Weekend Gaming

This weekend was fairly productive from a gaming standpoint. On Friday, I finished Final Fantasy XIII-2. While not a great game, I certainly enjoyed it more than Final Fantasy XIII. I wonder if I would have appreciated this game more if I had not played it right after Ni No Kuni. Maybe too much monster collecting in a row? 

I also made a good amount of headway in Lunar while travelling to Pennsylvania. I made it through Damon's Spire and joined the thieves’ guild in Reza, I think my encounter with the Red Dragon is drawing closer. Lunar may be the first game that I bail on before completion. It is a very linear game, and it has an unforgiveable amount of loading on the PSP. It loads only a small portion of any town or dungeon, and there are several seconds of loading between each screen. There is also a lot of loading before and after battles. While the game gives the illusion that you can avoid battles, in reality it is very different to avoid the enemies in the small spaces it loads, and the enemies respawn every time you leave a screen and come back. It is taking me far longer to complete this game than it should because of the loading, it also makes it difficult to get anything done on the train, and kills my PSP battery life. Perhaps if I had played this game years ago and had some nostalgia for it, I might be inclined to continue. 

I also managed to play Final Fantasy XII for a few hours on Sunday, I broke into the palace, got caught making my way out through the sewers, and escaped prison through some old tunnels. I am currently back in the starting wilderness killing some creatures that were too difficult earlier.My first few hours with Tales of Vesperia were positive, I am enjoying both the art style and the combat system. I also appreciate the fact that the hero is neither a young farm boy nor a brooding amnesiac.