Role-Playing

So, it's no secret that I am a big fan of Monster Hunter. Although the series does have issues (being inscrutable to newcomers or running the best version on the missing-a-second-analog-nub-and-no-true-online PSP to name just two) I am a true believer in the franchise and I think it has much to offer. Sadly, it's only been able to carve out a very small niche for itself here in the United States, but there's now an opportunity—maybe—to help change that.

Meh

HIGH Reinheart Manx. Just... Reinheart Manx.

LOW: Almost everything and everyone else.

WTF Lucas Montbarron, your father has been murdered. Shouldn’t you have feelings about that?

Perhaps Nintendo should take a hint from this little video. The Legend of Zelda is getting stale with all of its mainstays like boomerangs, hookshots and bows and arrows. With Skyward Sword on the horizon and exciting mainly the hardcore Zelda fan, Nintendo should consider something radical and new for the next sequel. A portal-making gun may be too futuristic, but how about a portal-making mirror? Oh wait...

The worst reason to hate Final Fantasy XIII is because of its linearity. Non-linearity doesn't necessarily improve a game, and following a constrained path doesn't necessarily make it worse. All Final Fantasy games, including the most highly praised ones, have been essentially linear in both story and world design.

Harrison Krix builds things he finds in his favorite video games in his workshop. He is very good as evidenced by his latest creation, the N7 rifle. If you are envious and want to build your own, Krix, aka Volpin, posted a step-by-step guide of how he pulled this thing off. If you just want to look at pictures of this piece of gaming art from different angles, you can do that too.

It's not often that you get to play a part—however small—in the development or marketing of a game. BioWare is giving fans such an opportunity. Illustrating one of the ways social networks are actually useful, BioWare has launched a promotion where fans can vote via Facebook, on the "default female Shepard" that will be used in Mass Effect 3. Fans get to chose from six different looks—actually it's just different faces while the bodies remain the same—and you vote by liking the image that you want to see win.

The crew reunites and wastes no time getting back to doing what they do best: angering the Internet with a brutal dismantling of Bastion. Plus: Sexism in Ms. 'Splosion Man, the failures of L.A. Noire, the joys of Ghost Recon 3DS, and the magnificence of Lost Odyssey. We also debut our new movie segment, and if you like surprises, well, hold onto your wigs and keys, folks. Featuring Chi Kong Lui, Brad Gallaway, Mike Bracken, and Tim "Fresh Beatz" Spaeth.

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Links:

• Ms. 'Splosion Man Review
• L.A. Noire Review
• Bastion Review

Please send feedback and mailbag questions to podcast (at) gamecritics (dot) com.

The Kid Rages for a While

HIGH Starting New Game+ and plowing through everything.

LOW The almost-but-not-quite quality of the story.

WTF The eleventh-hour appearance of a jump function.

Despite respectable review scores and reasonably good sales, Final Fantasy XIII is widely derided, for many good reasons and a few bad ones. Defenders of the game often point to the battle system as the game's saving grace. I found myself sharing the sentiment when I played through the game recently.

Crowned Heads Will Roll

HIGH: The death of an NPC I'd wanted to kill since the moment I met him.

LOW: The boss checkpoint that didn't give me a chance to use any potions when I died and respawned.

WTF: The absolute orgy of exposition at the end of the game.