RipTen Videogame Blog » Square-Enix

Final Fantasy XIV to Merge Servers in March

Jensen Walker — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:49 +0000

Having spent a year as a free-to-play MMO due to a less than auspicious launch, then finally adopting a traditional subscription model in January, Square Enix have announced that Final Fantasy XIV will be undertaking server merges at the end of March.

Servers will be condensed from 18 to 10, with mandatory transfers required for characters on affected worlds. The world merge is intended to improve players’ experience in the lead up to the launch of FFXIV Version 2.0. The company also notes that servers may be added in the future once players numbers increase.

The server merge will take place on March 27th, 2012.

For full details on the merge process, head over the the official site.

True Crime: Hong Kong’s Successor is ‘Sleeping Dogs’ – Debut Trailer, Screens and More

Garrett Hartman — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:00:48 +0000

Square-Enix today revealed Sleeping Dogs as the latest game in the True Crime series. Activision is out, Squeenix is in, and so is the new title. Dig it?

Sleeping Dogs puts players in the shoes of of undercover cop Wei Shen, tasked with taking down the criminal Triads from the inside out. It will take place on the island of Hong Kong and the story will deal with themes like loyalty and betrayal.

Much is being hyped about Sleeping Dog’s Imaginative combat system. Supposedly, combat will seem natural and players will easily be able to perform martial arts from an extensive list of moves and easily pull off other tasks such as shooting while driving.

Like previous games in the True Crimes series it will be an open world. According to Square, “every street corner, market stall, harbour dock or city skyscraper can become an opportunity for intense shoot-outs, adrenaline-fuelled street races and intense, brutal martial arts combat.”

Check out the live trailer and screens below. Tell me what you think, will UFG’s Sleeping Dogs have what it takes to keep up with similar games such as Saints Row: The Third and GTA 5?

Via [vg247]

‘Final Fantasy X’ Remaster Is Not A Remake

Curt Hutson — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:30:43 +0000

Fans holding out for a remake of ‘Final Fantasy X’ are crying into their Yuna plushies today after Square Enix producer Shinji Hashimoto, answering Final Fantasy fan questions at the Taipei Game Show, confirmed that the upcoming PlayStation 3 and Vita rerelease is just a ”remaster”.

He tried to lighten the sobering news with a bit about the game stating, ”the screen is much prettier than the original,” something that kind of goes without saying. Before this, details have been nil since it was curtly mentioned at Tokyo Game Show 2011 and then left alone.

While the idea of a remaster isn’t a terrible thing (just look at the Shadow of the Colossus/Ico collection) fans are probably looking forward to more, such as bonus content and the like. Square Enix may be set on not doing a remake, but there are several improvements they could implement that wouldn’t necessarily require one, including better facial animations, a remastered soundtrack and perhaps minor script tweaks to reduce Tidus’ whininess — also, recasting his voice in the American version would be fantastic.

In a perfect world, Square Enix would put less work into sequels and a little more into remakes of their most popular titles, something fans are always requesting (no, the innumerable versions of Final Fantasy I-III don’t count.).

So, readers, is a remaster ok with you or were you really hoping for a remake; or do you care either way?

Follow me on Twitter @8BitBomb

Via: [Joystiq]

FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 Launch Trailer and Future DLC Detailed

Garrett Hartman — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:30:39 +0000

Square-Enix‘s Goal with Final Fantasy XIII-2 is to bring the series back to its’ former glory by fixing some of the problems from FFXIII. The launch trailer is about what you would expect from a Final Fantasy trailer: colorful and detailed graphics, a solid musical score, and overdone Japanese characters. Which is not to say it is bad, just what you would expect.

What came with the trailer in the press release is what is interesting: details on future DLC. The first DLC is titled Lightning & Amodar which will be available for on February 7th for Xbox Live and February 8th on PSN. This DLC will include a Coliseum where players can fight characters from previous Final Fantasy titles and, once defeated, can be enlisted into the player’s party.

