Geek of Oz

THE SHORT VERSION First things first - yes, it's a lot better than Final Fantasy XIII (and this isn't the only time I'll say that, too). Second things second - no, they are not  a boy band. STORY Part of the reason this review is going out a fortnight after release date, in addition to Final Fantasy XV 's sheer length, is because I've had to mull my thoughts over quite a bit more than I normally would for any game, let alone a Final Fantasy entry. A big chunk of that has a lot to do with the story. Noctis Lucis Caelum is many things. He's the Prince of the Kingdom of Lucis, betrothed to the Oracle Lunafreya, a skilled combatant and, most notably, an adolescent man with an irritating temperament to match. So what do you do when you're all of those first things on top of being a burgeoning adult? You go on a road trip with your three best friends - including a peppy young gunslinger, a boisterous, shirtless man with python-thick arms, and a ...

NOTE: There will not be a */10 Geeks at the end of this post. Same rules as the Witcher 3 hands-on: it's not the final product, so I won't give a final grade . Those looking for a summary about whether you should play it - yes. You should definitely play it. __________________________________________________________________________ While a release date, price point or specific comments on narrative and characters - besides some vague outlines of setting and basic plot for the latter - aren't yet known, I'm still excited for Final Fantasy XV . No, it's not solely based on what's in the demo that comes packaged with Final Fantasy Type-0 HD . It's based on what's not in that demo. Don't get me wrong, the demo is awesome. It's a solid couple hours of combat mechanics and story driven by some interesting, if only briefly sketched, characters. As a piece of early release designed to create critical groundswell and make me want to see the...

If Final Fantasy Type-0 HD  had existed a decade ago, when I first got into the series and time was not as limited as now, it's quite possible it would've claimed a good 200 hours of my weekends. This is the game I've been waiting for since the uniqueness of  Final Fantasy XII, since the salad days of  Final Fantasy VIII  and since the disappointment that was Final Fantasy XIII . It's the kind of game that, alongside contemporaries like Tales of Xillia 2 , gives me hope that JRPGs can once again take pride of place in my favourite genres. It's at once a nostalgic return to form and an innovative exploration. If you're after the short version before I knuckle down to details, here it is: GO PLAY THIS RIGHT NOW. The story is equal parts straightforward and fairly thin at first blush. In the world of Orience, where nations are built around crystals that grant magic powers, war has broken out. The Militesi Empire has gone on the offensive and found a way to ja...