THAT WILL TEACH THOSE QUEERS.

what are quickbars? just wondering

You know the extra bars you can assign stuff to in MMOs?

i hate that shit

the crack forhitman absolution is taking forever:(

also dishonored isa great game it runs flawlesslyon mycomputerandonlytakes like 5 seconds to load

i justwish there were more fun ways to kill people

YEAH GAMES ARE FOR KIDZ

some things about assassin creed are so well designed and other things are so retarded

wanted posters on fucking rooftops

after i climb some shit i cant just stab the motherfucker in the back

why am i assassinating someone by fighting through 50 guards and then killing him in his face

im a stealthy assassin but everyone and their mother can outrun me

So, husband got a 360 and bought me 'Alan Wake' because it was 'killing things with light' not shooting things, except it's totally shooting things.


The only console I've ever played is an ameiga. I am so out of my comfort zone.

i got a cool ship from my fatty sith boss now i can go cruising YEEEEAAAA!!!!

I almost have enough energy crystals saved up to buy a shield.

hitman absolution is kinda gay

if u restart from a checkpoint it respawns everybody, even the ppl who you killed before you got to the checkpoint.
i got a silenced weapon in one level. finished the level and at the end he drives to the next level. the next level begins and i no longer have the silenced weapon. :/
90% of the game so far is running from/through stuff

seriously the more i think about this game the more i think its gay
so far there haveonly been like.. 2 hits.
both were so easy that its a joke. Pretty sure i got the highest rating on both of the only missions where i had to kill someone without even trying. Both times they basicallywalked into a room by themselves. :\
the restof the game was just running through shit or trying to sneak through an area where there's not even the goal of killing a person. wtf. did the makers of this game ever even PLAY A HiTMAN gAME?

they should've called this game absolutely runningman

seriously this game is a piece of shit fuck videogames now adays

theres literally levels where u dont kill anyone and dont have to sneak or anything. one level all i had to do was talk to a bartender. it was like a tiny ass space and the level ends immediately after. basically all u do is sabotage some electricity panel and it startsa bar fight which is almost cool and then you just walk through the level and realize that the entire thing was pointless. whatever i hate whoever made this game.
the level immediately after that is a gunshop and again you dont have to kill anyone or really do anything there and its basically another tiny space. BUT YOU CAN GET ACHIEVEMENTS IF YOU DO IT DIFFERENTLY OR TOUCH DIFFERENt WeAPONS
WOW. BET YOU CANT WAIT TO WALK THROUGH THIS TINY TEN BY TEN SPACE WITHOUT KILLIng ANYONE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENTLY THAN THE LAST TIME
CANT WAIT TO GET THAT ACHIEVEMENT FOR LOSING THE SHOOTING CONTEST.
THEN ILL GET THE ONE FOR WINNING IT AND THE ONE FOR TOUCHING A GUN THAT IVE ALREADY TOUCHED BEFOR
make that a cutscene you stupid fucks

dont buy this piece of shit

I play it on the hard hard hard difficulty and it's needlessly hard. So I turned it down. The levels are far smaller than in Blood Money, but Chinatown comes close to capturing the same thing.

But it's a fundamentally different game and should be judged on its own terms. I kept my expectations low and came out finding a few small things in the campaign that were nice. But the contracts mode is amazing. In fact, I get the feeling that they just designed giant playgrounds for the contracts mode and put in a story in the last ten minutes before it shipped.

i get the feeling that this game was designed by retards. "giant playgrounds"? lol. thelevels are like the sizeof my house.

chinatown is the gayest level. you play through 30 levels of running from thecops orw/e and then you get that piece of shit. if that level makes you happy than you have a serious problem. how much space is that level? like, 200 square feet? my house is probably bigger than that level. and the whole thing is stupid contrived. it's so straightforward its a joke. YOU CAN GO LEFT AND KILL HIM THIS WAY. OR GO RIGHT AND KILL HIM THIS WAY. i got silent assassin on that level first try and i wasn't even trying. same thing in the vixen bar. they just both wander off by themselves. SAME THINg WIth THE OTHER CHINAtOWN level. what the fuck. thats not a hitman game. or i should say itsa hitman gmewithout ass strong the illusion of beinga hitman game

fuck this fundamentally different game judged on its own terms shit. thats just an excuse for it being a piece of shit game. everytimei play it i lose interest within a few minutes.
why does this gunshop level exist? its pointless. you can't do anything important there. none of the guns you take will probably carry over to the next level. its only there forgay ass achievements. SHOOT THE DUCKS. LOSE THESHOOTInG COMPETITION. DONT LOSE THE SHOOTING COMPETITION fuck that. those aren't even cool challenges. and thats like half the game. gay ass challenges on gay ass levels that just have me thinking, "WelL There WILL PROBABLY BE A HIT ON THE neXT LEVEL" and then its chinatown the shoebox level. that level shouldve called it little trouble in tiny china.