Future DLC will give players the opportunity to explore secrets through story episodes for some of the other key characters to compliment and fill in the story of Final Fantasy XIII-2. Specific details and release dates have not been disclosed.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is available at retail today. Watch the trailer below and read the full press release.

FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 is created with the aim to surpass the quality of its predecessor in every way, featuring new gameplay systems, cutting-edge visuals and audio. In this game the player has the freedom to choose from a range of possibilities and paths; their choices affect not only the immediate environment, but even shape time and space.

SQUARE ENIX also announces that extensive additional downloadable content is planned for FINAL FANTASY® XIII-2, for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation® 3.

The planned content includes Coliseum Battles that pit the player against friends and foes from previous FINAL FANTASY titles, that, when defeated can be recruited into the player’s party. The Coliseum battle entitled ‘Lightning & Amodar’ will be available for Xbox 360 on 7th February via Xbox LIVE® Marketplace and on 8th February for PlayStation® 3 via PlayStation® Network. In addition, there will be opportunity to explore the game’s secrets through story episodes for some of the key characters, such as Lightning which complement the narrative of FINAL FANTASY XIII-2. Full details on each piece of content will be revealed at a later date.

Square Enix Working on Unannounced Title, Could It Be Kane and Lynch 3?

Sam Naylor — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:30:19 +0000

Producer of Final Fantasy Tetsuya Nomura has said that Square Enix have a ‘secret team’ working on an unannounced game, potentially Kane and Lynch 3.

Speaking to Japanese gaming magazine Famistsu, he said:

There is also a secret team working on an unannounced title, so there is a chance that some information about that will be announced this year too, please continue looking forward to these announcements.

Ooh, you big tease. Unfortunately, it turns out this might just be Kane and Lynch 3, as the trademark Square Enix registered for a subtitle of “Sleeping Dogs” we reported on last week suggests a link to that series. I say “unfortunately” because I have played a Kane and Lynch game.

I don’t know what it is about Kane and Lynch, but even seeing the name makes me feel like strangling something. Some parts of the first game provided me with the most frustrating moments of my gaming life- because of extremely poor game design. It just felt lazy- like everything in the game was a first draft. Let’s hope this one can actually resemble a game this time, if it’s indeed real.

Via [CVG]

New Final Fantasy XIII-2 ‘Clash of Time’ Gameplay Trailer

Drake Hess — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:00:57 +0000

Square Enix has released a launch video for Final Fantasy XIII-2 titled “Clash of Time” to help ramp up your excitement for the game’s PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 release on January 31, just a few days from now.

The video is full of Moogle-rific cinematic action sure to get your Chocobo loving head spinning, assuming that’s your thing. Check it out.

Square Enix Trademarks “Sleeping Dogs”, Could it Be Kane & Lynch 3?

Justin Carter — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:51 +0000

Prior to Hitman: Absolution, IO Interactive put out Kane & Lynch 2. Even though some people hated it, we here at Ripen thoroughly enjoyed it and have been waiting for a sequel. If you’re like us, your prayers may soon be answered.

Square Enix recently trademarked “Sleeping Dogs”. Since the previous Kane & Lynch had a subtitle with “dogs” in it, this seems like a natural indication of a sequel. IO is currently working on the next Hitman, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t another developer working on it or that IO isn’t working on both games side by side. The only other logical conclusion is that Square Enix is making a Nintendogs competitor. Where you press B to sleep harder. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

via [Joystiq]

RipTen Review: Scarygirl (XBLA)

Catherine Cai — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:00:45 +0000

Since I’m unfamiliar with the origins of Nathan Jurevicius’s Scarygirl, my initial expectations of the game are decided by how I judge everything I associate with either “I don’t know” or a half-hearted shrug—by its title. Still, with such an ambiguous name, I’m not sure what to expect. Is this title meant to be taken literally so that this a horror game about a very “scary girl”? Does the title describe a dead girl that’s a frankensteined amalgamation of child, bone, and tentacle who, if I saw in the streets of reality, I’d probably elicit a blood curling scream before dashing in the opposite direction that she came from, but thankfully is cute because of her animated existence? Why, yes. That’s precisely who Scarygirl is.

