So many negative reviews. Here's an honest view from a true FF fan.
With that said this has to be one of the most addictive games to me at the moment. It may not have much of Final Fantasy feel from the earlier games but that alone doesn't make it a bad game. I think people are giving this game bad rep simply cause GameSpot did the same first and I hope Square Enix doesn't take this too negatively cause I really think this was a big step to the right direction from XIII. Well here's my review of Final Fantasy XIII-2 below.
The game starts with Lightning facing a guy called Caius in Valhalla where she was casted at the end of Final Fantasy XIII. She gives a guy called Noel a task to find her sister Serah and bring her back to her. But the way back doesn't seem like an easy task and soon Noel and Serah find themselves traveling through time trying to find Lightning's Valhalla. Yes, this game is about time traveling where the past can be changed by changing the future. You'll be traveling to different locations in different timelines and you will be changing the past and the future. The storyline in this game is great. Caius, Noel and Serah along with the rest of the characters are great in this game. They've really gotten rid of annoying characters here. There are several cameos from the previous game like Hope and Snow for instance (especially Hope is here to mention). There are some emotional moments that go with good taste and are not overdone. The game gets really dark towards the end and I felt the chills at one freaky point in the game and I'm not faint hearted at all.
Gameplay:
The gameplay has changed some in this game. You'll be using the very same Paradigm system from FFXIII. You have Serah and Noel on your party. In addition you can add monsters as your 3rd character. The monsters have limit meter and when it goes full you'll be able to unleash their powerful limits. You can also change the monsters' names and add funny items on their heads if you so desire. One new thing added to the gameplay are wounding attacks where your total HP goes down so you can no longer heal to maximum health. You can still use Wound Potions to fix wound damage. You will also be doing some puzzles but they still take the backseat in this game. Amidst battles you'll also be doing reaction commands where you must push certain buttons in limited time and you'll be rewarded if you succeed. You will be able to do missions from early on in the game and you will be more free to decide where to go next etc. This game is pretty easy but if you're up for a challenge you can always go without accessories and monsters on your party. The game gets significantly tougher that way.
Sound:
This game has totally awesome soundtrack and great voice acting that compliment the game well.
That was my review of Final Fantasy XIII-2. Thanks for reading.