Review Roundup - Final Fantasy XIII - Printable Version +- vgZero (http://www.vgzero.com) +-- Forum: vgZero Home (/forum-1.html) +--- Forum: The News Room (/forum-21.html) +--- Thread: Review Roundup - Final Fantasy XIII (/thread-23127.html)

Review Roundup - Final Fantasy XIII - LemonManX - 03-08-2010 02:13 AM Game Informer - 9.25/10: "A good story is of paramount importance in a role-playing game, but the fact that FF XIII’s other elements compensate for its disappointing narrative is a testament to the overall quality of the experience. For years, gamers have had visions of this title as an industry-transforming epiphany, but no game could possibly live up to such astronomical expectations. That’s no reason to lose faith; though reality doesn’t match the myth, Final Fantasy XIII is a phenomenal RPG destined to be remembered as a technical milestone for the series." 1UP - A-: "Like Mass Effect 2, FFXIII seems to be an attempt to answer the question of how to create an RPG for the modern, console-owning masses. Square Enix's solution is certainly different than BioWare's, but it's arguably just as effective in its own way. I can't say that this is the direction I want the genre as a whole to go -- or even the Final Fantasy series, for that matter -- but Square should be commended for embarking on an interesting journey down a daring road when so many of their competitors are content to stand, directionless, back at the crossroads." GameTrailers - 8.6/10: "What seems like an odd experiment at first ends up feeling very familiar as you settle into the experience. Final Fantasy XIII embraces a feeling of immediacy that ultimately serves it well. Yeah, there aren't any towns, at least not in the classic sense. But once you're fully invested in the deep, demanding combat, you probably won't miss them. If you've been waiting years for Final Fantasy XIII, don't let its streamlined approach scare you away." IGN AU - 8.4/10: "How, then, do we feel about Final Fantasy XIII? Well, I’ve really enjoyed my time with the game, but there’s no question that the mechanics are far less involving than in XII. There’s also no question that if Square-Enix had used the present mechanics, only with a little more choice – a better Crystarium system for role development and a less linear path through the first 20-30 hours, for starters – this would have been a much better game. Even so, this is a staggeringly pretty PS3 game, and for all its faults, it is enjoyable and it is a meaty adventure... just not meaty in some of the ways we would have hoped." GamePro - 4/5: "Complaining about the lack of a Japanese audio track might seem like nitpicking but it goes back to my main point: XIII ignored me -- me, a dedicated JRPG and Final Fantasy fan -- to try and seduce someone else with user-friendly tutorials and a Leona Lewis theme song. Seriously, I think even after 20 hours in, I was still getting tutorial messages. They were skippable, thankfully, but if a game feels compelled to tell me how to play it more than five hours in, I can't help but feel stifled, as if the game is my overprotective mother who embarrasses me in front of a mid-game boss by asking if I remembered to take a sweater." RE: Review Roundup - Final Fantasy XIII - ManaBurnX - 03-20-2010 11:28 AM Hmm, I'll pick this up after I get and finish God of War 3 and platinum Heavy Rain. I have played the demo (Japanese) but it was meh to me. Sure it looked great but the fighting system seemed weird and I hated not being able to control the other characters during the fight. It was just a demo though. RE: Review Roundup - Final Fantasy XIII - Kasaioni - 03-20-2010 11:41 AM Yup, pretty well all positive with of coarse the odd nod towards the con of linearity. RE: Review Roundup - Final Fantasy XIII - LemonManX - 03-21-2010 01:33 AM Positives in FF-XIII are: -Long playtime guaranteed. -Battle system allows for some interesting strategy. -Beautiful visuals, both in-game and cutscene. -Pretty good voice acting (which is something new to recent FFs) But the negatives include: -Linear gameplay means you won't be diverting from the path set in stone much. -Story is not really of much interest. -Music feels largely uninspired and uninteresting (imo of course) -Battle system is annoyingly streamlined and doesn't fully unlock til around 20 hours.