5 Minute Review: Final Fantasy XII

Now there's few franchises out there that I follow for more than say 2 sequels. Final Fantasy however is one of those exceptions. The latest entrant into the family is FFXII. Set in the world of Ivalice the blend of fantasy and machina in this new release reminds me a bit of Star Wars and back drops like Naboo.

Visually the game is still as polished as ever (at least as ever it can be on the PS2). Cut scenes are still very cinematic and F/X are still very entertaining. Audio however doesn't seem to be quite as up to par this go around to me. Dubbing was especially bad with audio quality seemingly fluctuating (almost seems like echo control wasn't handled well in the recording booth).

The combat system however is the biggest departure. Rather than implement a pure turn based combat system FFXII adopts something of a hybrid between real time and turn. Enemy encounters are handled in semi-real time and you are allowed to select attacks which pause the action. On the upside things get moved along a lot faster, on the downside, your ability to really be tactical is more or less taken out of the loop. As many others have mentioned, the game sort of plays itself now. I haven't done much more than the first hour of gameplay but as role playing games go, it isn't bad. Unfortunately it also isn't great. While the skills progression system is sufficiently interesting and the storyline seems good, the game just doesn't seem to jump out as something extraordinarily unique. That however could be part of its charm as well.

All in all, the game looks to be an enjoyable ride but nothing to write home about. First impression, I would rate this newest FF title at a 7/10. Might not win over converts, may actually turn away hard core FF fans but casual players may be okay.

UPDATE: After a bit more gameplay (and actually being awake) I realize the game isn't that bad. I still find UI quirks and the license/gambit system somewhat combersome but the fact that the game threads you along pretty well and isn't quite as plodding as some of the previous iterations is nice. A revised 8.2/10 score is warranted here.

The quest for quasi-infinite storage

OK now I was cleaning house this morning because I'm doing online course work and learning several new software solution products that I need to deploy for work. It was then that I realized just how much "stuff" I have on my hard drive. My photography hobby of course is a big influence in this. Just half of my 2006 library runs me 8GBs =\ Where the hell do I store all this. The cheap solution of course is to segment and burn to DVDs but ugh, I hate maintaining data file catalogs. I had thought about tape but blerg. Then of course there's all these spiffy new 1TB NAS devices :)

We don't normally think much about pictures these days since we no longer need to store 35mm negatives. But good god it's rough in a whole other level now with the massive file sizes. So what's your solution? Let me know oh mighty blogsphere.

Open Source News and Thoughts

So of course with the release of Firefox 2, IE7, Fedora Core 6 and recent announcements by Oracle, the OSS movement is once again in the limelight. Most of the news is really more evolution than revolution if you ask me.

First up Firefox 2.0. Improvements to footprint, a few polishes to the UI and better RSS support are the major highlights. To the average user I doubt you'll notice any stark differences. I haven't had much time to explore newer plugins for FF2 but thus far for my daily browsing activities this latest build of Firefox has not shown any issues.

Fedora Core 6 is a nice improvement to FC5 and overall I found the installation process to be smoother and considerably faster to load. A somewhat customized install took me roughtly 35 minutes to install. This included multiple desktop support, Web server, SQL servers and Samba as base packages. Stability seems fine though UI response in my VMWare session felt a little laggy.

Oracle offers support and indemnification to RedHat Linux users. This one really doesn't surprise me, as Oracle has tried to find a way to garner a larger user base. Their open feuding with RedHat has been the topic of much conjecture. I find it mildly amusing that Oracle chose to take the CentOS route and use the RHL source as the basis for their own flavor of RH Linux. Only time will tell how significantly this affects the RedHat business model of providing services.

Photoshoot: Orchids

So besides Cosplayers, I also shoot floral fairly often. Mostly because flowers are very patient =P The Honolulu Orchid show ran three days, though I only got out for the Sunday showing. Enjoy the photos.

http://www.vraxx.com/image/webgallery_orchids_10_22_06

Costoberfest Photoshoot and recap

http://www.vraxx.com/image/webgallery_cosplay_10_21_06

After a bit of almost getting lost I found my way to the photoshoot site. Mark (Vengeance) coordinated the event and a good selection it was. Not quite as open as the previous shoot, the site of the costoberfest shoot was definitely more people friendly. Cool winds and some good canopy cover from the trees kept fatigue to a minimum.

The shots were at times tricky due to the shadows being cast by branches overhead, but it also provided some really nice lighting elements and made spotting good light sources a lot easier. Interestingly enough while the last photoshoot had way more food than we needed I think we actually overdid the drinks. Closest thing to food if I recall correctly was Roz' item of bread and cheese :) Turn out was very good, not sure if a final head count was ever taken.

In total I snapped around 2.3GBs of JPG data and of the 530ish or so frames I think 100 or so were postable w/o edits. A lot of the extra shots were actually bursts so they do tend to throw off the numbers. Glad I got to speak with more folks and hopefully will remember everyone's name come the next GT/photoshoot. Definitely a good time to practice my hobby and snag shots of some very well made costumes. Thanks to all who attended and hope to see you at future shoots.

