As Final Fantasy XIII hit the shelves several hours from now, people begin to line up to get the latest installment of the RPG classic. Others, meanwhile, would rather check out the reviews first before deciding whether the game is worth the money.
Good thing The Christian Science Monitor compiled recent reviews of FF XIII from the most established video game sites. The common factor among these reviews is that the game is described as “a crossroad” because it departs from the elements that fans loved about the series, while at the same time attempts to bring something new on the table.
Final Fantasy XIII is the most linear among the games in the series. The joys of exploring new towns and dungeons are gone. The game also is devoid of turn-based combat, which has been a staple in most of the Final Fantasy titles. According to 1UP , “On paper, these cuts make FFXIII sound awful: The total abandonment of everything that fans enjoy about the series… It’s unquestionably a huge departure for the series, but taken on its own merits, it works.”
The combat system uses Active Time Battle (ATB) system, wherein players control one character while other characters within the party make their move automatically. EuroGamer explains that the new system aims “to toss out all the decades-old clutter of the (Japanese role-playing game) form, distil the Final Fantasy experience to its very core, and then make that as relevant, approachable, and slickly modern as possible.” The challenge now is not whether your character can finish the battle after 10 or so turns, but on what roles or specialties players should assign to each character.
The pacing, according to Wired , is “achingly slow.”
“Once the game gets to this fully operational status, the battles become much more interesting, but it takes around 20 hours, prior to which the game is boring,” the reviewer elaborated.
Despite what is lacking in Final Fantasy XIII, CVG is impressed by the title’s well-written in-game dialogue, although at times they are obviously translated from Japanese. The review also praises the graphics, saying the game has the highest-quality CGI cut scenes in any video game, ever.
Source: The Christian Science Monitor
