Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception mini review!

                         

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception once again proves that Naughty Dog's penchant of creating fantastic games still exists in spades, making them quite the task masters in such a cut throat industry. This year the video game industry is making all the headlines for all the right reason with release of some of the biggest games and Uncharted 3 is one of them. What sets 2011 apart from previous years as a watershed year for the industry is that quite a HUGE number of games are Game of the Year quality, that pitting these games against one another is a really tough proposition! The last time such a phenomena occurred was way back in 2004, but 2011 ekes out in front cause of the sheer number of quality games on show.

                        

Uncharted 3: Drake Deception is a meticulously crafted, superbly paced, explosive action game with some incredible production values yet suffers from 'been there, done that' vibe which doesn't really bring the game down in any sense, but while playing it I could'nt shake the feeing of deja-vu. And because the game will inevitably be compared with the epic Hollywood-esque Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, that Uncharted 3 feels like a TV show isn't a damning indictment for the game but a glowing praise for it's prequel. Having said that, Drake's Deception may be epic-est TV show ever made if I may add! But by all accounts this is a game worthy of the Uncharted moniker and a fantastic action game on its own. My play time 8 hours 27 mins and my rating a 8.8/10. 

The best video game I played in 2011!

1) Xenoblade Chronicles – Wii:

It was maybe e3 of 2009 when I spotted a game by the odd name of Monado: The Beginning of the World on Gamespot’s e3 page. I was very excited when I read the small preview of the Japanese version and saw the name Tetsuya Takahashi, the director of the awesome Xeno series for the PS1 and the PS2, and Monolith Soft, the dev company which made Xenosaga trilogy , at the helm of this new title. And the fact It was coming on the JRPG starved Wii was another reason for my excitement. But as the days and months wore (which brought a change of name: XenoBlade, which resulted in me throwing a tantrum) there was almost no news of an English version anywhere, while the game’s momentum was picking up Japan. When it got released in Japan to very high praise and sold really well, I seriously started to get worried that the game won't make it out in English.

I was expecting some sort of news to come out from the US for an English release, it took me by surprise that game was being localized by Nintendo of Europe, now dubbed Xenoblade Chronicles. Nintendo of Europe's website even had little video snippets highlighting the game world and the music. Slowly small bits of info started streaming out and it all made for awesome reading, and soon enough a concrete release was announced and what was more bizzare that the game was only coming Europe and not the US. Not that I cared that much as long as I could play this bad boy!!. August 19 was D-day and as soon as I got my copy from Amazon UK (via a family friend who was fortunately visiting Pakistan at the time) the game didn't pop out of the Wii for a good 2 months and this was the only game I was indulging in, without even bating an eye for the huge games during that time (Gears of War 3, Infamous 2 to name a few).

Was the game as good as they said it would be? HELLS YEAH!!!!. The game literally came from left field and has gone on to reinvent the JRPG genre which  considered to be stagnating for a while (its a conspiracy I tell you!!). Monlith Software once again proved that they have command over the genre, rivalling the JRPG giants of SquareEnix and Atlus and NIS.

Xenoblade Chronicles is the perfect example of how to meld two different sub-genres i.e WRPG and JRPG and concoct a game which eschews all the fault of both the genre to create something quite unique. For starters the world setting, the melodramatic plot with sci-fi trapping isn't too far from what you get in an traditional JRPG. The melodrama has been toned down quite a bit especially if you compare it with other recent games in the genre, but still have enough twists, turns and shocking revelations which makes for very intriguing viewing.

The characters, too adhere to the mould of JRPGs but the dev team has done a really good job in making all the characters stand out from the crowd of emo-filled, angst ridden young heroes. The characterization is pretty solid where every character can be sympathized with and each adding something to plate to the flow of the story. The best bit is that these are NOT cliched characters that you will find in any X,Y,Z RPGs but rather they have pretty distinct personalities and agendas. Tetusya Takahashi and his cohorts have once again pushed the limits on how to present characters in a JRPG.

So right off the bat the game is following the JRPG blue print quite nicely but as soon as the game goes into high gear the influences from the WRPG genre start kicking in. The game world is HUGE, I mean the game takes place on top of 2 titanic gods for crying out loud!. If recent JRPGs felt claustrophobic then Xenoblade Chronicles will inundate the gamers with a humongous world to explore and discover. Hell discovering new area rewards player with experience points which really takes the cake if you like exploring, which also does away with linear exploration native to JRPGs. Another feature taken from WRPGs is the INSANE amount of side quests to do. Every new area or town have LOADS of NPCs almost lining up for the heroes help, from hunting monsters to finding items to raw material gathering, they are all there.

