This review has no spoilers.STORYLINE:-- For those who dilute the plot, FFXIII is essentially about a bunch of wanted criminals bent on toppling a corrupt government. Each of the six characters has an underlying motive, only half of which actually makes the player empathize with their plight. The underlying messages to the player are generic and overused: don't run away from your problems, do whatever it takes to accomplish your goal, help each other out, etc.-- Also, unlike FF10 or FF8, there is no strong romance that drives the story. Sure, there's Snow and Serah, but that's no Tidus/Yuna or Squall/Rinoa. I think this is probably the biggest flaw in the storyline. Don't expect any tears.BATTLE:-- FFXIII differs most from other final fantasies in its battle system. ... MoreThis review has no spoilers.STORYLINE:-- For those who dilute the plot, FFXIII is essentially about a bunch of wanted criminals bent on toppling a corrupt government. Each of the six characters has an underlying motive, only half of which actually makes the player empathize with their plight. The underlying messages to the player are generic and overused: don't run away from your problems, do whatever it takes to accomplish your goal, help each other out, etc.-- Also, unlike FF10 or FF8, there is no strong romance that drives the story. Sure, there's Snow and Serah, but that's no Tidus/Yuna or Squall/Rinoa. I think this is probably the biggest flaw in the storyline. Don't expect any tears.BATTLE:-- FFXIII differs most from other final fantasies in its battle system. Each character is, for most of the game, restricted to 3 out of 6 classes. Unlike other final fantasies with class systems, there aren't certain ones that are clearly better than the others; the game relies on the player choosing a combination of classes that would best survive or win a battle. In battle, characters can change classes as desired. This is where the strategy and planning come in.-- Although you can only control one character at a time, by mid-game, you would have too many strategies to implement that controlling any more would be overwhelming. If your lead character dies, you lose (the only con about the battle system), but there's a nifty restart battle system where you respawn right before the ene.

Final Fantasy XIII (FFXIII) is the long-awaited next chapter in the Final Fantasy franchise. This game took over five years to make and actually started its life on the old PlayStation 2 platform, before going to the PlayStation 3 and then being ported over to the Xbox 360. This game has not only diverged from many Final Fantasy traditions, but created a whole new gaming engine and pushed the limits of what modern consoles can do.Story: The Final Fantasy franchise is known for stories that draw in the gamer and make them feel empathy or otherwise emotionally invested in an outcome. FFXIII does just that. It is not on the same scale as FFVII with Aeris or FFX with Tidus and Yuna, but there are some moments where you cannot help but feel something for what the ... MoreFinal Fantasy XIII (FFXIII) is the long-awaited next chapter in the Final Fantasy franchise. This game took over five years to make and actually started its life on the old PlayStation 2 platform, before going to the PlayStation 3 and then being ported over to the Xbox 360. This game has not only diverged from many Final Fantasy traditions, but created a whole new gaming engine and pushed the limits of what modern consoles can do.Story: The Final Fantasy franchise is known for stories that draw in the gamer and make them feel empathy or otherwise emotionally invested in an outcome. FFXIII does just that. It is not on the same scale as FFVII with Aeris or FFX with Tidus and Yuna, but there are some moments where you cannot help but feel something for what the characters are going through. Without spoiling too much, the basic story centers around a group of characters, Lightning, Snow, Vanille, Sazh, Fang, and Hope. In their efforts to save people they love, or exact revenge, they are drawn together and are given a mission to carry out. Their fates, from this moment forward, are forever altered and bleak. They either complete their mission and turn to crystal, or they refuse and turn into mindless monsters. FFXIII's story revolves around this and is split into thirteen chapters. Completing every chapter and finishing the game will take about 60 hours. This story is very linear and cannot be altered by the player, you either go forward with the narrative or you stop.

