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Notable Final Fantasy XI column returns as part of 1up's "The Grind"
Game journalist James Mielke resumes his on-again, off-again relationship with Final Fantasy XI in the fledgling 1up blog "The Grind". Mielke's extended hiatus from his "My Life in Vana'diel" column was a blend of time constraints and some degree of burn-out as well. But it seems he missed the game, particularly after the years already spent playing it, hence his column has returned... again. On the subject of returning to the game, Mielke writes, "People ask me to this day whether FFXI is still worth investing time into it, and to that I say: Now's a better time than ever to join the game." He writes that Square Enix has implemented a number of features that reduces the grind and, hopefully for some, brings more fun back to the game. Mielke specifically points out the beauty of the level-sync feature, allowing people to party with higher level characters, and the Fields of Valor quests that have fired up his interest in FFXI once again. If you've been away from the game for a while, have a look at James Mielke's "Reboot" and see what you're missing.
Ziff Davis reorganizes, changes review scoring
With the recent departure of Editorial Director John Davison to start-up web portal What They Like, Ziff Davis has done some behind-the-scenes shuffling of the staff behind its gaming properties. According to a press release (partially re-posted on James Mielke's blog), the online and print sides of the operation have been merged together and re-split into three new groups: "Videogames," headed by Electronic Gaming Monthly's James Mielke; "PC games," headed by Games For Windows' Jeff Green; and "Video," headed up by GameVideos' Demian Linn. Each group will funnel content into Ziff's magazines and online properties, including 1UP.com.More apparent to the average reader will be the change to Ziff's grading system, from a 10-point scale to an A+ through F letter grade. The change isn't just on a going-forward basis either -- according to the release, "all previously scored games on 1UP.com will also be converted to the new letter scale." Historical revisionism at its finest!
Valkyrie Profile, Tekken & Loco Roco on The 1UP Show
This week's episode of The 1UP Show has a ton of PSP love. First, they have an excellent debate about Valkyrie Profile Lenneth, the highly anticipated RPG coming out for PSP this week. James Mielke, a fan of the PlayStation classic seems pretty enamored by the PSP version. In his written review, he calls the game "an adventurous, risk-taking RPG," and awards it a mighty 8.0. However, not everyone at Ziff Davis agrees with such a high score. Shane speaks of the PSP-exclusive slowdown and load times, calling it a "lazy port." He complains that releases like this encourage PSP developers to make lazy ports, a fear that we all share. Make sure you watch the review to see the hot-tempered debate. But that's not the only PSP love on this week's episode. They also have absolutely awesome footage of Tekken: Dark Resurrection. We know it's going to be awesome, but it's great to see the great graphics and awesome load times visualized in handy video form. Finally, if you missed last week's episode, they had an entire episode dedicated to Loco Roco. With these three great exclusives heading to the PSP, the haters can't say that we don't have a kick-ass games lineup. Game-specific videos: Valkyrie Profile Lenneth Tekken: Dark Resurrection Loco Roco [Download MP4 for PSP]
