New Review Posted: Star Ocean: Till the End of Time

Daniel Weissenberger · 05-17-2006, 01:03 AM

Jason Karney reviews Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, and has this to say:

"If I were to distill the essence of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time into a single word, it would be "vast." Like the reaches of the universe (and beyond) that it took me through, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time is simply a vast game, whether viewed in terms of playtime, sidequests, story, intricacies of battle or its centerpiece item creation system."

Sure it's a big game, but is it a good one? Find out here.

Kakulukia · 05-20-2006, 07:33 PM

Wasn't this game released in 2004? Why do you review it now?

Dale Weir · 05-21-2006, 08:53 AM

We really don't have a hard cut-off date for reviews--say, no reviews of games before 2004.

We do encourage our contributors to review new games (and as close to their release as possible), but hey, if a guy plays a game that we haven't reviewed and wants to review it, then go for it.

Honestly, I'm surprised we never reviewed this game. It was a pretty big RPG that year. Better late than never, I suppose.

Dale

Brad Gallaway · 05-22-2006, 03:59 PM

Like Dale said, we don't really have any hard cut-off dates. hell, we occasionally review some *really* old stuff, or whatever an particular reviewer wants to do, more or less.

IMO, a lot of GC's reviews are almost better after the reader has played the game, and sometimes a review is better after enough time has passed to avoid whatever wave of hype/negativity heralds its release.

... and besides, we're not exactly known for our timeliness around here, eh? ; )

Jason Karney · 05-22-2006, 04:22 PM

This game was released at the end of 2004. Although I wanted to play it right away, I was focused on Final Fantasy X-2 at the time. I wasn't even sure I was going to be able to review Star Ocean; I knew it would be particularly lengthy, and this is a part-time volunteer gig, after all.

SO3 was also something that I wanted to play and savor as a game, not necessarily with my review hat on.

By the time I got around to playing the game -- and completing it -- it happened to be earlier this year. I had a break during my game playthrough as well, which included time to play and review some other (new) games.

I also took a review hiatus in 2005, which culminated in an unpublished Metroid Prime 2 review.

Finally, it took me longer to let this game "gel" mentally, and then produce a solid review. Especially as I had to reflect a bit, since I hadn't started the game with intent to review. (Or tried not to -- I think it's hard not to eye a game ciritically nowadays, since the reviewer habit is ingrained.)

So yes, it took a long time from the game's release to publishing my review, but I think it's a better piece than if I'd rushed through SO3 and spewed out some verbiage. I also think rushing through RPGs for review makes them harder to appreciate, and to critique honestly, due to their length. It causes a sort of mental fatigue.

None of this is intended as a defense, as I don't think there is anything to defend. This is just the story of my journey to review this particular game.

--Jason