Xenoblade X Eurogamer Preview: Maybe 2015's Most Impressive Open World

brainchild said:
BTW, if anyone's interested in just how high you can fly with the Skells, here's a video

https://youtu.be/dRpLzhGUUTw
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Simply amazing.
dark10x said:
Honestly, thus far, world size seems like a negative thing to me. As in other open world games, just running across a large expanse is not fun in and of itself (at least not for me). I think I like the concept of an open world more than the reality.

Am I the only one that loves the soundtrack, by the way? I feel like I heard people talking bad about it a while ago. I never really loved the soundtrack for the last game outside of some select tracks, but for some reason, I'm really digging this.
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There's a very specific wanderlust-itch these big worlds scratch for me, so I'm pretty excited for the sheer size of it. Not saying me liking that sort of thing makes it somehow objectively good, just that I do appreciate the size despite the low density.
 
dark10x said:
Honestly, thus far, world size seems like a negative thing to me. As in other open world games, just running across a large expanse is not fun in and of itself (at least not for me). I think I like the concept of an open world more than the reality. .
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It depends on the open world for me. When a game nails the atmosphere and level design I love to just roam around and soak it all in. Xenoblade Wii really encouraged running around just for the sake of finding another path or great view. Even if sometimes the reward for exploring was spiders.
 
dark10x said:
Honestly, thus far, world size seems like a negative thing to me. As in other open world games, just running across a large expanse is not fun in and of itself (at least not for me). I think I like the concept of an open world more than the reality. It does feel rather impressive here, though, due to a great sense of scale often lacking in such games.

Am I the only one that loves the soundtrack, by the way? I feel like I heard people talking bad about it a while ago. I never really loved the soundtrack for the last game outside of some select tracks, but for some reason, I'm really digging this.
Click to expand...

I am mixed on the soundtrack, some songs I really like, some, not so much or are just downright bad (Black Tar...) I bet I will end up getting used to the most catchy ones I didn't like at first though.
 
dark10x said:
Honestly, thus far, world size seems like a negative thing to me. As in other open world games, just running across a large expanse is not fun in and of itself (at least not for me). I think I like the concept of an open world more than the reality. It does feel rather impressive here, though, due to a great sense of scale often lacking in such games.

Am I the only one that loves the soundtrack, by the way? I feel like I heard people talking bad about it a while ago. I never really loved the soundtrack for the last game outside of some select tracks, but for some reason, I'm really digging this.
Click to expand...

That's the thing though, sight seeing is fun for a lot of people if the locales are interesting and unique. They're just begging to be explored. Though I can totally understand if that's not your cup of tea.

Anyway, I actually made a thread about Sawano's music recently.

http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1121222&page=1

Of course, the title got changed due to duckroll's near irrational hatred for Sawano (lol), but it seems that a lot of people agree with us.

The problem is that the music is very different from the first Xenoblade, so people wanting more of that are going to be disappointed.
 
dark10x said:
Am I the only one that loves the soundtrack, by the way? I feel like I heard people talking bad about it a while ago. I never really loved the soundtrack for the last game outside of some select tracks, but for some reason, I'm really digging this.
Click to expand...

No, your not the only one. Far from it. Don't let the noise on gaf fool you.

Also, I totally agree about the first game's ost too, though we're probably in the minority on that one. They're some select tracks that are so good, but the majority of the ost (like almost all of disc 2) is kinda boring and don't conjure any feeling in me. But some people think it's one of the best ost's ever. Just shows how subjective this stuff is.

brainchild said:
That's the thing though, sight seeing is fun for a lot of people if the locales are interesting and unique. They're just begging to be explored. Though I can totally understand if that's not your cup of tea.

Anyway, I actually made a thread about Sawano's music recently.

http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1121222&page=1

Of course, the title got changed due to duckroll's near irrational hatred for Sawano (lol), but it seems that a lot of people agree with us.

The problem is that the music is very different from the first Xenoblade, so people wanting more of that are going to be disappointed.
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Oh sweet! I didn't know this thread existed.
 