I recently got this game when I got a ps3 (so I could download all the old FF games and play them again from PSN). I've been a long time fan of the series, though I put off playing this one because of the horrible press I had heard. I often complain about how mainstream gaming developers do anything to widen their audience, selling out the core base for the sake of more money by expanded demographics. Having played games my entire life, I remember when titles had culture and fit a niche, instead of everyone on the planet buying call of duty's newest title every year. This game changed it's audience, but didn't widen it like people would expect. It honestly feels more narrowly focused than any title before. Things that make some gamers love this title so much are ... MoreI recently got this game when I got a ps3 (so I could download all the old FF games and play them again from PSN). I've been a long time fan of the series, though I put off playing this one because of the horrible press I had heard. I often complain about how mainstream gaming developers do anything to widen their audience, selling out the core base for the sake of more money by expanded demographics. Having played games my entire life, I remember when titles had culture and fit a niche, instead of everyone on the planet buying call of duty's newest title every year. This game changed it's audience, but didn't widen it like people would expect. It honestly feels more narrowly focused than any title before. Things that make some gamers love this title so much are often the same things other people detest. From here on, I'll focus on what those points are.1. It's VERY Japanese. The people, the culture, the mannerisms, the voice acting, the story, all make great sense and are incredible, assuming you understand and like Japanese culture. People find Vanille grating, or don't understand the story telling of the cutscenes, often because of these cultural differences.2. Increased graphics / sound led to increased subtlety. They love to play on words and use subtle character expression to try and tell the story. Not everyone catches these, or finds it to be an acceptable way to move a plot along. +10 points if you can spot the awesome Dylan Thomas reference that Sazh makes(chapter 4.

I see plenty of people have commented on the change from the turn-based combat system, so I won't get into the details. While I liked the new system, it just wasn't Final Fantasy to me. If you go into the game accepting that this one's a unique RPG, and try not to think "FF," you'll probably enjoy it (while wondering when the next REAL FF game is going to be released).Pluses:* Unsurpassed graphics* Strong storyline* Well developed and likeable characters. No more whiney 'Tidus.'* Smooth, well balanced game play.* Challenging bosses* Character development is similar to FFX's system, but is applied to various roles. Each character will develop 3 roles each (all roles will open up for characters late in the game - but I recommend sticking to the 3 you are originally ... MoreI see plenty of people have commented on the change from the turn-based combat system, so I won't get into the details. While I liked the new system, it just wasn't Final Fantasy to me. If you go into the game accepting that this one's a unique RPG, and try not to think "FF," you'll probably enjoy it (while wondering when the next REAL FF game is going to be released).Pluses:* Unsurpassed graphics* Strong storyline* Well developed and likeable characters. No more whiney 'Tidus.'* Smooth, well balanced game play.* Challenging bosses* Character development is similar to FFX's system, but is applied to various roles. Each character will develop 3 roles each (all roles will open up for characters late in the game - but I recommend sticking to the 3 you are originally assigned until they are totally maxed out - which cannot happen until after you've defeated the final boss).Minuses:* Personally, I don't like the 'fully healed between fights' gaming. Balancing your powers between conservation and survival for long treks was part of the challenge in FF - but not here.* The weapon upgrade system looks rushed and not thought through. You just trade in stuff you find in fights for upgrade experience and apply it to the weapon/accessory you want upgrade. The actual item you're trading in is irrelevant and often nonsensical ("slimey goo" will make your combat sword a stronger weapon? Really?).* Crappy sidequests. I miss the days when a sidequests popped up throughout the game, and e.

