All Things Videogame Related: EXTREME VS!!

[GU-11]

Final Fantasy VIII HD Remaster for PC

Better graphics overall, as in completely redone FMV cutscenes and in-game graphics...or just up-scaled FMV cutscenes? If the in-game graphics are the same ones from the original PS1 game, I really don't see a reason to buy it. On the other hand, if they did a complete overhaul, I'd be willing to spare some cash for it. Truth be told, I bought my first PS console just to play this game way back when.

That said, I wonder why they chose FFVIII instead of VII. I know they re-released VII with some added online features a while ago, but graphically and play-wise, it was the same FF VII they released on the PS1.

IMO, FFVII has an overall better storyline, and frankly it's one of SE's most loved and bankable games.

[Benson13]

Better graphics overall, as in completely redone FMV cutscenes and in-game graphics...or just up-scaled FMV cutscenes? If the in-game graphics are the same ones from the original PS1 game, I really don't see a reason to buy it. On the other hand, if they did a complete overhaul, I'd be willing to spare some cash for it. Truth be told, I bought my first PS console just to play this game way back when.

That said, I wonder why they chose FFVIII instead of VII. I know they re-released VII with some added online features a while ago, but graphically and play-wise, it was the same FF VII they released on the PS1.

IMO, FFVII has an overall better storyline, and frankly it's one of SE's most loved and bankable games.

Your logic is sound on that one but what if they have other plans for VII? That's the reason I'd make a so so version and then the following one way better. They have to know that the people demand Cloud without the Popeye arms.

[anime52k8]

IMO, FFVII has an overall better storyline, and frankly it's one of SE's most loved and bankable games.

Square Enix suffers from a crippling fear of making money.

[Benson13]

Square Enix suffers from a crippling fear of making money.

I hear it's an extremely rare disease and scientists are struggling to make any headway in curing this.

[GU-11]

Square Enix suffers from a crippling fear of making money.

I hear it's an extremely rare disease and scientists are struggling to make any headway in curing this.

Incidentally, they fired the current CEO and replaced him with the company accountant. And his first decision as CEO was to cancel all "stagnant" franchises and focus on mobile and social gaming.

Your logic is sound on that one but what if they have other plans for VII? That's the reason I'd make a so so version and then the following one way better. They have to know that the people demand Cloud without the Popeye arms.

Good point. Everything they made that had to do with VII sold well.

[raptormesh]

Still waiting for them to put VI and VII onto the iOS platform.

[Shadow]

Incidentally, they fired the current CEO and replaced him with the company accountant. And his first decision as CEO was to cancel all "stagnant" franchises and focus on mobile and social gaming.

Good point. Everything they made that had to do with VII sold well.

Dirge of Cerberus sold well?

Personally, I would rather see SE make something new or re-explore long lost franchises like the Chrono series and Secret of Mana. If they remade FFVI however, that would be different.

[Einherjar]

Ugh, I never want to use the Draw skill ever again. I went overboard with that, Card, and Triple Triad on my last save file for VIII.

[GU-11]

Dirge of Cerberus sold well?

Personally, I would rather see SE make something new or re-explore long lost franchises like the Chrono series and Secret of Mana. If they remade FFVI however, that would be different.

I dunno, most poeple I know of bought and liked Dirge of Cerberus--though I can't say for everyone else.

I've heard some great things about FFVI, but never did play it. I'll admit it; I'm a graphics snob. Now if SE were to give that a revamp and give it the CG treatment, I'd be happy to get a copy of it.

Ugh, I never want to use the Draw skill ever again. I went overboard with that, Card, and Triple Triad on my last save file for VIII.

Yeah, the Draw skill was pretty damn annoying, especially the rare "good stuff" that you had to run around blindly while mashing the circle button (or was it the square button?). I'd rather stock up on ether like in FFVII any day.

[Benson13]

There were two things that made me want to hate VIII, first and foremost that drawing and linking spells to your stats BS. Second, anything Laguna and flashbacks. Other than those two things I liked the game but those two ruined the entire experience for me.

I dunno, most poeple I know of bought and liked Dirge of Cerberus--though I can't say for everyone else.

I've heard some great things about FFVI, but never did play it. I'll admit it; I'm a graphics snob. Now if SE were to give that a revamp and give it the CG treatment, I'd be happy to get a copy of it.

Yeah, the Draw skill was pretty damn annoying, especially the rare "good stuff" that you had to run around blindly while mashing the circle button (or was it the square button?). I'd rather stock up on ether like in FFVII any day.

FFVI was hands down my fav FF ever. I have it on my phone, my computer, my Gameboy, and my SNES. Best story, best character development, and I couldn't find a real flaw to it (maybe catching fish for a guy on a certain island). Just when you think it's over, you find out you're only half way through. Then on the Gameboy version, you get extra areas to explore and super enemies to fight. Give it a try, if you're disappointed then I don't know what you'll ever be happy with.