Spirit Icana said:
No, your not the only one. Far from it. Don't let the noise on gaf fool you.

Also, I totally agree about the first game's ost too, though we're probably in the minority on that one. They're some select tracks that are so good, but the majority of the ost is kinda boring and don't conjure any feeling in me. But some people think it's one of the best ost's ever. Just shows how subjective this stuff is.
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We're definitely in the minority. I didn't think the first Xenoblade's OST was anything special outside of a few standout tracks.
 
When are we going to get a GAF squad together eh? I'm sure we can get 32 of us together right? I may even bring in a nonGAF friend :D

Let's set a squad up on the 4th haha
 
NetMapel said:
When are we going to get a GAF squad together eh? I'm sure we can get 32 of us together right? I may even bring in a nonGAF friend :D

Let's set a squad up on the 4th haha
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I don't think you can choose your passive squad, especially since we'll likely be in different divisions. Just your four man groups.
 
I always found funny that Sawano got so much hate here on GAF, specially since he is such a loved and respected composer in the anime world.
Riki said:
I don't think you can choose your passive squad, especially since we'll likely be in different divisions. Just your four man groups.
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I think the game will automatically pull people from your friend's list into your squad, if they are online, but cant confirm atm.
 
NetMapel said:
When are we going to get a GAF squad together eh? I'm sure we can get 32 of us together right? I may even bring in a nonGAF friend :D

Let's set a squad up on the 4th haha
Click to expand...

Can you do that or is it just with randoms?

Riki said:
I don't think you can choose your passive squad, especially since we'll likely be in different divisions. Just your four man groups.
Click to expand...

Thought as much.
 
Riki said:
I don't think you can choose your passive squad, especially since we'll likely be in different divisions. Just your four man groups.
Click to expand...
Huh I thought we can choose our squad? How does it work then??? Do you randomly get put into a 32 men squad?
 
dark10x said:
Honestly, thus far, world size seems like a negative thing to me. As in other open world games, just running across a large expanse is not fun in and of itself (at least not for me). I think I like the concept of an open world more than the reality. It does feel rather impressive here, though, due to a great sense of scale often lacking in such games.

Am I the only one that loves the soundtrack, by the way? I feel like I heard people talking bad about it a while ago. I never really loved the soundtrack for the last game outside of some select tracks, but for some reason, I'm really digging this.
Click to expand...

It seems more for the shocking aspect, that said. the world was very well designed on Xenoblade Chronicles ,one of the few open world games i like.

Im not sure making it even bigger is going to improve gameplay, however.

The soundtrack was amazing on Xenoblade as well, while the new composer has a very distinctive style, so it gathers mixed reactions, its not bad at all, but different.
 
Sub Boss said:
It seems more for the shocking aspect, that said. the world was very well designed on Xenoblade Chronicles ,one of the few open world games i like.

Im not sure making it even bigger is going to improve gameplay, however.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't really call XC on Wii open world. Yes there are plenty of large area maps, however they are all part of a rather linear path that is very much in the vein of JRPG. When you first reach the big grassland area, for example, you still have a path the game wants you to take for story progression. You are free to wonder around but it is clear that the game follows standard JRPG convention and wants you to go to X and do Y. Then you are free to explore and go to another map that may or may not be big. I like that because it strikes a good balance between open world exploration but with linear narrative path. XBX seems like it is a bit different but we will see... Still excited about it :)
 
NetMapel said:
Huh I thought we can choose our squad? How does it work then??? Do you randomly get put into a 32 men squad?
Click to expand...
Pretty sure you choose a division and get put in a group of 32 other people in that division that you share objectives with and can trade with.
But you can choose your 4 man raid parties.
 
NetMapel said:
I wouldn't really call XC on Wii open world. Yes there are plenty of large area maps, however they are all part of a rather linear path that is very much in the vein of JRPG. When you first reach the big grassland area, for example, you still have a path the game wants you to take for story progression. You are free to wonder around but it is clear that the game follows standard JRPG convention and wants you to go to X and do Y. Then you are free to explore and go to another map that may or may not be big. I like that because it strikes a good balance between open world exploration but with linear narrative path. XBX seems like it is a bit different but we will see... Still excited about it :)
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Yeah, I don't love Xenoblade, but I did really appreciate that aspect of it. I like that it maintained a linear structure with large maps in between. I'm not a huge fan of empty, aimless maps.