Final Fantasy 13, was at first everything I wanted. It combined most of the aspects of the previous final fantasy games and provided many new twists to make it stand out. It's all real time which makes battle and training more interesting and almost like a strategy game. The cystarium(the experience gage in the game) reminds me of final fantasy X's sphere grid but it's a little different. And of course they have summons unique for each character which can be summoned using technical points(tp) which can be accumulated after getting a perfect 5 star battle to build up. After ever round of enemies you fight based on your speed and takedown of the enemy, you get a score. At first it doesn't really mean anything until you first receive tp which you can use to cast ... MoreFinal Fantasy 13, was at first everything I wanted. It combined most of the aspects of the previous final fantasy games and provided many new twists to make it stand out. It's all real time which makes battle and training more interesting and almost like a strategy game. The cystarium(the experience gage in the game) reminds me of final fantasy X's sphere grid but it's a little different. And of course they have summons unique for each character which can be summoned using technical points(tp) which can be accumulated after getting a perfect 5 star battle to build up. After ever round of enemies you fight based on your speed and takedown of the enemy, you get a score. At first it doesn't really mean anything until you first receive tp which you can use to cast special attacks or summon your eidolon. Another new twist is the change of classes, whereas in previous games you have black mages, warriors etc. Whereas in FF13 you have ravager(mage), commando(warrior) and many new classes like sentinel which is a defensive, synergist which casts positive buffs, saboteurs for negative buffs and of course medics to heal. You change your classes on the fly in battle, and off battle you can change around people's roles in what is called paradigm. Since every character starts out with only 3 of the classes you need to combine roles to take down foes. Their are many combinations for fighting and with a three character max you can make some interesting combos which is a nice addition. A new.

I was reluctant to play this game, I was led to believe by seemingly thousands of critics and reviews that this game was absolutely terrible. So bad in fact, that this game was borderline unplayable and should be erased from the collective human memory and dumped in a landfill in New Mexico. That's what I had gathered from the collective opinion surrounding this game. Everyone tells you about how bad this game is in all its facets. Rarely do you see someone say that they like this game without being showered with criticism.The Good:Let me be blunt: from the production values of this game alone, giving this game less than a 3/5 would simply be a crime. The gameplay is crisp, the music is unique and memorable, and the graphics are eye candy in and out of cutscenes. ... MoreI was reluctant to play this game, I was led to believe by seemingly thousands of critics and reviews that this game was absolutely terrible. So bad in fact, that this game was borderline unplayable and should be erased from the collective human memory and dumped in a landfill in New Mexico. That's what I had gathered from the collective opinion surrounding this game. Everyone tells you about how bad this game is in all its facets. Rarely do you see someone say that they like this game without being showered with criticism.The Good:Let me be blunt: from the production values of this game alone, giving this game less than a 3/5 would simply be a crime. The gameplay is crisp, the music is unique and memorable, and the graphics are eye candy in and out of cutscenes. Give credit where it is due; if you don't like this game it won't be because of any of these basic fundamentals of gaming, so giving it a 1 or 2/5 is hating just to hate.Battle system - I have never before seen combat even remotely similar. It is fast paced, tactical, and, once you get the hang of it, extremely rewarding. You only control one character and you can never directly tell your teammates what to do, but this is never a problem. Once the game picks up the pace you'll be glad you don't have to switch characters to give orders, and your teammates are VERY good at taking the best action in any given circumstance. In all my hours playing this game, I can confidently say that I never lost because of incompetent.

I know alot of people are down on this game for whatever reasons they may be, but in my opinion I truthfully really enjoy playing this game. I find this game quite fun to play and truthfully I find it absolutely addictive.I think one of the biggest issues with this game is how linear this game is in comparison to many of it predecessors. And in this they are not incorrect at all. However I will remind people that Final Fantasy X was quite linear itself until you get more than half way through, much like this one is. I definately agree that the linear nature of this game definately did take away from what it could have been but in my opinion this aspect did not really ruin the game for me, that is my opinion of the matter.As to storyline, I think the storyline was ... MoreI know alot of people are down on this game for whatever reasons they may be, but in my opinion I truthfully really enjoy playing this game. I find this game quite fun to play and truthfully I find it absolutely addictive.I think one of the biggest issues with this game is how linear this game is in comparison to many of it predecessors. And in this they are not incorrect at all. However I will remind people that Final Fantasy X was quite linear itself until you get more than half way through, much like this one is. I definately agree that the linear nature of this game definately did take away from what it could have been but in my opinion this aspect did not really ruin the game for me, that is my opinion of the matter.As to storyline, I think the storyline was actually quite good. I think it develops nicely and that it has the perfect combination of layer including a love story, war, a family story and a darker more mysterious back-stories. Additionally, this game had one of the most awesome opening sequences of any game that I have played to date. Some of the cutscenes are boring and sappy, and could definately use some more figting but others are fast paced awesome and intense.The grapics and the game play in this game are great. The graphics are crisp, clear and brilliant. I like that monsters can be avoided much as they can be in FF12 but I do not like that they do not respawn, easily so you cant really farm them. The leveling scheme is similiar to FF10 and d.