ive never beensomad at a videogame before. i guess this generation of videogame makers is just horrible.

yea, its got some cool stuffi guess. like bullet time.
yep bullet time sure is great. thats what we need is more games with bullet time. im glad when i pirated this game that i was pirating max payne 3.

you know what this game remindsme of? one of those ADVENTURE GAMeS where everything is basically laid out for you and sure u can do different stuff to see some different cutscenes but basicallyitsallthe same. also sometimes u get to shoot stuff@! WOWWWW

It was the second part of Chinatown, my bad. It tries to do the Murder of Crows thing, but not as well.

They should just make more Kane and Lynch games as opposed to anything good.

One thing I've heard people do is pretend it's a Splinter Cell game instead of a Hitman sequel, as it seems to share more with them than the games previous.

Also, fuck you. I already said that the story is balls and the contracts are where it's at.

well i pirated the game so i cant play contracts :(

maybe that was part of their goal to makecontracts so fun and the story so gay that i have to actually buy the game to enjoy it.
its not gonna work though.

yea the second part of china town was almost fun. i was like, man, im gonna bash this dudes head in with a sledgehammer! and i did that and it was almostcool. then i found that guy kicking the other guy. then i sabotaged the guy at the gas thing. which was super easy because of the way they designed checkpoints so that they reset the entire level, so all i had to do was go there, save at checkpoint reload so the chef who can somehow spot cops isnt there, sabotage the gas thing then run to the second guy who was kicking the other guy off by himself in an easily accessible alley.
level complete
:|
now time for 30 run from the cop levels and several stand around and do nothing really levels

rosewood level was fun cuz i just killed everyone with bullettime and fireaxes and felt satisfied doing so. HEY FATHOM ZEROI HAVE THIS IDEA FOR A LEVEL. OK WE'RE gONNA POPULAte this hitMAN leveL WITH TWO DISGUISES. ONE DISGUISE IS THE DISGUISE EVERYBODIES WEARing SO IF yOU WeAR It everyBODY WILL be on tO YOU. ThE othEr DIsGUISe is THE DISguise THAT EverYBODY IS TRYING TO KILL SO IF YOU WEAR IT EVERYBODY WILL TRY TO KILL YOU. SOUNDS GREAT RIGHT?
gayest shit i ever heard

You've yet to murder everyone in Chinatown silently with the katana and the Chipmunk suit, though.

That's another thing - the levels themselves are filled with these grim, dark, hilarious things and none of that ever translates into the cutscenes and the story. And it hasn't been that way in any Hitman game, as a matter of fact. I get the feeling like they don't know what it should be and part of it is self-aware that it should be a fun game while another part isn't.

I'm playing the game like a solo sneaking mission. When I said Dishonoured should be more like Hitman, this wasn't the game I had in mind. So far, I like this Hitman more, honestly. I have a lot of problems with Dishonoured that still exist, although the level design is unparalleled in that game. As a murder simulator, it's much better.

i havent finished dishonored yet but considering its the first game in the series its way better than this piece of shit. i actually had a lot of fun in that game.

I had a tremendous amount of boredom in that game, which turned into anger after I kidnapped Sokolov or whatever his name was and had to carry him through Batman: Arkham Asylum.

i guess i just like making rats eat people and tricking people into running through forcefields that burn them into embers :( im actually on that level u got bored with somaybe ill get bored too

you know what i realized what is really wrong with hitman. and it is the level design but not just because its small. ive read they didnt want disguises to be like godmode when you find the best disguise (which is dumb cuz from what i remember in hitman bloodmoney people would be on to you if u stood around too long in front of the wrong people in the wrong disguise). so hey here's an idea dont make disguises that make you have god mode and don't make disguises easy to get. or hey some guards are more perceptive/something than others
problem solved.
how was that hard to think up? just have lots of different disguises and each one has some kind of weakness. maybe some characters even know each other so when you try to sneak past jimmy as his brother john it doesn't work and hey you could discover this type of information through the retardely scripted conversations that are everywhere.
wow that took me not six years to think up

fucking lazy uncreative idiots

dude so what the fuck. i finish the shaving lenny level and when i get to execute him theres a bunch of guns in the trunk. drive down the street to the next level and open the trunk and the guns are gone.