[GU-11]

There were two things that made me want to hate VIII, first and foremost that drawing and linking spells to your stats BS. Second, anything Laguna and flashbacks. Other than those two things I liked the game but those two ruined the entire experience for me.

FFVI was hands down my fav FF ever. I have it on my phone, my computer, my Gameboy, and my SNES. Best story, best character development, and I couldn't find a real flaw to it (maybe catching fish for a guy on a certain island). Just when you think it's over, you find out you're only half way through. Then on the Gameboy version, you get extra areas to explore and super enemies to fight. Give it a try, if you're disappointed then I don't know what you'll ever be happy with.

FFVIII: Yeah, I hated the Laguna parts, too. But not nearly as much as I hate the magic drawing thing. Not a fan of the "scavenging stuff to upgrade your weapons" system either. It's kind of fun, but it can get extremely annoying when you have to pour hours just to get that single item you still need.

FFVI: I've been meaning to play that game just to see for myself if it really is that good, but I don't know where to find a copy of it. I've never used PSN at all since I bought my PS3, so I don't know the first thing about downloading games. And with that user account scare a while back, I'm not keen on registering.

Is there some place where I can buy and download it into my computer?

[Benson13]

I mostly use the one on my phone. I have an Android OS and downloaded something called Super GNES. It's an emulator that cost a few bucks and then I just went to Coolroms.com and got all the games I wanted. I don't know what the PS3 does and doesn't have so I'm not of any help there. The one I have on my computer is just another emulator and it's so old I don't even remember when and where I got it.

[raptormesh]

FFVIII: Yeah, I hated the Laguna parts, too. But not nearly as much as I hate the magic drawing thing. Not a fan of the "scavenging stuff to upgrade your weapons" system either. It's kind of fun, but it can get extremely annoying when you have to pour hours just to get that single item you still need.

FFVI: I've been meaning to play that game just to see for myself if it really is that good, but I don't know where to find a copy of it. I've never used PSN at all since I bought my PS3, so I don't know the first thing about downloading games. And with that user account scare a while back, I'm not keen on registering.

Is there some place where I can buy and download it into my computer?

The only easily legit place to get it now is via PSN. There are also releases for the original playstation but those can be hard to find I'm afraid. VI is my favourite FF, story is unsurpassed imo.

[Benson13]

There are also releases for the original playstation but those can be hard to find I'm afraid.

Forgot about that one but I have it too. I wouldn't recommend that one though due to the long load times it seems to have. It drove me nuts. Maybe it was because I played that PSOne game on a PS2.

[Black Valkyrie]

PlayStation 4 hardware teased by Sony hours before next Xbox unveil.

Capcom Open To More Retro Remakes, Reveals Fan Demand For Aliens vs. Predator

[Black Valkyrie]

in other news, 2D is dead. Full story at 11.

Even though, it kept the 2D looks.

[TheLoneWolf]

Final Fantasy VIII HD Remaster for PC

I think it'll just be a rerelease of the old USA PC version. I had that back in the day and it was pretty much the same thing as running the PS version through an emulator. I guess that's good enough to call it "HD" And the old PC FMV's were encoded in standard def, so they're probably just upscaled in this version.

[mikeszekely]

That said, I wonder why they chose FFVIII instead of VII. I know they re-released VII with some added online features a while ago, but graphically and play-wise, it was the same FF VII they released on the PS1.

Somehow, I doubt that the "enhanced HD remake" of FFVIII will be any more of an upgrade than the re-release of VII. I'm guessing that they're choosing VIII instead of VII because, in their minds, they already did VII.

I say "meh" to VII and VIII anyway. Wake me up if they do IX, though.

FFVI: I've been meaning to play that game just to see for myself if it really is that good, but I don't know where to find a copy of it. I've never used PSN at all since I bought my PS3, so I don't know the first thing about downloading games. And with that user account scare a while back, I'm not keen on registering.

Is there some place where I can buy and download it into my computer?

Buy and download legitimately? No, I think the PSN is your only option.

Illegitimately, I'm sure you can find ISO images or SNES FFIII ROMs that'll run on an emulator. And there are emulators for just about everything these days.

Side note, if you have a PSP or a Vita, you should totally get a PSN ID. Not only can you download the PSX version of FFVI, you can download the best version of the best Final Fantasy game ever, Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection.

'Course, if you have an iPhone or an iPad, you can download FFIV:TCC for that. Or maybe wait for an Android version.

[azrael]

Time for a new tag for this thread: Xbox One

8-core processor

8GB RAM

Blu-Ray

USB3

500GB HD

HDMI in/out

SmartGlass

Kinect: 1080p camera, Skype connectivity

New controller: new battery, ergonomics, d-pad. Improved response-triggers, programmable triggers

More details and game announcements coming at E3 in 3 weeks.

