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THREE WEEK COUNTDOWN WOO...

ps:

List of playable Final Fantasy female protagonists whose name ends with an "ah" sound, updated with 13:

1: (skip)
2: Maria
3: Refia
4: Rydia, Rosa
5: Lenna
6: Tina/Terra
7: Tifa
8: Rinoa
9: (spoilers) Garnet/Dagger = Sarah (/spoilers)
10: Yuna
11: (skip)
12: Ashelia

13: ... uh? (spoilers) Lightning = Éclair (/spoilers), both Oerbas are more like a surname, and Serah is unplayable... neutral Thanks for ruining my list, S-E...

RPG: Star Ocean - The Last Hope

Visual: 8.0
+certain landscapes look extremely pretty (Roak)
+battle effects are vibrant and even basic abilities look great
-some areas such as caves and tech fortresses have irritating color palettes
Aural: 6.5
-most area music seems washed
Story: 7.0
+solid story progression
-very predictable
-cliche characters
-annoying characters
Gameplay: 8.0
+unique battle system
+combo system and crafting system adds a lot of depth
-Blindside is a hit or miss feature
-all battles are a matter of how quickly you can reduce enemy's health
-can't choose targets in battle
-crafting can only be done on the Calnus
-challenge nonexistent except on the hardest mode
Technical: 8.5
+no problems with loading times
+framerates are generally stable
-certain conditions cause the game to crash (the spells Silence and Void when cast by your party members, using 1080p, using HDMI out)
-most areas are too big with a lot of wasted space

Overall: 8.0 It may not be the best tri-Ace game out there, but it's a keeper.
Bonus points: Reimi

Welcome to life Kaitlyn Ann!

I kinda want a baby now. o____o;;;

I moved into one of the town homes right across from Century Theaters at the mall. I have a room I'm renting and the place is really clean and nice. Reception is garbage though and parking sucks. Oh well, can't have everything.

RPG: The Last Remnant
I forgot to put this up, actually. XD

Visual: 8.0
+vibrant landscapes, colorful towns
-very odd coloring choices
-certain environments such as caves are overdone and boring
Aural: 8.0
+very good battle themes
+very good town themes
-unmemorable or nonexistent dungeon music
Story: 7.0
+unique world full of backstory
+certain cutscenes are well-directed
-a lot of the backstory is obtained via hints or sidequests
-main plot is overall unimpressive
Gameplay: 7.0
+unique battle system
+dungeon expansion expands dungeons and makes new areas available to explore as more quests are taken
+organizing unions and formations gets very technical and fully customizable
-frustrating enemy scaling
-absurd lengths of sidequest dungeons (some can take up to 3-4 hours)
-battle commands are issued with half skill and half complete luck
Technical: 5.0
+expansive sidequest system that opens up areas in phases
-horrible amounts of loading times if not loaded from HDD
-overall poor use of the Unreal3 engine
Overall: 8.0 Try before you buy. This game is definitely not made for everyone but most should enjoy the challenges and the unique gameplay.

burrrrrrrrp!

Johnny and I visited his cousins on Thanksgiving day. By the time we arrived, most of the family was already done eating. Thanks a lot, traffic! There was still enough corn, turkey, pad see ew, and chicken among other things left. My plate seemed full but Johnny's mom piled on more turkey and made my plate look like a mountain. crying They had mixed Sprite with Hypnotiq, which tasted awfully similar to a kamikaze.

The rest of the weekend was kind of relaxing. I went out once to Macaroni Grill, where I had their super great dinner combo for 12.95. It comes with a salad, choice of select entrees (I picked spaghetti), and dessert (ice cream). I think just about the rest of the time was being glued to the TV playing Last Remnant. I might have a review up next week, but the game is very long and brutally difficult. I have to draw dungeon maps on a piece of paper! I don't think I haven't done that in a long time since RPGs were so easy and linear the past couple of years.

On a side note, I'm looking for some good Gwendolyn (Odin Sphere) art where she's in her dress instead of her valkyrie uniform.

Okay, so I finally got around to finishing this...

Visual: 9.0
+pushes the hardware, maybe a bit too much
+excellent sci-fi adventure atmosphere
-minor lighting issues
Aural: 5.0
+has a retro sci-fi feel
+good ending credits track
-game filled with mostly unmemorable tracks
Story: 7.0
+morality choices allow differing experiences for anyone playing
+many sidequests set up the backstory and mood
-very predictable plot
Gameplay: 6.0
+expansive customization of the main character
+many choices to make
-clunky combat system
-horrible inventory management
Technical: 5.0
+incredible amount of scripting
-horrible amounts of loading times due to no hard drive caching
-low framerates with graphics features enabled
Overall: 7.0 worth a shot

Here we go!

Visual: 5.0
+some impressive dungeon layouts
-cutscenes show the ugliness of textures and pixelated shadows
-very awkward character movement
Aural: 7.0
+some very catchy themes
-some scores have no movement or progression throughout the track
-voice acting is sub-par on average
Story: 5.0
+easy to follow story with a few surprises
-the relevance of some story elements is not fully explained
-horribly directed cutscenes ruin a lot of the game
Gameplay: 7.5
+simple but addicting combat
-requires more pre-planning than strategy, item usage mostly restricted to out-of-combat due to menu mechanics
-the mechanics of the game are not thoroughly explained at the beginning of the game and then the player is immediately forced into specific scenarios
-trying to lock on to a new target is frustrating
Technical: 5.0
+short loading times, good scripting of on-screen events
-noticeable framerate issues, minor glitches, awkward camera turning, lack of a zoom out feature to see what is going on, real time element during menu an unnecessary feature
Overall: 5.5 best left infinitely undiscovered
Extra Credit: Eternal Rose + female characters = all you see are special attacks