wtf did he make a pitstop to throw away his guns for no good reason?

fuck this game in its stupid asshole

this game is worth 3 dollars

Nah, that´s just in the pirated versions

Oh, if that's true, that's the best. Ahahahahahahahah.

really?

i highly doubt that considering the lack of continuity in the game so far

i dont like you anymore oxblood.

lol kinda like what they did in arkham asylum

Nope, looks like that's how it's supposed to work. It's not a clever anti-piracy measure; it's just shitty design.

The reviews I've read make it sound a lot like what I saw at E3: a game that was made by people who liked Hitman, rather than people who understood Hitman.

Here's an excerpt from PC Gamer's review:


"Playing music causes the police to dance and smoke weed. This is a puzzle solution."

they made a post on the hitmanforums asking for ways to improve the game

i feel bad for making fun of it so much now :(

FO TWENTY WIT DA PO-PO!

I've ben drawing on Miiverse more than I've been playing WiiU games. And I've been playing a lot of WiiU games. ZombiU is kinda like Dark Souls/Demon's Souls, which is neat, though the combat's way too shallow and ammo is practically nonexistant. Tekken Tag 2 basically the superior version of that game, with the extra modes and DLC characters from the get go. Mighty Switch Force looks waaaaaaay nicer on the WiiU than on the 3DS, though I do miss the 3D effects. And again, NintendoLand is way more fun than it has any right to be (hard too).

But the most important thing is that the Raving Rabbids message board has been taken over and is now unofficially a Willem Dafoe community:

There are pages and pages of it :lol

What, cause I lied to you? It was just wishful thinking dude :lol


I don´t understand why Hitman gets so much shit, it´s a very very good game. Yeah, it´s easier than blood money, sure but at least they´ll sell some games this way ;)

Hitman fans are just very defensive of their niche game. This probably seems like they're throwing it all out the window by trying to capture a wider audience. All I know is if the franchise can survive the abortion that was Hitman: Contracts, it'll be able to handle this in stride as well.

What they had said in the PC Gamer article, and what I agree with, is that the nex installment felt like a more limited experience. Fewer ways to solve assassinations, fewer ways to use weapons and tools, and fewer ways to use disguises effectively. The bottom line being that it's a decent stealth game, but a crummy Hitman game.

At this point, though, I don't really expect good things from old series revived for modern gamers. You've got outliers like Xcom and Deus Ex: HR, but for the most part, it's just crap with a familiar label.

Oh, did you also know that Square Enix have another dev team working on a Hitman game as well. Someone who isn't the team behind Kane and Lynch?

http://www.shacknews.com/article/767...reals-own-spin

I did not.

Well, good luck to them, I guess.


First and foremost, new team, don't put your shitty story at the forefront. At most, these games need a little background on who you're killing and where you are, and maybe a little extra to bookend the whole experience.

It's Square Enix Montreal, the guys who made Deus Ex: Human Revolution. I hold high hopes for it. They seem like a pretty squared away bunch. I wonder if they've been working in Thief 4 or the new Hitman game since Deus Ex.

Probably Thi-four-f



This snapshot was released a long time ago, which makes me feel like it's something like a good version of Dishonored - a Thief game.

Theeforfh

thifrth

Ah well, I´ve come to terms with the fact that they don´t make games like they used to but that´s okay, I can always go back and play the gems from back in the day like Torment, FF6 or something like that :)


Speaking of modern formulaic games, 6 hours into Far Cry 3. Way more fun than 2. Still very gamey with the bullshit pack-crafting...the only way I can explain it is if I assume that Jason is some kind of Diva, refusing to store his money in anything less than tiger-fur-wallets :lol Grenade Pouch? GOTTA be made from Dingo pelt, what will the other kids think of me if I show up with a cowleather pouch?!

How'd you get that Far Cry 3? It doesn't come out here until December Thi4f.


edit: Oh right, it came out today in the EU. Is it good? I have it preordered.

My regular shop tends to have games a few days earlier...which is why I give them my money ;)

I really like it so far. The story is very well presendet and immersive, Jason is NOT a silent protagonist, Vaas is tremendously cool as a villain because he´s so volatile, the weapons feel good and make sense...

