robio said:

I'm surprised how many comments I've seen (here and the Eurogamer board) of people who've played one series but not the other.  Seems to me with the critical thinking involved in both games that there'd be a natural appeal to fans of either series to try the other.

I beaten 3 (or 4?) of the Ace Atty series adn none of the Layton.  The way it was marketed I always assumed it was dressed-up Brain Training (which I also ignored).  I thought it was momware.  I assume I am wrong?

aspro said:

I beaten 3 (or 4?) of the Ace Atty series adn none of the Layton.  The way it was marketed I always assumed it was dressed-up Brain Training (which I also ignored).  I thought it was momware.  I assume I am wrong?

Yes and no.  If you want to boil it down to basic elements, yes it is a collection of brain teaser type puzzles, particularly the first one.  But in the same way that most reviewers say Epic Yarn is better than the sum of its parts due to the presentation Layton is the same way. The puzzles are presented (somewhat) in context of a much grander story. The characters are likeable. The art style is very pleasing. The music is excellent.  All of that elevates the game into more than just a puzzle collection that you play in 15 minute incriments.  All of it makes you want to keep playing and see Professor Layton solve whatever mystery he's working on.

lordandrew said:

Archangel3371 said:

Awesome! GS just gave Vanquish a 9. I can't wait to pick this up next week.

Whatever, man. That games' like an hour long.

So on the podcast, McShea says it took him 6:20 on normal.  So i't probably take me at least an hour more, given he busts out games pretty quick.

Van Ord says it is his favorite game of the year, that it is technically "flawless".  No slow down with huge explosions, great pacing and art.

He said that every explosion is super big, which reminds me again of Earth Defense Force.

=-=-

Oh, and... Van Ord is reviewing Fallout New Vegas. Says is it "super good" despite it being a technical mess and glitchy. I expect he'll give it an 8.

Siliconera,

"Even though Final Fantasy Tactics fetched triple digits on eBay, Square Enix (technically Squaresoft) kept at least one pristine copy under lock and key. But, now they’re giving it away to promote Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together.

One lucky winner will win Final Fantasy Tactics for PsOne and a non-Greatest Hits copy of Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions by creating funny captions in this contest. Square Enix plans on pushing Tactics Ogre with a series of bi-monthly contests and the heritage of the Final Fantasy Tactics series.

So far, there still isn’t a release date or window for Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together in North America."

New Last Story trailer

Dvader said:

New Last Story trailer

Well fuck her drunk ass sideways that looks fucking incredible.

Factoid to tell your co-workers and school friends next time you are met with an awkward silence:

"Did you know the Ace Attorney series has sold 3.9 million units worldwide? Now you do. Capcom reckons it's one of its "strongest intellectual properties".

Professor Layton, though, has sold a whopping 9.5 million units worldwide since the first title in the series went on sale in February 2007."

Been replaying COD WaW and intend to play through COD4 too before Black Ops.

WaW looking better now its back on an SDTV, but ugh, game hasn't aged well. Very linear and frantic, smoke and grenades and screen shake. Worse than that, I went into an empty bunker to clear it out and grab some weapons. I walk out and magically 4 japanese appear in the empty bunker behind me and banzai attack me.

And, I'm playing on the easiest setting just to get through it, but I don't think this game even has different difficulty settings. I mean, WTF you can still get insta-killed by bayonets, grenades, bad guys running at you point blank and sparaying you with bullets for 2 seconds. You might as well be playing on the hardest setting, there is no difference here. That's bad design. I prefer the russian campaign too.

Yay for Layton and Phoenix, once again. The trailer looks really good. Also of note, apparently in the Layton Chronology of things, this must take place around the second trilogy since Luke looks much younger than he does during the first three games, and the word is the second trilogy is about how Layton took him under his wing in the first place.

And speaking of Layton, I just finished up the Unwound Future this morning. Very enjoyable.