Well it was nice of Square Enix to put a touch of Final Fantasy XIV in a game I currently have time to play. Knowing my luck I will have no chance in hell of actually having one I my deck anytime soon, but still they have amazing art work.
Here is a sample of some of the new guardians:
These guys would look great in my deck next to Golbez, Odin and Mighty Rubicante.
I have been a believer that Final Fantasy XIV has the ability to become an amazing MMO experience and with all the recent changes and updates I think its well on the way there. Unfortunately with the release of A Realm Reborn and the PS3 version I will not be able to enjoy the changes. Its not that I do not want to play the game or that it has a monthly fee, its that real life is keeping me out of the MMO sphere for the time being. I really enjoyed the experience of playing Final Fantasy XIV when it was first released on the PC long ago. I bought the Collectors Edition and got to start my adventures in the world of Eorzea meeting a lot of great people who were friendly and helpful. The newer version looks even more beautiful then the original and as a life long Final Fantasy addict this game shows that Square Enix can learn from its mistakes and produce a better product.
I was hoping with the release of the PS3 version I might jump back in and start a whole new adventure but the timing of its release could not be worse for me. With 2 little ones and me starting to take correspondence courses in the fall my free time to say the least is limited. Even with that I still want to run to the store right now and pick up my copy and work my way to becoming a Legendary Dragoon or Black Mage! I am still holding out hope that someday not to far in the future I will find the time to jump back in and explore the lush work that has been created.
Until then I will just have to be happy playing games that I can pause and to go check on the little ones, who are well work the sacrifice.
Looking for a different experience from the grittier games I have been playing recently I stumbled across Tales of Xillia. After reading up on it I decided to preorder it and picked it up when it got released last week and have really enjoyed the 4-5 hours I have put into it.
The story starts off with you selecting one of the two main characters: Jude or Millia. From reading up on the game the main story stays the same no matter who you pick but each character sees things differently. For my first play through I went with Jude, the promising medical student.
The first few hours have been very enjoyable. The graphics are bright and colourful even if they are a little dated (the game came out in Japan about
2 years ago). The characters so far have distinct personalities and interesting dialog between them in various cutscenes and little sub conversations.
Combat is fun and fast paced with simple commands that you can link together for great combo attacks. You also have the ability to link with one other party member which lets them perform special moves. This is a nice system and will finding you switching to different group mates depending on the enemies you face. The combat is more like a action/adventure game then standard RPG and I am really enjoying it.
Character development in Tales of Xillia is completely up to the player. It’s a mostly free system letting you pick from various points in what is best described as a spider web. If you want your team to be all physical attackers just put all your points in strength and vitality and run wild. They were also nice enough to add an option to auto level if you don’t want to spend the time figuring out the system.
I am looking forward to playing more, as it stands now this is a very nice addition to my RPG collection.
About four weeks ago (July 11) the company I work for announced that they would be reducing the amount of wage roll employees by 5-8%. When the full extent to their announcements hit a total of 290 people got letters informing them that they were going to be reassigned and/or regressed in pay while about 60 people got notified that their last day of employment will be sometime in September.
I got one of the nicer letters saying that in 3-6 months I will be reassigned and/or regressed in pay. I admit is sucks since I have been employed at this factory for around 12 years but I cannot complain to much since my sister and brother in law got their termination notices. I realize in today’s day and age the job I have is still good, I get an hourly rate, vacation, and a pension.
I feel bad for all the people I know loosing their jobs and hope that they find a job they enjoy better than factory life, even I the pay is not as good.
Since the announcements there has been a lot of bitter and frustrated people in the Widget Factory. I am not sure how well our workforce will recover, it’s unfortunate but where I work most people feel entitled to their paycheck rather then having a need to earn it. With more changes coming in the near future it will be make or break time for a lot of people there.
It’s hard remaining positive at times like this, but I am stubborn and will continually move forward with a smile on my face.
Ramblings of Arthur 