Mailbag!
June 19th,
2002
Let’s
just get straight to the questions, shall we? If you have a
question just drop me a line at jmichaelneal@comcast.net
and I’ll do my best to help you out.
Q: Does anyone
see the point in having it [current time] saved on the ps2? The
only use I’ve seen for it is to see when you last saved a game,
but even that’s not important. So... what uses can you think up
for games to utilize the date/time feature?
A: Time
stamping aside the clock will eventually play a major role in your
interaction with your PS2. One of the first PS2 titles, Ready
2 Rumble Boxing Round 2, used it to
unlock hidden holiday-themed Easter eggs on special dates like New
Years and Halloween. In the future games will eventually use it to
maintain real-time environment alterations. A game could
theoretically change the season to match what time of year it is
where you live, altering the very setting of the game. Imagine a
game where a secret cave waited on the other side of an immense
lake, and the only way to reach such a cave would be to wait until
the winter season came, freezing the lake and allowing you to
cross on foot. Or imagine a game where certain resources, like
fruit, fish, or herbs, were only available during certain times of
the year. A game could also shift from night to day according to
what time it actually is while you’re playing it, like Sega’s
Shenmue for example. Shenmue used that ability to create
time-based missions and objectives, which meant you had to be
somewhere at a specific time in order for it to complete an
objective or you actually had a set number of days to activate
something important.
____________________________________
Q: How do I
use Lulu's overdrive? I've even tried pushing all buttons, but
nothing seems to work. What's the trick?
A: I know what
you mean. The first dozen times Lulu’s overdrive was active I
was at a lost as to what to do as well. What you need to do is
rotate the right analog stick in a clockwise motion as many times
as possible before the time runs out. Every time you rotate 360o
you will get a point and at the end of the timer you will cast the
spell that many times. While this can be useful the first few
hours of gameplay, her overdrive becomes practically worthless
after attaining skills like Demi, Ultima, or the level 3
elementals (Firaga, Thundaga, Blizzaga, and Wataga) in conjunction
with Magical Boost and Doublecast. You can do so much more damage
with your regular magic attacks it makes using her overdrive a
waste of a perfectly good turn.
____________________________________
Q: What with
the price break, I just picked up a PS2, and I'm looking to rent a
couple of games. So what are some good ones that I can finish in
less than 20 hours? I hate renting a game and not solving it. Then
I either have to rent it again or buy it. Done both. And also,
what are the best games to buy? Which have the best replay value
and take forever to finish?
A: Games you
could finish in on rental (yet are still worth playing) include
Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid 2, ICO, Rez, Baldur’s Gate: Dark
Alliance, Spy Hunter, Frequency, and Max Payne. Games that you can
play until the end of the world include SSX Tricky, Tony Hawk Pro
Skater 3, Grand Theft Auto 3, Virtua Fighter 4, Final Fantasy X,
UFC: Throwdown, and Medal of Honor Frontline.
We usually
list gameplay times in most of our reviews, so don't forget to
browse our review
section too.
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