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missroseroseI have finished Kingdom Hearts II, making it one of the few JRPGs that I've actually played all the way through. It helped some that the game was well laid out and not too long (30 hours or so, compared to the Herculean stints of fifty or sixty hours required to put many SquareSoft titles to rest); I have a bad habit of starting a game and then losing interest part of the way through, which usually says more about me and my limited attention span than the games themselves. But then, it could be that I'm developing more persistence as I get older. Who knows?
As for Kingdom, on the whole it gets a B+. It was a very well done game in many ways - I especially liked the little touches like the way the menu's art style changed to match up to each world - and it felt like something that was very polished and playable. As I think I've mentioned before, though, many of the world-specific storylines weren't all that interesting; those that weren't outright retreads of the original films felt much like the myriad Disney sequels that have spawned over the last several years - not-particularly-innovative variations on the original material, rather than a new and separate story. That was somewhat disappointing, but the overarching story, while very Japanese-RPG-sci-fi in tone, was rather sweet. As for gameplay, it was pretty easy to pick up, though there were a lot of times (in the more frenetic battle and rail-shooter sequences especially) that I felt I was just button-mashing. So on the whole it merits a "good, but not great". Fortunately I only spent $16 on it at Costco, and it was a pretty good investment for the price.
At the moment, I'm a couple of days into Viva Piñata on the Xbox 360, which I picked up for $20 - surprisingly low for a 360 game, even one a year old. If you're into sandbox games at all, it's really kind of fun - it's often compared with Animal Crossing (which I played to death on my DS), but while the concept is similar the approach is fairly different. Rather than having lots of random unrelated events happen in coordination with the real-world calendar, things are more connected on Piñata Island. Larger piñata eat smaller piñata, which in turn eat various plants and seeds; in order to attract new piñata you have to make various changes to your garden to make it an attractive habitat. And the whole idea is to raise piñata to become large and colorful and filled with candy, so they can be sent to children's parties and be whacked open with sticks. It's kind of an odd concept, but the gameplay is fun. And while the art design and general style might be overly bouncy and happy at times, you can't hate it - perhaps because of the macabre overtones, or because the game obviously knows how goofy it is and revels in it.
On the kitty front, we had a bit of an adventure over the weekend. While stopping by Monica's at one point we met a very sweet and very tiny calico kitty; Monica said she'd been hanging around her front porch on and off for a while now. She was obviously used to people and enjoyed getting some attention, but she didn't look or feel well-fed, and she had no tags, so we went and got one of our carriers (she was so tiny she only took up a small fraction of the carrier meant for one of our giant cats) and took her to the shelter. The local shelter doesn't kill animals unless they're unadoptable due to health or behavioral problems; and while it's a fairly stressful environment, it's probably better than being stuck outside in the rain and ever-colder temperatures. And Porch Cat (as Brian and Monica dubbed her) was small and female and unusually colored and short-haired and very friendly, which are pretty much all the most desirable traits in a shelter kitty, so she'll probably find a home just fine. Monica works at the shelter, too, so she'll keep us updated.
Oddly enough, the whole escapade has slowed my interest in getting a third cat for now - we took her home and kept her in the bathroom (with food and water and litter, of course!) overnight until the shelter opened, and there was much growling and unhappy sounds from Dexter and Mr. Jerry Brown. (Dexter spent almost the whole night crouched in front of the bathroom door, but oddly enough, once she was shut in, Mr. Jerry Brown seemed to forget that there was a cat in there at all - when she woke up in the morning and meowed, he looked so surprised we couldn't help but laugh.) So I think I'm okay with two kitties until we have a somewhat bigger place. And the adorable kitten in the previous entry had an "Adoption Pending" sticker when we went by the shelter on Monday, which is unsurprising but a good thing anyway. Here's hoping she goes to a good forever home.
As for Kingdom, on the whole it gets a B+. It was a very well done game in many ways - I especially liked the little touches like the way the menu's art style changed to match up to each world - and it felt like something that was very polished and playable. As I think I've mentioned before, though, many of the world-specific storylines weren't all that interesting; those that weren't outright retreads of the original films felt much like the myriad Disney sequels that have spawned over the last several years - not-particularly-innovative variations on the original material, rather than a new and separate story. That was somewhat disappointing, but the overarching story, while very Japanese-RPG-sci-fi in tone, was rather sweet. As for gameplay, it was pretty easy to pick up, though there were a lot of times (in the more frenetic battle and rail-shooter sequences especially) that I felt I was just button-mashing. So on the whole it merits a "good, but not great". Fortunately I only spent $16 on it at Costco, and it was a pretty good investment for the price.
At the moment, I'm a couple of days into Viva Piñata on the Xbox 360, which I picked up for $20 - surprisingly low for a 360 game, even one a year old. If you're into sandbox games at all, it's really kind of fun - it's often compared with Animal Crossing (which I played to death on my DS), but while the concept is similar the approach is fairly different. Rather than having lots of random unrelated events happen in coordination with the real-world calendar, things are more connected on Piñata Island. Larger piñata eat smaller piñata, which in turn eat various plants and seeds; in order to attract new piñata you have to make various changes to your garden to make it an attractive habitat. And the whole idea is to raise piñata to become large and colorful and filled with candy, so they can be sent to children's parties and be whacked open with sticks. It's kind of an odd concept, but the gameplay is fun. And while the art design and general style might be overly bouncy and happy at times, you can't hate it - perhaps because of the macabre overtones, or because the game obviously knows how goofy it is and revels in it.
On the kitty front, we had a bit of an adventure over the weekend. While stopping by Monica's at one point we met a very sweet and very tiny calico kitty; Monica said she'd been hanging around her front porch on and off for a while now. She was obviously used to people and enjoyed getting some attention, but she didn't look or feel well-fed, and she had no tags, so we went and got one of our carriers (she was so tiny she only took up a small fraction of the carrier meant for one of our giant cats) and took her to the shelter. The local shelter doesn't kill animals unless they're unadoptable due to health or behavioral problems; and while it's a fairly stressful environment, it's probably better than being stuck outside in the rain and ever-colder temperatures. And Porch Cat (as Brian and Monica dubbed her) was small and female and unusually colored and short-haired and very friendly, which are pretty much all the most desirable traits in a shelter kitty, so she'll probably find a home just fine. Monica works at the shelter, too, so she'll keep us updated.
Oddly enough, the whole escapade has slowed my interest in getting a third cat for now - we took her home and kept her in the bathroom (with food and water and litter, of course!) overnight until the shelter opened, and there was much growling and unhappy sounds from Dexter and Mr. Jerry Brown. (Dexter spent almost the whole night crouched in front of the bathroom door, but oddly enough, once she was shut in, Mr. Jerry Brown seemed to forget that there was a cat in there at all - when she woke up in the morning and meowed, he looked so surprised we couldn't help but laugh.) So I think I'm okay with two kitties until we have a somewhat bigger place. And the adorable kitten in the previous entry had an "Adoption Pending" sticker when we went by the shelter on Monday, which is unsurprising but a good thing anyway. Here's hoping she goes to a good forever home.
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