If I had to say something negative it would be that the performance on the consoles is not as good as it should be. Apparently the 360 is tearing like mad at times and both versions have a sub-par framerate as far as I can tell.
Apart from that, it has the same samey structure all big Ubisoft Titles have, it tends to become repetitive, the game is, as AC3 was, a huge collectathon. Thankfully, the game tells you when you get a reward for something, you know exactly how many letters you have to find to get a weapon unlock, etc.

That said, gameplay is a lot of fun, the whole feeling of unfairness from 2 is gone as Enemies are not all-seeing and all-smelling. The game makes it very clear that it wants you to sneak but if you want to shot everything up, it lets you do that too, no problem, you just get more XP for silent close quarter-kills, kinda like Deus Ex HR did it.

The skill-system is a mixed bag at first, as is the crafting system. You start out with very limited carrying capabilities and you have to upgrade step by step. Though I´m 6 hrs in and I´ve maxed almost everything. The last tier of something is always unlocked by a hunting-quest that has you kill a special animal with a specific weapon.

Killing shit gives you XP which gives you Skillpoints. How many Skill-Tiers you have is dictated by the main story, so my advice is to do some main missions right away. They start off easy and tutorial-esque and after a while, you get the second tier with a lot of cool skills like special takedowns. Knife someone, then take his knife and throw it at another dude. Or arm his grenade and kick him into his buddies, stuff like that.

Lastly, the plants and syringes. There´s 5 types of plants (red, green, blue, white, yellow) from which you can craft...well, potions basically that let you breathe underwater, see enemies or animals, scare animals away or become fireproof, all kinds of things. Doing missions and challenges unlock more recipes. Pretty cool stuff, though you will spend a lot of time in the menu, mixing up your near-paranormal potions :D


All in all, I´m impressend and very pleased so far.

They don't make games like they used to, but that's alright. A lot of the conventions were really shitty.

:xmas1

i just started playing farcry 3 too

I played for about four hours today and its the best game ive played in forever
its a better stealth game than hitman: absolution.

the cavemushroom scene is awesome

i love killing pirates and finding meth pipes and meth

lol.. was that pun intentional?
Game(y): adjective 16. pertaining to or composed of animals hunted or taken as game or to their flesh.

farcry3 is so god damned fun

i spentlikean hour just setting up mines on roads watching dudes drive up and go HEY THERES A BODY
...
then go boom

:)
have you played the multiplayer yet oxblood? if you can do singleplayer ut with other people itd be so awesome

it remindsme a lot of red dead redemption+stalker

Nah, I haven´t tried MP yet, finished the SP though. It´s really been a while since I was so taken in by a story, let alone in a fucking shooter...so someone at UBI deserves a tiny tiny medal.

I still have so much stuff to finish, and there´s also an unplayed copy of Calling for the Wii sitting on my shelf...I know it´s not very good but I thought it´d be fun to play with a friend or so :D


Oh and the gamey-pun was unintentional, should´ve noticed though :lol

I downloaded Space Channel 5 Part 2. Big mistake--I should have downloaded Toejam and Earl instead. I turned out to be terrible at Space Channel 5, as I couldn't even pass the second level. I would have been more upset if it wasn't discounted. Perhaps someone who has better rhythm, reflexes, and memory would enjoy it more than I do.

While straightening up my shelves I came across Quake II, and it dawned on me that although I played the shit out of multiplayer, I had never beaten the single player game. So, I'm working on fixing that. Oldie but a goodie.

I downloaded Ninja Gaiden 3: Good Edition for the Wii U. It's the first Ninja Gaiden game I've played since the NES one, so I really never played the newer ones.

Yea...so...it reminds me a LOT of Metroid Other M. Like...how did anyone expect these guys to make a good Metroid game? Because the engine and scenarios feel almost identical. I will say, it works better for an action game like Ninja Gaiden than Metroid, but it's still not great.

Also, I've been trading drawings and speedruns with the WayForward staff on the Mighty Switch Force Miiverse. I love that game, and Wayforward are bros. It was cool seeing them "Yeah" my request for a Mischief Makers sequel :love

Yeah, Other M was literally Ninja Gaiden without swords and shit.

I gave Planetside 2 a shot. You can tell it's a Freemium game because all the default guns are fucking garbage (especially the sniper rifle, jesus christ) and it crashes every time I try to close it.

Hahaha, oh wow. You're wrong about that, boyo.

