Dragon Quest VIII Demo Impressions

So, when I first heard that Squeenix was going to be giving away free demo copies of its highly anticipated addition to the Draqon Quest series, numero 8, I quickly jumped on the Internet bandwagon and tried to order mine immediately. Sadly, due to what can only be stated as an oversight on SE's part, the form was not setup to accomodate Canadians. However, through some correspondance with Square Enix's customer service department (who were extremely helpful and courteous I might add), they agreed to send out to Canadians as well. 2 weeks later, I plunked it into my eagerly waiting PS2.

My initial reaction was, wow, they REALLY souped up the graphics. Gone are the clunky, jagged pixels that last marred my screen in the seventh addition. They have been completely replaced by beautifully rendered, cel shaded beauty as only Level 5 can produce. Great, I thought, the Dragon Quest series has finally been brought into the new millenia but does it still FEEL like a Dragon Quest game?

The answer is quite a hearty yes, Level 5 really worked hard to keep the game feeling like a DQ game. Everything from the music, to character interaction to gameplay seems to conserve the whole DQ vibe. I particularly enjoyed the sample battles and the HUGE overworld. I can already tell this will be a game that will seriously consume a huge chunk of my time. That being said, I hope the final version has a truly upgraded storyline. I found the demo to be a tad ho-hum in the plot and know that a staple of DQ games is to take a long while getting the story going. I hope the final product pushes to get me right into the story from the get go.

Noticeably absent from the story part of the demo were character skills. A vast majority of the fun to be had with DQ7 was the brutally in depth and highly addicting skill system. I hope to see something of the same when DQ8 is released. Being the semi-masochist that I am, building an uber warrior always makes for a good time.

All in all, the DQ8 demo has me quite excited for the finished product (as any good demo should). Finally the DQ series has a game that arm-chair adventurers no longer have to turn off in shame when their graphic whore friends come over. DQ8 has been launched for the next generation and I couldn't be happier.

Comments (0) | Permalink | Lee Babin | 10.31.2005

Wowzas!

Hello all, just dropping a quick note to let you all know that I have not dropped off the face of the planet, just been swamped with work. I also want to try and encourage everyone to play YS VI, Riviera, Makai Kingdom and Advance Wars DS. I am currently playing all of them and they are all AMAZING (especially Ys, I cannot get over how old school it makes me feel). Also, it seems 1up has finally come up with its own polling system. Le *sigh*, yet another of my custom tools has been trumped by the masters. Oh well, back to the drawing board, any suggestions?

Comments (1) | Permalink | Lee Babin | 9.8.2005

Busy Busy

Well, it has been a crazy couple of weeks filled with addictions, illnesses, trips, work and writing. I have become completely and utterly addicted to Makai Kingdom. I cannot really remember the last time I was actually disapointed that a game was over. I finished it last night and was like, "That's it!!". I have decided to pick up the walkthrough so that I can play through a new game+ version as soon as possible.

In the meantime, I have got my video game hands totally full. I am currently playing Ys VI, which is mind-numbingly awesome in an old school sort of way. I am also playing through Black Hawk Down for Got-Next, which is not my normal sort of game (being the RPG fan that I am), but it is rather fun to play with the wife.

On the portable front, I am knee deep in both Advance Wars DS and Riviera. The nice thing about the Nintendo DS is I can have both games loaded in at any one time. That way, when I take it with me, I can play whatever I feel up to. Advance Wars DS is extremely sweet, of course, but I must admit that it feels a little *too* similar to Advance Wars 2. That being said, it still has that can't-stop-until-winning-fight feeling, so it's all good.

Riviera is a different animal. I love the graphical style (reminds of Makai Kingdom, mmmmm, Makai Kingdom) and the gameplay is quite unique for a genre littered with copy cats. I am only about 30 minutes into the game and loving every minute of it.

In the near future expect a couple of PSP UMD reviews as well as a review of Sigma Star Saga, all of which I am writing for Got-Next. I am expecially looking forward to SSS as it looks to blend two genres that I love; space shooter and action RPG.

As far as writing goes, I have been keeping busy. You can find a review of Xenosaga 2 here, though you may not find my reactions very pleasant. I have also been writing away for Got-Next where you can find my review for Xenosaga I and my preview for Rogue Galaxy. Also, my book is finally heading to the printers and should be in my hands by Sept. 23rd. Words cannot express how excited I am.

On the real life front, I have been keeping pretty busy. I have been gone somewhere almost every weekend! The weekend before last, me and the wife were out at my parent's house. It was warmish that weekend and I had a blast (their ATV was particularly fun). The next weekend we were out in Banff just trying to get some R & R. We did indeed get some much needed rest, though the park was swarming with bears...

This weekend we are once again hitting the old dusty trail out to Saskatchewan to visit my parents; it is just so relaxing out there. I am taking a small tv and PS2 with me so that I can blast away at Black Hawk Down while I am there. Who knows, maybe I will even convince the parents to play!

Anyway, I will leave this entry with a link to some pics of my new house going up :). I know the majority of you could care less, but it is my first house and I am rather excited. The expanded room means there may be a need for some little Babins to fill it in the future, so I am *quite* looking forward to moving in. Anyway, here are the most recent pics.

Comments (0) | Permalink | Lee Babin | 9.2.2005

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