I agree regarding the design of the open world. Bethesda and Rockstar might be the best examples of how to do it right, but even Square Enix itself has done significantly better before - and recently, too! I thought the world of XIV (A Realm Reborn era) was a lot more alive and vibrant than this.

This is a nice tribute, Julian. I've tried to write about my time with the game too, but I always find myself at a loss for words. It's really interesting how everyone played the same game, but their memories are different because of their unique combination of experiences, friends, and even the time period in which they played, given how much the game has changed over time. Unlike any other beloved game you can pick up off the shelf to relive years later, this is one you only get to experience once - not just because of the servers, but because of the inability to fully recreate what made it special the first time. That's a sad thing to realize but also elevates the game even higher in my memory. I'm glad you were able to wrap up a few outstanding goals before the end.

Ooh, I forgot about the usual sale. I'm glad you said something - I was just thinking about buying the Rage DLC.

How will you spend the hours upon hours of free time liberated by the absence of a John Carmack keynote?

I'm almost there myself, which is actually kind of sad. This sale cleaned up my wishlist quite a bit. At least a few new things will be released before the autumn sale.

Haha. Fair enough. I played the Xbox 360 version and enjoyed it well enough for what it is. I believe the PC version was updated with a few improvements, so I figured I'd check it out. Funny story, though - I waited until the end of the sale to buy it because I was waiting to see if it'd be a community or flash sale and go even lower than 74 cents.

Hey, I admitted to buying Hydrophobia. I think you're safe. ;)

SweetFX is awesome but definitely can be annoying to configure. I keep it simple by sticking to one preset I apply to everything. It isn't always completely optimal, but it's usually pretty close without sacrificing my sanity - a worthy compromise, IMO. ;)

Haha, well done. This must have been fun to write, if not to play.

D'awww. I have a malchi myself, and I agree with Machocruz.

I tried it, but I quit after a few hours. The combat was fun, sort of, but I thought the controls were really convoluted and the level design was really boring.

I like a lot of things about Ni No Kuni, but I decided to stop playing it after 10 hours or so. I couldn't get past the slow pacing and hand-holding. In my opinion, it's one of those sad games with amazing potential brought down by a few poor design choices.

Great suggestions, everyone. Definitely a few things I didn't think about. Thank you! If I remember, I'll post after Christmas about how well he received them.

I've come so close several times to buying Demon's Souls because of all the praise I've heard, but I've always stopped myself. I know myself well enough to know I get frustrated pretty easily and would probably hate it. But I'm still curious. I suppose it's cheap enough, it wouldn't hurt to try it. Or maybe I should try Dark Souls first.

Definitely agreed, Nick. Adding HDMI and DualShock 3 compatibility to the regular Vita would offer the best of both worlds. Then new buyers could weigh how important the portability aspect is and decide whether or not to spend the extra $100 to have it.

If I were to speculate why Sony hasn't already done this, I would guess it's because the profit margins are already too thin to think about adding even more components (which I'd venture is the same reason behind the switch from the OLED to LCD screen).

Two and a half hours was a bit excessive, but I can't deny the satisfaction I got from finally winning! That said, I'm definitely on board for casual. Hopefully it doesn't swing the difficulty too far in the opposite direction.

Knowing our luck, the next mission will require us to blow up a bridge full of dogs while repairing something and being shot on by snipers.

Great list and analysis. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the comments, everyone.

Based on the feedback I've received, I see now I could've stated my thesis more clearly (or chosen a different headline). The purpose of the editorial wasn't to explain why I think the 2DS will or won't sell. It actually wasn't my intent to make a prediction about sales one way or the other (although, in fact, I think the 2DS is going to sell very well).

That said, a lot of products sell well despite not being very good products. The purpose of this piece was simply to explain why I don't think the 2DS is a very good product, which I tried to do by walking you through my thought process for why I don't personally want to buy one either for me or for my kids.

Several of you seem to have reached a different conclusion, and of course that's perfectly OK. I'm glad Nintendo is making a product that works for you as well as the original 3DS works for me.

Oh, agreed. My comment wasn't intended to weigh in on the piracy debate but rather to add more information about how insurance covers games.

My whole collection was stolen about 7 years ago, and my insurance company worked with a distributor to replace the titles still in print. There's the problem for a collector, though: still in print. Nothing from the previous generation was replaced. I got cash for the replacement value of the older titles, but it was a one-size-fits-all formula (i.e., I got the same amount for Tomb Raider II and Suikoden II).

Long story short, with insurance, you'll be at least partially covered. Then you've just got to determine your priorities from there.

I love, love, love this game. I hunted down every collectible/upgrade too, and I found it to be a genuinely rewarding experience.

I'm really interested to see how Crystal Dynamics/Square Enix will approach a sequel. I think a fully open world would be a natural evolution to the gameplay, but the story may be challenging to build upon.

Glad you enjoyed the review. It's definitely a must-play whenever you get the chance. For what it's worth, the relatively low replay value and the fact no one seems to be too crazy about the multiplayer should drive the price down fairly quickly. I wouldn't be surprised if it's on sale for $40 within a few weeks.

I've always defended FFX-2, so it's great to see another fan. Gameplay-wise, it's the pinnacle of evolution for the ATB and job systems. Even after I finished it, I continued playing to master all the jobs simply because it was fun. That's extremely rare for me.