The default guns are pretty great. The guns you unlock are never a straight upgrade either. You have to pick and choose which is best for your play style. New Conglomerate's default Sniper Rifle is also one of the best in the entire game compared to what the other factions start out with.


I'm currently trying to play through Far Cry and Far Cry 2 so I can start on Far Cry 3. I know they're not connected in any way story wise, but I wanted to see the whole series.

I think, the thing about Planetside 2 that I hate the most ist how fucking stupid everybody looks. TR looks like some kind of Steampunk Rocketeer and Vanu...I don´t know, Gimps with Visors? Only the NC look remotely cool...and guess what, I´m playing TR :(

That's what you get for playing as the tard brigade.

Damn not having a 3DS

They knocked $40 off the price of both kinds at Best Buy this week, if you're interested.

Damn, that looks shitty. Then again, it is Castlevania. Can't ask for much there, I guess.

Fathom, why do you take pleasure in shitting all over the things I love?

The last one I liked was Aria of Sorrow and the stories in the games always gave me douchechills. I'd rather they didn't exist at all.

It is Christmas, so I am playing THE BEST Christmas game ever.



Running around Central Park shooting mutants with an M16 while people fucking spontaneously combust and explode? 6 dollars. The most kickass stage-select theme possible? Priceless. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzRNZtj4lC8

The Walking Dead

Way better than the TV-show. In fact, I can safely say that this is pretty much the only game ever where I actually cared about the characters. I mean, really cared. Great writing and voice acting. The last 15 minutes of the final episode were among the best things i've seen in videogames, when it comes to writing. Goddamn. True, there really isn't much gameplay, because it's more like an interactive story, but I would highly recommend this to anyone who is even remotely interested in videogames.

thq is giving away free copies of metro 2033 for anyone who has a facebook i got mine and told mattjack now go get yours guys
http://www.facebook.com/THQDemos?sk=...HN-4aL_d-dQT74

sweet

The game is canon to the comic. That's why it doesn't suck shit like the tv show. Don't worry though. Activision is making FPS based off the tv show.

Playing Binding Of Isaac pretty much non-stop.

played planetside 2

confusing :(

damn that game took 100 hours of my life already:\

It takes a little while to get used to. What you need to do is go to each sector that needs to be conquered or defended from another faction. There a LOT of people with a lot of things going on. All you need to focus on is getting a base and hope everyone else at the other bases are doing the same thing.

yea i did that and sitll couldnt get into it. i guess cause its free 2 play i dont really feel like grinding a million hours for a gun that isnt even that much better than others.

was still sorta fun though

also i didnt know that they made a third parasite eve

The third Birthday (PE3) is really not very good, at least not as a PE-Game. Love 1&2 though, back in the day you just couldn´t get these games around here (they were both released, but no shop had them and the one video store that had it only rented it out, those fuckers wouldn´t sell it to me).


With Planetside 2, I can only suggest playing it in small doses, that´s when it´s at its best, since defending makes no sense, gameplaywise. It´s fun, but you´re essentially wasting your time.

Got my hands on a copy of the HD remake of shadow of the colossus because everyone says how great of a game it is and I couldnt disagree more. Having to climb those fucks is far more annoying than the payoff is rewarding. This ass hate has to resecure his grip and footing more times than I care to count before you even get half way up. Most of the time before he even moves one shimmy up or across, its a huge head ache.

I started playing Symphony of the Night again the other day, and I'm at something like 180% explored. I doubt I'll pass 200%. Fucking game. This is the third or fourth time I've played it, and I love it, but it galls me that I'll never find every nook and cranny.

Well, why not? I go for the full 200.6% every time I play it.

Borrowed Assassin's Creed III from a friend. I don't recommend it, it's worth like ten bucks new. Bought Metro 2033 because I don't have a fancy computer and it was on sale on Live. It's dreamy.

Isn't Metro 2033 fucking free at the moment

It is. Go get it on facebook.

The Rayman Legends demo is on eShop right now. It has another one of those fuckawesome rhythm levels that they showed at E3. It's so fucking awesome, and the graphics are pretty as hell. I'm pumped for that game to come out.