It's an issue a lot of open world games face. Haven't played enough X to know if it falls into that trap yet, though. Hoping not!
 
dark10x said:
Honestly, thus far, world size seems like a negative thing to me. As in other open world games, just running across a large expanse is not fun in and of itself (at least not for me). I think I like the concept of an open world more than the reality. It does feel rather impressive here, though, due to a great sense of scale often lacking in such games.

Am I the only one that loves the soundtrack, by the way? I feel like I heard people talking bad about it a while ago. I never really loved the soundtrack for the last game outside of some select tracks, but for some reason, I'm really digging this.
Click to expand...

In today's era of increasing detail, we've really lost touch with the value of emptiness and discomfort in gaming. The idea of a wide expanse should not be considered a bad thing, just a design choice that can be executed well or executed poorly. I'm also reminded of Metroid's oft-cited feeling of isolation, which everyone seems to long for but as soon as we get a game with too little in the way of towns/hubs or few NPCs, it's called "barren."

Not saying that Xenoblade X is actually less dense or more isolated than any other open-world RPG, but I've seen alot of skepticism under the assumption that this and every open-world game should be designed the exact same way. There'd be no place for Xenoblade X if what it was doing did not defy the norm.

But yes, I also really enjoy the OST. I was getting a little addicted to listening to it before I forced myself to stop ahead of the game's release.

Exile20 said:
Amazing.

Ninjablade, what say you?
Click to expand...

Please no feeding the trolls.
 
StarStabbedMoon said:
In today's era of increasing detail, we've really lost touch with the value of emptiness and discomfort in gaming. The idea of a wide expanse should not be considered a bad thing, just a design choice that can be executed well or executed poorly. I'm also reminded of Metroid's oft-cited feeling of isolation, which everyone seems to long for but as soon as we get a game with too little in the way of towns/hubs or few NPCs, it's called "barren."

Not saying that Xenoblade X is actually less dense or more isolated than any other open-world RPG, but I've seen alot of skepticism under the assumption that this and every open-world game should be designed the exact same way. There'd be no place for Xenoblade X if what it was doing did not defy the norm.

But yes, I also really enjoy the OST. I was getting a little addicted to listening to it before I forced myself to stop ahead of the game's release.

Please no feeding the trolls.
Click to expand...
I 100% agree with you on the value of emptiness. I'm not complaining about the barren nature of the world. I don't need something to do constantly.

When it's done well, it can be quite captivating. My issue with modern open world games tends to boil down to the fact that so many games are focused on visiting a mission dispenser which sends you to another location on the map. You wind up feeling as if you're just moving between points on a map rather than exploring.

I know Bloodborne was a very small game next to Xenoblade, but the way its world was designed was the most captivating thing I've experienced in years. If a game can instill that sense of wonder on a large scale, I'm all for it. Maybe Xenoblade X will get there but I'm not sure yet.

The last thing I want is a giant map full of icons, which this game does not seem to do. Assassin's Creed is just a busy work simulator at this point.
 
dark10x said:
Good to know. I'm right there with ya.

The whole introduction to Mira with this song...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3ch02hpnUM&list=PLvNp0Boas722IZkbFk00DsW4eD92iQGSe&index=17

I have to admit, that completely floored me.The camera pans of the world combined with the music. Very powerful stuff.
Click to expand...

Same, the sweeping vistas combined with the exotic music left me gobsmacked. And that was just from watching a video. I can't imagine if I had seen it for the first time while playing the game.
 
Is it possible for me to just turn off that god awful song that plays while you're in a skell? Who's idea was it to use a lyric heavy song for traveling :(
 
The open world being gigantic makes sense with how fast you can run in this game, and how big and fast Skells are. It shrinks down the map size, if you will. But neither of those things are inherently good.

