Baten Kaitos is fun game. The battle system that Monolithsoft came up with is quite a bit different than any I've seen before. Basically, you use cards to perform various tasks. It sounds like Yu-Gi-Oh all over again BUT it isn't. Depending on your class level you can use a certain amount of cards to use during on turn. You're given 3 random cards from your deck and when you select one from the 3 another is added. You can string together combos for greater damage. Also, you can use defense cards during the enemy's turn to reduce damage.
Another high point of Baten Kaitos is the graphics. It uses water-color style, 2D backgrounds and 3D characters, somewhat reminiscent of Chrono Cross. The backgrounds are highly detailed and are mostly of high resolution. Basically, it looks really good. The music is decent as well, nothing out-standing like Grandia of Final Fantasy, but it's certainly not bad and it isn't annoying.
But, Baten Kaitos is also a flawed game, a fact which is forced into your face during the opening movie and the first 20 minutes. BK has terrible voice acting and there's plenty of it, fortunately you can turn off the voice and doing so instantly makes the game 10X better. It sounds like the actors recorded the lines in a metal box. Seriously. The opening movie has a bunch of unrelated CG clips strung together, which wouldn't be that bad accept the voice acting is terrible and the dialogue greates on the ears. But the dialogue for the rest of the game is at least tolerable. As well, the story isn't exactly new and original, something about an ancient evil or some such and there's tons of bad guys that beat you up and kidnap members of your group. But it's not so cliche that it ruins the game, like Arc the Lad on the PS2. *shudders*
In short, Baten Kaitos is a good RPG that has a few flaws, but at least you can fix the voices. It's definitely worth playing.
I cant believe how many birthdays have been going on this past month and I haven't had the time to say happy birthday to everyone. So I decided to make a movie to say happy birthday to all the ones I missed with an asian chick super happy fun birthday video! I had some problems rendering the movie, so it might act strange.
Happy Birthday! It might take a while, the movie is about 70 MB, be patient!
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the forum
Not a person was posting; Not even a Goron.
The members were asleep or hung over in sin,
Hoping their jobs and schools wont call them in;
The GBA's and GC's were nestled all snug in their carts,
While visions of Dual Screens danced in their hearts;
Dark Jaguar in her 'kerchief, the blue one I hate,
And I had just sat down for a quiet masturbate
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I lost my erection, Shit, what's the matter!?
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and put my nose to the glass.
Outside it was dark, I thought as I scratched my ass
When, what to my wondering eyes should I see,
But a jap Volkwagen and 8 tiny investors... who stopped to pee
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
He put on his coat and popped open his trunk
Then he yelled to me... he must be drunk
"Mario 64 with Dual Screens, multiplayer sans wires or strings
Metroid Echoes with a Wavebird or three
And a Final Fantasy 1 and 2 under the tree.
EAD and me, you see, we've been working hard this eve
To bring all the American boys and men
A reason to fall in love with Video games again"
I scratched my head and thought "holy krap!"
"It's Miyamoto, and he I think he's on crack!"
He threw hard candy and broke open my window
Then laughed and cackled like Max von Sydow!
He unsheathed a sword, grabed his penis and yelled "UHUAHA"
I wondered for a second if he celebrates Hanukkah
He dropped GC games, SP as well. A DS, with X/Y that looked real swell
And when he jumped back to his Volkswagen 'sleigh'
I thought "Just like Punisher!" (Not the one from Jonathan Hensleigh)
He put it in drive (smog poured out), honked his horn in the cloud
(As you can imagine, It played the Mario theme... really loud)
And as he drove off, throwing hard candy at children
I thought to myself this night's conclusion:
I hope you all got what you wanted, cuz I already recieved this;
A message board full of goofballs, introverts and weirdness
A family I love and I wife that 53X0RZ me senseless
And as I laid back down feeling horny and sleepy
(Thinking that Miyamoto's frikin creepy)
I thought good night forum members and friends --
MERRY CHRISTMAS TENDO CITY!!!!
And that was the end.
Post your loot here! Tell everybody what presents you got, ones you didn't, and who you're going to treat like shit for the next year till their next chance to suck up to you! It's Christmas, baby! WOOOOO!!!!!! SHIT THE BED!!!!!
Quote:Posted by Josh Freund at 07:05:18 PM EST on 12.20.2004.
Brownie Brown revealed today that they are hard at work on two previously unannounced portable games. The first is a RPG called Magical Vacation 2 (sequel to the GBA Magical Vacation). MV2 will be released for the DS in 2005.
The second game is a GameCube game, also planned for 2005, though no info is known about it at this time.
For those who don't know, Brownie Brown is a company made up of mostly ex-Square employees. The company's founders were designers and artists who created Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu series). They most recently served as the developers for Sword of Mana.
Square Enix has already announced a new Secret of Mana title for the DS. Could Brownie Brown be working on this new title? They certainly seem like the company for the job.
Ubisoft is hardly perfect and has its share of underpromoted games that should have done better, etc, but ... compared to EA they look good... yeah, this is bad news. I'd obviously disagree with the idea that they are best at anything, but they are good enough that this is bad... and large enough that it's surprising. I thought they were trying to become (or stay as) a major player, not be bought by one...