If my description of Scarygirl was enough to turn your head, expect to do that a few more times after reading over the game’s synopsis. Apparently, Scarygirl was once an unwanted, abandoned child that was adopted by a hyper-intelligent octopus named Blister, who gave her, her given name and a place to live. Sounds dark? Don’t worry about it. The world of Scarygirl is only twisted in that “Nightmare Before Christmas” way, where for a split second you realize that shit’s fucked… before forgetting about that entirely because of the insane amount of cute that’s being forced down your throat so you’d find it socially acceptable enough for your children to play the game.

I thought that Scarygirl’s eye-catching and unique synopsis would be held up by gameplay that would introduce a spark of something that was just as unique. I wasn’t expecting much. After all, the side-scrolling platform genre has been near beaten to death by the same basic gameplay elements. There’s really only so much that you can tweak to the mechanics of a platforming game in order to make it unique. I guess I was both right and wrong. While Scarygirl’s gameplay mechanics weren’t so novel that they’d blow my mind, but they were simply so polished that I couldn’t help but have fun with the game, despite the fact that basically the same old bag of platforming bits.

Scarygirl’s a mix of side-scrolling platforming with a few elements of hack ‘n slash sprinkled in. Her controls handle very tightly and smoothly, and the use of her tentacle for the grab and glide mechanisms make a nice addition to the game. However, her combat mechanics aren’t quite as up to speed as her platform handling. Scarygirl’s tentacle has been much improved over the original flash game in combat (which I tried out for research, I didn’t lie about not knowing anything about Scarygirl.) Originally, it wasn’t much more than a useless attachment for her ineffectual spin attack. Her combat tentacle now functions as a whip-like object and can mix up light and heavy attacks. Light attacks are faster, whereas heavy attacks allow her to literally juggle her enemies in the air. A purple ring will show around her enemies when they’ve been sufficiently knocked down enough as an indication that she can grab them. From thereon, she can either choose to perform a special move on or toss away her unfortunate captive. As Scarygirl continues to fight, she begins to build up her rage meter, which, when filled, can be used to trigger Scarygirl’s rage mode, where the entire screen melts into gray and Scarygirl becomes a gruesome enemy-chomping version of herself. Scary.

Along her merry, but creepy journey, Scarygirl can grab two types of pickup items. Gems float around the levels that Scarygirl travels through, which I suppose works as the capital of her world’s economy. Gems can be traded with specific sellers scattered through levels for new tentacle add-ons, which serve as power ups in Scarygirl and can provide such benefits as attack bonuses; new vinyls, which are just pretty collectibles you can view in the Scarygirl menu level for collector’s items whores; and new special moves. The other collectible that Scarygirl can gather is fish, which I suppose she grew fond of as a result of her time with Blister the octopus. The health system in Scarygirl functions the same as the one in the Legend ofZelda series. A series of hearts represent the amount of life Scarygirl has left. Every time Scarygirl is harmed, she loses a quarter of a heart or more. Every fish that she grabs up brings back a quarter of a heart. And just like in The Legend of Zelda, where heart pieces can be collected in order to have more overall hearts, Scarygirl can do the same.

