Story 3/5:
The idea behind the story of the game, in general, is that the moon is being chained down by some organization and there is a group that exists to cut down these chains. Quickly you learn that you have a giant case of mistaken identity to which people think you're the hero who does the chain cutting. Add in some annoying whining from the main character and you have a pretty basic story. As the game develops it gets a little better but there is nothing ground breaking regarding it and it leaves me wondering if they could have taken the concept further to make a more enjoyable game.
Graphics 5/5:
The game is beautiful from what I've seen while playing. Although at times the bloom effect seems a bit overused the majority of the game has a unique realistic look and is exciting to play. It definitely stands out in a market saturated with a more cell shaded and somewhat cartoonish look for video games (the xbox 360 RPG market).
Vocals 2/5:
The most surprising aspect of the voice acting in the game is the fact some scenes have it and some don't. You'll hear the main character talking in one scene and then the minute you go through a door you just see the words on the screen. It's almost as if the game developers just decided midway through to only have speech during key scenes? That would make sense but a lot of the scenes with voice acting aren't key so I highly doubt that.
The voice acting, on top of that, when you do hear it, is complete rubbish. The characters sound pained to be talking and often they seem not to fit the situation. The emotion and vocal tone often do not fit the scene and at times they sound unbelievable.
Gameplay 1/5:
This is where the game does its worst. I'm going to break off each area of the gameplay I want to focus on into mini paragraphs so bare with me for a moment.
Fighting:
Fighting seems to take a MMORPG approach in the game. The world does not deviate between battles and walking in a sense. When approached by enemies (or vise versa) you use the trigger button to arm your weapon and you can partake in battle. You use your two attack keys to either do short attacks or powerful attacks. There is also a button to parry but I found it hard to execute. Besides this there is the ability to connect (link) with other characters so the main character can take control of them and use their skills.
Connecting Issues:
One quick note about connecting (mentioned last in last mini)... you often find you need to connect at key parts in the story. One character has the ability to shoot arrows and you'll find that at one point in the story unless you use this ability in a short period of time it's game over. This is annoying because you often have no idea that the ability is needed and have to go back all the way to your last save if you didn't think to use it. Another annoying connect period is where you have to use a character's charm ability (which you are unaware he has unless you connect and try it) to lure enemies somewhere. This is unexplained and is unlikely anything a normal user will ever guess without hours of annoyance.
Items:
Items can be crafted in the game by using certain crafting skills for particular allies with you. When in the world items are used in real time so the enemy can attack you at any given point while you're cycling through as well. Likely this will lead most users to either prioritize items at the top of their item list or hope that the NPC allies pick the right medicine at any given time to help out.
Flute:
At times you will also need to use your flute for various means. This is annoying in the sense that you often will have no clue for the need of the flute. In one area to progress you need to use your flute in the vicinity of a particular area but there is no reason for this what-so-ever in the context of the area. It's like they wanted to throw in more flute time but didn't want to go through the trouble of making it intuitive.
Searching Missions:
Throughout the game you'll have annoying mini story pieces you'll need to accomplish. One of such is where you need to pick up a quantity of items from the general area. There is no significance to the story but you will need to just search and search for about 5 10 minutes time to find all the items without any way to skip. I don't understand the point of this really and it seems like just another attempt to add in more user game time without actually adding to the game at all.
Party System:
One thing I like about the game play is the party system. Often you'll find you have situations where more than one party is needed. The computer will take the assigned party teams that you make alternative to your own and have them follow a set course (you don't set it) that will lead to the objective. So at times you'll find your party of 4 with 8 other teammates on the screen battling it out epically. It's pulled off pretty well besides the fact each of these situations is overly easy because of the nature of them.
Linear:
The game is massively linear in that while each area is relatively large and allows you to explore a bit there is nothing to do but kill the enemies in the area without any other game paths. So there is nothing really special about searching a whole zone because while you often will find other treasure chests everything else you can find right in the same general vicinity.
Maps:
Finally, the mapping system in the game is completely outrageous. Often there will be one tiny cave that will connect one massive zone to the next and unless you search every nook and cranny of the zone you'll never find it. I spent a good hour searching for the one that led to the first mission after leaving the first town until I gave up and searched the web for walk-throughs. Funny enough, in my search, I found tons of other posts across the web asking for the same information. The area to area is completely massive but without any markers to keep the user on track.
