The first local reactions are in for Dirge of Cerberus!

My tester has taken a decided liking to the upgrading system for Vincent's weapons. As I expected, he is not at all put-off by the constant onslaught of enemies in certain situations. He loves extending out the chains, too. (Chains are just beginning to grow on me in Final Fantasy XII.) Nor does he feel a need to save the limit breaks for the boss monsters.

My first proxy seems very catholic in his gaming tastes and doesn't really harbor a preference for any genre. When he is finished, I will hand D.O.C. to my son-in-law for thorough testing by a real shootist fanatic. We hope to have a first-person review begun by him soon.

Other gamers seem interested in testing, too. See, I think everyone wants to compete, but still play alone. Just the opposite of the online phenomenon. Strange, huh?

Dragon Lady, the sequel to Lucrecia's Legacy, the first chapter is almost ready for publication. I will post shortly, but not before I am convinced the wording is nearly perfect.

This time around was very different from writing Lucrecia's Legacy. There is no game to use as a backdrop, and the information I need may still be forthcoming from Square Enix. For example, I've already made changes that conform to Advent Children, and a few from Dirge of Cerberus.

Regarding Dirge of Cerberus: I was very disappointed in the changes made in Vincent's character. He does a lot of grunting and just looking at people. Vincent was never at a loss for words in Final Fantasy VII! In fact, he speaks very eloquently, almost pedantically, and continues to do so in Advent Children. He should sound a little quaint for a while, although natural changes occur over time. Same as anyone else learning a dialect. But to make him barely articulate is ridiculous!

Our character Josephine, on the other hand, is loquacious and not especially erudite. She speaks in broad strokes of modern English, with plenty of slang. This would be normal for a woman with teenaged children. (I can only speak for myself and those around me.)

Dragon Lady's chapters will come more slowly. Playing the game makes things percolate and mature. So, I really have to work the language to make the creative juices flow, this time around.

Bear with me. It's coming, I promise.

Final Fanatics Rejoice!

The new shooter, Dirge of Cerberus, does indeed have a lot of explanatory FMV. It apparently is not necessary to be any good as a shootist, so go for it. My biggest kvetch has to lie in the Point of View orientation. It is murder to keep spinning around for a good view.

BTW, that is also my complaint with Final Fantasy XII. I really need FF12 as a rest from DOC. It is exhausting for me to keep up with all the constantly oncoming enemies in that shooter. I have a half a mind to hand the darned thing over to my son in law and let him clean up the mess. Then I can view the memory capsules at my leisure. But that is so much worse than cheating.

Not that I am totally against cheating. Heh Heh.

Much better, thanks.

I still suck, but I spoke with my son-in-law, who suggested two things:

Switch back and forth, playing in tandem with him. He's a shootist. Or,

Look for the trick, because there's always a trick.

So, I started again. This time I played it my way. I'm taking my time, and searching for the cool stuff.

I still suck, but I'm having more fun, and I am advancing.

Also, I'm nearly ready to post the first chapter to Lucrecia's Legacy, Part 2: Josephine's Journal.

So it may be a good New Year after all.

Happy New Year, or I Suck...

It all depends on how you look at it.

Dirge of Cerberus is a shooter. I am a RPG-er. My battles are totally comical in this game.

But I need to follow the details of this game. Because I finished Lucrecia's Legacy. It is now time to begin Josephine's Journal, and I insist the details must be accurate according to the world created by Square/Enix. Ergo, no details can mess with the backstory of Dirge of Cerberus. I must play the game all the way through.

One other note: there is a game that also deals with the Turks. I will need to follow that game, too.

Someone told me I am hardcore; if I were thirty years younger, I would not be embarrassed.