If you want to share your love of Scarygirl around with a friend, you can. Scarygirl features a local co-op mode, where you can play as Scarygirl and your friend can play as the infinitely cooler Bunniguru, the bunny martial arts master. Although the basic combat and platforming moves are essentially the same, but Bunniguru handles significantly differently from Scarygirl. He runs faster, higher, and glides for longer periods of time than Scarygirl, but he comes with the handicap of being unable to grab anything beyond ledges for platforming. Although 2 player co-op is decently fun enough with Scarygirl, it contains some serious flaws that makes it an extremely frustrating experience for whoever is playing as Bunniguru. Instead of allowing the in-game camera to pan out when Scarygirl and Bunniguru get far apart from each other, the camera stays squarely focused on Scarygirl. Anytime Bunniguru wanders out of the frame, he’ll be teleported immediately back to wherever Scarygirl is, which is eye-ball-gougingly annoying, since the game seems to have it out for Bunniguru by teleporting him over spikes and never-ending abysses of certain death. The game also makes it impossible for you to complete the game as Bunniguru as the game restarts at a checkpoint whenever Scarygirl’s health runs out, regardless of whether or not Bunniguru is completely fine. There are also certain junctures within the game that require Scarygirl’s ability to grab items and enemies, which Bunniguru is incapable of doing. I guess here is where there’s a discrepancy between the ludonarrative, since it wouldn’t make sense in the story for Bunniguru to continue on Scarygirl’s mission without her. From a technical standpoint, this mechanic almost breaks co-op mode and certainly makes it a very frustrating experience.

Scarygirl is an absolute triumph in aesthetics. The visuals are absolutely gorgeous and the sound design complements that sick, twisted, and cute effect of the visuals. In fact, I wouldn’t blink an eye if you were to tell me that Danny Elfman somehow contributed to the sound design of the game. On the technical side, although Scarygirl is well-polished in its platforming aspects, it suffers from derivateness and a few mechanical flaws such as random difficulty spikes and a broken co-op mode that prevents it from being a great game across the board.

Here’s the Rundown:

+ Scarygirl is adorable, in that Tim Burton-y way
+ Polished, platformer fun
+ Bunniguru is a bamf
+ It’s pretty
- Drop-in local co-op is almost unplayable for player two
- Random difficulty spikes that may get under your skin
- Boss fights are few and far between

8 and 8.5 represent a game that is a good experience overall. While there may be some issues that prevent it from being fantastic, these scores are for games that you feel would easily be worth a purchase.

Scarygirl is developed by TikGames and published by Square Enix. It was released on XBLA on January 18, 2012. A copy of the game was graciously provided by Square Enix. Scarygirl was played to completion in about 8 hours.

New Tomb Raider Info Released – Plot, Gameplay, and Setting Details

Justin Carter — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:30:27 +0000

Since the initial reveal and E3 footage, news on the Tomb Raider reboot has been pretty scarce. We know that series heroine Lara Croft ends up stranded on an island after her expedition ship gets destroyed by a storm. Luckily, Karl Stewart, Global Brand Director at Eidos was happy to reveal some new information on the forums:

Combat will have a variety of different play types. Melee, ranged, and stealth interactions will play a huge part in the game world
There will be hunting in the game, but what you’ll be hunting is a mystery
There are items and artifacts to pick up and find around the island that’ll help uncover the mystery of island
There are fixed climbing points for the axe, giving you freedom of movement. At the same time, you couldn’t jump off the side of a cliff and hook onto another side at random for free climbing
No glowing points to show where you can climb, but you’ll still be able to figure it out. They want the game to feel “organic and natural”

Tomb Raider is scheduled for a late 2012 release for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.

via Eidos Forums

Behind the Scenes Deus Ex Live Action Movie Footage is Full of Win

Jacob Saylor — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:45:22 +0000

Today, was a momentous day on YouTube. A trailer/behind-the-scenes for a video touting itself as a “Deus Ex Live Action Film” has surfaced–and it looks damned good. While it seems fan-made (Square Enix referred to it as “nothing official”), it is definitely a notch up from your run-of-the-mill filmmaker hobbyist; the technology is high-end, the choreography is extremely slick, and the overall production looks professional.