But it’s the battle system though which fully combines the West and the East game designs. It’s a quasi-real-time/turn based battles system fought on the field (i.e. no more screen shattering battle arenas), with abilities to choose on the fly (coupled with a cool down mechanics). The battles become pretty hectic but its very easy to see a neat turn based mechanic is also at play. This is where I think that Monolith Soft has done an awesome job as Xenoblade's battle system works for both fans of JRPGs and WRPGs. I will even go on to say that this game may be a very rare kind of JRPGs that caters to any sort of RPG player, and this where the game really shines more than its peers. So yeah I consider the battle of game as one of the greatest in RPGs. That is a huge claim especially for a game on the Wii and how JRPGs have kinda lost their steam in the last few years, but the level of polish and genius present in the battle system makes a lasting impression and something which other RPG makers will do well to take a note of. What this also means that Monolith Soft didn't really chuck out the JRPGs mechanics out the window in order to make something new, but stuck to what makes a JRPG tick while incorporating the WRPGs mechanics and that is the real achievement of the developers and the game.

The customizations options are also similar to many of the great WRPGs where every character can be molded into however the player wants them. And that's not all, there is a really good loot system in place as well where the players can gather all sorts of equipment, weapons and trinkets. But these WRPG mechanics are once again balanced with the focus on progressing the story like in any JRPG of the past.

As I mentioned earlier how the battle system merges the JRPG and the WRPG, I will say that the entire game is like that. The perfect marriage of two pretty different genres is a sight to behold. Fans of both the genres have been at logger head for years now. Both set of parties have very convincing arguments, but XenoBlade Chronicles shows if developers are game enough to experiment with both the genres they can end up with something really special and the game is a true testament of that.

Now add all of this RPG goodness with some really fantastic production values, even though the Wii is not an HD enable console likes its competition and you get a game that exceeds all sorts of expectations and as well as silencing the naysayers. Technically the game isn't up to the mark with some of the high end Wii games like Super Mario Galaxy series or Metriod Other M but overcomes that technical deficiency with incredible art style and a grandiose scale unlike anything seen before in the JRPG genre. Though technically it maybe lacking but surprising the game rarely chugs or experiences a hiccup, even with so much happening on the screen. But for me it really is the art style of the game is really carries the game to upper echelon of the genre as it juggles sci-fi motifs with the more earthy aspect of the game world with aplomb.

Even the sound track is top notch with some of the biggest name in the industry in the shape of Yoko Shinumura and Yasonari Mitasuda and the 3-person band ACE+ who basically have produced one of the best sound track of the year!

I don’t know how many people in Pakistan have given Xenoblade Chronicles a look in especially as the Wii is usually considered a 'kiddie' console, its really a shame that this game will not get its fair due in the Pakistani gaming circles.

On a personal level I am of the small percentage of gamers who still revere the JRPG sub-genre and am confused at all the hoopla of the ‘decline’ of the genre. But even then Xenoblade Chronicles has done a great job in elevating itself in a pretty saturated field which is a HUGE accomplishment with the Wii on its last legs. Initially I was kind of worried that the story telling would take a hit considering the criticism Tetsuya Takahashi got for the Xenosaga trilogy, but already having put in more 40 hours in the game I am very satisfied at the balance of storytelling mechanics (i.e. cut-scenes) and game play. Sure its not on the epic level of the first XenoSaga game but its still a lot which is awesome!.

So in conclusion 2011 did have a lot of truly magnificent games across the board, more so on the PS3 and 360, but this unassuming title on a system which is way past its prime took most of my time. Although I still have not finished the game I have loved every minute of it!

Honorable Mentions:

Xenoblade Chronicles was indeed an awesome game, but 2011 was a phenomenal year for the video gaming industry and personally as a gamer there never has been a better time to indulge in medium of video games. Here some of the games I enjoyed last year:

1) Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception

2) Batman: Arkham Asylum

3) Radiant Historia

4) Infamous 2

5) Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky

6) Beyond Good and Evil HD

7) Super Mario 3D Land

8) de Blob 2

9) Tactic Ogre: Let us cling togather

10) Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Dragon Quest goes online!!!

