Gaming Update: The Last Remnant Edition

I've decided to post only one gaming update a week, every Friday. This week, being one of trial-by-fire, is of course the exception. This will allow me to work piecemeal, adding to what will become the published entry each day I game. It also prevents my blog from becoming littered with random gaming updates that might obscure much more important entries.

This week I gave up on Infinite Undiscovery, continued my time-traveling escapades in Chrono Trigger, and took a risk purchasing The Last Remnant despite overwhelming criticism.

Wednesday I had a mad scientist of an idea. Well, maybe not that crazy but certainly an odd one. Since I am currently only capable of walking on my treadmill at 2 miles per hour (go go appendectomy!) and have seen every damn episode of Fresh Prince two or three times now (thanks early morning Nick at Nite), I decided to attempt to play my DS while treadmilling. Yes, I just turned treadmill into a verb. The results were fantabulous. In the thirty minutes I spent on the walking machine, I managed to complete the first expedition to 2300 A.D. Robo's lumbering robot ass is now a permanent member of my time-traveling Scooby Gang. There really isn't enough dilapidated steampunk robots in video games these days...

I also put a few more hours into Infinite Undiscovery, wandering through some obligatory pain-in-the-ass desert. Sewers and deserts, man, they are never any fun in Role Playing Games. Plus, Infinite Undiscovery's art direction blows, the characters are subpar, and the storytelling is lacking in focus. This game just isn't doing it for me. After putting up with desert chores for much too long, I shelved the game and handed it back to Jim, who is equally bored with it. Tri-Ace needs to get their shit together.

Thursday I continued playing Chrono Trigger on the treadmill, this time for an hour. I trekked through the middle ages, kicked Ozzie's fat green ass on the Zenan Bridge, and took on Masa and Mune for their half of Melchior's legendary weapon. I'm really digging exercising and gaming in tandem... even though it's terribly decadent.

I'm still reeling over Infinite Undiscovery's lameness. My experience was in stark contrast to 1UP's, who thinks the game is "absolutely worth playing through at least once." Whatever, this is Skies of Arcadia all over again. With my RPG itch left unscratched, I went to the local GameStop and purchased The Last Remnant on a whim. I almost didn't buy the game in lieu of all the negative reviews, but as awesome-tastic as Prince of Persia and Mirror's Edge no doubt are, $60 is a steep price tag for 5-10 hour games that lack a significant online aspect. At the very least, The Last Remnant's supposedly 40 hour adventure will give me a few weeks of play.

My experience with The Last Remnant so far has been rather enjoyable. Unlike Infinite Undiscovery, the game touts quality voice acting, interesting narrative and a great deal of intrigue. The battle system is a little intimidating. At its heart it's nothing more than cleverly-disguised traditional turn-based combat. There's a lot of nuance to it, though, that borrows from Strategy RPGs. Without a doubt, The Last Remnant is quickly shaping up to be a promising title.

Friday sees me once more Chrono Trigger-treadmilling. If I could maintain faster speeds and still focus on the DS I would totally do this all the time. I picked up where I left off yesterday, traipsing about the prehistoric era with Ayla. We danced, we drank, we loved and laughed. Then her jealous love interest done stole my gate key stranding me in 65,000,000 B.C. I bullied my way through the Reptite Lair before quitting to do that whole "attend class" jaun.

I said it before and I'll say it again: this game feels right at home on the DS. Sure, it'd be wicked-awesome if the game were as tricked out visually as Final Fantasy IV on the DS, but I'll be damned if the "outdated" sprites aren't still rife with the same charm that captivated me all those years ago... If you're an RPG aficionado and have yet to play Chrono Trigger, please please please go pick this game up. It's one of a kind.

After classes I rocked out to more of The Last Remnant -- quite literally. The game's soundtrack was composed by Tsuyoshi Sekito, lead guitarist of The Black Mages. Because of this the game possesses some serious aural rockitude. I haven't progressed much further from where I left off last night, but I am still very much enjoying this game and will no doubt continue playing long into the night. Everyone who has reviewed the game skewered it over technical issues, namely texture pop-in and slowdown. The thing is, these issues are no worse than any other Unreal Engine 3 game -- Gears of War, Gears of War 2, Mass Effect, and Lost Odyssey all had brief moments of texture pop-in. With that in mind, I suspect fault lies more with Epic Games than the developers utilizing their engine. Texture pop-ins are certainly a bogus flaw, but it's awfully biased to crucify The Last Remnant for having the very same problem many other games do.