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Bought Kingdom Hearts HD with no intention of playing it anytime soon... that did not last long. I forgot how much I love that game. I doubt I'll be able to go for the platinum though omg :/

Well my 360 died I am going to mull over my options, but at the moment I'm just a little disgusted. I don't use it very often, but having just bought Splinter Cell for it kind of hurts. Bah. Oh well I guess I'll just be playing Puppeteer for now.

Is it worth it for me to pick up Puppeteer right away, Trip? I feel like jumping on it but I'm not so sure about dropping another $40 when I have so many games already

I was curious as to the quality of Puppeteer as well. I really want that game, Kingdom Hearts HD, as well as a million other things. Do a review of it without any spoilers.

@ajapam - I see you started Ni No Kuni, in my opinion you're playing the greatest game of the year, so if you skip out on Puppeteer for now you should be fine.

Yes, I am playing Ni No Kuni. I'm enjoying it more now that I'm playing the full game

I didn't really care for the demo if that is what you're referring to. I never like demos. Especially RPG ones where level grinding will benefit me in no way.

I'll definitely let you know how Puppeteer is when I play more of it. I only played about one hour so far. Seems okay, but not blowing me away, but it is a little early to judge.

Keep in mind the demo I am referencing is Ni No Kuni and not Puppeteer. Never played Puppeteer demo.

I really look forward to the visual aspect of Puppeteer, looks like a feast for the eyes!

RPG demos should always give you powered up characters...

Whoever at Ubisoft put together the Rayman demos for Origins and Legends though is a god-damn genius. Origins was the last game that convinced me to buy it based soley on the demo.

I've been thoroughly enjoying Killzone. I've mainly been playing the multiplayer, but did 2 campaign missions. Enemy AI seems kind of stupid, but they throw enough of them at you to make it hard.

Multiplayer is where I'll spend a good amount of my time. They've changed warzone, but I think most already know that. The only mode I don't like is Interrogate, only because it isn't the easiest thing to accomplish. Doesn't help that when you finally sneak up on someone your team shoots him dead from the front.

BretBaber wrote:Keep in mind the demo I am referencing is Ni No Kuni and not Puppeteer.  Never played Puppeteer demo.

I really look forward to the visual aspect of Puppeteer, looks like a feast for the eyes!

It definitely doesn't disappoint visually. It really does look amazing and they play up the whole puppet/theater aspects like crazy complete with cheers and reactions from the crowd. Really cool from that perspective. The gameplay is solid too. I'm not going to lie coming off of Rayman probably doesn't help this game in that aspect. There is so much depth to that game's moveset and this one is a little more shallow by comparison. The jumping still feels good and the scissors are a neat addition to the platforming. Again, I am quite early in the game.

My girlfriend has picked up Rayman and we're gonna binge on it all weekend. I am...super stoked.

Also picked up Ni No Kuni (DS) again, which is still great, and my reading Japanese has gotten better so it's moving a bit faster.

Krubixcube wrote:Also picked up Ni No Kuni (DS) again, which is still great, and my reading Japanese has gotten better so it's moving a bit faster.

全部理解できるの？

Been playing Dishonored for hours at a time, and ruined my sleep pattern staying up until 3am last night. I even wrecked my gym schedule for that game. Anyway, I'm really digging it a lot. It kind of reminds me of Metal Gear Solid meets Assassin's Creed meets The Count of Monte Cristo.

Kayshire Cat wrote:52 hours and 28 minutes. Did it all in one run too along with every possible mission in the game. I feel accomplished.

Impressive!

TripOpt55 wrote:Well my 360 died :(I am going to mull over my options, but at the moment I'm just a little disgusted. I don't use it very often, but having just bought Splinter Cell for it kind of hurts. Bah. Oh well I guess I'll just be playing Puppeteer for now.

Sorry to hear about that, Trip. I heard that GameStop buys broken Xbox systems, but I doubt you'd get a good deal for it (especially from GameStop). I know my busted PS3 would earn ~$100 for scrap parts via Craigslist at one point; just not too sure about the Xbox.

That reminds me: Does anyone know if the XBox One will play blu-ray? I know it's a conflict of interest, but I feel like it's kind of a necessity to validate Xbox One's price.

