I got it today, play for a good five hours. I'm loving the hell out of it!

I actually see no problem with the story so far, but at the same time, nothing has made me think of it as being any better than a mid-tier anime storyline so far. I just finished playing Lost Odyssey yesterday, and so far FFXIII-2's story has engrossed me far, far more than that game's did, so eh. I had really low expectations for the story going in though, and it's no where near as bad as people told me it was.

Same thing with the soundtrack, the very first preview articles I read said the soundtrack was HORRIBLE! but I've actually heard at least four pieces I really like. I find the boss music choice...questionable though. I certainly like the soundtrack better than I liked X-2's so far, as I can only think of one piece I liked from that soundtrack.

So yeah, I went in with lower than low expectations for the story and the soundtrack, and both have pleasantly surprised me by not being half as bad as people made them out to be.

Thanks again naysayers!