I wasn’t initially planning on picking up Final Fantasy XII, having found myself unable to wrap my head around their combat system in the headache-inducing confines of E3. It seemed at the time that you merely ran towards an enemy and then Things Happened, which didn’t strike me as resembling a game in the traditional sense. Still, the ridiculously good reviews were impossible to ignore, so I scooped it up to see if Square and I still had any chemistry together.

I’m probably around the seven hour mark at this point, and the jury remains frustratingly out. There’s a lot to like here but Square takes their sweet time really getting into the game proper, and that long introduction phase is pretty excruciating to work through. FFVII started players on an exciting and obviously dangerous sabotage mission. FFX began with the destruction of your entire world and your subsequent exodus to an altogether alien place. FFXII starts the protagonist off by having him beat up on rats and killer tomatoes. One would imagine that after more than two decades worth of development in the RPG genre, developers would have picked up that killing rodents in sewers/basements/dungeons has never been fun, but no. Calling it “dire” and making it larger does not make the effort significantly more compelling. I suppose I’d be willing to negotiate on zombie rats.

The combat system is worthy of some deeper meditation, and indeed most of the discussion you see on this game is going to center around that topic. The gambit system can be described by a series of rules by which you can instruct all of your characters to act, but I think perhaps the most interesting aspect of it is that you actually unlock full access to the gambits. Each gambit involves a target and an action, and while the action is simply anything that particular character can do, the targets are actually drawn from a list with items like foes attacking the leader, foes targeted by the leader, allies with health under a certain percentage, etc. The list of available targets you start off with is actually pretty limited, and you unlock more of them by purchasing them at shops or even by finding them in treasure chests. Your character will process the highest available command on their list, although at first they only have room for two gambits and additional slots must also be unlocked. The system really does seem to speed up battles and I imagine that further into the game it will allow for some really fine-tuned controlling.

This isn’t to say that you can’t provide manual control, as you are able to interrupt and provide individual orders at any time, but I found the AI to occasionally be a little stupid in executing those orders. For example, during a boss fight I ordered one party member to attack a smaller side creature that takes two hits to destroy, and after the first hit he would run back and begin attacking the main boss again. It’s hard to think of a situation when someone might issue an attack order where “Hit him until he’s dead or I say otherwise” isn’t part of the implicit instruction. Likewise, you have to be very careful about monitoring how new orders involving precious commodities are actually working, as the wrong gambit can drain you of items like potions almost instantly.

Despite these concerns, I am admittedly at a point where I can see my enjoyment of the game on an upward trajectory, and would look forward to further exploration were it not for the grave misfortune of a launch date within a week of Gears of War and Guitar Hero II. It’s difficult to prioritize a game whose entertainment is an estimated future value over something with a known high quantity. Having whispered soothing good-byes, the disc has already been relegated to a nearby shelf, where I like to imagine that it will peer over at me longingly until we inevitably reconcile later in the month.

I noticed that Kotaku was running a story about guitars from third party manufacturer The Ant Commandos not working properly with Guitar Hero 2, and since this is actually something I know about first-hand, I thought I’d take a second to comment on it.

It’s true that the the original generation TAC guitars don’t work with GH2, or at least the E3 beta I have kicking around. The good news is that an adapter is on the way which is shipping later this month for $7 which will upgrade their entire line to work with GH2. The better news is that if you bought a TAC guitar during or after October, the new line is compatible out of the box, which I can personally attest to. Actually, there are a number of improvements between the two generations that extend beyond their compatibility. The original model was okay, but had a few hardware issues that simply affected how the guitar felt in comparison to the official SG controller. The new model silently addresses a lot of those concerns, so if you feel like you have to have a wireless guitar now and don’t want to wait for the official wireless release, now is not a terrible time to do so.

Okay, maybe a few. No more than 16, though.

