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Can one of you fine gents give me an estimate on how many hours of main story I've got left in Tales of Graces F: I just finished the humanoid research facility on Fodra, about to head to the military base.

Originally Posted by bvharris Can one of you fine gents give me an estimate on how many hours of main story I've got left in Tales of Graces F: I just finished the humanoid research facility on Fodra, about to head to the military base.

15 hours, I think.

Dayumn.

Blueshinra, you should check out the new LP of Koudelka. It's... surprisingly awesome.

Originally Posted by The Crotch Blueshinra, you should check out the new LP of Koudelka. It's... surprisingly awesome.

Hmm, not big on video LPs, but I'll check this one out. Thanks for the rec!

I want to start reading the LP for A Blurred Line. Tried the Skies of Arcadia one that went up not too long ago, but that one's pretty bog-standard (well put-together from what I've seen, though).

To clarify, the LP is pretty standard. Goes a bit in to mechanics, but with such a short game, there's not much that you can do. But the cutscenes themselves were way better than I expected from a PS1 game with full voicework. I was aware of its sequels before, and they certainly looked interesting, but I genuinely want to play them now. The non-From the New World ones, at least.

Ahh, okay. I'll still check it out.

I remember my husband renting one of the Shadow Hearts games awhile back and he found it neat, but not neat enough to stick with until the end. Don't have any opinions one way or the other about them, myself.

I need to stop with these WRPGs, they are far too time consuming. Finished playing through Skyrim twice and now I'm in the middle of my first FO:NV run. Good thing college work has been light or I would never get through these.

The setting for FNV was so appealing to me that it temporarily changed how I play RPGs. Usually I'm focused on the narrative, and though I like to be thorough in exploring, eventually I'll push along to find out what's next. FNV's the first time I just walked one corner of the map to the other for the hell of it.

It took me forever to finish the damn game. That's due partially to the lousy narrative shoehorning in the last half, but mostly it's the Boy and His Dog/Mad Max/old west setting. Once I upgrade the rig, I'm planning on revisiting FNV with the high filootin mods installed on full settings. I'll even install the patch I avoided, the one that supposedly nerfs sniper rifles. It's gonna hurt to see the Gobi's DPS drop off, but maybe they made energy weapons viable. I'll have to read up.

Yes, this is RPG related: April Fool's Day has started in Japan - http://andriasang.com/con0g8/google_maps_8_bit/

This also works at the US Google Maps!

Wanted to update you fine folks on the assistance you provided. My buddy and I ended up going with Final FantasyXIII, like I said, he was leaning pretty hard that way anyway. And as I said, its been so long since we looked at a final fantasy that its just an rpg to us. Any differences between it and recent FFs is lost on me.

The main thing that I don't like, and its petty, is simply the character art. I knew that it would be a problem and its one of the big reasons I've moved away from JRPGs over the years. I'm not into anime or anything, and the characters are always just so over the top looking. But I'm 10 hours in and getting over it as I get more attached to their personalities.

Story is very neat, liking that. Combat was strange but its growing on me. Honestly, it still feels sort of turn based but its almost, I don't know, extreme turn based I guess. Feels kind of hectic on occassion. But I'm enjoying it. The linearity isn't a big problem so far because for whatever reason I've always associated JRPGs with being pretty linear. Its certainly a bit more boxed in here at the beginning, but that's fine for now.

I've enjoyed it enough that I'm very tempted by the Best Buy sale+coupon deal on FFXIII-2 for 15 bucks! Thanks again folks!

Might as well go grab it for $15 while you can.

Also you're right, RPG's are usually linear...they just trick you into thinking otherwise.

Originally Posted by whoknows Might as well go grab it for $15 while you can. Also you're right, RPG's are usually linear...they just trick you into thinking otherwise.

Yeah, the illusion is what really matters. I've always associated JRPGs with very strong but very linear stories. That could be complete rubbish because like I mentioned I haven't played a JRPG in a very long time. (Actually I got to thinking and I did play Suikoden on DS a few years ago, so its not been as long as I thought at first).

