Recent content by CHIP

The moment I saw 'Remake' I just went nuts. Luckily no-one was around to see my fan-boy meltdown. I have mixed feelings about this remake. With Square's recent form over the years, churning out one underwhelming FF game after the next, I'm worried and excited at the same time. Here's the...

I didn't really mind the data-log, MGS4 did a similar thing – some people don't want to sit through hours of tedious exposition. I sensed bigger problems with FFXIII, the lack of interactivity (who remembers the bit in FFXIII where you arrive at the circus but the game won't let you interact...

The title says it all really. Are you worried about global warming or do you think it’s been exaggerated?

Sorry about the big words, it refuses to down-size. It depends what you mean by “downfall” – FFXIII was commercially and, generally speaking, critically successful. There’s a schism developing between Final Fantasy fans – some fans are content with Square’s ongoing march towards Westernisation...

Despite the developers’ promises to reinvent FFXIII, I saw FFXIII-2 as more of an iteration than anything else. The Crystarium is largely unchanged from FFXIIII. You earn EXP points by fighting battles which you then use to progress the Crystarium, unlocking new abilities and status...

My advice? Wait, or rent it. Before renting FFXIII-2 I had a presentiment that it would be just the same as FFXIII (despite reviewers saying that it was a ‘reinvention’ as opposed to a ‘continuation/iteration’) and all too soon my fears were affirmed: the developers still think they’re...

I would love a remake, but I can’t see one happening. I’ve given up hope. There have been so many occasions where I’ve (we’ve) been given false hope, such as the E3 trailer a few years back. There’s two reasons, above all, why I think Square won’t remake FFVII: The production costs I imagine...

Yes, Final Fantasy changed me a person. After playing FFVII and seeing the eco-environmentalists' love for the 'life-force' of the planet I was overcome with an indescribable urge to dedicate my life to saving the planet from dastardly manmade global warming. It's true.

What makes a Final Fantasy game? The things I consider to be the backbone of any self-respecting Final Fantasy game are (in no particular order): a stirring soundtrack, like Sephiroth's one-winged angel, or 'Those Who Fight Further' in FFVII, or the mellifluous 'To Zanarkand' in FFX (the only...

I agree, to a certain extent. FF has undergone the same cynical merchandising that ruined Star Wars. There are so many odious spin-offs out there like Dirge of Cerberus. Thankfully, I didn't buy it, because I heard it was pants. I wouldn't mind the rubbish spin-offs so much if they actually kept...

I agree with the above poster. The claustrophobically hemmed-in environments ruined the game for me. Final Fantasy games have always been linear (FFX was very linear) but FFXIII just didn't give the player any respite from the linearity and threw enemies at you ad nauseam. The best bit about the...

I am familiar with James Hansen's theory of a runaway greenhouse effect occurring on Venus due to positive feedbacks, don't know about Mars, but it does contain around the same amount of CO2 as Venus - about 97% - and is paradoxically 450°C colder. I don't think anyone can really say with...

I agree with Hein's and Aki's positions to different extents. I believe it is important that we are conscious of the effect we have on the environment. Our anthropocentric mentality means we are only concerned about our own self-advancement at the exclusion of all other species. I think, to...

I thought it was okay. Not brilliant, not awful, just, superlatively 'meh'. I found the characters to be unusually multidimensional but the hackneyed designs were terrible. It took me at least half the game to determine whether a few members in my team were male or female. The backdrops were...

I read a book many years ago called the Living Energy Universe which fascinated me though being academically maladroit I found it difficult to grasp some of the concepts put forward in the book, but I implore everyone who is interested in the possibility in eternal life to read. The book puts...