hopefully FF XIII will be a lot better

i really wanted to like this game since i'm a huge jrpg-fan and the only really good one i got to play on the 360 so far was lost odyssey.
unfortunately... not story, not graphics, not gameplay could keep up with lost odyssey by a long shot.

the main character isn't just the "usual kid who doesn't know any better" but the one who is usually portrayed in jrpgs as the "annoying punk". but even if you put that aside, the story is pretty cliched and hollow.

the graphics range from "halfway gorgeous" (some parts of cities - but even there texture resolutions can be too low) to "horrible" (environments with textures which are about as detailed as those of an average n64-game but still there are framerate issues. also, character models can be pretty rough at times).

the towns are pretty uninteresting, nothing much to explore, just point A to B, basically just a minor distraction between battles.

what's positive is the interesting battle system and the fact that party members manage the equipment themselves (one of "infinite undiscovery's" major issues...).

if you really just can't wait for FF XIII and you've already finished lost odyssey, this might still be the most interesting choice available (unless you can deal with the frustrating battle system of eternal sonata - then that might be the best one) but i'd rather recommend playing some old jrpg on an old console or emulator rather than this thing.

6/10