In general the game play is very unintuitive and you'll spend an infinite amount of time trying to discover what the heck is going on many times throughout the story. If you can put up with this annoyance (and don't mind searching frequently asked questions on the net for help) then you may like the game for other reasons but else you should avoid altogether. I like the game it's just the game play stands out and has often led me to drop it, walk away for a couple hours, and retry some annoying sequence many a time.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
Nice title, isn't it? But don't expect a blatant fanboy review. Quite the contrary. If I had to summarize what you should need to know about this game, it's this: THIS GAME IS NOT FOR EVERYONE; DO NOT BUY IT UNLESS YOU ARE EITHER BLATANTLY OPEN-MINDED OR HAVE RENTED IT FIRST, OR HAVE A GREAT RETURN POLICY, OR SOMETHING.Why do I emphasize that so? Because the nature of the game calls for that emphasis.
You see, Infinite Undiscovery is not a traditional RPG. It's an action RPG with some elements that emulate online gaming. That's issue #1. It's linear, but open at the same time. That's issue #2. It also doesn't pan out until you're a few hours into the game; you'll be lost on the story momentarily as it begins to develop itself; that's issue #3. There are others, but those are the first and foremost in my mind.
Your character starts out in jail. You get rescued eventually by Aya, who actually mistakes you for someone else who apparently looks identical to you. As you make your escape from the prison, you'll end up in a forest, and finally, meet some more of the key characters. Seems overly simple, but that's what I can give you without spoiling things.
In this game, you really have to think, I mean really think about what you're doing. Things like walking instead of running so you can attack someone from behind. Sound plays another big part of the game; if you don't have at least a 5.1 surround system you'll be impaired in this area. Even smell plays a small part if you stink, enemies can detect you. In the darkness you can get assaulted by enemies you can't see (but they can see you because they're nocturnal). Getting attacked from behind cripples you and makes you susceptible to critical attacks. There are tons of different elements you need to take into consideration as you fight, which increases the immersion and the challenge.
Additionally, the world is alive; there is no "pause to bring up the menu". You need to make sure there are no enemies in the close vicinity, or that they are out of visual range, or you're in a town before bringing up the menu, because you can still get assaulted during this time. A strategic element to be sure, and one I wouldn't mind seeing in a future RPG, just slightly better implemented (more on that later).
With the "Connect" system, you effectively are giving commands to your colleagues to either do special attacks, heal, or talk to NPCs on your behalf, revealing different information than you get. The game relies heavily on this system, as you will frequently have need to use a character's special technique to get through a certain area. This lends itself to problems, however (more on that later).
If you're a fan of pure aesthetics, this game will not disappoint. The graphics, music and sound effects are all excellently done, and quite frankly some of the best looking on any game released to date. Some people have mentioned framerate issues; to me, they're so infrequent I wouldn't even call it a dealbreaker. With graphics this good, and minimal load times (considering it's basically an open world), a half second framerate drop every now and then is forgivable. Just make sure you turn down the voice volume; it tends to come through rather loudly on your left rear speaker during battle for some reason.
That doesn't mean there aren't issues, because there are.
In the beginning of the game, you're evading a rather large foe. It seems almost impossible not to get hit by this guy. An option to turn and risk fighting him would have been nice.
In a forested area, you're told to "stick to shadows". Considering the whole forest is dark, this instruction is confusing to a newbie user.
Some areas are just ridiculous. Like when you have to cross an open field with some small ruins, and a creature is blowing fireballs at you which are possible, but extremely difficult, to dodge because of the camera angle. No instructions as to what to really do, except run. Might have been something there that I missed for all I know.
You have to press Right Trigger to draw your sword. I like that and all, but what I don't like is that your colleagues won't draw their weapons if you don't, even if the tactic says to go all out.
