Suikoden IV

Platform: Playstation 2
Year released: 2005
Previously played: Never, still wrapped in plastic.

I figured I should start by opening of of those games still in their plastic wrappers. The first one I got my hands on was Suikoden IV, so I figured that would do. All I know about this game is that number 3 was awesome, though I never played it, and that I also own number 1 or 2 for the psx, though I'm pretty sure I never played that one either. Moments after ripping the plastic off something occurred to me. This game was released in Australia in very small numbers. If I had left it sealed, I might have been able to sell it for an ok amount of money. Bummer.

First impressions of this game weren't great. For starters, it's ugly. Now a few weeks ago I was playing FFXII which is a very pretty game, but even if I wasn't coming straight from that, I still think I would be un-impressed with what I am seeing. The landscapes are too bare. They need to put in some pot plants or something, seriously! Add some pretty rendered backgrounds even to pretend there is more out there than there is. It's a pretty barren world.

The story is not great so far, but some games don't really get going until you are a few hours in. I remember wanting to quit Final Fantasy Tactics Advance because it was boring, but I played a little longer, changed my mind and have since racked up over 100 hours. I think it holds the record for the most hours I have spent on the one game. Oblivion would probably be in second place.

Anyway, looks ugly, story sucks, but hey, I've played worse. Oh and it gets worse. You see in order to get around you have to sail from place to place and sailing, is balls. I rejected the tutorial, then regretted it because I can hardly steer the ship. I'm not sure if it would have helped though, every review you read on the game bags the shitty sailing system and the too-frequent random battles while sailing. Nothing like fighting seaweed every few virtual centimeters.

I got up to the second mission, which involved sailing to an island, and thought, screw this.

So this game is now on hold. I hear it is actually pretty short and does have a good story, so I might go back to it, but for now it's back on the shelf.