this game better than modern warfare 2
This is my first game in the Final Fantasy series so I was a bit worried that it might be to complicated for me but I was surprised how easy this was to just pick up and play thanks to the "auto-battle" feature in the battle system. Basically what you can do if you're a noob like me just select the auto-battle, press A a couple of times and watch the battle unfold. The game does a great job in determine which actions are suitable for the given situation.
The battles themselves are fast-paced and incredibly fun to engage in and it doesn't hurt to have some serious eye candy in the visual effects either. Effects of spells like ice, fire, wind, water and lightning all look awesome.
In addition to the fun battles there is the Paradigm Shift system. What this does is let you assign roles to your characters like if you want them to use magic, melee, debuffing etc. There are 6 different roles to take on and every character can learn all roles in the later stages of the game. For the bigger battles it's important to switch your paradigms often depending on the situation. For example if your health is low you need to switch to a paradigm with medics or if an enemy is weak to fire it's a good idea to use ravagers.
When you win a battle you are awarded with Crystogen Points (CP) which is XIII's version of experience. You then use your CP you develop your characters in the Crystarium. This is also one feature which is incredibly easy to use. You simply click which role you want to develop and hold A to gain new abilities and grow stronger.
The story follows 6 unique characters, the main protagonist being Lightning, with each having their own reason to embark on this journey but they all have a common goal. It's a very linear game and there's no way to get lost. Later in the game it opens up a bit and you can do some side quests which all have slaying a particular beast as a goal. These side missions are essential to do if you want to gain enough CP to develop your characters fully and you also gain nice rewards upon completion.
Graphically I don't have any complaints. The environments look stunning, character models look great and their facial animations are probably the best I've seen since Half Life 2.