[29/01] Final Fantasy XIII-2 Reviews Roundup

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The review embargo for Final Fantasy XIII-2 lifted today at 4pm ET and here’s what the rest of the gaming press thought about the Final Fantasy sequel.

The list:

Source: Gematsu

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I know reviews largely mean jack all when FFXIII turned out to be so divisive, but this is for anyone who wants to see how the game has fared to western reviewers. The general consensus appears to be that it's a rather good game with solid gameplay, let down by a weak storyline. No perfect scores (yet) though - looks like it's only been from the Japanese publications.
 
So its averaging about an 8

Though I usually only read reviews to see if there are any technical problems with a game. Most of the time I dont listen to their opinions on story and voice acting. 3/4 of the time I disagree with them.

Resonance of Fate was a perfect example. I loved the story yet almost every place said it was awful
 
Not surprised with the general consensus on a weak story. I thought the plot has great potential and I initially loved it mid-game. But it's soon accompanied by some contradictions and that disappointing conclusion.

So my current stand is, I like the story, but it could have been delivered much MUCH better.

Otherwise, as I have said many times, gameplay is great.
 
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^ Can someone just ban this guys constant spamming from this section.

Solid reviews overall although I think I'd rather wait until fans start reviewing on Metacritic so I don't end up purchasing a game whose fanbase rates it a average 2.9/10 (LOLmw3) I didn't particularly think the story was going to be amazing anyway given that it looks like Final Fantasy XIII had a stronger cast and since the story for Final Fantasy XIII was diabolical there was no real way Final Fantasy XIII-2 was ever going to dig it out of the hole it's in.

Pleased.
 
I'm also not surprised at reviews saying the story's not good. I'm not interested in it anyway. I'm more interested in the gameplay, so I'm happy to see reviews saying it's good. :)
 
My reaction to the reviews is a bit mixed. On the one hand, I'm rather unhappy that not one review has said the story is decent; they all comment on the fact it's extremely lacking. However, I'm not surprised by the comments. Furthermore, a lot of people said that XIII's story was diabolical and I actually liked it a lot!

What I've heard about the music - that it's a mixed bag; that some of it is AWFUL - doesn't surprise me either. :lew: It shouldn't affect my experience too much though. :)

I'm pleased to see the gameplay is better. I've managed to play a little of the demo and I did enjoy the action sequences, though I'm not as used to the XBOX controller as I am to the PS3 controller and this version was in Forbidden Planet on their 360.

Most of the reviews seem fair, though.
 
Well thats hilarious. Ive played the demo and what gameplay is that well? The constant autobattle? IMO the gameplay shown in the demo is shite. I used to select my own attacks while the only thing you can select is the order. Changing partyleader cant be done with the press of a button. No you have to select the option.
All I saw on the screen was chaos and constantly pressing autobattle cause whats the point in selecting your attacks yourself.

Im sorry but I wasnt pleased with the battlesystem at all. It didnt feel like a Final Fantasy at all imo. It even sucks as an action rpg.

Lacking story. That is unacceptable for me.
I wont buy this garbage.

:griin:





I guess people really like to collect those 150 pokemons and experiment on them.
 
I think the battle system is much better and less tedious, but only because of the QTEs. They break the X mashing up a bit. However, going by the demo, the battle system is still worse than the old turn based stuff, which means that in my eyes Square have failed again in making the gameplay return to the fun times.
For me, we now have 5 FF games with boring battle systems in a row :(

The cutscenes in the demo seem improved in terms of being interesting, whether it's from style more than substance is best held until we've played the full game for ourselves.
 
Ohri-Jin said:
I wont buy this garbage.
Click to expand...

You have been stating for months the game is terrible, and you only just played the demo- so it seems like no matter what, you would be dismissing this game/finding reasons not to like it.

Some people happened to like the battle system and you didn't.

If you don't like and aren't gonna buy it- don't get it and move on (it is fine to state your displeasure once but in every thread?). No FF will ever be perfect- it is just not possible to please everyone and have everything people want in one game.
 
Hah, I saw this coming a mile off. Slap a Final Fantasy sticker on it and not only does it sell by the truckload, but speaking out against it in the mainstream media is essentially signing a death penalty for your imaginary credibility, which you've long since lost by having absolutely no shred of objectivity whatsoever. This game owes these scores to its big-name label and nothing else: I can practically guarantee that if this wasn't Final Fantasy it would be bashed from here to the other side of the damn planet. Just because it's Final Fantasy doesn't make it a game worthy of a decent score; I think FFXIII more than proved that.

I'm afraid the FF label doesn't carry the weight anymore that I, for one, would actually accept these reviews as an even remotely accurate impression; it hasn't for years. The media have made mediocrity a substitute for excellence, so it's no surprise that this game gets unwarranted high scores. Take these seriously at your own peril.
 
