What are you playing, stupid?

[max_cady]

Well, I finally maxed out my two main characters on every category (guess the Double the CP fragment skill is kinda pointless now) in Final Fantasy XIII-2.

Bought the Snow DLC, where I have to fight him in the Colloseum. It's not related to the plot in any way, shape or form, but I'll be damned if it's one heck of a fight.
You see the trick to beating Snow is one that takes considerable amount of patience. Why? Because it's clearly a middle finger to anyone who spams the same Paradigm Shifts in one combat.

Snow can't be beat like that. First, he'll Power Up, then he'll start building up his Energy Attack. If you are still using the same PS he will eventually use Energy Max and use his special attack which kills you regardless of HP, Strengh or whatever.

In order to win, never... ever assign the same Job to a character, Noel can either be Commando, Healer, Sentinel. Serah can also be Saboteur, Medic and Synergist. Always have a Monster Healer, a Sentinel and a Commando. Occasionally it's a good idea to have a character get killed by Snow, so stack up on Phoenix Downs.

Use Ravager whenever pertinent to cause him to Stagger. When he does unleash Commando on his butt.

It's not an easy battle. Even on Easy Mode he requires a lot of strategy and careful planning.

[SOUP]

@Max_Cady: Thanks for the strategy.
I picked up the first Lightning DLC, but never managed to beat her.
The Sazh DLC is basically casino games, where he just joins your party at the end. I still haven't tried the final Lightning DLC yet though.

I played some more Final Fantasy XI last night, and managed to go up a few more levels. Not all that close to finishing my first mission, but at least I can survive more than one fight without dying immediately.

[max_cady]

I browsing through XBLA's back catalogue last night and came across something that I was a bit on a the fence about: Atari's Blade Kitten.

I've been playing it for a while and wow... It's actually quite good. It's a little less cerebral then 'Splosion Man, however Blade Kitten does not make want to throw my control pad across the room and utter every curse word in the English language mid-play. It's a 2D-ish side scroller with a little bit of exploration. For 400 Microsoft Point, it's a steal.

[CosmicCastaway]

I browsing through XBLA's back catalogue last night and came across something that I was a bit on a the fence about: Atari's Blade Kitten.

I've been playing it for a while and wow... It's actually quite good. It's a little less cerebral then 'Splosion Man, however Blade Kitten does not make want to throw my control pad across the room and utter every curse word in the English language mid-play. It's a 2D-ish side scroller with a little bit of exploration. For 400 Microsoft Point, it's a steal.

Glad to see someone else loves Blade Kitten. It's good fun, and it's shame we may never get the second episode. 

I am currently playing Resident Evil: Revelations and it is quite excellent. It's a neat blend between the slower paced, atmospheric older titles and the intense action of the newer games.  The two bosses I fought thus far were pretty creepy and the game overall is giving me a good challenge. Can't wait to see what happens next in the story!

[max_cady]

I finished... like... just right now. It's not even a proper ending. It's just a screen that says To be Continued in Episode II. I guess they were really gun ho. I checked up a few videos, that were presumably from Episode II. But those were like from early 2011. If they are making a sequel, Atari certainly is being very quiet about it.

I was enjoying the game so far, but the ending... It was just so abrupt. I liked everything about it, though. The platforming, the scope, the variety of paths, the exploration, the fact that gameplay changes up quite a bit. The story is just... all over the place, really. You are a bounty hunter who crash lands into a planet looking for jobs. The first few acts are about you trying to take back an item from another bounty hunter who stole your Breaker Key thing-a-magig. Then afterwards, you get caught up in something of like a civil war (both sides will atack you, regardless of what you do). It jumps around like crazy.

[CosmicCastaway]

Krome Studios went through some financial troubles shortly after Blade Kitten's release and they are only now getting back on their feet with the announcement of a new Ty the Tasmanian Tiger game.  I would love to play more of Blade Kitten, but at this point it is uncertain if the second episode will come out.
If you are interested in more the story max_cady, you can check out the web comic (which the game is based off of!)
http://www.bladekitten.com/comics/blade-kitten/1/page:1

[SOUP]

I made a bit more progressin Final Fantasy XI last night.

I only leveled up once, but I've had a much easier time figuring out what to do, and where to go on this second mission. I keep getting killed before I can finish it, but it's nice that I actually know what to do this time.

[CrazyT]

Playing cave story+ on steam... Oh my god what a game. I remember taroyamada ever stating it may be one of the best games he'd ever played, I can understand now Taro

Just leaving this here

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8HuhP1BDVs[/youtube]

Also excellent OST

[CosmicCastaway]

Playing cave story+ on steam... Oh my god what a game. I remember taroyamada ever stating it may be one of the best games he'd ever played, I can understand now Taro

Just leaving this here

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8HuhP1BDVs[/youtube]

Also excellent OST

That's a fantastic track. I might need to check out the 3DS version of this game.

[max_cady]

Wow... Just wow. I nearly spent an entire hour attempting to solve those last few Oerba 300AF and 400AF Clock puzzles and coming out short-handed... Ouch, I've never been this stressed out by a game since... well, since I was teenager. Ouch, my chest is hurting real bad.

[SOUP]

@Max_cady: Those puzzles can be pretty tough. I definitely sunk a few hours into them, but I found that listening to podcasts while playing made the time go by faster.  It's a lot less frustrating too.

I'm pretty sure there are algorithms online to solve the puzzles if you get really stuck.

[max_cady]

The good thing 'bout these puzzles is that at least when you give up and start over they change up the layout. Last night, I could not solve one puzzle that had the exact same layout every time I pressed Retry. It was getting super annoying. Today I got all the Oerba fragments and beaten the hidden monster. Sweet.

[SOUP]

@Max_Cady:
Congrats!

As far as solo play, I've made some more steady progress in Final Fantasy XI and Yakuza: Dead Souls. In Yakuza, I'm just starting Kazuma's story and loving every minute of it.  Kazuma's entrance to the game is really well done .

On the co-op side of things, I started up a playthrough of Rayman Origins with my girlfriend.  I really can't get over how good this game is. The demo didn't really wow me, but in practice it's a pretty amazing platformer. The music, the visuals, the gameplay, all top-notch.  If any of you get the chance, don't hesitate to pick this one up. I've seen it going for as cheap as $9.99 lately.

[Kori-Maru]

Played Sakura Wars: So Long My Love for awhile now. Makes me want to import the previous games. I'm probably gonna buy them for the Dreamcast. Now I just hope I can beat the entire game without my PS3 spazzing out.

Sega should have brought this series over while the OVA and movies we're selling.

[SOUP]

@Kori-Maru: That one's on my queue of games to beat before the end of this year.

I'm on the final chapter of Yakuza: Dead Souls right now, but I think I'll hold off until tomorrow before finishing it. Great fun so far.