Final Fantasy XIII (Asian) (Playstation 3)

Those familiar with Final Fantasy games will be used to the confusion from hearing the storyline the first time. The world of Pulse has mechanical beings known as the fal’Cie watching over the planet. Those chosen for a greater purpose are l'Cie, given a goal by the fal’Cie to complete in a certain amount of time. If they fail, they’ll be turned into a monster called a Cie Corpse. If they succeed, they’re turned into a crystal. This is seen as a curse, and through a chain of events the mysterious Lightning (our main protagonist) and others are given a task of saving humanity.

The story will keep you just as enthralled as any other. Expect deep, compelling storyline, full voice acting and a battle system that of course is completely different from previous titles. Battles will now come with the ability to stack commands on a list, allowing combos to unfold when the character is ready. Their limit break attack in XIII is called “break state”, allowing you to inflict massive amounts of damage when an enemy cannot retaliate.

As expected, the graphics are absolutely amazing. Since the tenth game, the elaborate Full Motion Videos were replaced with in-game cut-scenes, and the next-gen consoles really get to shine in Final Fantasy XIII. Weapons bought can be seen in the game, and the special effects during gameplay raise the bar tenfold. The game’s score is composed by Final Fantasy X’s Masashi Hamauzu.

It’s the first of the modern Final Fantasy games to be on a console other than PlayStation. Now Xbox 360 users will be able to enjoy Square Enix’s latest masterpiece.

This is the Japanese version of Final Fantasy XIII, complete with Japanese text, voice and subtitles.

- © Gerard Ward