So at the very end of their E3 2008 conference, Microsoft and Square Enix dropped a bomb on the Sony fanbase - an unforseen MEGATON! That bomb was Final Fantasy XIII for the 360. But you wouldn't be reading this if you didn't know that.

I'm torn. I'm a little upset not because I'm a Sony fanboy (god no) but because this means Square Enix can't keep their word. It's not about the exclusivity so much as they said repeatedly that DS/Wii/PS3 were their main platforms, and game after game is being announced for the 360. They're not really trustworthy after all when it comes to their direction for the future.

On the other hand I'm delighted that the game is coming to the 360 - it means I don't have to buy a PS3. I was going to get a 360 for Star Ocean 4, Tales of Vesperia, Infinite Undiscovery and more but FFXIII is just icing on the cake. From a financial standpoint it didn't make much sense to keep it PS3 exclusive.

But I do feel a little bad for Sony and the Sony fanboys. It's like the Nintendo burn with FFVII all over again.

Just making a brief update to let everyone know that I'm not dead. Classes are out for the summer and I'm spending my free time writing and catching up on beating old games. Right now I'm playing through the Mega Man Anniversary Collection because of the hype behind MEGA MAN 9!!111 (DAY ONE!)

I'm looking forward to E3 and will be posting on GameSpot's E3 forum. I'll probably update again with a summary of what I thought about the show and each presentation. Right now I'm looking forward to what Nintendo has to show the most because they've been completely quiet. There's also no doubt that they're collaborating with a few 3rd parties as well.

Star Ocean: Blue Sphere is the little known and often ignored side game in the Star Ocean series for the Gameboy Color, released in 2001 only in Japan. I decided it deserved some attention, and here's a video of me playing through the intro.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeCYG12hMHs

SOBS takes place 2 years after Star Ocean: The Second Story and features the return of all 12 main characters. When Ernest and Opera crash land on the mysterious Planet Edifice, Precis rounds up the gang in her spaceship and heads there to save them.

Star Ocean on a handheld may sound strange, but tri-Ace made it work, producing the most impressive game on the GBC. The battle system has been turned 2D, making it more similar to the Tales series than ever before. The game is semi-realtime, and the combat relies on combos to damage enemies, who now have health bars for their body parts.

Other gameplay devices include revamped Item Creation, where you play minigames to determine the item you'll get, and Field Actions where you can interact on the field map.