SquareEnix held a press conference yesterday in order to announce the next game in their venerable series Dragon Quest. For a couple of years we have been hearing that the company was working on a game for an unannounced platform but now the long wait has ended. Dragon Quest X: Waking of the Five Tribes is coming out in 2012 for both the Wii and Nintendo’s upcoming new console Wii U. But here’s the real kick to the nuts: It’s an MMORPG, or in layman terms: an online RPG!!

Now I have been playing JRPGs for more than a decade and have always enjoyed this genre more than any other for their propensity of telling a great story with memorable characters. This is where JRPGs differ from other genres which become the perfect hook for gamers looking for a great yarn. That is why I have never been a fan of online RPGs as they kill the concept of a story. But as they usually come out on PC, and I do understand the fact that there are a huge number of people who enjoy playing online PC RPGs, but when some of the biggest JRPGs franchises decide to go it is makes me very angry indeed.

SquareEnix has been the past master of the JRPGs for years now and many of their games are great classics from the likes of Final Fantasy 4, Secret of Mana, Romancing Saga to name a few. I will even go on to say that I have never been let down by the company, except on two occasions. First came with the announcement of Final Fantasy XI. The leap from a single player experience to an MMORPG one was quite disappointing and I still hold against the company of ruining the numbered series. Because of that I haven’t even give much thought to Final Fantasy XIV, for me that game doesn’t even exist!

Dragon Quest X being an online RPG is the second instance that I have been disappointed by the company. Look I am all for innovation in the genre, hell I support positive innovation. But does the gaming industry need ANOTHER online RPG?!? If online component was so important to SquareEnix they could had done what they did in Dragon Quest IX i.e. providing a solid single player experience with the added option of going online and playing with a friend. For me that would had made sense. Oh well I guess what’s done is done, and it’s a shame really. I guess I will be ignoring this game and will be thanking the stars that The Last Story is in the process of being translated in English.

Trails in the Sky shine so Bright!!

In amongst the fans of the Japanese video games, Xseed as made quite a name for itself by localizing and publishing niche Japanese titles in the American market, which otherwise would had been ignored by bigger publishing companies. Xseed’s resume is indeed an impressive one with some good solid games published on multiple gaming platforms from the likes of Wild Arms 5 (PS2), Lunar Silver Star Harmony (PSP) or Fragile Dreams (Wii). Xseed has also partnered Marvelous Entertainment USA to co-publish a few more titles with Rune Factory Frontier (Wii) as the main attraction of the said partnership. The creation of the company is one of the better legacies of the last gaming generation which is still relevant in the HD era.

As impressive as all this may sound Xseed needed a proper AAA title to stamp its authority on the localizing market. Enter Nihon Falcom and their flagship game series on the PC, Legend of Heroes. Nihon Falcom has a knack of creating very robust RPGs with fleshed out battle systems and intriguing settings. Legend of Heroes: Sora No Kiseki was a PC game trilogy which was a big hit in Japan when it was released in 2004, while the ensuing sequels have also garnered massive following. It was a logical move when a port of the game series appeared on the PSP (Japan only) that the series truly hit cult status. For the non Japanese speaking public they could only watch at the sidelines, hoping against hope that some company would translate the game and release it outside Japan. It was really out of the blue when in 2010 Xseed announced a partnership with Falcom which would see release of not only 3 Y’s games in the space of 3 months but also the first chapter of the Sora No Kiseki series in 2011. Dubbed Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, was to become the most exhaustive undertaking by the company as the game had a staggering amount of text to be translated: 1.5 million Japanese characters to be precise! But when the game came out rest assured the efforts of the localizing team at Xseed had out done themselves as the translated script was full of witty and hilarious dialogue and characterization which went swimmingly with a fascinating story along with some solid RPG action. Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is the company's best work to date and easily one of the top PSP games.

So at first I wasn't all that impressed with the game as the first 1-2 hours lurched at a snail’s pace, the graphics weren't exactly great and the lack of voice acting soured the deal for me, but I stuck with it. And the more I played, the more I started to realize how the much game reminded me of some of the top RPGS of the PS1 era. Games like Grandia, Breath of Fire or Thousand Arms came to mind as I delved deeper into Trails of the Sky and that fact alone made it stand out among its peers. Characterization and dialogue were uniformly awesome with great banter among the characters, the sense of adventure and wonderment is prevalent throughout while the game play mechanics were slick and polished. If the game would had come out back in the day it would had been hailed as one of the greatest but even as it stand right now its still an awesome game for the PSP.

