-Upon starting the game on PC, I will have started my 4th playthrough of this game. My PSN is KrutchFoop and my Xbox is Krutch

Foop if you'd like to check. Also, minor spoilers to follow.-

Final Fantasy XIII is a fantastic game that is often simply misunderstood by those who play it, or underrated when compared to

other titles in the series. While XIII doesn't stack up against games like VI, VII, or IV, that does not mean it is a bad

game; the game is very much worthy of the "Final Fantasy" title, and more than worthy of your time and $16.

>ON LINEARITY<
The first complaint most have about the game is it's linear progression. Yes, the game is linear, but it's linear to serve two

main purposes. The first and most obvious being to serve it's story at a steady pace and keep the player focused on the plot

and characters rather than being distracted by side quests and etc. The second reason is a little deeper than the first

(spoilers to follow), when Lightning and company get branded as L'Cie they lose their free will; they are no longer capable of

choosing their own fate. The player is meant to experience this important plot point by being led along a path they cannot

change because that is how the characters themselves feel. It works well to build a subconcious emotional connection to the

characters who, along with their L'Cie "Focus", have believable goals and objectives of their own that are being restricted by

this restraint. When these characters decide to forsake their fate and work against their focus knowing they will perish, the

game opens up and the players enters the free-roam enviroment where a decent chunk of the game takes place. It's a rather

clever way of connecting the player to the story unfolding.

>STORY<
All this talk about serving the story does bring up my only personal complaint about the game--the story is confusing the

first time around. My first playthrough I found myself saying "Wait, who the shit is this? Where are we going?". The game can

get a little confusing at times if you don't pay attention to the story intently. This can be also be helped by the in-game

encyclopedia (yeah, that's right, a fucking encyclopedia) which explains pretty much everything about the wonderful world the

game takes place in. I implore you, [b]READ THE ENCYCLOPEDIA[/b]. It will make your experience significantly better and help

improve your understanding of the XIII universe. That being said, why do we need to read an encyclopedia? I feel like the

actual world of XIII (or worlds, as it were) could have been explained and explored better during the actual gameplay. The

story is great and the world is unforgettable, it's just parts of it's history is locked away within the pause menu.

>GAMEPLAY/COMBAT<
The actual gameplay of XIII mainly involves you running through tubes and running into monsters. Don't get me wrong--they're

pretty tubes. XIII has a very beautiful and intersting world, but the early parts of the game are more or less running from

point A to B fighting monters and watching cutscenes. That being said, the combat is fun. I really enjoy the paradigm system.

Early on there's not much to it other than mashing X due to how the mechanics are introduced to you, but once you are given

full-reign over the paradigm system, it becomes this constant juggling act (sometimes literally) of trying to maximize your

damage output, build stagger, mitigating debuffs, applying buffs, sabotaging your enemy, healing, mitigating damage, and etc.

I really haven't played a JRPG with a more fun combat system. You will need to make full use of the six paradigms: Commando,

the physical damage dealer, Ravager, the magical stagger-building dps, Sentinel, the tank that can endure the unthinkable,

Synergist, the dealer of buffs, Sabotuer, the dealer of debuffs, and Medic, who keeps them all alive. These roles are upgraded

individually for each character in the Crystarium. Each of your three party members can have one of these classes active at a

time, and you can change which classes that are activated on the fly during combat in what's called a "paradigm shift". It's

intersting to see what you can come up with and what works best against what kind of enemy you're fighting. The game cleverly

places monster camps early in the game to help you adjust to fighting more and more of the same enemy and different

combinations of previous enemies you've fought. You might start off fighting 3 monster A's, then 2 monster B's, then 2 monster

A's and 2 B's, then 3 of each and so on to let you learn how to deal with these foes. It's an effective way of teaching you

the ins and outs of combat subtlely, and it lets you know this game was made with care and time rather than just thrown

together.

>PRESENTATION<
The graphics in this game are stunning on the PS3 and the XBox 360 and even better on the PC. The worlds of Cocoon and Gran

Pulse are fantastic and contain enviroments that can only be seen in a Final Fantasy game. The characters are beautifully

unique and well voiced. The soundtrack is as great as any other Final Fantasy game and is one of the few game soundtracks to

join my iTunes library. The battle theme (Blinded By Light) was stuck in my head for days, and I still listen to Defiers of

Fate on a regular basis.

>CLOSING<
FFXIII is a game that will resonate with me for a long time. While it is not my favorite Final Fantasy, it is one I will

always hold dear for it's unforgettable characters, gripping and deep story, beautiful world, fun, unique combat, and

remarkable soundtrack. I highly recommend this game to old Final Fantasy fans and players new to the series as a whole. The

rest of the XIII Saga will be on Steam by Spring 2015 and I'll write another review for each of them as well.

Thanks for Reading,

Krutchy Fooples.