Quite a few things are not explained to you. In the beginning, Aya explains one of her Connect commands, which you use to take out a guard. That's great. Later, you're given Flute songs, yet never told what each song does or how/when to use them. I didn't even know I could use the flute until I was 2 hours into the game, even though I had it all along. I was also stuck on one area (and the web is lit up with boards about the same area) where I had to use another character's Connect command to charm enemies to a door; nowhere is this explained. That same character can talk to animals; not explained either.
Outside of the primary characters, the additional characters don't have very much development.
As I said before, you should test this game before actually buying it. It might not be for you. It's not a bad game; just different. I wouldn't say it's similar to an MMORPG, even though it has some of the qualities. I would say...if you took Final Fantasy 12, with a better story and more plot development...and a better battle engine with pseudo-full control...you'd get this game. IMO, it's what FF12 should have been. Take that for what it's worth.
Best Deals for Infinite Undiscovery - Xbox 360
In short, this is the real-time/seamless combat RPG that Final Fantasy XII could and should have been. Combat is relentless and very involving. However, the "connect" system is really just a gimmick, and ends up being used mostly in forced puzzle-minigame chores rather than as a useful skill in combat.My #1 complaint for this game is the poor voice acting throughout, and the lack of selectable Japanese voices. With 2 DVD DLs worth of data, not including the Japanese voices as an option is inexcusable. You'll see what I mean once the twins join your party.
The graphics in the camera-perspective-restricted Eternal Sonata might make Undiscovery look a little dated. But the real-time battle system from Undiscovery more than makes up for it and proudly shows off the new direction most new J-RPGs are headed towards.
Honest reviews on Infinite Undiscovery - Xbox 360
Infinite Undiscovery is an objectively flawed jrpg that still manages to be fun despite--or possibly because of--its idiosyncrasies.Gameplay is built around the familiar action-rpg formula of assigning specific attacks to face buttons and maneuvering freely about the field to unleash them as a finite pool of points is depleted (in greater chunks by greater spells).
As lead character Capell you'll also issue very basic orders to a close quarters AI squad, and the AI is generally competent. Uniquely, there are often separate squads (for which you determine the roster) which may be onscreen attacking a boss alongside your primary group or--less impressively--simply running off elsewhere to find a key as required by scripted dungeon progression.
On top of this base, you'll find a wide and often redundant array of skills, spells, food recipes, weapon production options, obtuse conversation/secrets trees, buff incantations, and even songs to collect. The development team was overflowing with new ideas but without the subsequent followthrough and/or skill to integrate them properly into the solid base gameplay.
Another form of variety is in the form of characters, of which you'll find a great many choices here. Most characters are likable enough, and every one of them is given some kind of unique gameplay system it can manipulate. One may be able to talk to animals, another be able to smash inconveniently placed boulders, etc. Here too though, the developers didn't know when to pull the reigns in. There are several characters that one can only place in the aforementioned separate squads for no other intelligible reason than perhpas they didn't have time to craft unique attacks for the characters if placed under direct command.
Despite what sound like damning flaws, it all comes back to the basic gameplay. And that remains fun to play. Most of the broken and or simply useless gameplay options can (and will be ) ignored to enjoy the entertaining spectacles of the colorful fighting.
The story also helps move things along, despite its own efforts at self-sabotage such as impressively mismatched facial animation and voice acting. The story of admirable if whiny young Capell, the energetic and enervating Aya, and many others is entertaining and generally efficiently told (judged under the low bar occupied by most jrpgs).
So, in the end, the game manages to earn a higher personal fun rating of 4 than I can objectively rate the overall game itself for others.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Infinite Undiscovery - Xbox 360
Square has done it again. This is another great title with beautiful graphics and smooth gameplay. The few minor catches is that the main character is not the most exciting person. He starts off as a whiny nearly useless bard. If you can get past his personality early on the game pays off.Combat is similar to many Action RPG's with the ability to pair up with one of the other party members and use one of thier 2 special abilities. In addition you can build a second or third party that will travel with the main party but you have no control over thier actions.
The game has a system for item crafting that is usefull but alot like a standard MMO and promises some grinding to master the best gear or food in the game.
If your a fan of Square this is a title to grab. Try to get the 'pre-order' download card that comes with the game to enable better items to be available eariler in the game. Also X-Box Live offers several cheap/free add-ons that add more items to the game.
No comments:
Post a Comment