As for the general plot, that too adheres to the blue print of the 32 bit RPGS of the PS1. Basically the plot revolves around our two protagonists Estelle Bright and her adopted sibling Joshua Bright as they make ways around the Liberal Kingdom training to become Bracers; an organization that helps the people in need: be it killing monsters, upholding the law or doing things for the well being of the people. And through their training they meet and befriend new people as they slowly get embroiled in a huge conspiracy against the crown. It’s not as cliché as it sounds because the writing and pacing is excellent (something bigger companies can re-learn from this title), introducing new plot twists in each of its first 3 chapters, culminating in everything coming together in the final chapter. The ending does a great job in tying up loose ends, while opening up a whole new can of worms for the sequels. I really enjoyed the plot and the characters of Trails in the Sky and can’t wait to get to the conclusion of this inspired trilogy.

Legend of Heroes: Trails of the Sky is a turn based game but Falcom has added a few new wrinkles to the system which makes it a fresh entry. The fast pace of battles and the tactical nuances made the system deep yet rewarding, almost as good as the perfect turn based systems found in Persona 3 and Persona 4. More often than not I would actively be going out of my way to fight beasts and monsters as I trekked along the countryside or deep, dank dungeons. Another cool aspect was how slowly my characters leveled up as the final levels of my characters stood at 36 which made all the unnecessary level grinding a chore of the past. I also really enjoyed how the side quests were handled as well and due to their bite sized nature side questing didn't feel senseless or boring. It made balancing story progression and side-questing an enjoyable ride.

Some of the best moments of the game were undoubtedly the 4 main cities which the characters visit. Each of the cities has its own vibe from the sleepy town of Rolent to the industrial hub Zeiss. Talking to NPCs of these cities would always yield some interesting tidbit about the events that are taking place or stuff about the city they inhabit.

But perhaps the most awesome features of Trails in the Sky are the main characters. Although they do conform to the anime clichés but they still come off as refreshing and full of personality. Be it Estelle’s over exuberance, Joshua’s grounded sensibilities or Oliver's egotistic behavior, they all come off as quite endearing. It all helps with the stellar localization done by Xseed which sees such eccentricities come to life and how!.

Most people who will cast their eyes on the visuals of Trails of the Sky will NOT like them one bit. The game does not look that hot, even for a PSP game, but as a wise man once said ‘beauty is only skin deep’. The same can be said about this game too as once you get past the retro 32 bit look of the game, you will notice good amount of details in the environments. The towns are filled to the brim with small neat touches, the in game cut-scenes have loads of diversity and the battle visuals are quite easy on the eyes. Then again the game will NOT win any beauty pagents but that does not mean the game is awful looking, I would call the visuals.….charming!

Ok time to wrap this up: Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is a great PSP game and a really neat JRPG in its own right. The games does not reinvent the wheel but rather adheres to the typical JRPG mantra, but is presented in such a way that it makes for solid gaming. The story doesn’t takes itself seriously for most the game, the characters and relationships are both funny and touching, the game play mechanics add little nuances to the turn based system which keeps the system fresh and fun, and the huge world to travel and explore is downright addictive. PSP is really on its last legs but it still is chugging along willfully as Trails in the Sky still has 2 more sequels to come out to finish the trilogy. So hear me now Xseed: You better not pull a fast one on the PSP owners and the fans of this awesome game by not bringing out part 2 and 3. We want these games NOW!!!

My play through was 47 hours, 14 minutes and 28 seconds (47:14:28) while my rating is a solid 9!

Pakistan Zindabad!!!!

64 years ago a nation was created which aimed to become the bastion for Muslims around the world as well as safeguarding people from any religion while following the methods prescribed by the Holy Quran and the Prophet of Allah (P.B.U.H). Yes the country has faltered and now stands at the brink but we Pakistanis (regardless of race or religion) must unite and for once work for the the betterment of the country. May Allah grant all Pakistanis deliverance from a corrupt Government and May Allah smite all the enemies of Pakistan. May Allah bless Pakistan and every Pakistani with His Ultimate blessings and make Pakistan a great nation in the future. Happy Independence Day. Pakistan Zindabad!

Finished Mass Effect 2.....