The credits reveal that the marvelous bastards behind the work was Enso Productions, a self-touted “Action Design Team”. From what I can gather this means they are a group who choreograph and act out fight scenes in movies/short films. Any further information on the subject is at a standstill until the fine men and women at Enso decide to grace us with a response…

I suppose only time will tell. You can watch the behind the scenes video here:

[Via Kotaku]

How to Fix Final Fantasy

Stephanie Gutowski — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:00:50 +0000

Accept my presumption that the general gaming population has not grown sick of this discussion. Next, put aside whatever vicious barbs you may be preparing for me in defense of Square Enix, for I was once like you, and implore you to listen. Like all scorned lovers, I must find a means to soothe the pain of a broken heart. I’m beyond anger and have transcended to the illusive place of reason. I look upon that horizon like one would a barrel of a loaded gun. Few games have been so surprisingly offensive to me as Final Fantasy XIII, which exists in my mind as a near-complete failure. It also taught me that a 39/40 score from Famitsu means absolutely nothing. Hell, I approached every game review after that experience with some kind of trepidation. Eights and nines seemed impossibly generous, especially when the review itself explained just how disappointing this long-awaited entry into the FF saga was. I’m always eager to shift the blame to XIII’s director, Motomu Toriyama– who has not produced a single game I’ve enjoyed. Perhaps some sort of hive mind has assumed control over Square, hell-bent on taking the Final Fantasy series on the most painful tangent in its history, back to the realm of hyper-wacky Japanese RPGs that we’ve tried so very hard to embrace. Some of us love them and cherish that language barrier. Some of us would rather chew on aluminum that swallow a story that we were never intended to understand.

Regardless of where the series derailed or how, Final Fantasy is not beyond hope. In fact, Square should arrange a company retreat and rent “The Labyrinth” just so every single freaking creative mind in that mass of identity crises can hear this line spoken by a freaking puppet, which, in 1986, had ten times the personality and intrigue of that walking knee-to-the-groin they called “Vanille.”

“The way forwards is sometimes the way back.”

In this case, scratch out the “sometimes” and replace it with “oh my God, you go back RIGHT now and look at your games. LOOK AT THEM. Now DO THAT.” No, I don’t mean re-do Final Fantasy VI and cover it with a sterile layer of too-perfect skin textures and backdrops. I mean remember what set you apart. Let’s break it down.

Reel In that Plot Line

Final Fantasy XIII’s plot was a mess. It began with a stoic main character set out on destroying something. Yeah! Go Lightning! Kill things! Make some gil! Stop Shin-… Something. Lots of questions and virtually no answers were intended to develop interest and pull us along by the nose. When things began to unfold, did they make sense? Sort of, usually after several hours of reading those datalog entries you’d been ignoring during the mindless killing. We were supposed to be invested in the fate of Cocoon and Pulse and cieth and crystals and all the other blandly-named elements. Yet it took hours upon hours to get me to care. The stakes began so high and by the time things really started to take off, the situation was just ridiculous. These characters were thrust into a near-hopeless situation and just pushed on like freaking GI Joes. The issues with the gods and the purpose of Cocoon were so removed and surreal that there was nothing to ground you in this place. Yet remember what worked: rebels versus a power-hungry energy titan, green soldiers versus an ancient evil-made-real in a world rife with war, oppression and injustice; greed and powerlust. These were missions we could relate to. When these stories reached their climax, the true villains reared their heads and the heroes regrouped, then moved on. These adversaries weren’t so unbelievable as to remove us from the story, but they were otherworldly enough to up the ante. Shin-ra evolved into Sephiroth, Edea and Deling became Ultimecia and time itself, and even Archadia became Vayne. We began grounded in a world, facing a tangible problem and then ascended, facing a seemingly-indestructable foe. It doesn’t need to be something as complex and over-the-top as destroying a world and summoning a god. I’ve never, ever been tasked with something so grand as bringing down my entire paradigm, nor have I faced something I can equate it to. Then I have to deal with all these twists and turns when I was never invested in the first place. Your complexity shouldn’t come from the plot devices you throw in to take us off-course. It stems from your believable characters you’ve forced into this and their attempts to deal with an already difficult situation, ancient gods and worlds aside. In short: If you think you’ve come up with a genius complex plot, you haven’t. Shut up and simplify it.

