Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light Review for Machinima

Here’s my Machinima.com review for Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light. Despite its flaws, it’s easily in my personal “Top 5” for 2010. It’s a delightful old-school RPG with an awesome job system (I love job systems!). Here’s a quote:

Aside from the annoying auto-targeting, I really enjoyed The 4 Heroes of Light. It offers an enjoyable adventure that lasts about 35 hours. If you want to tackle the game’s four optional towers, get every job, and level up all your gear then you can easily hit 70 hours of gameplay. A great job system and addictive level-up features make Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light an excellent value that old-school RPG fans will enjoy.

If you have a moment, please head over to Machinima, check out my review, and leave some comments. Thanks muchly!

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Panasonic Introduces “The Jungle” Handheld Gaming System

Panasonic is getting back into gaming (remember the 3DO?) with a handheld system called “The Jungle“. Specs on the system have yet to be revealed, but the idea behind The Jungle is novel — software will focus on massively multiplayer experiences. Whether that’s enough to differentiate it from Nintendo’s and Sony’s offerings is another question.

When you have a moment, check out the official videos of The Jungle and let me know what you think. Will the market support a third handheld system (consider the mobile phone gaming is getting huge too)? Or will The Jungle end up next to the N-Gage and Gizmondo in the graveyard of failed portable gaming systems?

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Nintendo’s Mario Used in Negative Political Campaign

New York republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino has been using imagery of Nintendo’s iconic Mario character in a negative ad campaign against democratic candidate Andrew Cuomo. Is nothing sacred?!?

I am seriously embarrassed for my home state. I’m disgusted that Paladino is using a beloved videogame character in such a classless way. I hope that Nintendo sues him. (To be honest, I think Paladino is a total dick and I disagree with many of his policies.)

What do you think of the negative Mario ads? Do they make you feel dirty? Or is that just me?

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This Week’s Videogame Releases

There are lots of great games hitting shelves this week! In the immortal words of Michael Buffer (or Triple H), “Are you ready?!?” Enslaved has been getting great buzz from the enthusiast press. I really liked this game at E3 2010 and can’t wait to jump into it. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow just might be the first great modern Castlevania game. Although I hate the use of Michael Jordan as a cover athlete (go Pistons!), NBA 2K11 looks pretty hot. I’m not going to play it, but I sure as hell want to watch other people give Def Jam Rapstar a go. Last, but not least, is Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, which is one of my personal favorites of 2010.

Any of you picking up new games this week?

Coffee Talk #222: Cliffy B…the Movie?!?

Lots of my friends are going nuts over The Social Network — you know, that movie about Facebook and its brilliant-but-devious co-founder Mark Zuckerberg. It’s kind of nuts that a relatively new and geeky phenomenon spawned a movie that brought together Aaron Sorkin, David Fincher, and Justin Timberlake. It’s also very cool. The next logical step, of course, is a movie about a videogame company. In the year 2015 I want to see:

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Bryan Danielson busting out cattle mutilation last night, the Yankees blowing home-field advantage, or Shia LeBeouf vs. Frankie Muniz, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Lots of my friends are going nuts over The Social Network — you know, that movie about Facebook and its brilliant-but-devious co-founder Mark Zuckerberg. It’s kind of nuts that a relatively new and geeky phenomenon spawned a movie that brought together Aaron Sorkin, David Fincher, and Justin Timberlake. It’s also very cool. The next logical step, of course, is a movie about a videogame company. In the year 2015 I want to see:

Watching the Gears Go Round: The Cliff Bleszinski Story

I love Cliff. I think he’s a fun and fascinating man that would be a great subject for a motion picture. I also have lots of old (and possibly naughty) stories to sell the movie’s scriptwriters, which might be the only way I’ll ever make money in Los Angeles.

Seriously though, now that a Facebook movie is out, I want a frickin’ videogame-company movie! Today’s game is a two-parter. What publisher or developer would you want to see on the big screen? How about a specific game designer or publishing executive? Oh hell, let’s make this a three-parter! I’ll send out a special prize to the person that makes the most creative movie title starring Bobby Kotick!!!

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

I’m done playing Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light for review…but that doesn’t mean I’m finished with the game. I still have one more optional tower to conquer and two more jobs to unlock. I’ll try to wrap that up this weekend. I’ll also be spending lots of time with the T-Mobile G2 by HTC. Playing with a new gadget counts as “playing”, yeah?

Et vous? What’s on your weekend playlist?

Mad iPhone Game Sale!!!

