So, over the weekend I was abducted by a group of Italian Midgets and taken to a basement in an undisclosed location and forced to play Final Fantasy XIII at gunpoint. Luckily for me it was the PS3 version and not the X360 because even Italian Midgets aren't that cruel.

I don't know if it's the lack of oxygen, or the gun to my head, but... the game isn't as bad as I remember it being.

Maybe it's because I'm older, was in a better mindset to focus and turn into a crystal for eternal life, or maybe it's just because I had the PS3 version and HD, but pretty much everything I remember being terrible was inaccurate.

Snow didn't make me want to rip off my ears and throw them into a garbage disposer, and the voice acting so far is solid, and maybe even an improvement on the last game. Even if the writing isn't the best. But it says a lot about the cast that they're able to overcome the weakness in the writing. Except all the hero lines, those are just cheesy. They don't waste time with the melodramatics, but I thought they balanced it out just fine with some humorous moments, too. Sazh is hilarious, and Snow's back and forth with his buddies at the start were genuinely funny.

The beginning reminds me a lot of FFVII. A lot. Lightning whole backstory right now sounds like they checked off the Cloud checklist as quickly as they could. You're riding on the train, and there's even a metal scorpion running around. Though there's also some specs of IX thrown in there too with all the jumping around between main characters until they unite towards the end of the chapter. Though the city itself with the streets in the sky reminds me more of Zanarkand than anything. If Zanarkand had a green tint and felt like you were in the Matrix.

Battle System keeps the more fast-pace approach that was first established in X-2, but is a bit more faster than what I remember X-2 being. The tutorial seems to be the only time you get a chance to take everything in. After that you're either quick on your feet or you're dead. Potions being able to cure all party members at the same time is a godsend! So, yeah, if you're more into the slower turn-based types the game's not for you. There's more to it than the popular 'press X to win' method of older games, and a lot to remember at the get-go. I still haven't fully mastered Staggering yet, and I'm gonna have to if I want to get anywhere.

I'm only on Chapter 3 right now, so I haven't played enough of the game to have a full concrete opinion on it just yet, but I'll play what I can when I have time. I'm about to try to beat Manasavin Warmech again. Does the Paradigm system become more varied later? Because right now I get the sense I'm going to find it annoying after a while. It's basically just,

Switch!
Switch!
Switch!
Switch!
Switch!
Switch!
Me: HEAL! HEAL! HEAL!
Vanille: I AM HEALING!
Me: HEAL FASTER DAMN YOU! -use potion-
Manasavin Warmech: -kills you before you can use it-
Me: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Smurfing asshole.
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-laughs nervously- Why do you guys look so eager for your ATB gauges to fill up?