Xbox One IS NOT BACKWARDS COMPATIBLE with Xbox 360: http://kotaku.com/xbox-one-is-not-backward-compatible-509088037

Xbox One games will be tied to your Xbox Live account (i.e., there goes the Used Games market)

[Archer]

after that presentation, I'm fairly sure that Sony has my money at this point. Nothing in that presentation really captivated me, and in my opinion, they focused waaaaay to much on TV services and other social features rather than gameplay.

I actually think that the PS4 presentation was done a little better, focusing on what matters more: games (personal opinion of course)

[azrael]

after that presentation, I'm fairly sure that Sony has my money at this point. Nothing in that presentation really captivated me, and in my opinion, they focused waaaaay to much on TV services and other social features rather than gameplay.

I actually think that the PS4 presentation was done a little better, focusing on what matters more: games (personal opinion of course)

Yeah, Sony did their little tease late yesterday.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/05/sonys-next-gaming-system-is-an-out-of-focus-black-rectangle/

Here's a write-up for what was presented.

http://kotaku.com/the-next-xbox-is-called-xbox-one-509069410

[mikeszekely]

Since I've by and large transitioned from consoles to PC, I've had a hard time getting into "next-gen." I bought a Wii U for nostalgia and, to this day, only own one game for it. If I buy a PS4, it's only because I like the idea of starting a game on it and picking it up on my Vita.

The Xbox One has been particularly underwhelming, though. Mandatory Kinect, no backwards-compatibility, even with XBLA games, and no used games? Oh, and let's not forget that it runs on the Windows 8 kernel. All I really need for Microsoft to totally kill any interest I have is to announce a $500+ price tag.

[anime52k8]

I actually think that the PS4 presentation was done a little better, focusing on what matters more: games (personal opinion of course)

The PS4 announce was 40% hardware and Social features for a console that wasn't even in attendance; 40% showing off how the controller is now significantly more knobby, glowy and has a pointless trackpad; and 20% games nobody gives a crap about.

at least Microsoft had the decency to bring the damn thing.

Edited May 21, 2013 by anime52k8

[anime52k8]

Since I've by and large transitioned from consoles to PC, I've had a hard time getting into "next-gen." I bought a Wii U for nostalgia and, to this day, only own one game for it. If I buy a PS4, it's only because I like the idea of starting a game on it and picking it up on my Vita.

The Xbox One has been particularly underwhelming, though. Mandatory Kinect, no backwards-compatibility, even with XBLA games, and no used games? Oh, and let's not forget that it runs on the Windows 8 kernel. All I really need for Microsoft to totally kill any interest I have is to announce a $500+ price tag.

I highly, HIGHLY doubt that Kinect will be required for anything, it's just going to be useful for everything which honestly sounds cool. as for backwards compatibility, nobody cares. people pissed and moaned about backwards compatibility before the PS3 came and and guess what? They got over it and bought the console anyways.

Edited May 21, 2013 by anime52k8

[azrael]

The PS4 announce was 40% hardware and Social features for a console that wasn't even in attendance; 40% showing off how the controller is now significantly more knobby, glowy and has a pointless trackpad; and 20% games nobody gives a crap about.

But don't you know, we have to tell everyone of our friends and family that we're wasting net-space by playing games going to be on level 99 of Angry Farm-pigs-birds-gangsters.

...at least Microsoft had the decency to bring the damn thing.

That, I'll give MS props for. Though oddly enough, it looks bigger than my work computer...Yeah, it's a prototype but still looks very blocky.

The Xbox One has been particularly underwhelming, though. Mandatory Kinect, no backwards-compatibility,

I call it a subtle "Buy our new games"-nudge.

Oh, and let's not forget that it runs on the Windows 8 kernel.

The kernel isn't bad. Just the UI, which just doesn't fit people who are trying to do real work at their desk slaving away at a keyboard and mouse, with sticky fingers...You know, everyone who works in an office.

All I really need for Microsoft to totally kill any interest I have is to announce a $500+ price tag.

Now now, they want to let people down gently.

[Chronocidal]

FYI, FFVI is also available on the Wii virtual console, and I imagine it's probably on the WiiU. I've been meaning to play it myself, since the latest preview trailer for FFXIV actually recreated a snippet of the intro scene, complete with an orchestrated soundtrack.

The thing about backwards compatibility I always come to is that it might convince people to jump on a new console sooner. It probably would convince me, anyway.

See.. I have a first gen 360, and though it hasn't red-ringed, I almost wish it would, so I could get the newer model. Thing is, I can't justify that as long as it's working. I know that's only my personal situation, but I can't be alone.

If they made the new one backwards compatible, I'd have a reason to pick it up, so I could enjoy my old games on better hardware, and maybe toy around with the new features while I wait for new games I actually care about. Otherwise? I'm not going to even consider it until A: an absolute must-have game comes out or B: I hear rumors of the Xbox Two.