Xbone does indeed play Blu-ray.

Doesn't it only play games in blu-ray, but doesn't actually work as a blu-ray player? That's what I thought I heard/read.

Nah I remember a big deal was people could still play Blu-Ray without checking in when Xbone has the DRM

Ni No Kuni is... something. It has plenty of charm, the visuals and music are great. The Studio Ghibli collaboration did wonders for this game. There's enough of good stuff here to make me push through the whole thing.

Apart from that, it holds you back far more than it needs to and the combat is just kind of ok. Boss battles are particularly dull as at least 75% percent of my time (and I'm not exaggerating that percentage at all) is spent running around until I get more MP or until the boss is stunned. I brought that up after playing the demo, but it's an even bigger problem with the second boss. I do appreciate having the ability to dodge, though.

I can't remember much of the game since I played through it so fast. For me personally, I loved everything about the game. My favorite part was that Oliver was such a good kid, and that something horrible happened to him. He was a main character that I felt a sadness for, and hoped his journey ended happy. From beginning to end, it was a lovable game.

I've heard others on here say the game was hard, but I never struggled on a boss more than once. Most of the boss battles I'd use familiars, and switch to Oliver for healing when necessary, so I don't recall much MP farming.

It was everything I love/want in an RPG, something games like Skyrim, Fallout, Dragon's Age, or Mass Effect I know will never give me.

KZ Vita is pretty fun. I wouldn't say it's a killer app but it is more than a worthy purchase for Vita. Haven't played online yet so here's to hoping it's as good as the campaign.

The only problem I had with combat in Ni No Kuni is the near worthless AI of any party member not being directly controlled by the player. The MP thing does get much better when you upgrade certain abilities through bounties. I don't consider that a spoiler but I won't say any more.

@lenny 何となくします、漢字はちょっと難しいけどね

Finally beat Last of Us and feel depressed, which is good because I have Rayman to fix that right up and so far, Last of Us, Bioshock and Rayman are right up there for top 3 games this year. Though I couldn't say in particular what order...

I'm actually having a pretty easy time sorting out my favorite games of the year for once. Well, I know my #1 so far and my top 5 are easy to choose at least

Yeah, it has been way easier this year. Given I haven't played that many NEW games this year but so far what I have played left very strong impressions.

This is definitely my favorite year this gen. So many great games coming out like crazy. And that's with a lot of highest rated games being ones I think are really overrated or don't see in my top 10 like Tomb Raider, Bioshock Infinite (even though I still really like it) and Ni No Kuni.

@Bret Don't think it's fair to say those games don't deliver what you want from a JRPG when that's never been the goal of a WRPG. The genres are so different once you get past they're both centered on leveling, might as well say Metal Gear doesn't deliver it.

Bought the MGS:Legacy Collection. Hopefully I can pull myself through the cutscenes.

I think Ni no Kuni is still standing as my GOTY, but Tales of Xillia is a close second so far. NnK was an amazing experience for me.

@volvocrusher I think what Bret means is that Ni no Kuni gave him an experience that touched him in a way that WRPGs don't quite reach, especially in light of how fashionable it is for the last dying remnants of the gaming press to shit on JRPGs (I hate that term, BTW) and gush over WRPGs. I felt that way myself, and I'd rank Fallout: New Vegas right behind Valkyria Chronicles and Ni no Kuni (and maybe Xillia) as my favorite game of the generation.

Anyway, I found a copy of the Dragon's Crown artbook at a game store in Gilbert, Arizona, and picked it up. I found another used game store in Tempe that I think is probably the best used game store I've ever seen. It had so many rare treasures. Next time I'm in Arizona I'm going on a shopping spree there.

I also picked up Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD on my way back home. My PS2 copy of KH got stolen a long time ago.

Yeah, I know. I'm just saying the genres don't really compare as much as everyone thinks. Reviewers may act like WRPGs fill the void, but even if they don't, the quality they've had this gen has been noticeably better than JRPGs. I still get that you two do prefer it by far and it scratches an itch no other game can, but it's not another RPGs fault for not doing it when it's not even attempting that.