Told myself and told myself I'd pass on this, as I never got into Xenoblade on Wii, but the allure of that lush open world proved too much.
So here are some early impressions. The voice acting is wooden, and the cutscenes and dialogue are another level of bad. Long static shots of people standing around spouting exposition abound, like outtakes from The Phantom Menance. The world building is totally incoherent and the back story filled with lazy coincidences.
Combat seems potentially deep, but like its Wii-decessor, the fights in X can feel like they just play out in front of you so there is no incentive to experiment. Pick fights appropriate to your level and you will win without touching a button it seems.
Music is very disappointing. Not bad exactly, but often sets the wrong tone and the vocals are distracting. A world away from the gorgeous soundtrack the previous Xenoblade boasted.
The graphics are impressive and the landscapes especially beautiful. Looking forward to exploring more (and hopefully sitting through cutscenes less.)
So here are some early impressions. The voice acting is wooden, and the cutscenes and dialogue are another level of bad. Long static shots of people standing around spouting exposition abound, like outtakes from The Phantom Menance. The world building is totally incoherent and the back story filled with lazy coincidences.
Lucky the aliens shot the Ark down over such a pleasant green planet, and not lava planet or minus 200°c planet. How did they manage to put up New LA in two months? How come BLADE, which was setup after they landed, has a logo plastered everywhere already? How can Skells be a precious resource vital to humanity's defence yet somehow there are some in private hands, for sale in the market? Why doesn't the government seize them?
And why does everyone treat your character like the second coming? After being found you prove capable in a fight, and somehow this means that you become the talk of the town and everyone is desperate to see you join BLADE. Which is a big deal even though we are told most people in New LA work for BLADE in some capacity. Which is also weird, because there is a whole mediator division of BLADE that functions to preserve peace with Joe Public...by which they mean the minority of people not in BLADE??
And why does everyone treat your character like the second coming? After being found you prove capable in a fight, and somehow this means that you become the talk of the town and everyone is desperate to see you join BLADE. Which is a big deal even though we are told most people in New LA work for BLADE in some capacity. Which is also weird, because there is a whole mediator division of BLADE that functions to preserve peace with Joe Public...by which they mean the minority of people not in BLADE??
Combat seems potentially deep, but like its Wii-decessor, the fights in X can feel like they just play out in front of you so there is no incentive to experiment. Pick fights appropriate to your level and you will win without touching a button it seems.
Music is very disappointing. Not bad exactly, but often sets the wrong tone and the vocals are distracting. A world away from the gorgeous soundtrack the previous Xenoblade boasted.
The graphics are impressive and the landscapes especially beautiful. Looking forward to exploring more (and hopefully sitting through cutscenes less.)