I got Armored Core 5 and WWE13 the other day. AC5 because I fucking love Mechs and giant Firearms, WWE13 caus I love to build a little Me with stuff I actually might be wearing, featuring a moveset I MIGHT be able to pull off with some training. I mean, I´m 1,75 and kinda chubby, I´m not gonna pull Lucha-stuff on anyone but I AM able to punch someone in the face...I think, the only unrealistic thing I give my little Ox-Wrestler is a chockeslam-finisher, just becaus I think it´s a cool move :D

So you got a tiny, slightly chubby dude in a jeans, a green hoodie with a hockeymask swatting more or less helplessly at people like Triple H or the Rock. Though I hardly recognize any of these Wrestlers, I stopped watching in the late 90s more or less.

I used to love the Armored Core series. Nothing was quite as fun as building my own mech.

doom 3

first doom game i've played since the original years back

SUCH A MERRY HOLIDAY, INDEED

Well there are only three Doom games. It's not like you'd have the off chance of playing some Doom game that wasn't Doom 3 or the original.

i don't follow video games, so i don't know how many there are in any franchise

Well it's name is Doom 3 so you know there are at least 3.

there's also doom for nintendo 64

That's just a reworked port of Doom 1 by Midway.

quake is made by the same people as doom though and there's a bunch of those so its kind of like there are more dooms

Wtf are you playing these days Kahl?

lol
league mostly.. somefarycry 3

i got this game called fallen enchantress that i like a lot. its like civilization but with rpg elements.and i played some mount and blade for a while

Steam has its winter sale going and I was looking at picking up that Fallen Enchantress. Is it any good? Any multiplayer?

What about you Vare? Steam says you have played every game for less than an hour. What is it you actually play? And is it multiplayer?

i've been on the old republic on LoL and tried some of the free fps just cause i was bored but i just got the god of war ascencion beta so i'm gonna give it a spin

i dont know if fallen enchantress has multiplayer but if you like civilization 4 and fantasy rpgs you'd probably like it.

i hope torchlight 2 goes on sale ive ben wanting that game

Hey shitlords, guess what shouldn't get the ability to spam instant kill attacks with a 50/50 success rate? The final boss with over 6 million hitpoints, in the game where you lose if your party leader dies! FUCK!

Fuck you Final Fantasy 13. Fuck you too SquareEnix. I have diligently sat through your aggressively horrible game design and fucking acrobatically insane plot for 60 hours, and this is how you end things? By shitting on my face and calling me a whore when I restart your retarded boss for the 5 billionth time because the RNG decided to be a cunt again?

I am legitimately fucking angry at this game now. You people who played for 5 hours and quit to complain about corridor hiking, you have no idea how fucking bad FF13 actually is. Example-wise, did you know this game somehow manages to have an objectively worse villain than FF8 did? If bran flakes were personified, they would literally be Barthandelus! Plot cohesion? What the fuck is that? We at SquareEnix have resolved to break our own plot's internal logic at least two times a cutscene! Character development? That means we spontaneously change everyone's personalities and motivations when it's convenient for the plot, right? You want sidequests? In an RPG? Well, ok, here: just do this same one over and over again about 70 fucking times, that oughtta be fine.

There is no excuse for this kind of incompetence from a multi-million dollar production. What the fuck did they even spend all that money on? Because it sure as shit wasn't non-mongoloid script writers or actual level designers!

The real tragedy here is that it could have been great. I have no fucking idea how SE managed to take what should have been a relatively simple, visceral story about freedom and choice and turn it into... that, I guess they just have an unparalleled ability to make everything they touch turn to absolute shit.

Seriously. FUCK. >:

They spent most of the budget on the graphics. The reason it's so linear is because that would require more graphics. Plus, it's not like JRPGs really offer much deviance from the main story; open worlds are really just illusions of freedom with one or two side dungeons for loot.

FF13's structure really didn't bother me that much (FFX was just as linear and anyone who says otherwise is a liar or hasn't played that game recently). I just didn't like the pacing (if the tutorial ended and grand pulse were introduced maybe twice as quickly, it wouldn't be so bad).

And if you're expecting a good story from Square, don't. FF12's development hell scared away most of the talented staff after executives went and stuck their dicks in the potato salad. Most of the writers and creative directors moved on to better companies. For what it's worth, I thought the cast had potential and the writers just never fully realized it. I'd say they're trying to realize it now through the sequels, but it seems more like they're just dumping all the extra assets they spent money on; FFXIII-2 ends in a cliffhanger and got jacked up with DLC, and Lightning Returns really doesn't look very promising. Meanwhile, VersusXIII is in limbo because Tetsuya Nomura locked himself in a clothing store in Shibuya and is doing aaaaall the cocaine.