Halfway through a decade, what was the best games so far

At the moment it seems to be something happens to someone you get mad and want to go kill the enemies with your magical sword which only you will be able to unlock the full potential of it, with the help of your bro on your adventure.

I don't mind tactical combat, it's just the way it's set-up how you battle I don't like.

Trust me - the story is far deeper than that. Keep pressing on.

What do you mean by how it's set up?

Jay wrote:

Uninspired art design is uninspired art design, regardless of when a game released. I think you're looking at Xenoblade in terms of raw graphical fidelity and not aesthetics - yes, the texture quality blows in Xenoblade, but it's the imagination and vividness of the environments that are its strength.

I couldn't have put it better myself. It's just a great world to explore.

mas wrote:

I want to know why I should continue and all I'm reading is because of the scale & vivid environments which is all well and good if the gameplay isn't up to much or the story.

I think we have given good explanations of why you should continue, since you have only played 3 hours (is that from one play session btw?) the story has barely begun and you might still be getting to grips with how the combat fully works as well so I don't know what else can be said.

That you have your options what you want to do then you select it then Shulk carries it out, it feels disconnected like I've been playing Type-O if I press X then Rem will do her attack right there and then same with her options.

Or even if I was playing FFIX with it's turn-based system if I select attack Zidane would then attack when it's my go.

Yeah, the combat is good but like most RPGs it builds up to it, nothing worse than being lumbered with every mechanic in an intricate system too soon.

masofdas wrote:

That you have your options what you want to do then you select it then Shulk carries it out, it feels disconnected like I've been playing Type-O if I press X then Rem will do her attack right there and then same with her options.

Or even if I was playing FFIX with it's turn-based system if I select attack Zidane would then attack when it's my go.

The combat is more like certain rpg's you'd see on PC where your moves have cool down periods and it's about using them at the right time, I remember being a tad overwhelmed to begin with and would spam attacks without understanding them fully but maybe that's because I'm a JRPG noob. *shrugs*

I'd also rather have Xenoblade combat than the ones you mentioned.

Well the combat system especially FFIX are classic JRPG traits and Type-O's is more in vain of a action game not a JRPG but with a few RPG elements like the MP system.

I know how the cool-down system works as like you said old PC RPG's had it and even likes of KOTOR has similar which I found find, I just don't like it in Xenoblade.

I would much sooner have either a traditional JRPG set up or full on action then this, and what I saw of XCX today that looks like it's going to be a great agme but it's using the same system as Xenoblade that I might not even bother with XCX, especially with FFXV coming which from the demo has a fantastic battle system which is close to Type-O's but sightly more RPG mechanics.

Again, you've barely tapped into the game's mechanics at this stage. You really shouldn't be dismissing it so easily.

Rule one of a 80+ hour long rpg: never judge it by its first hour (or ten). The genre is all about extremely slow burning, and Xenoblade is somewhat slower burning than most. It's not just going to give the player instant gratification off the bat, it builds itself up over it entire duration, both in story and in gameplay.

As it stands You can't even use proper chain attacks yet, the vision mechanics haven't started, and you also only have like three skills besides normal attacks, and lets not even bring up inherent skill trees. Wait until you have a full rack of eight skills (or sixteen iirc if you use Shulk and unlock all the Monado powers), and have leveled them up (and therefore have faster cool down times) battles are pretty hectic once that happens. As a massive Xenoblade nut I'll say this, I didn't even really like the game until I hit Eryth Sea, which is over twenty hours in to the game. Where you're at I wouldn't even say you're past the opening act.

Also there honestly isn't a drop of difference between Xenoblade's cool downs and battle systems like Final Fantasy nine, the ATB system is basically a cool down system under a different name. You tell a character to attack, then wait for the recharge before doing anything else, same thing. If anything xenoblade gives you far more to do, because even when one skill is cooling down you could be using another, you can position yourself, you can give the team commands, and so on. Speaking of final fantasy nine, I actually really despise that game's battle system, the atb in that game is genuinely so slow it's a problem.

Having said that, the key to xenoblade's battle system is not to just use skills randomly then spend your time idly waiting for recharges, every character has their own unique set of skills and ways you play them and timing is crucial.

I think the most important thing at this stage is to keep an open mind. You'll enjoy the game more if you're not trying to "prove us all wrong".

The thing is Athrun888 if it takes me 20hrs to get to Eryth Sea to enjoy it, that's 20hrs I could be spending on a game I enjoy now.

I'm not far how Gaur Plains is compared to Eryth Sea, as Balla reckons if I don't like it be the plains I won't like it.

I'd say Eryth Sea is a solid halfway point of the game - you should play at least until then.

I doubt I will with MKX coming on Tuesday and knowing I will enjoy that game from the outset.

Fair enough. Xenoblade isn't a game you can have a fully formed opinion with the first three hours, as Athrun said. If you aren't willing to put a bit of time into it, you're not going to get anything back.

To me I play games for enjoyment & fun, at the moment Xenoblade isn't doing that.

It felt like a chore playing it even for such a little amount.

Mas, at the end of the day, nobody's going to force you to give the game a go; nor are they going to be able to convince you if you've convinced yourself that the game isn't very good.

Your tastes are your own, and that's only fair. Indeed, if they're such that a technically unimpressive sandwich puts you off a game, they're so different to most other people's that I don't think others' opinions will help you much anyway.

Well it put me off the Wii version also it didn't look good on my TV either.

On a handheld I am more forgiving and past that sandwich quite a while ago, which I didn't take much notice of on the N3DS.

It's the combat system which I don't like at all also I've heard ryen time about a billion times already.

masofdas wrote:

The thing is Athrun888 if it takes me 20hrs to get to Eryth Sea to enjoy it, that's 20hrs I could be spending on a game I enjoy now.

I'm not far how Gaur Plains is compared to Eryth Sea, as Balla reckons if I don't like it be the plains I won't like it.

Very true, I won't deny that it is twenty hours you could be spending on something else, the genre in general typically asks a commitment from the player and that goes double for Xenoblade, ultimately it's entirely up to you whether you think it's worth it.  

I concur with Balla's sentiment that if you aren't feeling it you shouldn't force yourself, just put it back in the backlog if it's not doing anything for you.  All forcing yourself to play something you aren't enjoying will do is make you resent the game, whereas if you put it away while you're still feeling somewhat neutral towards it there may come a time later on where you feel differently and end up enjoying it.  I was in a similar situation when I first played Xenoblade and it sat in my backlog for over a year before I really got interested in it.

Having said that I personally didn't really like the Gaur Plains portion of the game, the main villain of that arc was just annoying in my opinion and the Ether Mines that directly followed Gaur Plains were downright tedious.  Eryth Sea was way better, the party had a nice diverse cast by that point and the story got really intriguing at that point as well.  But regardless, if you aren't feeling it then it's probably better to shelve it, you can always come back to the game at a later date.

I agree that the cave afterwards was a bit painful, but Gaur itself was a superb area. I remember scampering away from the massive Territorial Rotbart especially fondly.

masofdas wrote:

also I've heard ryen time about a billion times already.

Take that back - that's a plus!

Balladeer wrote:

I agree that the cave afterwards was a bit painful, but Gaur itself was a superb area.  I remember scampering away from the massive Territorial Rotbart especially fondly.

Area wise it was fine enough, just the story at that point left a bit to be desired in my opinion.