It’s refreshing to know that there is still potential for the Xbox 360 to continue to grow and diversify its library among an overwhelming sea of first-person shooters. If companies continue to develop Xbox 360-exclusive role-playing games, it may just force me to reconsider dusting off my Xbox 360 and placing more faith in its controversial hardware. The development of more role-playing games may even hold the potential to boost Xbox 360 sales as its finally beginning to seriously reach out to this vast group of gamers.
Released exclusively for the Xbox 360 on September 2, 2008, Infinite Undiscovery is Square Enix’s ambitious attempt to revolutionize the future of RPG game play elements as we now know it. The plot unfolds around a young flute player named Capell, who happens upon a case of mistaken identity that initially lands him in prison by the Order of Chains. The conflict escalates to sever the chans othat bind the moon to his world by revolting against the wicked Order of Chains who presently hold control over the lands.
Infinite Undiscovery envelops players into a completely real-time world where encounters can occur unexpectedly and at anytime, even while sifting through an inventory menu. All decisions that players make throughout the game promise to have rippling effects influencing the course of future occurrences. This game transitions between night and day about every 10 minutes and players must use this element in order to effectively progress through the game (i.e. successfully infiltrating enemy stations under the cover of night makes a lot more sense than the brightness of day).
Alongside the constant transition of day to night, Infinite Undiscovery’s actual environment promises to play an integral part in a player’s strategy. While this game boasts a cast of up to 18 characters, actual battle parties consist of up to 4 characters at one time. Players will directly control the main character Capell while leaving the remaining 3 characters to the mercy of the intelligence of the in-game AI.
A month later, The Last Remnant will hit North American markets on November 20, 2008. While The Last Remnant does not share the common trait of exclusivity as the aforementioned game, it will be released on the Xbox 360 first while its Playstation 3 and Windows versions have yet to receive a release date. The Last Remnant takes place in a world chock full of interesting and distinct humanoid races including fish-like people, small reptilians, rabbit-like creature and felines with four arms. The story revolves around “Remnants” which are enigmatic and highly sought after ancient artifacts that posses immense magical powers.
The hero of this story is an 18-year-old swordsman, Rush Sykes, who is attempting to rescue his kidnapped sister from a mysterious man. Rush soon becomes engulfed in a global conflict involving the Remnants. The full cast of characters remains ambiguous even now, but is seems as though the full party of playable characters will number at approximately 10.
The Last Remnant will feature a new battle system labeled “Turn-burst”, which is a command-based system consisting of symbol encounters meaning that there are no random encounters. There will be Quick-Time events (a la Shenmue and Resident Evil 4) where players must quickly enter a series of button combinations with precise timing in order to succeed. Thrust into massive battles of up to 70 enemies at once, players will fight alongside a “Union"composed of several soldiers with varying skills, including morale.
Saving the best for last, Final Fantasy XIII will be released sometime Winter 2008 with a rumored expectant date of December 13, 2008. Final Fantasy XIII is the flagship title of the Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII collection that consists of additionally two other titles: Agito and Versus. However, Final Fantasy XIII will be the only title in the collection that will be available
for both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
The plot of the latest installment to Square Enix’s most epitomized series will unveil itself in a floating paradise known as Cocoon whose sustinence is controlled by a Crystal. The main antagonistic group of this story is known as Pulse and much remains a mystery except that Cocoon’s Holy Government quarantines anyone associated with its influence and ultimately banishes them from the city. A lone woman, named Lightning, has been chosen by the Crystals to supposedly institute the destruction of the world.
The battle system will be mainly comprised of a tweaked Active Time Battle (ATB) and a new Overlock mode where players may induce a slow-motion affects everyone save the player (think Max Payne or the Matrix). Players can string together actions in order to multiply the damage dealt to enemies but, should the ATB bar reach zero, players will be forced to wait until it replenishes before making any further moves. Additionally, a map will be stationed at the upper left-hand corner of the battle screen to provide information to players about the range of influence of fighting during battles.
Beast summoning will be making a return to this latest installment to the Final Fantasy series and will be usable both in and out of battle. Confirmed summonable beasts include Ifrit, Siren, Carbuncle, and Shiva. In regards to online details, Final Fantasy XIII is meant to remain a traditional offline experience but will have a special, yet-to-be-announced online feature.
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