Photoshoot Checklist and the Countdown

OK being overly dramatic but last night I went through all my photo gear in preparation for the 808cosplay photoshoot today. The shoot is still several hours away but I've got a lot to prep still. Grabbing some drinks, ice for the cooler, clearing out my car to actually make room for all this stuff. Making sure I don't get lost.

While I doubt I'll need them, I'm bringing both bodies (10D and 30D) roughly 5 lenses (unlikely to be field-swapped due to dirt). Mounted are 10D w/Sigma 35-80mm, 30D w/Canon 28-200mm. The 28-200mm is probably the best bet I have for the conditions, it's the lens I used at the last shoot. I may actually buy a 2nd one because of it's high usage and flexibility.

Welp, I'm also trying to cram in a load of laundry, cause well, gotta look good at these things even if you aren't cospaying right :)

Busy busy

Work's been pretty hectic as of late with paperwork, increasing sales and of course inversely more stuff for me to work on. As a result my reviewing time has certainly been reduced. So here's some quick overviews of random anime I've watched.

Mahoromatic: One cute, though sometimes a little overly ecchi anime about a robotic combat maid to who comes to the aid of a seemingly innocent young man. The story has a lot of sci-fi elements and a few elements borrowed from series such as Hand Maid May and Chobits. It's the classic artificial lifeform with human soul sort of story.

Grenadier: Fan service to the X-treme! Breasts, bullets and blades. It doesn't get more cliche then this. Still though despite the obvious fan service there are a few good messages to be had, mostly regarding non-violence and aiming to be a better person.

So far I'm just running through random anime so don't expect too many new series to show up. Hopefully I'll have a review posted for Disk 2 of the Tenchi Muyo OAV 3 soon.

Shake, rattle, roll -- Quake Afterthoughts

Well a magnitude 6.6 earthquake is nothing trivial, but I am glad to report that very little damage occurred here on Oahu. Kona was hit pretty bad and I'm hoping that some of my friends are AOK. Going through a natural disaster, if even only for a few hours (thankfully) is unnerving. For me the most unsettling thing was just how reliant we are on power from a single power grid (Hawaiian Electric). Utilities are definitely something we all take for granted. From power for your gadgets, running water to drink and for sanitation.

Given how the islands are isolated, I was a little concerned that if the quake was serious riots and looting would begin. Thankfully however the impact to our island was minimal and other than a few pissed off residents and tourists, there were no signs of out and out violence. Reminder to anyone living in a quake zone, or other disaster, get your survival gear in place and have a plan. Best wishes, be safe.

Vraxxism: Optimism... I think

Vraxx: I'm one of those, the cup is half full of cyanide sorts. Don't mind me.

The Sony Bad Press Machine

Let's face it, Sony has as of late been in people's crosshairs for good reason. A PS3 which is horribly priced, and looks to have cooling issues. Batteries that darn outright assplode and a tendancy to name things and create propriatary standards that nobody likes.

I understand where Sony is going, everybody out there is trying to do things cheaper, faster, with lower turn around to market. The problem is the 2% margin you gain in one area just doesn't make up for the loss in market share when you bend your customer over and do'em dry. (MS are you listening to this?)

While I really do look forward to the Sony PS3, I realize I'm anxious not for the hardware per say, but for hopefully a good body of titles that'll be written for it. Sure there's the Wii, there's the 360 but for the type of games I enjoy the PS3 seems to be the better front runner. Sony needs to get on the ball and realize that consumers will, can and have backlashed. Oh well, even I am in the minority of PS3 owners I'll still hold out a bit of hope.

Seeming lack of reviews... Vraxx appologizes

With work being what it is for me atm and the fact that really few newer releases have caught my eye I've mostly been watching a back-catalogue of titles. So here's the ultra-fast and totally non-helpful review of some of the random anime I've watched over the last few weeks.

Angelic Layer -- 6/10 Fairly good voice acting doesn't spare us from the fact the series is geared towards younger children. Some of the themes border on more adult fair but all in all it's a basic 'battle' story much like Pokemon, but this time centering round a female protagonist and her journey to reunite with her mother.

Comic Party (TV) -- 6.5/10 I wasn't expecting much and that was probably a good thing. The premise is good and for novices to manga the series provides a lot of nice snippets at the world of doujinshi. A little fan servicey at times the title is enjoyable but the conclusion of the TV series and the path changes that occur with the spin/sequel Comic Party Revolution don't mesh very well.

Gravion/Gravion Zwei -- 7/10 It doesn't get more fan servicey than this. However Gravion is done in such over the top theatrics that you can't help but laugh. From the gravity defying breasts, the socially awkward protagonist, a host of busty maids and a leader so charismatic that you can't help but think Liberache is back, the Gravion series is a fun ride. Voiced by a stand up cast from ADV Films (Chris Patton, Luci Christian, Kira Vincent Davies, Greg Ayres just to name a few) and drawn with great attention to detail the series is a great distraction.

Shadow Skill Vol 1 -- 5.5/10 Normally I can't wait to hear Luci Christian in a role, but this series just felt a little oddly paced (at least in this volume). While I totally see Ms. Christians voice being well suited to the often yelling lead Elle Ragu, somehow the scenes just felt awkward. Even with the help of a strong support cast which includes Greg Ayres in the role of Gau her 'like a brother' side kick throughout her misadventures.