PixlBit

I hear a lot of people talk about that problem, but I've never had it myself. I love to bring my 3DS to the movies, because I get there early, can get some game time in, and then shut it during the movie and street pass. That's how I've gotten most of my street passes, actually.

I think my form of adult gamer guilt comes in my backlog, I can afford more games than I can play now, which results in me having tons of games on my shelf that I've never played. I keep telling myself that I'm saving them for a time when I can't afford the new releases, but who am I kidding? I find a way to buy the games I'm excited about, even when times are lean.

I think that soundtrack (and the game) are the best in the series. Not my favorite because nothing will top FF IV in my heart, but I can admit that everything about this game is on a different level.

Fun story: when Uematsu did his Q&A at the Distant Worlds concert I went to someone asked him what his favorite composition is. After a lot of agonizing he confessed that if he was forced to choose it would be the ending theme to FF VI. He then said that he'd love to perform it for Distant Worlds, but when he mentioned that it's a 20 minute song the conductor did a double take.

It's totally insane and you can chuck the story right out the window. What it does great is give players tons of fan service for the characters and games that are represented. I'm about 18 hours in and my only real complaint is that the battles can drag on way too long. The battlefields are huge and the enemy AI doesn't move until you're within striking distance.

Our own Jesse Miller convinced me to go with the XL because the way the original is designed the lip around the bottom screen actually scratches the top screen when closed. As far as your question, absolutely. I don't even play portable games very much, but I have adored my 3DS so far. I've put a ton of hours into Fire Emblem and Project x Zone, and I've been working my way through Super Mario 3D Land, which is a really great Mario title.

You all do realize that this is an MMO launch, right? Actually, let me rephrase that. You realize that this is the launch of a game with an online component, right? This happens every time. There will never be as much server demand on a game as there will be in the first couple of weeks. The game isn't "broken" or "a failure". It's an online game with a ton of people trying to get on at the same time. This will all smooth out. Until then, just chill. I haven't even bothered with my copy of XIV this week. I installed it and updated it, and I'll probably start playing it next week.

Now, if there are massive login problems and droppages a month or two from now, by all means start complaining, because that's not normal.

The return of the Wall of Text! Huzzah!

You bring up a great point with DLC. I've honestly never really thought of it as a way to keep people working. For the record, I'm generally pro-DLC, but I rarely buy any of it, because I move on to the next game so quickly. I have yet to play any of the Mass Effect 3 DLC besides the new ending, and you know how much I love that game.

I'd love to see DLC used as a chance for designers to get crazy, like the Far Cry 3 guys did with Blood Dragon.

Also, you've now given me the idea to make an RPG where all of the summon spells are different film incarnations of Jason Statham.

I'm sorry to hear that you had such a situation. We'll have to agree to disagree on this though. I'm a collector with hundreds of games, but if they all went up in flames or got stolen tomorrow I'd just count them as a loss and move on. I'd probably rebuy some of the most important games, like my MGS and Final Fantasy titles, but I don't think I automatically get a pass to download all of my lost games if the worst happens.

Of course, I forget that you're in Australia. I do believe that the pricing for games in your neck of the woods is downright criminal, so if I had grown up there maybe I'd feel differently.

There's that little thing about it being illegal, for one. But you're also using an edge case. Even if a game is out of print, there are people selling legitimate copies of it. As a retailer of video games for almost a decade, piracy has been one of my biggest pet peeves. People can dress it up any way they want to, but at the end of the day the prevailing sentiment is "I can pirate this because I deserve to."

I've never pirated a game. If it's something that is impossible to come by or super expensive (see Earthbound) I simply do without. There are plenty of games out there.

Do you also get to go to a furniture store and walk out with replacements because yours went up in flames? No.

Thanks! It's entirely possible that, had I played on a strong enough PC that my score would have been higher, but there's still the issue of the final parts of the game not cashing in on the brilliance of the rest of the adventure. Still, people should totally play this game!