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Kingdom Hearts II Preview
1up.com has an in-depth preview of the much anticipated Kingdom Hearts II RPG. The second mashup between SquareEnix and Disney is expected in the states sometime in late Spring or early Summer. From the article: "If the first Kingdom Hearts was a crazy experiment, then the sequel is the final product, refined and polished in dozens of small-but-important ways. One of the most obvious improvements is the game's massively higher budget; though the first looked nice, Kingdom Hearts II is one of the best looking games the PS2 has ever -- or will ever -- see. From photorealistic models to 'I can't believe it's not PS3' massive battles, the game convinces the aging PS2 hardware to do things that seem nearly impossible."
I wanted to like Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories for the GBA but I just couldn't get into the whole "Action Card Battle" thing (the battles were terrible, so I didn't get far).
I can't wait for this one though. This is one of the few games I will just go out and buy (instead of rent). It is good to hear the graphics are shaping up nicely (the original did a great job, so that doesn't surprise me too much). I guess I'm a bit sensitive to this because I've been playing Shadow of the Colossus right now. While the game is amazing in scope and feeling, the graphics have serious problems (in my opinion) and I think they should have kept it over for the PS3 (what a launch title, huh?)> While the game looks good, it is just DYING for some anti-aliasing or anisotropic filtering to kill the shimmering on the ground. The textures all look muddy and the game could really benefit from some high dynamic range. The framerate suffers too (not too much, but enough that you can notice it). The camera absolutely sucks when you are in close spaces (but that is true of most games). It is a great game and I can't wait to finish it, but with it's issues and the issues of Psychonauts (the last game I played, should have done it on the XBox) I'm a little sensitive to it right now.
But I can't wait to play this game.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
Yes, we will know when the PS2 has reached its technical pinnacle when we have...
Photorealistic cartoons?!?
{ - Generic Guy - }
So, I'm still only partway through the game, but I have to agree with most of what the reviewer said. This game is incredibly beautiful. Everything about it screams style, and it's obvious that when they made the game they did so from the viewpoint that they're making a movie. They even have crossfades within the engine (no black screen or fade out between camera changes).
;)
The gummi ship battles (my least favorite part of the game in I) have been completely redone in II, and are now by far my favorite part.
However.
After an amazing first 10 hours, I've come to realize that II is essentially just a better version of I. The plot isn't as thrilling as I hoped it would be, and although the connection between XII and Sora and Roksor are interesting, I'm fiding myself visiting the same Disney worlds that I did in 1 (nightmare before xmas, atlantis, arabian nights, olympus) with only a few additions (tron, lion king, old town). Even the winny the pooh adventure is similar.
Perhaps I'm just jaded, but I was hoping for something more far reaching in terms of plot. So far it feels like more of the same. Hopefully that will change in the next 20 hours or so.
That being said, I do recommend the game, because even though the plot may not have progressed as much as I would have liked, it's still an amazing game with beautiful graphics and a deep combat and custimization system. Hell, I'd buy it just for the gummi battles.
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Nothing can be done before the tremendous power!
RabidComics
Fuck! You had to go and do it, asshole, didn't you?
Maybe they will actually do something with the gameplay.
I wanted to like the first Kingdom Hearts; I really wanted to. The problem was that not only wasn't it fun but it was tedious and annoying to play. Graphically it was beautiful. Aurally it was superb. The setting was engrossing but in the end, this is a video game and if it doesn't have at least some sort of passable gameplay then it won't be worth even trying to play.
Tetsuya Nomura has shown us that with KH and with FF:CC (another game that I really wanted to like) that he can give us wonderful worlds in which to flounder loosely around. I really want to like KH2 but I'm not holding my breath.
I feel your pain. I tried to like Kingdom Hearts, I really did. I didn't buy it, but borrowed it from a friend of mine. It started out great. The story was interesting to me. However, the gameplay at times made Diablo 2 look NOT repetitive by comparison. I remember parts where I had to stand in the same place fighting the same enemies for 10-15 minutes or sometimes more! I wanted to see where the story went, but it got to the point where it was downright painful to play. I made it to the Little Mermaid world before I had to give up...the gameplay got so tedious and boring I couldn't stand to play it for more than 10-15 minutes at a time. The hideous camera also killed it for me. The boss fights were terrible, the other characters were more of a hindrance than a help. I eventually gave up even trying to keep them alive. At times the battle system felt like a bad Zelda knockoff. The only other game that I played that was that boring was Grandia 2 (which I never finished either...only in that one the plot was as boring as the gameplay). Sadly, KH had a lot of potential, but the gameplay just killed it for me.
There were articles recently mentioning that Kingdom Hearts would have environments like the movie Tron.
Whatever became of that?
I don't know the meaning of the word 'don't' - J
If developers were to program for the metal or use compilers that target the vector units of the PS2 we wouldn't be forced through the traumatic upgrade-and-backwards-compatibility cycle every few years.
How we know is more important than what we know.
I heard you could summon Bambi and score MAJOR DAMAGE!!! Good Thing I'm not playing kiddie games like MARIO anymore, lol, I'm really gonna enjoy this disney game for grown-ups!
Posting as AC, because sometimes, the truth, even if it hit you in the ass, wouldn't be recognized by any of you blind fools.
The headline is wrong, this is a RePre/bview.
X
The headline is wrong, this is a Review, not a Preview. Sorry for the double posts, oddly enough I can't click preview when talking about it. Yay.
X
Despite everything great about KH, the gameplay was downright abysmal. It's fun for the first 10 minutes or so, but then it dribbles on into a series of watching Donald die, killing enemies that block your attacks, spells that are hard to aim, and lots and lots and lots of enemies everywhere. This is supplimented by moving around the same area/world at least 4-5 times to find some character to talk to, only to have them move so you can search them out AGAIN. Do this for a good 2-4 hours, beat the world, and move onto the next.
I never got past Pinocchio/the whale because I realized it was going to be absolutely boring through and through. I *might* someday go back and finish it, but it would take a lot on my part. Here's hoping KH2 remedied that situation just a bit.
I'm not scared of anonymous cowards.
Incorrect accoring to MLA. You can paraphrase.