Final Fail XIII?

I'm on the 2nd disc (of three) and about 15 hours plus some minutes into FFXIII and I have very mixed feelings on this game. (I'll try and be careful not to turn this into a fanboy post on how incredibly awesome FFXII was...).

First of all, let me say the graphics are amazing. I didn't think the 360 could produce something this good. You will definitely notice some drag in parts as you pan the camera around and this shows the true power that the graphics require to process. The environments are pretty darn awesome to look at and some parts are just downright breathtaking. It takes a keen eye to tell the difference between a CGI cutscene and a cutscene using the characters themselves. Music is pretty cool too going from orchestra to rock to harmonica/jazz/lunge music (which seems to occur around Sazh alot, making me assume that all Japanese are racists, haha... just kidding).

Secondly, the story is pretty cool. Stronger, in my opinion, than a lot of other FFs. This world Cocoon is a floating sphere containing several cities and different environments and it's where I'm still at. They hate anything to do with Pulse, the world below. These creatures, Fel'cie or something like that, control everything. Any of these creatures from Pulse that brand a person are evil. The characters are done pretty well though most are not as memorable or cool as characters from other FFs. Lighting is the female lead, Snow is this cool brawler guy, Hope is some annoying teenager bent on revenge, Sazh is the token black guy who has two pistols and a Chocobo in his afro which is pretty funny, Fang is some warrior chick, and Vanille is the ultra-optimistic high-pitched voice female.

The game is VERY linear through where I'm at. Not just one big area after another. We are talking tiny little paths that you walk down. Fight 3 battles, cutscene, 1 battle, cutscene, cutscene, panaramic environmental view, cutscene, 2 battles, cutscene, repeat, repeat. You upgrade weapons and purchase items at save points and so far, there have been no towns and no discussion. The game is all story sprinkled between battles. Once I complete the game, I will voice my final verdict on this but so far, it's a step backwards. Most FFs have been linear through most of them, 1/2 to 3/4s of the game is spent going from area to area and learning the story and then they finally explode and you can explore the whole world and do whatever. I'm desperately hoping this will happen eventually. This game makes the linear movement of past games appear like open-world games.

The battle system is what happens when other FFs get hooked on crack. I honestly believe that casual gamers are bringing about the downfall of gaming in general. I have been playing on normal mode and I might try playing on slow mode just to see if it tones it down a bit. But it plays more like Street Fighter meets strategy than a FF of the past. You will spam the auto-battle button while switching paradigms. Each paradigm is set up with your characters consisting of 6 different classes. Commando deals damage and holds up the stagger gauge from slowing down too much. (Enemies get staggered and you can deal more and more damage to them). Ravagers fill up the stagger meeting but it slows down really fast. Medics heal, Sentinels draw fire, Synergists cast protect and shell and what not, and Sabuteurs cast slow and other status on enemies. You only control the main character and if they fall in battle, battle over. However, you can retry and enter the period RIGHT before the battle began. It feels like a dumbing down of the series where control is ripped away from you and changing paradigms (which is extremely lame) is more important than casting cure or what not. Oh, and I have a mentioned there are no levels...? Which dumbass douchebag designer came up with that idea? A FF without levels? It's akin to Star Wars without Darth Vader... One doesn't exist without the other... and I've mostly been fighting with 2 people. My last boss battle last night was fought with 3, finally, and it was much more enjoyable than others have been.

"Leveling" up consists of spending CP points to purchase different attributes. You follow select paths and so far, there has been no choices whatsoever. You don't have a level but you do gain new powers in different classes. +3 Strength then +10HP then +3 Magic and so on and so forth. But enemies have levels so it's pretty hard to figure out if you should backtrack and power up more before taking a boss on. Oh, and certain class levels, new classes, and more powers don't open up until you reach certain points in the game. I've come across bosses that are really hard to defeat and I CAN'T GAIN ANY MORE POWER! What the heck!?

I could go on and on since I've been a fan of FF for a long time. Overall, the game is good and I want to complete it.

PROS: Graphics, music, story, history, leveling up items

CONS: No levels, battle system on crack, paradigm shifting, linear movement

If you love FF, you should check it out... eventually... but I would maybe purchase it used or wait until it drops in price or get it off of Goozex when someone like me trades it in... probably in 2013.

Game designers are tweaking their proven formulas too much and with the advent of "casual gaming", the farmville and guitar hero freaks are ruining the gaming industry. Why make a game that 1,000,000 hardcore gamers will buy when we came make some lame knock-off of last seasons hit that 3,000,000 will buy? Exactly...

I will try and post a secondary review once I've completed the game and it, hopefully, gets a little better...