Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Old-school"

I've only had the game for about a week and a half, but I've played it quite a bit. YES, it does have some technical issues. It graphically lags a bit when super fancy-schmancy effects are processed. So they used the Unreal engine and hadn't perfected said use... big deal. AS LONG AS YOU INSTALL IT ONTO YOUR HARD DRIVE, none of the load screens or technical issues really become that big of a deal.

All that aside, the voice acting is pretty freakin awesome if you ask me. The rest of it plays much like any of the more recent Final Fantasy series, but it feels a little different. Most notable are the combat system (A combination of old-school turn-based and a tactics-type system, with a hint of nutmeg), the item customization system (It's pretty ridiculous... in a good way), and the treasure digging system! Heck yes, it's almost like a little mini-game-type nugget that you pick up early on and take with you throughout areas that you explore.

The only problem I've had so far was that my party seemed SO INCREDIBLY WEAK early on (once you reach a point at which Rush ventures off on his own for a bit). It was taking me forever to fight anything or get through areas, and I had to take enemies on in as few numbers as possible. It was later that I realized how to put additional party members into a union. It's MUCH better after that, haha. But that's what I get for not reading the manual.

Honestly, so far, My only complaint (other than that, ideally, there shouldn't be any problems, really, with graphical lag) is that in the morale system, you get a severe detriment to morale if an enemy engages you before you can initiate combat yourself, BUT, there's ABSOLUTELY no way for you to gain any advantage on an enemy. It's either starting at 50/50, or 75-25 in the enemy's favor. Unless, of course, I just haven't gotten that far yet... But, even so, it should be accessible already. It's fairly difficult to sneak up on an enemy...

If ya like RPGs, and you especially like them with an extra dose of strategy, then go ahead and snag this one ^_^