Final Fantasy XIII-2 Review: Out of Time

Note from the Editor: We here at Morality Points firmly believe that video game reviews don’t have to be the most timely occurrence; many games go through initial bursts of popularity and fan-dom only to be hailed as the most boring 20 hours in the history of ever. Even though Final Fantasy XIII-2 came out in January, Stephen’s review offers a better perspective over the true merit of the game.

To avoid spoilers, I have avoided discussing the plotline.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is the latest installment of the series created by Square-Enix and was released at the very end of January 2012. So, that begs the question: Why is my review coming out just now? Well, my playthrough of FFXIII-2 was nearly complete when my time and attention was stolen away by the arrival of Mass Effect 3. However, now that I’ve finally beaten the single player and played plenty of multiplayer, it’s about time for me to finish up with FFXIII-2.

As you can tell by the title, FFXIII-2 is the sequel to Final Fantasy XIII. Final Fantasy XIII was a controversial game that had both lovers and haters. I prefer to take the middle ground and say that Final Fantasy XIII had many great points but several big detractors, such as a lack of open world exploration, a linear plot, lack of cities and annoying voice actors.

With the creation of FFXIII-2, Square-Enix hoped to rectify the mistakes of Final Fantasy XIII. However, whether or not it was a success is debatable.

Tribes Ascend Review: Killing in Motion

Tribes, regrettably, was one of those series that I discovered too late into my gaming career. While I played a few rounds of the original, too many of my friends had moved on and I quickly did too. With the release of Tribes Ascend I was determined to get more out of the fast-paced experience, and although I’m horrible at the game, Hi Rez studios has done a great job of capturing the essence of the original while bringing the blazingly fast action to new audiences.

Super Monday Night Combat Review: The Wacky World of Sports

The Atlantic recently commented that most games are dumb. The characters of Super Monday Night Combat read that article and took it as a challenge, but in the best possible way. The newly released PC game takes the idea of absurdity, puts it in a weirdness food processor, force feeds it to an awkward unicorn, and poops out solid gold.

Who Doesn’t Love A Free Game?

There’s a growing fear in the video game community that Apple’s (and to a lesser extent Android’s and Windows’) App Stores will be the doom to the core gamers. And there are some good reasons to fear: while the App Store has been a cash cow for developers, gaming sales have declined year over year.

As a core gamer, is it time to panic yet? No. It’s not like Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are the movie industry, which is about as thriving as a septic tank. But in a down global economy, it’s much easier to justify a $1 to $2 app purchase than it is to buy a $60 retail game.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Review (Xbox 360)

It’s been a long time since a game has told me that I sucked. After playing through the opening tutorial, Witcher 2 recommended that I play on the easiest difficulty. And for the first few hours of playing, I couldn’t agree more; I really did not know what to make of Geralt the Witcher. The Witcher 2 is a tough game but, once you embrace the gameplay, explore the lore and invest in the character, you’ll experience a flawed, yet entertaining game.

Go To Hell with Diablo 3 Open Beta Weekend

Dust off your killing sticks and strap on your boots: it’s time to go kill you some of dem demons this weekend. Blizzard announced today that anyone and everyone can play the Diablo 3 Beta this weekend, starting today at 12 PM PDT, which is 3 PM ET and 2 PM CT.

Mass Effect 3: Beyond the Ending

Enough time has passed that most people who wanted to beat Mass Effect 3 have done so. That being said, full-warning: I’m going to talk about that infamous ending.

LIG: Ridal vs thebrotoss (TvT)

It’s been a long time coming. I’m not sure what happened. Well, I kind of know why there was a delay: Ridal actually broke his finger. So this is the make-up games between Ridal and thebrotoss. Will we see some hardcore gaming rage? Find out!

BREAKING NEWS: Battlefield 3 Caspian Border Map Returns, High-Res Texture on Xbox 360

So the title pretty much says it all, but to clarify: for PC gamers, you have one more chance to play Caspian Border on Battlefield 3 before the beta ends. In this final weekend, Caspian Border will be available to play, no password-hunting required. The servers are up now (I’ve checked) so get on it!

 

More info after the bump!

Battlefield 3 Beta Review: Paranoia Will Destroy Ya

There is a flash of flight as fire reflects off a sniper scope. I see it out of the corner of my eye and jump to the ground—but, too late. The bullet zips right through my head and Battlefield 3 cheerily sends me to the all-too-familiar YOU ARE DEAD screen. Fortunately, respawn times are so short that I can hop right back into the foray in the metro, but there’s a second of hesitation before I click that deploy button.