The fine folks at TouchArcade have posted a list of iPhone games that are on sale. There are a bunch of fantastic titles that can be had from $0.99 to $2.99. My personal favorite, Civilization Revolution, is only $0.99! Check out the list and let me know if you’re going to buy anything.

$0.99

  • Civilization Revolution ($6.99 -> $0.99)
  • Soccer Superstars ($2.99 -> $0.99)
  • 9 Innings: Pro Baseball 2011 ($4.99 -> $0.99)
  • Baseball Superstars 2010 ($2.99 -> $0.99)
  • Need for Speed Shift ($6.99 -> $0.99)
  • Bookworm ($2.99 -> $0.99)
  • Geometry Wars: Touch ($4.99 -> $0.99) Universal
  • Puzzle Agent ($4.99 -> $0.99)
  • Monkey Island 2 Special Edition ($2.99 -> $0.99)
  • The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition ($2.99 -> $0.99)
  • Doom II RPG ($3.99 -> $0.99)
  • Assassin’s Creed II ($5.99 -> $0.99)
  • Zombie Infection ($2.99 -> $0.99)
  • Peggle ($2.99 -> $0.99)

$1.99

  • Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2 ($4.99 -> $1.99)
  • Risk: The official Game ($4.99 -> $1.99)
  • Hybrid 2: Saga of Nostalgia ($4.99 -> $1.99)
  • Zenonia 2 ($4.99 -> $1.99)
  • Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night ($4.99 -> $1.99)
  • Mirror’s Edge ($4.99 -> $1.99)
  • ACE Combat Xi: Skies of Incursion ($4.99 -> $1.99)
  • Myst ($4.99 -> $1.99)
  • Doom Resurrection ($6.99 -> $1.99)
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ($5.99 -> $1.99)
  • Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 ($4.99 -> $1.99)
  • NCAA Football by EA Sports ($4.99 -> $1.99)
  • Command & Conquer Red Alert ($4.99 -> $1.99)

$2.99

  • NFL 2011 ($4.99 -> $2.99)
  • Real Racing ($4.99 -> $2.99)
  • Call of Duty Zombies ($9.99 -> $4.99)
  • Call of Duty Zomies HD ($9.99 -> $4.99) iPad Only
  • FIFA 10 by EA Sports ($6.99 -> $4.99)

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Coffee Talk #221: So Psyched for Portable Gaming in 2011!!!

I’m so excited for portable gaming in 2011. The Nintendo 3DS is coming in March. Several developers are working on games for the PSP2. Apple iOS, Google Android, and Microsoft Windows Phone 7 games are going to get huge. At the very least, it’s going to be chaotic trying to cover and understand everything. At best, we will be overwhelmed by the flood of excellent portable games.

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Intelligentsia’s Organic Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Adado, remembering to vote for WWE AJ Lee in the NXT poll, or if you’re going to see Wall Street 2, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I’m so excited for portable gaming in 2011. The Nintendo 3DS is coming in March. Several developers are working on games for the PSP2. Apple iOS, Google Android, and Microsoft Windows Phone 7 games are going to be better than ever. At the very least, it’s going to be chaotic trying to cover and understand everything. At best, we will be overwhelmed by the flood of excellent portable games.

I realize that most of you RPadholics are home console guys, but I’d bet that most of you will do more portable gaming in 2011 than you did in 2010. There are too many capable platforms and too many potentially cool games. It’s going to be tough to ignore!

Are any of you guys and dolls as excited about the prospects of portable gaming in 2011 as I am? What platforms are you looking forward to? If you’re still not convinced handheld gaming is worth your time then I must ask you…why the hell not?!?

List of Nintendo 3DS Games in Development

Here’s a list of Nintendo 3DS games that are in development. It’s based on stuff I saw at E3 2010, assorted press releases, and the sizzle reel posted above. When you have a moment, please let me know which games have you excited for Nintendo’s next handheld console.

  • The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
  • Kid Icarus
  • Animal Crossing
  • Paper Mario
  • Nintendogs + Cats
  • Mario Kart
  • Pilotwings Resort
  • Paper Mario
  • StarFox64 3D
  • Kingdom Hearts
  • Chocobo Racing
  • Resident Evil: Revelation
  • Resident Evil: Mercenaries
  • Mega Man Legends 3
  • Super Street Fighter 4 3D
  • Dead or Alive Dimensions
  • Samurai Warriors: Chronicle
  • Super Monkeyball
  • Ridge Racer
  • Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater
  • Steel Diver