We Shouldn’t Hate Everyone

I don’t know about you, but I had one hell of a time rooting for the home team. Even Lightning grated on my nerves with her lone-wolf routine and stubbornness. Don’t even get me started on Vanille and Hope. Now there’s always going to be a set of Final Fantasy stereotypes. There’s the annoying girl, strong girl, silent guy and loud guy, etc. Yet we can usually find something redeemable in all of them. Selphie might have driven you nuts, but she knew when to shut up, kick ass, and fly the Ragnarok. Even Cloud had his redeeming moments, especially after his revelation. Despite their intended stereotype, these characters weren’t completely boxed into that identity– they were still dynamic people, responding to situations with some sense of humanity. Their dilemmas built up over time rather than the case of FFXIII, where everyone’s already got piles of baggage to drag around. What’s worse is despite the situation they’re forced to deal with, they react with either an impossible coolness or inexplicable frivolity. No, it wasn’t endearing in the least. Laughing in the face of a giant monster is downright stupid, not brave. Hope’s brooding moments came off as whiny and overtly emotional rather than complex and believable. Unique personalities are forged by actions, not stupid little quirks you assign them later. Stop with the giggling and the thumbs ups. Stop with the “oh, it’s been an hour. Time to sit down and mourn my mom and stuff.” There was no realism in these people. They were bound to the personalities picked out for them, which doomed them to these reactions-on-rails rather than human responses. “What would Vanille do in this situation? Oh, well, she’d laugh, because that’s what Vanille does.” Wrong. Try again: what would a human do in this situation, given her background and what she’s already experienced? Perhaps the voice acting played a big part of why I thought these characters were such failures, but I truly believe that the overt stereotypes doomed them to be flat and predictable. In short: Back off the stereotypes and consider the human psyche.

First WAKFU Developer Diary Video Shows That its All About the Player

Catherine Cai — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:30:41 +0000

WAKFU dev Ankama Games is determined to create a MMO experience revolved entirely around the player. Hence, their first developer diary video, aptly titled “Power to the Players” features Ankama Games’s cool, hip developers explaining the player’s environment in WAKFU… with a lot French. Really though, I’m being serious about the cool thing.

Here’s the video below:

WAKFU is currently in open beta and scheduled for a February 2012 release.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 Playable Demo Available Now

Catherine Cai — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:00:24 +0000

Final Fantasy XIII fans who demanded a sequel… rejoice. Square Enix has made a playable demo of Final Fantasy XIII-2 available to you on both Xbox Live and the PSN.

The sequel’s demo takes place in Bresha Ruins. You will take control of Serah and Noel and fight Atlas, who has appeared as a result of some space-time dimension bendy weirdness. The demo will also feature the new Paradigm Pack System, which will allow you to enlist defeated enemies to aid you.

What are you waiting for? Get playing.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 Trailer is Heavy with Moogles

Garrett Hartman — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:21 +0000

If you love Moogles, this Final Fantasy XIII-2 trailer is for you. Watching this trailer you’ll see many of the series’ familiar action, graphics and of course, Moogles. Lot’s of scenes of Moogles.

Check it out below.

Final Fantasy X for PS3 and Vita Will Be a “Remake”

Catherine Cai — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 21:00:31 +0000

According to Yoshinori Kitase, a producer for the original Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X for the PS3 and the Vita won’t just be a HD remaster, but a complete remake. Rejoice, Final Fantasy X fans, in knowing that you won’t be paying good money for something that looks and plays the exact same way with some upgraded shaders… although now there’s the possibility that Final Fantasy X the remake could be something you absolutely hate.

