Final Fantasy XIII-2 is in my opinion one of the best Final Fantasy game this generation
With all that being said Final Fantasy XIII-2 has to be one of the most addictive games to come out in a long while, the game pretty much took me 80 hours to platinum and 35 hours to beat, if you haven't played FFXIII and do not feel like playing or buying that game then you don't really have to as FFXIII-2 actually offers a section that explains everything from XIII chapter by chapter so not only is it a great way to remind those that played the first game but also a great way for those that haven't even played the first game to find out what happened, there's no need to even read anything as the game will tell you what happened with a voice so set back, relax and enjoy the story of the first game.
Once you start XIII-2 you'll notice that this time around the game will ask you which difficulty you need to play the game on making you chose between "Easy" or "Normal", pretty much just like any other games these days, I personally started with normal but then ended up switching to Easy middle of the game (Yes you can switch at anytime you want during the game) which I found out was a great option to have in there.
As soon as you start the game you will start it with a bang as they say since you'll begin with Lighting fighting against a man named Caius followed by lots of action after, this game is very emotional for those like myself that enjoy emotional games, this is filled with emotions which almost reminded me of Final Fantasy X and the love that went between Tidus and Yuna, I don't really want to go too much on the story to be honest since in my opinion it is best if you play it and find out on your own but I guess I'll make it a bit simple, Lighting asks Noel ( a guy that comes from the future ) to go find her sister Serah and bring her to Lighting to save her and save the future, Noel and Serah start traveling space and time visiting many worlds together facing some happy moments together and some very sad moments together. The game has about 8 endings depending on how you approach the characters and the questions they ask.
The gameplay is still the same as FFXIII and is very new at the same time, it's now much faster than XIII and the leveling system is even faster which I thought was pretty awesome compared to XIII. Square Enix sure have improved this game big time from the first.
XIII-2 is filled with amazing soundtrack from the start of the game till the end non-ending great soundtrack.
Overall I'd say don't pay too much attention to the media out there hating on the game and I hope Square don't take them too seriously and keep producing great games like this. I have truly enjoyed playing this game and I hope to see more of this universe.
I give the game a clear 9.5/10!
I suggest every RPG fan and FF fan to give this game a try, if not right now then after it's a bit cheaper in price.