I have TLO and TLS but I've yet to play either. TLO looks legitimately interesting to my tastes. TLS... does not but I just got it because <something something new jack swing>.
Started playing Vesperia. Initial couple obsevations:
- First shot of the game proper is centered squarely on Repede's butt. GOTY right there, folks.
- Load times seem less than TotA. Feels p. silky.
- Antialiasing looks gross on cel shading :( Antialising looks gross in general. SR2 has some slight antialiasing and it's just bleh.
- Colors looked weird in the cutscenes. Are they compressed or do I have the color settings on my 360 messed up?
WHY ARE SOLT AND PEPPOR IN VESPERIA IS THIS SOME JAPAN THING.
Up to Deiden Hold. Repede's model appears to have a wiener.
Combat feels kind of stiff to me, especially the way it doesn't retarget after you free run, also the AI doesn't seem very good at, uh, maintaining pressure. Estelle doesn't seem to even attack ever?
Yeeeep Repede def'nitly got a thang. NEXT GEN GRAPHICS FOLKS.
Who did the music for this anyway? It sounds Arc the Lad 2ish as heck. Wait it's Sakuraba? It doesn't sound like Sakuraba.
Music: Sakuraba and Hibiki Aoyama (first time I heard of the latter)
You're looking too hard for/at doggy dick (I never noticed; might be extra dog fuzz, not sure they'd animate a full dick unless they just went "bulge" route).
Combat is stiff at first (I noticed this too), but unlocking more skills really loosens it up. If you want really fluid combat I recommend (as many others have for this) Tales of Graces. Still; Vesperia keeps things fresh by adding the Limit Break thingy on the left later on and the "instant-kill" attacks that happen when you wear an enemy down (all taught later on)
Yeah, my mind was all on Solt and Peppor too. They do add a third Stooge later though (though less of a complete retard) and they play a sort-of interesting part in the story later on.
AI for Estelle is pretty....special. Yeah she ain't the hottest healer/attacker, but I find she does the job otherwise. Heals, occasional spells, and the rest of the melee-ers do their shit, you're good to go. But healers are always interesting in Tales games; you can really get along just fine without them for most of the game and just rely on items and cooking instead.
Vesperia's colours are probably the most vibrant in the series... I'm surprised you think it looks bad unless the plug ain't in too well. And, speaking for myself, I liked the cel shaded look more than Xillia's attempts at adding [pixelated] "textures" instead. x(

Finished Far Cry 3.
Wasn't a big fan of the story near the end but the game was really fun overall. I will probably play the Co-op missions soon.
Dragon's Crown.
Beat the game on normal mode. I actually found Red Dragon harder than Ancient Dragon. Think I might take a break before trying some other classes/higher difficulty modes.
Atelier Rorona Plus
The game is really fun. I like the addition of the mini assignments, they give you something to aim towards. Currently up to Assignment 2. Yay for not having to revisit each area every few days in case there is a new scene!
Far Cry was a ton of fun and I didn't know why. I liked how reviews said the "scenery was repetitive"...... WELL SHIT SON, I DUNNO IF IT'S JUST CUZ I LIVE IN CANADA, BUT THE DAY I WANNA STOP SEEING TROPICAL ISLAND SCENERY I'LL LET YOU KNOW, MMMKAY?
I hated the dark caves in that game, and shark attacks. Shit I loved getting scared by the game, actually.
And yeah, I agree. I find the Red Dragon a way bigger pain in the ass than the final boss; but I did spend a lot more time preparing for one than the other.