FFXIII

Oh boy, I've come around to buy another FF. The last one that I played was X2 and the one that I completed before that was with Squall Lionheart in FF 8. How does this one measure up?

Linear is the first word that comes to mind. The second is pretty. The game is wonderfully crafted as only Squeenix can. Beautiful characters, beautiful weapons and gorgeous environments. The game play is good too, quick and responsive despite being a pseudo-turn based combat system. You'll find your fights are mostly automated with a few that require some micromanagement. They also look great as well, with Lightning running around the field dispensing the justice.

However, the game suffers from being very linear. Most of the path ways are in a narrow corridors, although I haven't played through the whole thing yet. The skill tree is also very straight forward, and although you will have characters that specialize in their roles, their development is very one directional. This isn't terribly surprising considering previous FF's, but it does lessen the replayability.

Perhaps the worst part of the game is that I doubt I will want to play any part of it again once I've completed it. Since there is nothing that I seem to be able to do to change events, it reads like a book where the author has complete control.

The trade of for this is that the story is excellent. I'm captivated and interested in what is going to happen to the characters in a way that I seldom find in recent games. Sure Bioshock 2 is a good game, but I don't really care about Lamb or the little sisters. But FF13's story makes me want to get back to it, right now even, like a good book so I can find out what happens next.

But unless you like rereading books, you probably won't want to replay FF13.

So, its a very good Final Fantasy, but a Final Fantasy it truly is.