Tales of PlayStation(s) revealed

[Dice]

I've never been a fan of the more well-known websites because in my opinion they are just too corporatist. Seems like they water things down and don't put any heart into anything anymore. That's why I love RPGFan. Our reviewers are all true gamers that still love RPGs and gaming in general.

Yeah, I can agree with this. :)
I love reading the reviews here.

Oh!  With the exception of the, now "corporate-y" RPGfan Veteran, Kim Wallace.  I love that she covers RPGs for Game Informer; a damn fine fit, I say!

[Cyril]

Edit: Never mind, I feel like I'm being an ass.

[Jotacon]

I've never been a fan of the more well-known websites because in my opinion they are just too corporatist. Seems like they water things down and don't put any heart into anything anymore. That's why I love RPGFan. Our reviewers are all true gamers that still love RPGs and gaming in general.

I don't like dividing game reviewers into true and not-true gamers. I'm pretty sure everyone who spends the time to write a review likes video games. It's not like it's hard to find critics who like certain kinds of game either, Kat Bailey is a very good writer and she loves RPGs. Now go ahead and take the piss out of those large websites they certainly deserve it they have problems and some sites have a clear homogeneous feel. However, I will ask you to remember that Jeff Gerstmann wrote for Gamespot(most boring reviews on the planet) before creating Giantbomb(very personal reviews), if there is a problem it is most likely with how things are run - not the writers themselves.

I do agree with the love of RPGFan, I think the writing team is really strong and diverse. I've trusted reviews from here for a while now.

[Kevadu]

desperately sticking in fancy words and phrases trying to sound smart without really grasping the nuisances of their usage.

I agree it really is a nuisance to use language, particularly fancy words. I read the review and it is very IGN.

Touche.

Obviously I meant 'nuances' and in my defense I don't have any editors to read over my forum posts before showing them to the world, nor do I get paid for this shit ;)

[Akanbe-]

Isn't an 8.0 on IGN like a 9.8 from an actual RPG fan review?  I just read their end of review summary since I got the chance to play around 15-20 hours of the import and the summary part sounded fine at least to me for an IGN review.  I do disagree about the graphics though.  I think the graphics are pretty damn great if you like the art style.  They don't feel outdated to me.

[Kevadu]

To add more to the discussion, I don't necessarily feel that it's large-website homogenization that's the problem here.  In recent years IGN has really been pushing video/audio content over written content.  Written reviews have also gotten noticeably shorter, no doubt because they ran some numbers and figured most people don't actually read them beyond a certain length so why bother.  But I think the biggest problem is that they really want to be an internet TV channel or something, with video news, video reviews, video editorials, etc.  There is much less emphasis on the written word these days.  Personally I hate video content because I can't just skim it and pick out the parts I care about, but I guess I'm in the minority.

P.S.: I don't give a shit about their score.  That was never my complaint.

[Dice]

Isn't an 8.0 on IGN like a 9.8 from an actual RPG fan review?  I just read their end of review summary since I got the chance to play around 15-20 hours of the import and the summary part sounded fine at least to me for an IGN review.  I do disagree about the graphics though.  I think the graphics are pretty damn great if you like the art style.  They don't feel outdated to me.

Why doesn't Ashton's review show up on metacritic?

Eh...  The graphics are good but still have their shortcomings.  For one, everyone's outfit has some pretty easy-to-spot pixelation (and the game has no problem with showing character close ups).  There is also some sloppy issues with character hair going in and out of character models (rather than grazing the surface).  The emotional range or the characters is pretty stiff as well.  I find, and always have, Tales games really excel in their ability to produce lovely environments rather than exquisite character models.  This may be a nuance, but I'm also gonna throw a big "NO" to Milla -- the chick is waaay too emaciated that she stands out in a really creepy way amongst her more fully-dressed team members.

Also, after having come off playing Eternal Sonata, as far as JRPGs go, their graphics were almost *flawless* in this regard.

[Aeolus]

To add more to the discussion, I don't necessarily feel that it's large-website homogenization that's the problem here.  In recent years IGN has really been pushing video/audio content over written content.  Written reviews have also gotten noticeably shorter, no doubt because they ran some numbers and figured most people don't actually read them beyond a certain length so why bother.  But I think the biggest problem is that they really want to be an internet TV channel or something, with video news, video reviews, video editorials, etc.  There is much less emphasis on the written word these days.  Personally I hate video content because I can't just skim it and pick out the parts I care about, but I guess I'm in the minority.

P.S.: I don't give a shit about their score.  That was never my complaint.

You forgot the e-Sports. They really want competitive videogame playing to become ubiquitous enough to garner a spot on basic cable (as well as making themselves the forefront of that movement).

[ultra7k]

Is there a consensus on how much game there actually is with this? I didn't keep up with any of the media releases unfortunately.

I imagine with having to choose between two characters as your main, you'll likely miss out on some plot points?

[Klutz64]

So is Milla supposed to have a lisp, or is that just bad audio recording? Kind of hard to tell.

[Dice]

So is Milla supposed to have a lisp, or is that just bad audio recording? Kind of hard to tell.

The former, the latter, and possibly just a spice of 'bad acting' on top.

[Nel_Annette]

Picked up Xillia this morning. But I won't be able to play it or Graces f until I buy a PS3 next month. Haven't touched the series since Vesperia in 2008 and I'm itching to hope back in.

Also, quick question about Symphonia's HD release coming out next year: are they revamping the battle system to include the whole "3D plain" thing that Abyss introduced. Because that was my favorite addition to the battle system.

[Aeolus]

Tales of Get!

Now I just need a PS3 and I'll be kosher.

[Agent D.]

My copy is sitting, still wrapped, in my bed, waiting patiently for Dragon's Crown to finish fucking my disc tray.

[Cyril]

That's precisely why I canceled my PS3 DC order and went with Vita.  That way I can play Xillia while my Vita charges, haha.