Despite the remake being announced at the Tokyo Game Show back in September 2011, the project is still in its early stages and Kitase’s role in the project is still unclear. However, he assures fans that the remake will match the quality of the original.

I really hope so, Mr. Kitase. I really hope so. I’d really hate for a new generation of Final Fantasy X fans to play the remake, dislike it, and think that that’s all Final Fantasy X is. But, then again, it could do just the opposite. I have my hopes and I’m quite interested to see what if the remake will keep Final Fantasy X‘s original leveling system intact, or if Square Enix will opt for something different. Will the Final Fantasy X remake keep to the old turn-based RPG combat system that the old Final Fantasies were known for, or something a little more active?

Via [VG247]

Square Enix Trademarks Hitman: Profession… the Next in the Series?

Catherine Cai — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:42:43 +0000

Apparently, Square Enix filed to trademark Hitman: Profession just a few days back. The screen capture of the trademark filing is available here:

Does this mean that Square Enix already has the next Hitman in the series lined up after Absolution? It’s not surprising, considering that back in November, Square Enix announced that they were opening a new development studio in Montreal, whose first title they already confirmed was to be a Hitman title.

Just my two cents, SquEnix, I’m glad to see you’re so enthusiastic about the Hitman series, but Hitman: Profession is a little lame for a series with bad ass subtitles like Silent Assassin and Blood Money. I hope to god that Profession is just for the working title…

[Via Siliconera]

Toys ‘R Us Has a Sick FF XIII-2 Preorder Deal

Catherine Cai — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:43:22 +0000

If you’re looking to preorder Final Fantasy XIII-2, but haven’t yet, hurry up and grab up this Toys ‘R Us deal. They’re offering the Final Fantasy XIII-2 preorder for $15 off, so you can grab your preorder copy for only $45. It’s not specified how long this deal will last, so it’s probably best to preorder now.

You can grab the 360 version here, and the PS3 version here.

[Via TQcast]

Pick Up Ezio’s Threads in Final Fantasy XIII-2

Justin Carter — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:30:36 +0000

Assassin’s Creed protagonist Ezio has been all over the place. First came the news that he’d be playable in Soul Calibur V, then he returned in Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (which was a resounding success). Now he’s joining Lightning and Serah in Final Fantasy XIII-2.

Well, sort of. His clothes will be in a DLC pack for playable character Noel Kreiss. At the time of writing Square Enix and Ubisoft have not given out pricing or a release date, or even if Ezio’s gear will be retailer-specific. Still, you get to travel the Final Fantasy world as Ezio. Pretty cool, right?

Final Fantasy XIII-2 hits shelves January 31, 2012 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Via IGN

Exciting New FFXIII-2 Cinematic Showcases an Epic Battle

Garrett Hartman — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 17:00:50 +0000

Square-Enix released a video highlighting Final Fantasy XIII-2‘s cinematic cut-scenes which showcases an epic battle between Lightning and Caius in Valhalla.

The visual style and detail is amazing, but what else would you expect from a Final Fantasy game?

FFXIII-2 releases in North America on January 31 for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Final Fantasy V Now Available on PSN

Dave Oshry — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:45:39 +0000

You know that list of Final Fantasy games you keep in your head? The one where you rank your favorites? You know what’s probably near the bottom of that list? Final Fantasy V.

There’s nothing really wrong with FFV, it just wasn’t very compelling. Sure, it introduced the class system we all know and love, but it was still boring as hell and if anyone reading this actually has any fond memories of FFV then more power to ya.

Originally released in Japan in 1992, FINAL FANTASY V would not be published in North America until 1999 as part of the FINAL FANTASY ANTHOLOGY on the PlayStation®. Now the hugely popular and critically acclaimed FINAL FANTASY V returns, allowing players to indulge in a true gaming classic at home and on the move.

Anyhow, if you’ve got $9.99 and want to see what none of the fuss is about, you can get Final Fantasy V on PSN right now. Better yet, go get Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger or Alundra on PSN instead.