Five things I love about Xenoblade Chronicles (thus far)

Now that I've spent some time--not as much as I'd have liked, mind you, but surely more than enough--with Xenoblade Chronicles, I thought I'd share a few thoughts about my experiences with this long-in-coming Wii release thus far.

Sp, in this post, as I'm sure you've already gathered from the headline above, I'll talk about the five things I'm currently loving about this Monolith Soft-developed RPG. Tomorrow's post, on the other hand, will detail five things I'm not loving about the game at the moment.

With that said, here are the things that have me grinning ear to ear like the Cheshire Cat whenever I play Xenoblade Chronicles:

1. Its vast, open world--Of all the things that Xenoblade Chronicles' makers promised to gamers, this is the one that excited me the most before I got my hands on a copy. And now that I've not only accomplished that task but taken the game for a spin, so to speak, as well? I'm even more excited--mainly because there's so much to explore.



2. Being able to jump, instantly, to any place you've visited before--Sure, such a feature isn't the most realistic--especially in a game that doesn't try to explain it away with some made-up, sci-fi mumbo jumbo--but, boy, is it ever appreciated by yours truly. I mean, I love running through Xenoblade Chronicles' fields and ruins as much as the next guy or gal, but sometimes I just want to twitch my nose like Samantha on Bewitched and magically appear at my intended destination, you know? Thank you, folks at Monolith Soft, for making that happen in this game.



3. The seemingly-never-ending number of side quests--You can't take a step in Xenoblade Chronicles without someone asking you to find or fetch something for them. Such "fetch quests" usually involve killing a specific beast, or a specific set of beasts, but not always. (Some simply require you to nab a few of those floating blue orbs that are seemingly everywhere.) I'm guessing that annoys some gamers, but I adore it. It helps, of course, that each completed quest earns you some sort of swag, but I'd probably do a lot of them even if that weren't the case.

Hubba hubba, part trois

It's been almost a year since I last wrote about the guys I consider to be gaming's hottest hunks, so I think it's about time I chimed in on this steamy subject once again, don't you?

The five studs below have been placed in alphabetical order, by the way. If I were to organize them from hottest to hot-but-not-quite-the-hottest, I'd probably put either Garcia Hotspur or Sigma in the pole position.

Chuck Greene (Dead Rising 2)--I included this series' dark-and-scruffily handsome Frank West in my first "Hubba Hubba" post, so why not include the blond-and-scruffily handsome protagonist of its second entry in this one? It helps, of course, that Greene looks more than a bit like actor Aaron Eckhart. Sure, he shows up as a psychopath in Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, but nobody's perfect, right?

Dunban (Xenoblade Chronicles)--Dunban is a special guy. Not only is he one of the few people capable of wielding the Monado, the legendary "energy blade" that serves as the centerpiece of this long-awaited Wii RPG, but he has a jaw so square it would make even Viggo Mortenson jealous. And then, of course, there's his flowing locks and muscular, tattooed torso. The only strike against this studly solider, as far as I can tell: He has a rather questionable sense of fashion. Oh, well, who wants to see him clothed anyway?

Enoch (El Shaddai)--To be completely honest, Enoch, the protagonist of this PS3/Xbox 360 action title, isn't my type. Oh, he's easy enough on the eyes, but he's just a bit too ... pretty for me. (I mean, look at that hair! Is Fabio his role model or something?) His guardian angel, Lucifel, on the other hand, is much more my cup of tea, if you get my drift. Still, I thought I should include a blond or two on this list, so there you go. (Pointless aside: Go here if you'd like to see some fan art that depicts Enoch and Lucifel "in flagrante delicto.")

Garcia Hotspur (Shadows of the Damned)--On the surface, Hotspur is your typical bad boy: He's covered in tattoos, he's got a facial scar, he has an affinity for leather (jackets, especially), his hair is dark and unkempt ... you get the picture, right? Dig a little deeper, though, and you discover that this questionably-named hunk has a softer side, too. (During the course of this Grasshopper Manufacture-made game, he goes to hell in order to save his true love.) Can I get an "awwwwwwwww"?

Sigma (Extreme Escape Adventure: Good People Die)--The Wikipedia entry for this upcoming Chunsoft-developed 3DS/Vita title says that Sigma, its main character, enjoys making risque jokes. In other words, he's pretty much the perfect guy. After all, it suggests he has a (crass) sense of humor as well as model good looks and a penchant for wearing what looks like a (form-fitting) mechanic's get-up. Be still my heart.

Honorable mentions: Hawke (Dragon Age II), Lucifel (El Shaddai), Reyn (Xenoblade Chronicles) and Skyrim's "Nude Muscle Bears" (link NSFW).

See also: 'Hubba hubba' and 'Hubba hubba, part deux'