From Final Fantasy to Pokemon

A game that takes a decidedly different approach to its franchise and a game that doesn't stray very far at all from the formula. The firestorm of a debate that was created in FFXIII's wake was simply astounding and created a lot of genuinely important discussion when it came to Western and Japanese game design. It really opened my eyes as to just how different us bumbling Americans are from the Japanese forefathers of gaming.

I find it interesting that both games are of established franchises with enormous expectations set upon them and yet the initial response to both is essentially two sides of a coin. FFXIII has divided players on their opinion while Soulsilver and Heartgold has begrudgingly united people. I wanted to run through the differences and similarities between these two rpgs and see if there's anything that can be distinguished from the two.

Two men, one tournament, and a pile driver

The light of fifty arcade screens brings a dim low light setting as the sound of a heavy metal causes my head to pulsate in pain. The noise of one hundred different sounds from gun shots to techno beats to grunting and death throes permeates the stagnant air. Time has no place in this reality as the lights and sounds remain constant even as the sun rises to high noon and sets to dawn.

 Spend an hour or two here and you lose track of what the outside world looks like.

A Tale of Two Sheperds

Mass Effect 2 really is something else. If you look at the story from across the room, it looks fairly linear if not excitingly grand. An old race of sentient machines are bent on repeating an age old cycle of leaving behind advanced technology only to destroy the civilizations who benefit from it. Commander Sheperd is a man of remarkable achievement in his military who finds himself the only one capable of stopping them.

When you take a closer look though, the story can vary greatly depending on who you talk to, offering a very different image of Commander Sheperd and his beliefs.

Just who is your Commander Sheperd?