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Tuesday, July 24, 2007
PSP Holiday Journal - 24-July-2007
After finishing Puzzle Quest and the two Metal Gear Acid games, all of which have certain roleplaying elements, I started the only real classic RPG I have for the PSP: Tales of Eternia. And was horribly disappointed by it. Why is this game reported to be the best RPG on the PSP? It't pretty boring, and I didn't like it a bit. After just over 8 hours I gave up on it.
The main problem with Tales of Eternia is the combat, the Linear Motion Battle System. Combat isn't turn-based, but you control your hero in a system that goes back to the Street Fighter games: The battlefield is one-dimensional, scrolling left to right. You can move and mash buttons to hit monsters and perform various combos. The other party members are computer controlled. If you want to give them orders, or use items, you need to pause and use a fiddly menu to do so. Most of the time you are just hitting buttons wildly, with very little strategy or tactics involved.
I'm a big fan of Sid Meier's definition of a game as a "series of interesting decisions", and Tales of Eternia falls way short on that account. The story, besides being rather generic, is strictly linear and doesn't involve any decisions. And in combat you take very few decisions as well, as it puts action over tactics. So the game ends up being more like a film, interrupted by action sequences.
Anyone know a good roleplaying game for the PSP with good turn-based combat?
Well, after Tales of Eternia I tried Lego Star Wars II, which is funny, but more difficult than it looks. Sometimes you simply don't know what you are supposed to do next, and the inability to turn the camera independantly doesn't help. Then I played a bit of Everbody's Golf, which is fun enough, but not something I'd want to play for many hours on end.
So I finally ended up playing Field Commander. This is pretty much a clone of the Gameboy's Advance Wars, but a good one; it got IGN's best PSP strategy of the year award last year. You control an army of infantry, various vehicles, air force and navy in turn-based tactical combat against a computer opponent. There are 18 different unit types, modified by many different division powers. The campaign has nearly 30 missions, so I'll be busy with that for a while. I could also create and play my own missions, but I doubt that I'll do that, there is no surprise in that.
Anyway, it's already the last week of my holidays. Time flies when you are having fun. I even got a very un-geek-like tan.
- posted by Tobold @ 11:29 AM Permanent Link
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I played Everybodys Golf on the PSOne; it was a really fun game. I prefer the cartoony sort of golf game to the Tiger Woods type.
I much prefer turn based combat to RTS games, too. Advance Wars and Fire Emblem are 2 of the Gameboy Games I play on my Gamecube now and again (Gameboy Player). I would like to try the Gamecube version of Fire Emblem, but it is pretty expensive second hand.
Yes, Warcraft 3 is fun, but that type of RTS game is really all about out-zerging your opponent, and needs less skill than Advance Wars, I feel, despite all the different units and building upgrades you have available in Warcraft.
I much prefer turn based combat to RTS games, too. Advance Wars and Fire Emblem are 2 of the Gameboy Games I play on my Gamecube now and again (Gameboy Player). I would like to try the Gamecube version of Fire Emblem, but it is pretty expensive second hand.
Yes, Warcraft 3 is fun, but that type of RTS game is really all about out-zerging your opponent, and needs less skill than Advance Wars, I feel, despite all the different units and building upgrades you have available in Warcraft.
# posted by 
: 24/7/07 15:30
: 24/7/07 15:30
Well, part of what makes Tales of Eternia fun for me _is_ the frenetic combat - on the PSX you could bind the second triggers to specific spells if you found that some weren't being used enough, but mostly I just left my back ranks on auto, turning off particular spells in the character setup but otherwise letting them do their own thing.
Also, never to be underestimated in more actiony RPGs, spells rarely wrest control away from your characters to animate and those that do are over in seconds. I suppose that's a done thing these days but back when ToE launched it was fresh and new.
The plot, however, is just a tissue-thin excuse to take a world tour and it doesn't even bother being consistent with its own self. So that's not a strength.
--GF
Also, never to be underestimated in more actiony RPGs, spells rarely wrest control away from your characters to animate and those that do are over in seconds. I suppose that's a done thing these days but back when ToE launched it was fresh and new.
The plot, however, is just a tissue-thin excuse to take a world tour and it doesn't even bother being consistent with its own self. So that's not a strength.
--GF
I suggest getting a game called work time fun- WTF. Play that for a good 30 mins then all your other games seem alot more interesting to play.
worktimefun is kind of a anti-game imo but its kind of entertainignng with all the minigames u can do.
worktimefun is kind of a anti-game imo but its kind of entertainignng with all the minigames u can do.
You spent a lot of money on games you will only play for a few hours. It sounds like your PSP experiment is a failure :(
# posted by : 25/7/07 21:32
: 25/7/07 21:32
Psp's are awsome, i dunno what your talking about.
Not only can watch your dvd movies on them, u can browse internet on wifi, play games and play music.
If anything its a ipod/pda/gaming device . . . thats cheaper than an ipod altogether. You might have the wrong impression as people who own psp's dont just play them on vacations, they really are kind of addicting technology.
Not only can watch your dvd movies on them, u can browse internet on wifi, play games and play music.
If anything its a ipod/pda/gaming device . . . thats cheaper than an ipod altogether. You might have the wrong impression as people who own psp's dont just play them on vacations, they really are kind of addicting technology.
I have pretty much the entire GTA series for the PC, so when I got a PSP I went for Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories.
In case you're not familiar with these games, you get the main storyline missions, but there are lots of other 'side-missions' you can do, like collecting patients in your ambulance, ferrying people round town in a taxi, or taking out various criminal elements in your police car, and that is just the tip of the iceberg.
Alternatively, you can just drive round the cities, listening to the radio stations (some of the adverts are hilarious).
The only downside is that the controls are a bit fiddly (compared to the PC controls), but apart from that, I have been immersed for hours, and I will be taking it with me on my 2 week holiday in the sun!
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In case you're not familiar with these games, you get the main storyline missions, but there are lots of other 'side-missions' you can do, like collecting patients in your ambulance, ferrying people round town in a taxi, or taking out various criminal elements in your police car, and that is just the tip of the iceberg.
Alternatively, you can just drive round the cities, listening to the radio stations (some of the adverts are hilarious).
The only downside is that the controls are a bit fiddly (compared to the PC controls), but apart from that, I have been immersed for hours, and I will be taking it with me on my 2 week holiday in the sun!
# posted by : 26/7/07 11:39
: 26/7/07 11:39<< Home