Mass Effect 2 is quite easily one of the best games I have ever played. The breath of it’s epic scale, the magnificent sci-fi motif which rivals some of the best sci-fi works seen in movies, the huge cast made up of humans and aliens, each one with a story to tell, and of course the hybrid shooter and RPG mechanics all made for one awesome game which I would had not played if Mass Effect 2 had adhered to some of the Western RPG (WRPGs) clichés which I have come to hate. But thankfully Mass Effect 2 is an awesome beast of a game that will easily go down in my all time favourites list (a list which mostly comprises of JRPGS).

To say that I’ve had a sordid relationship with WRPGs is a bit of an understatement as every time I have taken the plunge to engross myself in a block buster game I have been bitterly disappointed. Throughout the last decade I have tried to play and ‘hopefully’ enjoy a game of this genre but it has always resulted in varying degrees of disappointment: be it the 90’s juggernaut Diablo 2, BioWare’s own Baldur’s Gate 2 or the fans favourite Planescape: Torment. It all came to a melting point in 2004 with the release of Fable for the Xbox as it became my most hated game of the last generation and I am still confused at why Fable has received 2 sequels and a lot of good press. For 4 years WRPGs became a no go zone for me as I was (still am) happy with RPGs of the Japanese kind, but when the first trailer of Mass Effect started to appear on the net I became genuinely intrigued. Here was a WRPG which was not set in a medieval fantasy setting and nor did the game play resemble anything like any other game of the genre. And by the time I finished Mass Effect I had become a huge fan of BioWare and as well as breaking my WRPG ‘fast’. But I did not imagine that the sequel would be so good that I would end up buying BioWare’s other WRPG franchise as a result.

Mass Effect 2 literally makes a mockery of the original!! If I compare both the games, Mass Effect feels like a broken, glitch ridden and clunky game: Mass Effect 2 is THAT good. Sequels are always better than original games, but Mass Effect 2 just takes this notion to another level. It seems that BioWare took everything that was good in Mass Effect and just cranked it up in terms of improving on those bits: the meandering plot narrative is replaced by a rollicking adventure saddled with a sense of urgency and desperation, and while Mass Effect 2 is the second part of the trilogy, its plot was still amazing and acts as a catalyst for the events in the final game of the series. The characters have added depth, complex personalities and twisted past and getting to know them and their past makes for some very interesting conversations and plot points. Return of some of the old members made the whole experience a bit more…. personal. The massive amounts of tweaking in the shooting mechanics made the cumbersome action sequences from the original a forgotten anomaly and made Mass Effect 2 game play more fun and tactically rewarding.

Combining action and RPG genres have been done before with games like Deus Ex or System Shock 2, but BioWare’s effort in Mass Effect 2 deserves special praise as the game has totally perfected the hybrid genre and raised the bar for other developers. The shooting segments were fun as well as having all the strapping of an action game like for example the cover system which was much easier to use, or the bevy of weapons which could be researched and upgraded. The new tactical commands, (which personally I didn’t use much), was also a neat addition. But the major complaint I have with Mass Effect 2 was the stripped down (nay dumb downed) RPG mechanics, and as an action RPG this was a bit of a moot point for me. There were very character customization options to choose from, there were no options of customizing weaponry or armour. I am hoping that if BioWare can address this issue in Mass Effect 3 it will be awesome!

Mass Effect 2 production values are staggering esp. the audio aspects. The visuals are really good considering that I never regarded the Unreal Engine to be capable of producing beautiful and detailed graphics. Some of the planets were downright magnificent as were some of the indoor environments. Facial animations were off the charts as every emotion was captured with insane detail while the general animation is also really good even though sometimes they would be a little wooden and stiff. There were quite a few instance were the visuals were not that good for example there were few occasions when the textures loaded a little slow, nowhere as bad as in the original but there were quite noticeable. Some of the characters supported the ‘vacant stare’ syndrome which was really creepy and kind of distracted me. But still the graphics are really solid which makes for a fine looking game.

The voice acting is really top of the line. Every voice actor has done a tremendous job in ensuring that the characters all sound natural and convincing. The cast members have some of the big names of the voice acting industry which includes the like of Ali Hillis, Steve Blum and Jennifer Hale as well as stars from movies and television like Martin Sheen, Seth Green, Tricia Helfer and Ynvonne Strahovski and their performances dispel the theory that big stars make the worst voice actors. Martin Sheen is one fine example as his performance as the mysterious Illusive Man was excellent. But one thing is for certain though that WRPGs uniformly have some of the best voice acting, far excelling ones found in 60% of JRPGs, and Mass Effect 2 is no different.

