Well first things first. I know that at the beginning of the year we put iup lists of our top 10 games and most wanted. Well since then a game has jumped on my most wanted list and is embedded in my mind like a bad splinter in a finger. That games is Zone of Enders: 2nd Runner. From what I've seen so far, the game looks like a cool update to the first game both visually and conceptually. This time around Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid) and his team are incorporating anime into the intro and cutscenes...sweet. Also the graphics for the actual gameplay have been updated and cel-shaded. I don't think too much has changed in way of the play mechanics, but that's fine. However here are my concerns for this sequel. The first game was WAY TOO SHORT. I beat it in five and a half hours. Second, it was way too repetitive. There were only two instances when the gameplay changed from the routine of just fly, kill, pick up stuff. Third, there were only three regular enemies to fight. They only changed in difficulty as the game progressed. The boss battles were fine and welcome as far as I'm concerned. I hope that these issues are addressed this time around since they're not packaging this version with some sort of demo. Anyway to check it out for yourself go here.
I've played Guilty Gear X2 for a couple of days now and enjoy it. It's a good game, but I think I would be happier with Capcom vs. SNK EO for the Xbox. Guilty Gear is beautiful to look at, has excellent character design, and has a real hidden depth to the gameplay, but I honestly prefer more characters and some team combat in my 2D fighters these days. What can I say. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 spoiled me. I suggest you play mine for a bit before you buy it.
Now for the difficult news. Many of you already know Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for the Xbox got pushed back to May. However you may not be aware that Star Ocean: Till the End of Time by Squenix (Enix actually, but they are merging with Square) got pushed back to September 9. Nooooooo. Those were two games I had already pre-purchased. Well, Star Wars has already turned to GGX2. I'm still debating on what to turn Star Ocean into. Don't get me wrong, I still plan to get these games, but I demand immediate satisfaction. Go to ebgames.com to learn more about release dates.
Last bit of news to share. Gamespot has a review up for .hack, the offline "online" RPG. It got a respectable 7.0. All in all they felt it was ok, but nothing too outstanding. Fine with me...the anime SUCKED!!! After that craptacular anime I just can't buy into the whole . hack experience. That anime still makes my head hurt.
So that's it for my first post on Level Up. If you want in on this action, just send your news, links, pics, etc. to me. Later.