Yeah, nothing like saying their opinions of the game arent true and they are lying about the score when you havent played the game. Now who is the biased one?
 
Oh, because OF COURSE you need to play something to be able to judge it properly. Because stuff like trailers and demos aren't designed so that people who don't blindly rush out and buy a game based on the reputation of past games they enjoyed which actually have nothing to do with the present game, can decide whether they like the game or not before they risk buying it. Honestly, what complete and utter bullshit. The whole point of releasing data on games beforehand is to allow people to form an opinion.

There is more than sufficient material out there, including full gameplay videos on Youtube by this point, to safely form an opinion on Final Fantasy XIII-2, and to know that the media are just living up to expectations by giving it higher than average scores, scores it does absolutely nothing to deserve. I remember a time when high scores from magazines actually meant something. FFXIII-2 isn't a special case, numerous series - such as Call of Duty and Uncharted, to name but two - are automatic high scorers, despite the fact that they barely differentiate themselves from the very first game in the series. The media are hopelessly biased: the prettier it looks, and the more recognisable the brand name it has, the higher the score, and damn everything else.

In short: Don't like my opinion? Bite me, and don't give me a holier-than-thou attitude just because you don't share it. If you want to wait before you form your own "proper" opinion, that's your own business, but don't act like you aren't biased either.
 
The only one with a holier than thou attitude is you. I am in no way biased. I played FFXIII, it wasnt as good as I hoped it would be but I still enjoyed it. Will FFXIII-2 be my favorite game of all time, or even of the FF series? No. But that doesnt mean it wont be a decent game, unlike you who see's one trailer or the color of a characters hair and decides you dont like it by order of snap judgement. The only biased one here is you.

Regardless of what you say, watching a trailer of gameplay and actually playing a game as two completely different things. You may get an idea of what the game is like from a trailer but you cant get the complete feel.

I agree the media is biased. Scores dont correlate with what the text usually says. But just because a game has brand recognition doesnt mean it's a terrible game. You seem more obsessed with hating a game due to it's name rather than seeing a game for what it is: good or bad.
 
To have any kind of opinion is to be biased. If you think you're some kind of special exception to the rule, you're kidding yourself. There is no such thing as being impartial; you are no more or less biased in your thinking than I am. But, that aside, there is an expectation for a certain degree of objectivity from people who claim to be professionals, and that is clearly lacking in the media these days.

It isn't for you to tell me how I think and form my opinions, either, and you're completely incorrect in your assumption for how I do both of those things. As I said, there is more than sufficient material to judge the game. Regardless of what YOU say, trailers and demos are DESIGNED to allow people to make judgements, judgements that are no more or less valid than those formed by one who has played the game, or anyone else for that matter. You might think you need to play it to form such a judgement, but I don't. We'll just have to agree to disagree that point, unless you intend to debate it with me back and forth...I wouldn't object, but we'll not get anywhere with it, and I expect Liv Liv would come down on us for it.

I never actually said that brand recognition automatically makes a game bad. What I said was that games are often inflated in their reputation due to their brands. This does not necessarily make them bad, but it does make them undeserving of the reputation that they, as individual games, receive.
 
These reviews seem pretty down for what a FF game used to get. It used to be always straight 9/ 10's.

Not to mention that it didn't sell all that good in Japan, which is even more disappointing.

I won't buy this game, as soon as it was announced that a FINAL FANTASY game sucks at story, knew that this game had to be a miss. Final Fantasy games are usually have champion story plots, and a FF game lacking at story is just....disappointing...

And the Pokemon idea is just... horrible.

Urgh, I think the reviewers who gave it a low 4 or 5 are going to be on the spot. ;)


 
Hell yeah Nutcracker/Martel you tell them!
Im bashing the game, yet those that quoted me are bashing on me (those FFXIII-2 praisers). You dont see me bashing on you directly do you?
So stop quoting me or speaking to me directly. I have my opinion about the game and Im entitled to express that.

OT:

The story is the main key element for me. I had a feeling the story would suck ass. Especially with the open ending.
Time warps and what not.
150 pokemons bullshit.

Im actually surprised that the overall rating is a 8. This is too high imo.
Its my opinion though. I am just a humble FF fan who is not interested in the FFXIII universe.

From day one I never liked it. I dont have to play the actual games to have an indication how the game is. Trailers/demo's/info etc. will suffice for me.

Only a retard would pay 60 whole bucks for mediocre things like this. Oh and lets not talk about those pre-ordering fella's. :tehe:
 
I didn't only spend 60 dollars on both Japanese and English versions. I preordered them. That makes me four times of 'more than a retard' then. Oh and not to mention the official guide I preordered too.

Thanks.
 
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