Tangential Tendencies

TGS Rundown Part 1

Another year gone by, the Tokyo Game Show has come and gone with its series of announcements, surprises, and disappointments. I'll do my best to rundown all my impressions, albeit through relayed media and others' impressions.

White Knight Story - This is definitely a game that I fell for the moment I watched its initial unveiling back at last year's E3. Since then, we've been peppered with various pieces of beautiful concept art, a full-length story trailer, and the promise that the game would be playable at TGS. The game was fully unveiled this year, and I could not be more excited about it. The battle system plays out in what seems like a fusion of FFXII's free-roaming fields and battles, but instead of a delay-based MMO-style combat, the game takes elements of PSO's real time combos and infuses them with Radiata Stories' customization. Additionally, it never fails to amuse me that the game features a character creation system that rivals just about any MMO out there. How the game's online elements come into play is one more piece of the puzzle that has yet to be unveiled, and something that I'm anxiously anticipating.

Metal Gear Solid 4 + MGO - There's honestly not much to be said that hasn't already been discussed at length, especially on this week's 1UP Show and 1UP Yours. Both games have an intense buzz that gets me really excited, since I've always been a fan of MGS... despite never beating any of them due to my sheer lack of skill playing them. I really aught to go back and take another stab at them before 4 comes out next year.

Valkyrie of the Battlefield - This game came out of nowhere for me, and like WKS became an instant interest once I saw its unveiling trailer and several gameplay videos. The visuals are just stunning, and almost remind me of the tech utilized for the flop Unlimited SaGa's CG cutscenes, yet in full real time goodness. One thing that gets me even more excited is that the game is being developed by the charred remnants of SEGA's Overworks team, the talented folks that put together Skies of Arcadia for the Dreamcast. And joining the cast is also Hitoshi Sakimoto for what seems to be his umpteenth score this year. There's huge evidence of the guy spreading himself a bit thin, considering that one of the in-game tracks sounds nearly identical to a piece in FFXII... But even still, I look forward to his efforts for this game. It just disappoints me a bit when he isn't putting a full unique spin on each project.

In Part 2, which I'll hopefully write up later this week, I'll reflect on more of the TGS games and media... As well as give some reports on other music I've been listening to as well as writing.