From: alofusblountmaybe@alltel.net   
      
   "Kendrick Kerwin Chua"  wrote in message   
   news:87KdnRD6678TLtrbnZ2dnUVZ_g-dnZ2d@io.com...   
   > In article <752a9$4647aa2e$4b75f16b$14945@ALLTEL.NET>,   
   > dave  wrote:   
   >>"Kendrick Kerwin Chua"  wrote in message   
   >>news:H_idnVj5ifCqg9vbnZ2dnUVZ_rbinZ2d@io.com...   
   >>>   
   >>> Anybody play both Shining Force EXA and Shining Force Neo yet? I   
   >>> couldn't   
   >>> get into Neo for some reason, but I'm really enjoying EXA. And now I'm   
   >>> reading that the one game reuses a lot of the backgrounds and   
   >>> environments   
   >>> from the other. This is strange to me, because EXA feels like a brand   
   >>> new   
   >>> game and Neo feels like a Diablo retread.   
   >    
   >>   
   >>So how is Shining Force EXA?  Is looks similar to Grandia.  Is it   
   >>something   
   >>worth picking up?   
   >   
   > Not quite like Grandia, more like Diablo. On the surface, it looks like a   
   > grind-fest with an overabundance of inventory management and   
   > customization.   
   > But if you manage to get past the first chapter you'll find the best   
   > Shining game of the action-RPG variety, with a decent amount of challenge   
   > and some nice surprises. If you're looking for a traditional PS-style   
   > party RPG or a tactical Shining game, this isn't it. It's an action-RPG,   
   > but it's one of the better ones I've played and it's held my interest all   
   > weekend.   
   >   
   > One of the challenges of pen-and-paper RPG games is when your party is   
   > split up, and your one game master has to alternate between two sets of   
   > characters. This mechanism is used pretty cleverly in Shining Force EXA to   
   > keep the gameplay from getting stale or repetitive. You always have two   
   > parties, one in the field and one at your home base. If your party in the   
   > field takes too long to accomplish its goal, then your party at home gets   
   > attacked by a wandering random encounter (which is typically a rampaging   
   > horde of bomb-throwing, beer swilling orcs numbering in the hundreds or   
   > so.) If you lose the base you also lose the game, so you're always racing   
   > the clock or paying the price for dawdling. I prefer to let those   
   > encounters happen so that I can level up in a nice, controlled way.   
   >   
   > You can switch the characters in each party at will, and sometimes you get   
   > a little early warning for those attacks. In those instances, you can make   
   > use of a super duper teleporter to warp home and change out your   
   > personnel,   
   > so that the right combination of fighters are ready.   
   >   
   > I like it so far, a lot more than I did Shining Force Neo. Maybe I'm not   
   > spoiled by having played the first game through, but I'm told that EXA   
   > addresses a lot of the complaints about Neo. Once I'm done, I may go back   
   > and give the first game another chance.   
   >   
   > -KKC, who also got the Bemani game this weekend.   
   > --   
   > -- ...Durante la batalla, espias rebeldes lograron robar -  kendrick   
   > los planos secretos del arma mas extrema del Imperio,    -   @io.com   
   > la ESTRELLA DE LA MUERTE, una estacion espacial blindada -   
   > con suficiente potencia para destruir un planeta entero. -   
      
   Thanks, Maybe I'll give it a try.   
      
   dave   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)