As with everything, things begin to make more sense when you apply context. A game can be the biggest open world for all I care, but if it works with the creator's vision, I'm all for it. I just find myself shaking my head when people say that an open world should have "meaningful content". Does it really matter what kind of content is in any video game as long as it works? Shadow of the Colossus (I always go to this example) is completely barren other than a few lizards, fruit, and obviously the Colossi. The game's open world still works better than any game that came after it. It's the antithesis to having every square kilometre packed with "meaningful content".
 
dark10x said:
Honestly, thus far, world size seems like a negative thing to me. As in other open world games, just running across a large expanse is not fun in and of itself (at least not for me). I think I like the concept of an open world more than the reality. It does feel rather impressive here, though, due to a great sense of scale often lacking in such games.

Am I the only one that loves the soundtrack, by the way? I feel like I heard people talking bad about it a while ago. I never really loved the soundtrack for the last game outside of some select tracks, but for some reason, I'm really digging this.
Click to expand...
People have been loving the soundtrack lately, even embracing the more cheesy ones
 
I've been mostly avoiding trailers and stuff but I stumbled across a video with the glasses dude. He's voiced by DC Fucking Douglas?! Well, being Wesker guarantees him a party spot.
 
mjc said:
Is it possible for me to just turn off that god awful song that plays while you're in a skell? Who's idea was it to use a lyric heavy song for traveling :(
Click to expand...

I really like that song :/

theprodigy said:
what are we defining as cheesy

Black Tar and NLA theme will always suck and I will never change my opinion on that
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Those are definitely two songs I don't really feel, I don't mind black tar, but I kind of dislike the nla theme, they might both grow on me but for now I'll just have to wait.

I will say that I don't mind there being some not so great songs, I don't expect every track in the game to be a masterpiece, and considering I've already listened to two songs I really like(The key we've lost and Don't worry) I'm optimist.
 
Brandon F said:
So I am about to pull the trigger on this Flash Stick below. Shall I have issues using it for the data packs with my disc? I am getting mixed messages regarding the use of flash sticks as storage on Wii U.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SOL9ZLC/?tag=neogaf0e-20
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I have one of those from work. They get hot with prolonged usage and the transfer speed drops into the toilet. Get this instead

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KT7DXIU/?tag=neogaf0e-20

no problems playing DKC:TF directly off of it
 
Talking storage devices, anyone knows if the "nano SSD"'s ever became a viable retail product/available anywhere?

nano SSD
M1HCcqa.jpg
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dark10x said:
Yeah, I don't love Xenoblade, but I did really appreciate that aspect of it. I like that it maintained a linear structure with large maps in between. I'm not a huge fan of empty, aimless maps.

It's an issue a lot of open world games face. Haven't played enough X to know if it falls into that trap yet, though. Hoping not!
Click to expand...

I never liked open world games for that reason. But the original Xenoblade isn't really an open world game. Its a JRPG in the vein of a final fantasy game that just makes field exploration way more interesting and cool. But that's about all it is. Just exploring the field in Xenoblade is fun because you dunno what really cool looking area or unique monster you will stumble into or some cool ruins connected to the game world. Same sorta thing as an FF game except they stripped out the puzzles (to the games detriment imo) The only place in the entire game that really has NPCs spread around it is Valek Mountain.

I dunno about X but if its similar to Xenoblade, if you play it like an open world RPG like Fallout or the Witcher you arent gonna enjoy it
 
Spirit Icana said:
Also, I totally agree about the first game's ost too, though we're probably in the minority on that one. They're some select tracks that are so good, but the majority of the ost (like almost all of disc 2) is kinda boring and don't conjure any feeling in me. But some people think it's one of the best ost's ever. Just shows how subjective this stuff is.
Click to expand...

Same here. Some of the songs are incredible, but there's others that are very forgettable. Its a good OST overall, but I don't love it.
 
Well, just ordered a Wii-U Mario Kart bundle with Pro controller from the Target deal (no interest in Splatoon or Smash). I am ready
to play Fallout 4 for another month at least
.
 
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