Game review: Lost Odyssey(360)
This game had so much promise. Mistwalkers is a relatively new developer that has quite a bit of promise having many of it’s core members comprised of former Square employees. Apparently however, the ability to make an ending didn’t come along for the ride.
Starting this game you get a wonderful sense of nostalgia. I haven’t seen a turn based JRPG so true to it’s roots as this since FFVII. Everything is there; the silent brooding main character, scantilly clad sub-characters with breasts no japanese women has ever managed, an epic storyline, good character development. So far so good. As a matter of fact… the first 3 CD’s(out of 4) are spectacular. 30 hours of near perfect gameplay.
It’s on disk four that it starts it’s downhill slide. Suddenly you realize that you’re an hour away from finishing the game and there hasn’t been a single plot twist! Everything is going exactly how you expected it would since 3 hours in. The final bad guy really is Gongora(yeah, seriously. The immortal who nearly cried infront of the council is your ultimate nemesis), Kaim gets a happily ever after and they kill off one of the least involved sub-characters as the token tradgedy. Sorry Mistwalkers, but Seth is no Tidus and sure as hell no Aerith.
The ending is bad, there’s no getting around it, but don’t let that stop you from buying this game. It’s the best JRPG that’s been released on the 360 to date and gives a mountain of sidequests to keep you occupied for 60+ hours of gameplay. The immortals and ring systems are unique and entertaining, the combat often takes real strategy and the graphics are nice. The 1000 dream sequences can sometimes become tedious but if you take the time to get into them they’re the best part of the game.
Graphics: 8
Story(overall): 8
Gameplay: 9
Sound: 9
Overall: 8.5(not necessarily an average)
Restaurant Review: Chili’s
Maybe I’m biased because I’ve worked there for nearly two years but why the hell do people eat at Chili’s? I eat there but only because it’s the only viable option when you’ve got 15 minutes between shifts and even then only because it’s half price.
The word “bland” doesn’t even begin to cover it. A customer came in today and asked me to list off the items of food that weren’t spicy. All of them. I kid you not, we’re a chain that focuses on Mexican and southwestern food and we don’t make a single spicy bite. We advertise ourselves as so and certainly make attempts at it but they don’t work. Jalapeños are almost mandatory in the ingredients of any given entree we serve but through some inexplicable fluke we even dull those down to the flavor of corn flakes. And not even the brand name corn flakes… I’m talking the half-priced ones that come in the big plastic bags.
Several of our cooks are brilliant; I’ll give them that. Sometimes at night after we close they’ll make one of their homemade recipes that shockingly manages to make food ten times more edible than our menu out of the same ingredients. The one problem is that they just plain don’t care about the menu items. I’ve ordered several steaks there during my residence and they get “medium well” right maybe a third of the time. Not that I blame them. I was a cook there for 8 months as well and I’ll openly admit to my tendency toward the lackluster.
To cap it all off we’ve got a floor staff(waiters, bussers, hostesses etc) that are about as jaded as you can get with an occupation. We’ve got a turnover rate rivaling most fast food because our managing staff refuses to overlook minor sleights to the corporate rulebook in return for hard work. Sorry guys but sitting down at an empty table for 30 seconds is not grounds for punishment. Nor is telling off an insufferable customer. So what happens? We commit the same atrocities out of sight and work considerably less out of pure spite. The fact that our management won’t put their staff up on the priority list is likely costing them several thousand bucks a week.
Likely there are those of you out there saying, “But Ben! Why don’t you simply quit if you dislike your job so much!?” The answer is that I make $13/hour and will soon be making upwards of $20/hour, which is a hell of a lot more than any other pre-career employment will offer. I do what I have to do.
Summary:
Food- 5
Service- 7
Cleanliness- 7
Atmosphere- 7
Overall- 6.5
It’s been a while
So here’s an update on all things me.
-I’ve decided to go into film editing. Or photography…. or television >.> Something like that.
-I’m 2 seasons through “Lost” and I’m struggling. It’s a deeply engrossing story that’s brilliantly designed but damn it, after 49 episodes straight I think I may just take a shot off at J.J. Abbrams if I ever see him walking down the street. Also, filler episodes are like a Snickers bar; it was alright, but damned if you wouldn’t rather have had a Twix.
-I’m becoming a waiter soon which means I’ll be almost doubling my income. I’ll still be at Chili’s though… So basically my soul is lost.
-I bought Flyleaf’s CD… it’s good but I roll the windows up on my car when I listen to it.
- I got 5 hits on Feb. 14th… I think it was my posts on Anonymous and Scientology. Also, apparently I have some return readers. Freaky. Stop stalking me.
-I’m going to start writing and posting reviews of things and posting them here. Movies, games, TV shows, books, restaurants, music, etc. I happen to experience many things such as those every day, so adding that to my superb taste and deeply articulate writing I should be able to come up with something that works.
-Missionaries visit my house once a week. Every Tuesday at 7. I pick up shifts that night every week now. I need to move.
-Potholes. So many damned potholes.
That’s it. Reviews and other stuff coming soon. Maybe even tonight.
