Falling Stars

A while back, I made a Tumblr, but I haven't been terribly active on it. Mostly I use it for reblogging cool artwork.

But I've decided to make a sideblog to talk about playing Dragon Age: Origins, the same way I used to talk on this LJ about Ragnarok Online.

So, if you want to follow my misadventures hunting dragons, trying not to die, and romancing hot elves, feel free to check out Always An Archer.

You graduate from law school. You become a defence attorney. You get to run murder trials! You get to question witnesses and investigate crime scenes and collect evidence! You get to fight for justice! Best of all, you get to bang on the table in court and shout "Objection!" Who wouldn't want to be a lawyer? XD

It reminds me of the Sierra adventure games I loved as a kid, where they knew how to tell a good story: one with characters who mattered, emotional highs and lows, and a deeply satisfying ending. Here the stakes are always high, with an innocent person wrongly accused, and the real murderer roaming free. The cases are like brilliantly plotted detective mysteries, with as many mindbending twists as Jonathan Creek. That is the real highlight of the game - the chain of revelations, each overturning all our previous assumptions, done to great effect in the courtroom confrontations. And then there is the continuity, character histories woven in so that the cases are personal, and this link between past and present makes it feel almost epic.

It seems impossible that it could get better than this. I am awed that it apparently does.

(Postscript 1: I am pleased that this is a very forgiving game, which simply doesn't allow you to clear the stage until you have completed all the necessary tasks. Unlike some other games where you can hit a dead end, because of a key you missed picking up six hours ago and have no way to go back for.)

(Postscript 2: Edgeworth was such an ass to begin with! Every time he smiled that supercilious smile and wagged his finger rebukingly, I wanted to punch him in the face. (Who the hell *does* order a second autopsy report anyway?) But, well, I guess it turns out he's a poor woobie after all.)

Just realised I mentioned the Infinity8lue concert earlier but never went into any detail about it.

I was as excited as everyone else when I heard that there would be a concert featuring music from the Studio Ghibli movies and the Final Fantasy games. I love the music from all of these, and the prospect of hearing it performed live, by a real orchestra...

For the most part, I enjoyed the concert, though I know a lot of people had complaints about aspects of the performances. The only things I really had issue with were the trumpet player, who obviously muffed some of his notes, and those of the vocalists who were almost inaudible. The guy who sang 'On Your Mark' did a great job, but as for 'Eyes On Me', I've heard it done much better at karaoke.

I liked the rest of it well enough though, and I liked the experience of watching the orchestra play and seeing how the different sections combined to bring a piece to life.

For me, the highlight was 'Liberi Fatali'. This is my favourite piece of Final Fantasy music ever. I remember the first time I saw the Final Fantasy VIII trailer - up there on the big screen in Mathews A, Squall and Seifer duelling as a chorus of voices rose to crescendo. The music filled the entire theatre. It was awesome.

Even taking into account my bias, I'd say that 'Liberi Fatali' was easily the best piece of the concert. It was worth the price of admission to hear it performed live.