Then some of the western titles feel less linear. The problem is that the sandboxy ones seem to sacrifice great story for the freedom. Its largely why BioWare has been my favorite for so long. For my personal tastes, they've kind of perfected the illusion. The linearity is well disguised with the decision making but the lack of a true sandbox gives them the narrative control to construct finer stories, like the JRPGs. Masters of Illusion. Again, for my tastes of course.

So Arcanum is three dollars at gog.com...

EDIT: Also on sale is Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption, Bloodline's big brother. Whereas Bloodlines was a buggy, awkward mess that somehow managed to be really fun and replayable, Redemption is just a regular old mess. It's got a really interesting premise and it does a few neat things, but... bad controls, bad AI, bad camera, bad voice acting...

If you're really interested, just check out the LP.

Speaking of which. Blueshinra, since we're both LP fans, do you have any recommendations? I mean, "anything by The Dark Id" is pretty obvious, but beyond that? Can be screenshot or video, though I usually prefer screenshot.

Originally Posted by The Crotch So Arcanum is three dollars at gog.com... EDIT: Also on sale is Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption, Bloodline's big brother. Whereas Bloodlines was a buggy, awkward mess that somehow managed to be really fun and replayable, Redemption is just a regular old mess. It's got a really interesting premise and it does a few neat things, but... bad controls, bad AI, bad camera, bad voice acting... If you're really interested, just check out the LP. Speaking of which. Blueshinra, since we're both LP fans, do you have any recommendations? I mean, "anything by The Dark Id" is pretty obvious, but beyond that? Can be screenshot or video, though I usually prefer screenshot.

I love LPs and watch a ton of them. Any types of games you enjoy watching LPs of? I can give some recommendations.

Originally Posted by Rei no Otaku I love LPs and watch a ton of them. Any types of games you enjoy watching LPs of? I can give some recommendations.

It's less "type of game" and more "type of LPer" for me. A semi-complete list of stuff I've enjoyed...

Screenshot: Anything by The Dark Id (Resident Evils, Cavia games, Dirge of Cerberus... guy specializes in games that look promising but are repetitive and/or mind-boggling dumb). GuavaMoment's X-Com LPs were really good, too. I liked Mr. Swoon's Monster Rancher series. Lt. Danger did a good job of making Neverwinter Nights 2 look enjoyable, and Scorchy's KotOR 2 was great. I prefer narrative LPs whenever possible, but I'm not too picky.

Video: I don't know if I've ever made it through an entire video LP of subtitled commentary. And the only solo video LP that I watched in its entirety was Research Indicates' "Jurassic Park Trespasser", which was as much because of his enthralling voice as it was the sheer god damn lunacy of the game. Chip and Ironicus (or Chip and Void; they have really good chemistry) are pretty much the standard by which I judge all video LPs. Pokecapn and his group are great (I've got a huge soft-spot for Medibot); they made ing Mario Party and Sonic 2006 interesting. Diabetus' voice gets on my nerves a bit, but him and Slowbeef are always solid together. Proteus and Suspicious' run through Daikatana was pretty good, though Proteus got on my nerves a few times and Suspicious' other stuff never held my interest. I'm about 70% through cKnoor and EthanSteele's Blood Bowl right now (not a big Warhammer guy, but an old roommate of mine had the Xbox version, so I've a passing familiarity with the game, and I wanted to see how it was played by someone who actually knew how to play), and it's pretty good.

After a long break from it,I finally finished Demon's Souls.The game became much easier after getting the warding spell which really helps.

