Milking Fantasy

Back in 1997, they released the game Final Fantasy VII on Playstation and on the PC. It was a very good game with depth and character, and its probably the best in the Final Fantasy series. Almost 10 years later (wow, such a long time ago) they released a sequel in form of a movie. Since I loved the game, I was compelled to buy the DVD, last Tuesday (April 25th). So I watched it, was blown away by the action scenes, and scratched my head at the ending.

The story is shallow, whatsoever, and doesn't present any transitions or developments from the video game. The origins of Kadaj and his brothers, the villains in the movie, were never given any depth because, as Vincent said, "You don't wanna know". The other characters from the video game also appeared from out of nowhere to battle Bahamut without any explaination of how they came. They're just there to revive the crumbling camaraderie with the fans of the series.

The art and animation of the movie, however, is stupendous. Cloud's new bike and sword is cool looking. The 3D version of Tifa never looked so good, but I would have liked her better if they eschewed, or just unzip, the leather vest so she could sport her lovely...tank tops. The fighthing scenes were astounding to watch. Although sometimes it gets too fast and intense that it raises my heart beat to the point I wanted to inject atropine on myself.

At this point, I don't know what to say about this movie. I hate the story, if there's one, but I love watching it and Tifa within it. But the whole DVD package is great. It includes game trailers, the making of the movie, and a story digest from the Final Fantasy VII game -great for those who haven't played the game.

First Impressions: Galactic Civilizations II

Three more weeks until I graduate! That's why I've been busy in the past few weeks -writing resumes, studying for the boards and the Illinois Constitution test, doing proficiency sheets, and preparing for my presentation. But now, that some of them are out of the picture, I need to unwind and got myself a game.

Dreamfall was the game that I wanted. Unfortunately, my current graphics card won't be able to run that game. Instead, I got Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords. I haven't played the first Galactic Civlizations because, for some reasons, I can't find a copy of it. But Dread Lords is very impressive and is similar to Civilizations series, the most celebrated turn-based strategy game. Except it's only sci-fi themed and has a couple of fun features.

Like Civilization, you always start out small and primitive. In Galactic Civilizations case, small and primitive is a colony ship that carries a tiny number of people and a scout ship that doesn't go to far. But as your civilization expands -through economics, research, or other methods, you will be able to upgrade or design your own ships that will be faster, powerful, and with longer range.

You'd be able to choose your own alignment. Sometimes, when your civilization grows bigger, or if you colonize a planet, a problem will arise -in a form of text question- and you will be asked to reach a decision. You have three options and each will change your alignment (Good, Neutral, and Evil). You can gain or lose something depending on your answers but I don't really know how it affects the game as a whole.

I find Galactic Civilizations II fun and addicting. Just like Civilizations, it gives you the "one more turn oh my god it's morning already" syndrome. I just hope I'd be able to steer clear from it since I need to study for the board and final exams.

Graphics Upgrade

I already missed The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion because my Radeon 9800 PRO died on me a month ago. But that's fine by me, I can miss Oblivion. But Dreamfall: The Longest Journey 2 is coming out next week and I found out that it demands the same high requirements as Oblivion. Knowing that I can't play Dreamfall because of my system makes me uneasy...and maybe a bit depressed. That's why this morning I tried to look for a mid-enda and mid-priced, AGP graphics card suitable for gaming.

Right now I had my eye on the Sapphire Radeon X1600 PRO. The price is right for an excellent graduation gift ($299, there goes my iPod). But I haven't throughly researched about it. Some of the benchmark testing seems to satisfy me but it was compared with other ATI cards, such as X700 and X1300, which are inferior. I have yet to see it on a benchmark test with nVidia cards such as the 6600 GT to fully convince me.

Neverwinter Nights 2 Site Launch

Finally, the official site of Neverwinter Nights 2 went live last March 28! The site offers a lot of information but nothing new to me, or to others who've been hounding the development of this game. Still, it's reassuring to learn that the information in the site displays consistency with the past interviews. Especially in regards with the new toolset. Also, the site launch hints that the game is near completion.