Game Zone

Hey Play Nintendo readers! Thursday was the last time that I posted something, so I thought I'd drop in some random thoughts. Primarily, I've been spending a lot of time with Xenoblade Chronicles. So much time that it has been exhausting. Xenoblade Chronicles is a HUGE game; taking time to explore the world, complete quests, and dive into the story can really take a lot out of a person. However, if I could sum up m experience (so far that is) in one word, that word would be: wondrous.

I won't give up too many of my thoughts - those will be saved for the review - today, but what I will say is that the world of Xenoblade Chronicles is one of the best I've ever experienced in a video game. There is a humongous world to explore, but for me, the wonder comes in the design and not the size. When I realized that the world is actually part of a once living being, well, I should say when I really realized it, my breath was kind of taken away. Yes, I knew that the game would take place on two beings before starting the game, but experiencing it first hand is just surreal.


Every single environment is gorgeous and not lacking of history. Whenever I learned about the history in a given area, for some reason, I got the feeling that some serious shit went down here in the past, and now I'm retreading those same steps. I feel so strongly about the design of this world that I'm willing to say that it makes Skyward Sword look lazy in comparison. For those who haven't read my Skyward Sword review, I gushed about Skyloft, but think that Xenoblade Chronicles establishes its setting much better.

I've got a ton more to say about Xenoblade Chronicles, which I'm saving for the review, so let's get to the other random thought on my mind.



I'm always on the lookout to buy video games at a good price and I just recently acquired a game for a ridiculously low price, at EB Games. No, I'm not talking about Metroid: Other M (which I'm hoping to get back to after Xenoblade Chronicles) that I got for 10 bucks new. Nor am I talking about the mint condition Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes that I got there for 10 bucks. In what I think is the best score ever, I picked up Splinter Cell on the GameCube for $0.99; I nearly shit myself on the spot. OK, so it might not be the best deal ever, but for a dollar and some change, I got to add a complete Splinter Cell to my slowly growing collection. Come to think of it, I got Splinter Cell Conviction there for 4 bucks as well.

Just thought I'd share some of this with you in between a slow news weekend. There are some interview quotes and rumors floating around, but for a decent amount of time I've been about quality news, so as always I've neglected to post that stuff. Besides a post from last week that could quite possibly end up being bad judgement on my part - hey, I'm human! - I think I've done a good job of establishing the bar for quality around here. On that note, I'm hoping to get another auction up this week to get the remaining funds for a REAL website, something I've wanted from the start. I can be a bit ambitious sometimes, but my intentions are true, so I'll have to keep you posted on how that goes.

For now, take care, play fair.

-Lamester Parko