That was easily one of the shittiest trailers I've seen in a long time.  I have the game pre-ordered, but if I were to base my purchasing decision off of that trailer, I definitely wouldn't be onboard.

It really is a poor man's gambit system.

Torchlight.  Play an alchemist.  There is a skill tree that caters to summoning minions.

You want your ranged attacker as aggressive.  There's an NPC in the encampment by the rift stone that sells potions that adjust the AI.  I think they're called challenger elixirs, but they are IMO the best to give strider because that makes striders emphasize killing ranged and magic attackers first.  In hard mode, a bandit ranger can one-shot you easily with ten-fold flurry.

Well, there's also skill selection, but that's the gist, yeah.

You'd be surprised how much of a difference the AI adjustments can make, though.  For example, if you're a mage or sorcerer, you'd think you'd want a fighter pawn with guardian as a trait, but that is actually a bad thing.  The issue is that the fighter pawn will draw aggro, but will stay close to you at all times.  This puts enemies in your immediate area which is NOT a good thing at all.

My fighter pawn has scather as primary and utilitarian as secondary.

It's worth noting that if you are concerned about getting five stars, make sure your pawn is female.  Gaming is filled with horny males, after all.

Anyways, finished getting all achievements.  Third game I've ever done that for.

Apparently someone here has never watched Willow.

Shame on you.

It is, oversimplified, your standard theme park MMO in terms of functionality and interface.  It has the Final Fantasy feel to it, and content-wise, it is clear they're intending to take elements of various newer MMOs and implementing them accordingly (dynamic events for example).  I don't expect a reinvention of the house, but I do expect a good house.  They have the foundation to make it happen with their new engine.  If the alpha had been a travesty, I'd have moved on yet again.  I was surprised to see it run as well as it did in alpha, which is phenomenally better than how FFXIV 1.0 ever ran even after dozens of patches.

They've given me nothing but good vibes so far.  They've been forthcoming every step of the way.  I'm definitely onboard.

Not that any of this really matters because the game will be priced at $40 on PS3.

You don't.  You just can't register it right now.

Square issued a recall on all copies of Final Fantasy XIV to retailers months ago.  The game is not supposed to be sold any longer.  Some retailers chose not to listen, though.

None of it will make sense until you've completed the game.  And when I say completed the game, I mean actually completed it.  There are a large number of people who see the credits and think the game is finished when there is a LOT more to do.  It is akin to the epilogue of Lunar 2: Eternal Blue - you are missing out on important content by not playing through it.

I'm actually doing another replay, with the intent of getting all remaining achievements.  There are only two other games I have ever played where I have attempted this.

There is a story in the game.  The narrative however, is not structured or delivered in a manner to hand-hold you through it.  You have to do a mixture of piecing things together yourself, not to mention that it is possible to skip right past various chunks of it due to you actively needing to retread old ground to find updated quest content for certain NPCs, which by missing will give the impression that there isn't a story.  I said the story was terrible before, but I think it's more fair to say that the story is... adequate at best.  Yet another problem is that there isn't a single compelling piece of dialogue in the game, save a certain one-liner said in Aelinore's bedroom during that fucking weird "LENOOOORE!!!!" Edgar Allen Poe sequence.  Most of the voice work is your pawns saying stupid shit to the point that it becomes white noise.

Glaring flaws hurt what would otherwise have been my game of the year.  The gameplay is stupidly addicting, especially when you get into the epilogue portion of the game and you start fighting the really good stuff.

For anyone who's on Xbox 360, my GT is Meicyn.  My pawn is quite well equipped and fights very effectively.  Just add me as a friend and you can recruit him at no cost.  That goes for anyone on your friends list, for that matter.

Nomura needs to go away in general.  Akihiko Yoshida is way better, even after considering how much I hate Vaan and Panelo.

Sweet, saves me from having to register.  Also, interestingly enough, it says phase 4 characters transfer to retail.  I guess they're treating the open beta phase as more or less free advertising/head start.

Someday, when I become a more "refined person" and make my own RPGs, I will develop an "amazing" combat system of my own.  I will probably name the game "The Best RPG: Game of the Forever" or something like that so I can ensure my studio's success through the maximization of game sales by telling everyone in advance that all these various elements, right down to the title of the game, are incredible.

One of the biggest issues I think, is a lack of understanding the balancing act of self-improvement versus "being yourself".  As an example, you'll have an individual who may be unkempt, and they'll bitch and moan about not being able to find a date.  At the very suggestion that they consider improving their grooming habits to enhance their public image, the individual will take offense and then utter something along the lines of "if they aren't going to accept me as I am then I don't want to date them anyway" and it's pretty much a self-defeating stance to take.

The use of "being yourself" as an excuse to look like a dirty sack of potatoes in public, act like a creeper, or otherwise justify being a lazy bum is a good way to stay single for a long time.