Final Fantasy XIII (13)

[EpsilonX]

Review #3: Final Fantasy XIII (Playstation 3/Xbox 360)


(image found using google search)

I guess 13 really is an unlucky number...

Graphics: 10/10

Really, the graphics in this game are virtually flawless. There are some minor things here and there, but they are hardly noticable (such as the fact that necklaces always stay in the same spot). I'd go into detail about the graphics, but I can't find appropriate words to use without sounding extremely corny.




Plot: 6/10

The plot isn't exactly HORRIBLE, but it's not worth mentioning. Which is a problem, because the focus of the game is 100% on the plot. Here's a quick summary (minor spoilers, but you find out by the end of the first chapter anyways, so...) Basically, you get a group of people that all end up in the same area together, and then all get cursed. Now, society hates them because everybody thinks the curse is contagious and they have to find a way to reverse the curse or else they'll basically turn into zombies. The characters are mostly likeable, and decently developed, but they don't have the same chemistry as other groups of characters (final fantasy 7 anyone?) Nothing too exciting in terms of plot, which would be fine, but....

Gameplay: 5/10

The gameplay, while it isn't bad or hard, is very boring. The battle system is alright, but its hard to really get the hang of, and leaves a lot up to chance. Why? You only get to directly control one character out of your party of 3. Each character has certain specialties, and the attacks they use are based on what class they are. Commander focuses on physical attacks, ravager on elemental attacks, medic focuses on healing, etc. You basically select groups of these classes and switch between these groups in battle. You choose what attacks the lead character does, but the other 2 party members' moves are selected basically at random. It works, but the problem I had with this system is just that: it's too systematic. You're getting low on health, so you switch your config to include a medic. Once you're all healed, you switch back. If the enemy puts up a shield, you switch to casting spells to help you and hinder the enemy, as well as healing. Most of the boss battles involve you knowing which classes to have active at what times. This isn't the major problem with the game though. The main problem is the fact that there's nothing else to do in the game. For most of the game you walk down an extremely linear path, hitting cutscenes and battles along the way. The game consists of nothing else. Walk, battle, walk, battle, cutscene, battle, walk. There is no exploring in the game, until late in the game for one chapter. You're given a large open field with a few big rocks that is full of enemies and side quests. All you can do in this area though is kill smaller enemies until you're strong enough to kill larger enemies, then you grind some more until you can move up to even stronger enemies. The side quests have to be completed in order, and involve you finding an enemy and killing it, then finding the next quest. Upgrades are done through a system called the crystarium, which is just as linear as the game is. You put points into each specialty, which generally follows a linear path, until you run out of Crystarium Points (at which time it says "you do not have enough CP"). You get CP through winning battles




Overall: 6/10

It seems like Square Enix's main concern with this game was the graphics. They are amazing, but they're not enough to make up for the gameplay. Sadly, this is a well-polished but very very boring game.

Recommendation: Play it, but don't buy it.

All images taken from Gamespot, except for cover arts, which were found using google search