Synopsis - Final Fantasy 13 is the newest installment of a disconnected series of role playing games. It involves seven playable characters trying to cope with being branded as l'Cie (individuals cursed with an unclear task, gifted with magical powers and feared by the populace) by powerful entities called Fal'Cie. They inhabit an advanced, futuristic planet called Cocoon, which hovers over a larger, wilder planet called Pulse.:)- Despite initially being irritating, the main characters gradually develop into rather likable individuals.- The game worlds are very beautiful, extremely colorful, and quite immaginative in design (to a fault).- The music is great but not very memorable. You probably won't be humming any of it between play.- The Combat system is new, fast ... MoreSynopsis - Final Fantasy 13 is the newest installment of a disconnected series of role playing games. It involves seven playable characters trying to cope with being branded as l'Cie (individuals cursed with an unclear task, gifted with magical powers and feared by the populace) by powerful entities called Fal'Cie. They inhabit an advanced, futuristic planet called Cocoon, which hovers over a larger, wilder planet called Pulse.:)- Despite initially being irritating, the main characters gradually develop into rather likable individuals.- The game worlds are very beautiful, extremely colorful, and quite immaginative in design (to a fault).- The music is great but not very memorable. You probably won't be humming any of it between play.- The Combat system is new, fast paced, challenging and extremely fun. It requires memorization, predetermination and quick fingers. It does take a while to get used.- Overall the story is good, but...:(- The game relies on narrative text (found in the menu) to tell most of the story. Without these texts, neither the cutscenes nor the in-game dialogue would be adequate in relaying what exactly is going on.- The voice work of some of the characters leaves much to be desired. Often the character's body language suggests that their voices should be more emotional than they actually are (typical in Japanese to English translations). The inclusion of the original Japanese voice work would have been appreciated.- The voice actors of two particular chara.

I'm amazed by all the negative reviews for this game! I replayed the original Final Fantasy on my iphone last year and absolutely loved it. In the context of how far the series has come in last 25 years, this game is nothing short of extraordinary. I can't begin to imagine the hard work, careful planning, and passion that went into it's creation. If it's not your cup of tea, fine - but hating it? Really?It is true the game has one major drawback, which is often described as "linearity" - although some of the best games in the series have been incredibly linear - IV and IX especially, but many others as well - XIII takes this to a new level by having the first 10 chapters of the game constructed as one-way stages that offer minimal exploration and cannot be returned ... MoreI'm amazed by all the negative reviews for this game! I replayed the original Final Fantasy on my iphone last year and absolutely loved it. In the context of how far the series has come in last 25 years, this game is nothing short of extraordinary. I can't begin to imagine the hard work, careful planning, and passion that went into it's creation. If it's not your cup of tea, fine - but hating it? Really?It is true the game has one major drawback, which is often described as "linearity" - although some of the best games in the series have been incredibly linear - IV and IX especially, but many others as well - XIII takes this to a new level by having the first 10 chapters of the game constructed as one-way stages that offer minimal exploration and cannot be returned to later in the game. This changes eventually and things become more open ended, but I admit, I was feeling the monotony for a while, and I missed both the exploration and social interactions of most other games in the genre.But in the end, I give the game 5 stars in spite of this, because the extraordinary graphics, the battle system, and above all the story actually do make up for it.The entire story is a mediation on fate and free will. The main question the characters ask themselves is whether they have any control over their own actions, and how to do the right thing.Given that's the theme, isn't the linearity in the first half of the game oddly appropriate? I mean, you have these characters struggling.