Ok so now to THE most important question: which one of the fine ladies in Command Shepherd harem did I explore the romantic angle of? At first Miranda Lawson (modelled on the lovely Ynvonne Strahovski) was the most obvious choice and I was doing everything as prescribed on online guide sites to further the relationship between Miranda and Shepherd. But half through the game that focus started to waver with the introduction of the biotic Samara, the calm and wise yet deadly Asari Justicar. Too bad that the game didn’t let me (i.e. Shepherd) go after her but the seed of doubt was sown. When Tali Zorah van Neema (member of the original game as well) was brought in the fold it really make made me forget about the buxom temptress and go for the ‘alien next door’ type!

There is something about Tali, even though she wears a full body suit and a mask, which has made her a cult figure amongst Mass Effect fans: Is it her personality, or her independent pilgrimage or her voice, I sometimes wonder. Even in Mass Effect I always enjoyed conversations Tali and Shepherd would have and now with the romancing option available I was more than curious to explore that path (to be little disappointed by how the whole thing ended..Let’s just say it was…tasteless). So yeah, Tali is also my favourite character followed by Samara, hell the entire cast was a country mile better than Mass Effect 1 and I cannot wait to see what new characters are introduced in the final game.

I take my RPGs very seriously, so I was taken aback at the pure awesomeness of Mass Effect 2. As I mentioned earlier I consider Japanese RPGs to be the ultimate representation of the genre and I still am on the fence about the typical Western RPG (with BioWare’s Dragon Age: Origin I am more than willing to try though), but Mass Effect 2 is just too good to be ignored. Every aspect of the game show cased BioWare’s high calibre as a celebrated game developing company. It is very easy to see that this game was a labour of love where everything made sense from the battle mechanics to the awesome story. Mass Effect 2 is a genius of a game that will go down as one of the best RPG ever made and anybody who knows me and my fanatic support of JRPGs; this may be one hell of a comment! My playtime: 36 hours 2 mins and my rating: 9.4.

Operation Rainfall

I am more than a little surprised at Nintendo of America (NOA) stance of not bringing 3 original Wii games in the US. Xenoblade Chronicles, Pandora's Tower and The Last Story are the games in focus of an aggressive online petition where the fans (including me) have been raising our voices in an effort to make NOA bring these games in the US. Operation Rainfall got my attention a couple of days ago on Siliconera and was intrigued at the epic scale of this petition. Unlike a normal online petition the fans have taken steps of pestering NOA on their Facebook and Twitter pages and pre-ordering huge copies of Xenoblade Chronicles on Amazon (still named Monado: Beginning of the World on the site). This prompted a rapid response by Nintendo on Facebook promising the fans an update soon much to the delights of fans and instigators of Operation Rainfall. Now I don't live in the US myself, but I want these 3 games to come out in North America so that I too can have a chance to import these games.

Today NOA gave the update which wnet like this:

"Thank you for your enthusiasm. We promised an update, so here it is. We never say “never,” but we can confirm that there are no plans to bring these three games to the Americas at this time. Thanks so much for your passion, and for being such great fans!"

I am still perplexed at response. Sure this looks like a normal PR reply, but for us fans it feels like a blow to the gut. What is really bugging me is why is Nintendo being so stingy about Wii RPGs, considering that Nintendo's own DS has been a RPG haven, both niche and mainstream. Yet when the fans are clamoring for 3 of the finest games on the system (in Japan these games have been pretty big), they are showing the cold shoulder. The kicker is that at least one game can actually make it to the US. Xenoblade Chronicles has a solid September release date for EU territories i.e. the game script is already translated in the English and yet NOA is acting like it doesn't care about the hard core fans. It's beyond logic!

But rather being angry, I am still hopeful. While browsing GameFaqs I read a wonderful reaction by a user named ignasia7, whereby he said that getting a positive reply so early into the operation is asking for too much and that the fans need to step up efforts while being cordial as the fact remains that this operation has made NOA get up and take notice. After reading this I can't help be a little optimistic but still think that one last push may be required to make NOA yeild. And if they do yield then this act will be considered as rebuilding bridges for the hardcore audience who felt betrayed by the Wii casaul angle and while also helping Nintendo in the long run with the Wii U on the horizon.

Till then I can only hope that these games do end up getting an American release, while in the worst scenario I can always import the game from the UK!