I don’t think any discussion of Shadows of the Colossus is complete without mentioning what a complete pain in the ass it is to come across. I visited no fewer than six different retail outlets last week, all of whom had received no more copies than were needed to fill their pre-orders. Despondent, I began driving aimlessly, praying for a swift end to my misery when finally I saw it: A Gamestop planted directly adjacent to a liquor store. Could there have been any clearer sign that fortune lay within? Needless to say, after acquiring The Package, I took prompt advantage of the convenience offered.

A couple of interesting things about SotC: As you’ve probably read elsewhere, the controls aren’t as streamlined as we’ve come to expect from platformers. I think that when people refer to this, they are probably alluding to the fact that the jump and grab buttons are broken out as distinct functions when normally they’re performed as a single act, but I finally understand why it was done this way. Since your sole task is basically to climb aboard moving, mammoth creatures who truly do not want you to be there, I can see the sensibility in having a dedicated Hold On For Dear Life button. You’ll make good use of that button, too; it wouldn’t surprise me if I was holding it down for roughly half my total gaming time.

The second notable thing is that there are no foes other than these 16 boss battles. I have no problem with this idea, much as if you were to suggest that we permanently dissolve the act of eating dinner in favor of the subsequent desert, but it had better damn well be a tasty treat. I’m talking about cakes with the rich frosting, but not TOO rich, you know? In most cases, SotC delivers the goods. I’d never previously had the opportunity to ride a horse along side a giant flying beast, aligning the two so that I may leap from the back of the equine onto the beating wings that I then used to climb up onto the back of the thing. Having now done this, I can honestly say I’m glad I did. Unfortunately, only half of the battles are this entertaining; the rest suffer from either control/camera issues or obtuse and difficult to discern methods of attack. Still, the ones that work really work.

Finally, there’s the story. I don’t think it’s revealing too much to tell you that A) your story is never completely told, and B) the morality of your actions is ambiguous at best. The former item seems to me to be an artistic decision as opposed to flawed storytelling (read: Halo 2), though it’s a little frustrating at times. It feels a little like you’re entering into the plot halfway through. Maybe the whole thing seems cooler if you’re Japanese, I don’t know. The latter aspect is a little strange, though. You don’t have to play the game for more than 10 minutes to know that the game does not go out of it’s way to make you feel awesome about killing these Colossi. These things aren’t out ravaging cities or terrorizing the populace, they really tend to just be minding their own business. The act of felling your foe carries with it a sense of accomplishment but also of sadness. I’m totally in love with it, however. I really like the ideas of good people doing bad things, and vice versa. That’s not to say that your character is out performing totally evil deeds, but maybe more that his motivation is very self-interested.

Anyway, it’s all very unique. It’s not quite the Citizen Kane piece of breathtaking art that I had hoped it might be, but it definitely defies conventions in a positive way. You know who doesn’t want you to defy conventions? That would be The Man, and are you going to take his shit? I didn’t think so.

While nothing would make us happier than having the time to play San Andreas once through on each platform, the plain fact of the matter is that herr Monkey has to pay rent and I’m on vacation in NYC.

As a result, we went ahead and let the boys at IGN go ahead and write up a comparison of San Andreas on all three platforms: PS2, PC, and Xbox. Should you buy it a second time for all of the upgrades and bonuses? Or is this cheap game just looking for a another trick?

[Thanks Ge0ff]

Capcom has appearantly sat by long enough while Namco and Midway (and Nintendo…) have milked some cash out of their dusty old libraries. Even though most people who want to play these titles have probably stolen found a way to do so, giving them the chance to buy the real deal is not a bad way to go.

The Capcom Classics Collection looks extremely solid. Titles include 1942, 1943, Gun Smoke, Mercs, Commando, 1943 Kai, Higemaru, Vulgus, Street fighter II, Street Fighter II CE, Street Fighter II Turbo, Son Son, Ghosts and Goblins, Ghouls and Ghosts, Super Ghouls and Ghosts, Forgotten Worlds, Section Z, Legendary Wings, Final Fight, Trojan and Bionic Commando.

Ships in September for Xbox and PS2.