Originally Posted by The Crotch It's less "type of game" and more "type of LPer" for me. A semi-complete list of stuff I've enjoyed... Screenshot: Anything by The Dark Id (Resident Evils, Cavia games, Dirge of Cerberus... guy specializes in games that look promising but are repetitive and/or mind-boggling dumb). GuavaMoment's X-Com LPs were really good, too. I liked Mr. Swoon's Monster Rancher series. Lt. Danger did a good job of making Neverwinter Nights 2 look enjoyable, and Scorchy's KotOR 2 was great. I prefer narrative LPs whenever possible, but I'm not too picky. Video: I don't know if I've ever made it through an entire video LP of subtitled commentary. And the only solo video LP that I watched in its entirety was Research Indicates' "Jurassic Park Trespasser", which was as much because of his enthralling voice as it was the sheer god damn lunacy of the game. Chip and Ironicus (or Chip and Void; they have really good chemistry) are pretty much the standard by which I judge all video LPs. Pokecapn and his group are great (I've got a huge soft-spot for Medibot); they made ing Mario Party and Sonic 2006 interesting. Diabetus' voice gets on my nerves a bit, but him and Slowbeef are always solid together. Proteus and Suspicious' run through Daikatana was pretty good, though Proteus got on my nerves a few times and Suspicious' other stuff never held my interest. I'm about 70% through cKnoor and EthanSteele's Blood Bowl right now (not a big Warhammer guy, but an old roommate of mine had the Xbox version, so I've a passing familiarity with the game, and I wanted to see how it was played by someone who actually knew how to play), and it's pretty good.

I love Dark Id's stuff.

I'll just list some of my favorites. They're going to be all video LPs:

supergreatfriend http://www.youtube.com/user/supergreatfriend
My favorite LPer. Anything of his is great, but I highly recommend his Illbleed and Deadly Premonition LPs.

Lord Vega http://www.youtube.com/user/L0rdVega
I enjoyed his Arcanum LP. I just like his dry sense of humor.

Shesellssheshells http://www.youtube.com/user/Shesellssheshells
AMAZING Silent Hill Homecoming LP. Probably the best use of Youtube annotation I've seen.

Proton Jon http://www.youtube.com/user/ProtonJonSA
Fantastic Superman 64 LP. Though he's taking his time putting it out.

helloitsdan and Lithuanian Dad http://v.lp.prinny.co.uk/mercenaries-2
By far the funniest LP I've seen.

i like reading LPs, especially if they offer analysis on the plot or mechanics. it's really fascinating to learn about various ways to break the game.

i don't really like video LPs because it takes too long... it's real time, haha.



speaking of backlogs i keep adding on hobbies to do.
my goal is to play "To Zanarkand" on piano. maybe by next year.
i just picked up piano last month. >_<

Originally Posted by Rei no Otaku I love Dark Id's stuff. I'll just list some of my favorites. They're going to be all video LPs: supergreatfriend http://www.youtube.com/user/supergreatfriend My favorite LPer. Anything of his is great, but I highly recommend his Illbleed and Deadly Premonition LPs. Lord Vega http://www.youtube.com/user/L0rdVega I enjoyed his Arcanum LP. I just like his dry sense of humor. Shesellssheshells http://www.youtube.com/user/Shesellssheshells AMAZING Silent Hill Homecoming LP. Probably the best use of Youtube annotation I've seen. Proton Jon http://www.youtube.com/user/ProtonJonSA Fantastic Superman 64 LP. Though he's taking his time putting it out. helloitsdan and Lithuanian Dad http://v.lp.prinny.co.uk/mercenaries-2 By far the funniest LP I've seen.

Thanks for the list. I'll probably check out Mercenaries 2 first. I like RPG LPs, but I'm really not big on RPG video LPs, so I dunno if I'll bite on Arcanum. I have to finish the damn game first, anyway.

Oooh, I want to help.

I watched these guys play Minecraft, it was entertaining.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...F&feature=plcp

Screenshot Xenogears LP. I think Dark Id's is better, but this is the first one I've ever read, so special place in my heart or something. It stopped being updated in 2010 but apparently it started up again this month.
http://www.whatdoesgodneedwithastarship.com/

The Giantbomb guys did Persona 4 and Deadly Premonition. Some golden moments within those.

And there's that Life In Oblivion screenshot one, but that seems to have collapsed upon itself and all the screens disappeared.