for the final boss fight. Bosses are pretty cool, but seem inspired by very old school boss fights (particularly the second fight) up until the end.

The graphics are good in certain parts. The character models are decent body-wise and animations are very, very smooth. However, face models are terrible and cut scenes suffer for it. Also, as you run around the city, understandable but noticeable pop-up is very common.

Longevity is no problem and impressive for an action game, with lots of collectibles. If you're into that sort of thing. I didn't care for the karma actions, mostly because citizens are always in the way and don't know when to run for cover when a battle is clearly ensuing. Also, the "Karma Moments" often seem contrived and cheesy, and almost always with punishment for the "good" choice. I was good, and did not replay with the bad path... but I didn't really care. The same main events will happen, with a presumably different ending.

Conclusion

All in all, it was pretty alright. Not in the upper echelon, but I would like to see where they go from here. And on that note, I would like to say for my part, I couldn't care less if they change the voice actor for Cole. His voice was painfully generic and Dark Knight Batman-like.