The backwards compatibilty thing for PS3 was a non issue because they kept churning out PS2s until pretty recently, and those seem to keep running forever. The 360 doesn't have that reliability, and I doubt M$ is going to keep making them nearly as long as Sony made the PS2.

We may yet get to a point where you can just emulate a 360 as well as you can a PS1 or PS2 now, but if M$ pulls support for the console required to play those games, then forces you to buy them again from an online marketplace to play them on the new console, people are going to be pissed.

Though, people are certainly going to be pissed either way, so that's nothing new.

Edited May 21, 2013 by Chronocidal

[azrael]

http://news.xbox.com/2013/05/qa

Q: Will Xbox One allow players to trade in, purchase and play pre-owned games?

A: We are designing Xbox One to enable customers to trade in and resell games. We’ll have more details to share later.

So I'm guessing you will need to "disown" the game before you sell/trade it.

[renegadeleader1]

http://news.xbox.com/2013/05/qaSo I'm guessing you will need to "disown" the game before you sell/trade it.

In a way I'm somewhat okay with this. As it stands now game companies don't get any money from people who buy used games as opposed to people buying them brand new. What this means is that a company while getting that initial sale, loses a potential customer to a store who ops to buy a used game for 5 bucks cheaper who might have otherwise bought a new copy. Now it seems like they might have more control over the game and still get paid for secondary sales.

Downside is of course this system will be abused by microsoft/game companies to artificially dictate prices, and in all likelyhood cut a huge chunk out of gamestop's profit margin killing them in the process.

[Chewie]

They already stated that the $99 Xbox 360 subscription system was a test bed and it's done really well. While I think the $500 price tag is very close to what it will be at launch, they are likely going to be giving people an easier route. (Even if it is with a 2 year contract.)

It's incredibly popular with people who don't want to drop $400 out the door for the system with HDD, one game and an extra controller. Last year when it launched I can't tell you how many I sold in the first month, let alone what my store has done total since launch. Depending on which bundle, it actually saved people money over 2 years. With XBL being a requirement for anything other than looking at the thing sit on a shelf, I see it being ever more popular if they give the option at launch.

BC is irrelevant. This isn't the days of old where your N64 system was huge, used the same hook up as your Gamecube and your TV only had one composite connection. Current systems are still "current tech" with HD support, and HDMI/Optical connectivity. Using the old systems alongside the new might be tedious, but it's nowhere what is used to be. They also haven't said anything about digital content for the future or what it will entail for old games.

Edited May 21, 2013 by Chewie

[Einherjar]

At least it's not called the Xbox 720 like people predicted.

[Benson13]

I was really impressed with the UI. Ironically enough, as that Yusef guy was giving commands to the Xbox One he turned off the video and sent my 360 to the Dashboard.

[Shadow]

Most of the game franchises that have kept me following consoles since the PS1 (Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, Resident Evil) are either dead in my eyes or heading in that direction. I haven't been impressed with the current generation library, sparing a few gems. I'm most likely going to take a sabbatical with this generation to re-explore PC gaming. If I ever do pick one of the new consoles however, it'll probably be the PS4.

[Einherjar]

I was really impressed with the UI. Ironically enough, as that Yusef guy was giving commands to the Xbox One he turned off the video and sent my 360 to the Dashboard.

Why would anyone think making this a feature is a good idea?

[Benson13]

Why would anyone think making this a feature is a good idea?

Glad, I'm not the only one. I didn't watch anything after that part either just because of that.

[anime52k8]

But don't you know, we have to tell everyone of our friends and family that we're wasting net-space by playing games going to be on level 99 of Angry Farm-pigs-birds-gangsters.

That, I'll give MS props for. Though oddly enough, it looks bigger than my work computer...Yeah, it's a prototype but still looks very blocky.

I'm not sure why but I get a sort of retro, late 80's home electronics vibe off of it. I'm not sure if that's even a bad thing.

The kernel isn't bad. Just the UI, which just doesn't fit people who are trying to do real work at their desk slaving away at a keyboard and mouse, with sticky fingers...You know, everyone who works in an office.

Personally I like 8's UI. of course I don't work in an office and I'm studying graphic/interaction design so novel, cool looking interfaces win me over easily.

See.. I have a first gen 360, and though it hasn't red-ringed, I almost wish it would, so I could get the newer model. Thing is, I can't justify that as long as it's working. I know that's only my personal situation, but I can't be alone.

That's basically where I'm at. Though it's more specifically that I can't justify replacing my 7 year old working console when the next generation console is coming out in a year or two.

although now that I think about it, with no backwards compatibility I'll need to have working 360 well into into the next xbox's run in order to play all the older 360 games I haven't gotten around to playing yet. maybe I should get one now...