The lack of updates disturbs me

Alright, so for better or worse, I've beenbusy and stupidly chosen to forget about the blog because of this. MY BAD.

Good news, I've been labeled as Editor at Large for popzara.com. Going off that I attended Naka-Kon on Saturday as a member of the press for the first time. Knowing this, I'm happy to report, the convention was ultimately successful. I found a kick ass Metal Gear Solid messenger bag, a small figure set, a Megaman Compilation Art Book and saved 20 bucks for gas, which I needed. however, I went sideways on an icy road on the way back and fucked up the passenger door. No mirrors or anything ultimately broken, though my side skirt is boned. Using my dads seemingly infinite resources and contacts, I got a good deal on the repair so I won't be forced to get a full time job that will ultimately detract me from being a complete and lazy person that I am.

However, I figure since I haven't updated, I need to give the heads up. I got those cards that Capcom gave out to people who reserved tatsunoko vs. Capcom, along with a soul caliber art book and a pocket guide to Final Fantasy 13. Like it or not, the japanese are right, this game is linear, but I'm not giving up on it just yet, though I'm apprehensive thanks to the game director being the same guy who made FFX-2 which is still a travesty in motion for anyone who ever played it. While I will admit there are people who loved this game, I was among the crowd of people raising an Eyebrow about the execution of it more than anything.

So, onto a game review. I've recieved Ragnarok DS by XSEED games. having been a huge fan of Ragnarok since the turn of the century, I'll say I've invested plenty of time in the depths of it. I've set up and knocked down multiple trade guids, PvP gankers, Giant Monsters and private servers in my time on ragnarok, yet still managed to find something good enough to keep drawing me back into it year after year. While I maintain most of my time on private servers, I still paid for it for a few months when I first started out. I still maintain my skills as a Knight and I still have a suicidal streak when it comes to fighting monsters bigger than my character, a trait I unfortunately have gained due to City of Heroes.

Ragnarok DS is text heavy, to an extreme. It might even rival Golden Sun thanks to the endless amounts of cutscenes, but I think it's front heavy from my initial impressions. The character Ales is a obvious cut from the cloth protagonist and the girl, Sierra is another cut from the cloth female lead. Ales finds Sierra who has lost her memory. Sierra only remembers to 'stick close' and never leaves Ales alone. Ales has a major chip on hist shoulder due to his dad leaving and forcing his mom to take care of him till she died from what I gather fairly recently.

What this isn't borrowing or ripping off from is the main motivation for Ales. Ales is one of those rare main characters who swears and rarely has an answer aside from trying to fight harder. He reminds me of Monkey D. Luffy in One Piece, working endless to get even more famous and rich. For Ales, his goal is starting up a guild and becoming famous. These traits are undeniably rare, and welcomed in what I thought would be a huge skip fest when it comes to plots.

When it comes to plot in this game, it thankfully cuts down the B.S. and gives us what we want, a clear and honest point. It will tell you to go here in the boldest and brightest text so you get it the first time. Rarely do you ever have to search unless its for loot dropped by a certain monster which can slow the game play down. Gameplay functions some what like Summon Nights: The Twin Age, which released sometime last year. The Ragnarok skills are still around and anyone with some experience can ultimately get the feel for this game really, really, quick. Indeed its the game play that destroys the grind you're ultimately doing, with its addict playstyle. People will ultimately compare it to World of Warcraft, but they should remember that Ragnarok came out before WoW and was the most successful MMO of its time.

The game should be considered something to pick up for those looking to have some fun in this drought of DS games. I haven't seen or heard of any game that catches my interest, though Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver will probably get everything rolling again for draining my DS batteries dry when I get them in march. To make matters even more annoying, Final Fantasy 13 will be out on the 9th as well, to thoroughly ruin my free time.

All in all, March is shaping up to be the calm before the inevitable storm of games that release in April and May, like Super Street Fighter 4 and others I'm too lazy to look up.

Keep it Real
- Drew "Duo" Misemer