I don't see why people are finding the controls so akward. Movement and camera are pretty much the same as games like Shadow of the Colossus.

I personally really like the battle system. I hear that most people do once they get used to it (including people that haven't played FFXI). It's a much faster and more streamlined version of that battle system. Once you've got your gambits down and such, XPing with a party is downright fun. The pacing of the battle system is great and I prefer it to random battles. Having played it I almost don't know how I ever handled random battles before this.