game-worn

An Incredible Game With A Amazing Storyline As Well
I've actually only played about two of the Final Fantasy Game Franchise series so while I'm not an expert in the whole series this one was incredibly enjoyable for me to play regardless of what I've seen of what half the reviews have said about the game itself. The amazing graphics and soundtrack were a big bonus for me as well as well as the great characters and personalities they had in the game from Lightning our stoic ex-soldier to the naive young boy Hope whose force to grow up faster than he should after being force in a very dark and serious battle. The combat system I also felt was very good and easy for this game as again while I haven't played the newer FF games so I can't really compare those with this one it still was very engaging to play the fight scenes with relative ease. The astounding thing I've seen with this game as well was the animation and graphics probably one of the best out there so far on equal with the Uncharted details(Yes as you can see I am a big fan of the Uncharted games), and also the voice cast for the characters were great very nicely done and perfect for their roles. So if you like the RPG games or are a Final Fantasy gaming fan or just looking fir a n incredible game for a pretty good price than here's a great one right here for you...

More Final Fantasy!
I thought FF13 was a really good game. I was introduced to the game at my friend's house. After that I really wanted to buy it. If you are alittle unsure about purchasing FF13 I would recommend borrowing it from a friend or renting it.

Mediocre at best
Pros:

- Graphics are kinda nice.

Cons:

- Very plain, stereotypical, forgettable characters.

- Dialog attempts to be poetic, but winds up downright incomprehensible.

- Extremely boring story. Interesting twists completely absent.

- Awful AI for computer-controlled allies.

Overall thoughts:

If you are an intelligent male above the age of 12, you will probably not like this game. If you're into girly jap-pop and just want to see some neat colors and shapes on your TV, buy this game.

Too much work to be a game.
Played FF III(SNES), VII(PS1), X and XII(PS2). This is just plain too much work - and combining things without the least guidance is merely chance. the aprts are too abstract to understand why this goes with that, etc. And the boss battles are very unforgiving and leave you very frustrated. Die and restart until you figure out what you have to do differently to beat them. I still have no idea why I was able to beat the 2 Sisters! But I did, after 2 nights and 8 tries. And there are TOO many cut scenes. I feel like when I am just getting into the groove of the battle system, it stops and forces me to watch a cut scene...then go READ THE INCLUDED ENCYCLOPEDIA. READ! I will buy a book if I want to read - and I felt I had to read the stuff just to comprehend the convoluted story.

Waited to buy and when I did, felt like I wasted my money. I was actually hurt that Square-Enix let me down. Played for over 12 hours and feel like I will not play it again.

Maybe I'm just getting older, but...
Like many reviewers have probably started, the Final Fantasy franchise were the games in my childhood that really lit the flame within me for my passion for rpgs, and really all serious gaming in general. I remember literally losing my mind in the wait for FFVIII, IX, and X, and I don't like telling people in good company how many days of my life I lost in FFXI. I've been following XIII's production closely for years now, and was excited with Nomura's return to the main series, as well as the return of the sci-fi setting and advent of a strong female lead. With all this said, I really, really, REALLY wanted to like FFXIII. But, there is just something missing from this, something very integral that I can't seem to put my finger on, but I just can't seem to overcome. Maybe I've gotten older and I can't appreciate these games like I used to without my nostalgia goggles on, but there is a lack of a certain type of soul in this game that leaves it feeling rather incomplete. Maybe its the lack of a world map, a battle system that relies more on reflex than real strategy, no cities, the rigid linear nature of the gameplay, forgettable cookie-cutter characters, Vanille's voice actor, or shallow character interaction. I think more probably, it is the lack of the simple charm that the older FFs had with the help of Sakaguchi/Matsuno or Uematsu's contributions. Instead the game lets more action, a kin to the flashy visuals of FFVII:AC, do the talking instead of well thought out dialogue. The developers are so afraid of the attention span of the audience to their story and world that most of it can only be pieced together by reading the included database! Overall, Final Fantasy XIII is a shallow entry to the series developed with the intent to please a broad variety of gamers, which it fails at, instead of focusing on any certain niche. I wish Final Fantasy XIII had instead used the tried and true formula of past games and catered to its very large fan base, and not insulted our interest in the narrative and gameplay, as well as our attention span. The experience of this game can be said to be very similar to that of FFVII:AC; you can spend a long time preoccupied with it, but in the end you walk away still not feeling like you have taken anything from the experience or been emotionally/intellectually invested.