Final Fantasy XIII-2 is about what you would expect out of a sequel from 2010's Final Fantasy XIII. FF13 had all the makings to be the next big FF, yet failed to do so, and lost many followers in its twisted & confusing story and its action-esque gameplay and battle elements. And at that very confusing end of the tunnel where FFXIII stops, enter FFXIII-2, an even more far fetched plot. FFXIII-2 will require all who play it to have the imagination of a creative little 5- yr old and then some. The story is so hard to follow and is so out there that it may immediately turn some gamers off to it. However, that being said, it is a RPG that is worthy of a playthrough in my humble opinion simply because just when you think its losing you, you will feel motivated to push forward to see what happens.
The story introduces new elements into the world of Cocoon & Gran Pulse, (and FF) for that matter, and will not feature Lighting (heroine of FF13) as a playable character. This time her little sister Serah will be the heroine followed by a newcomer, a mysterious boy named Noel. For the first time ever, time travel or the Paradox Scope, is introduced as it seems ******************SPOILER ALERT FOR FINAL FANTASY XIII!!!!!!*********** that the group saving the world from the Fal Cie warped the time line, meaning that destruction was meant to occur and was inevitable and in preventing this, has malfunctioned the essence of time and now monsters from different time eras are rampaging populated areas and these time gates are appearing along with fragments of what was the original timeline. After briefly playing through the prologue, its discovered that Serah and Noel can traverse through these time portals as they wish, and seem to be the only humans who can. It gets much deeper and starts out a little fast but as the game progresses it will work its effects on you and should entertain most. Like I said, requires a huge imagination and an attentive player.
The Paradox Scope may be one of the best new features however, due to the limitless possibilities that are set forth. The game will encourage and force players to collect as many time fragment pieces as they can, however, some require time travel to the past or future in the same location and can only be found using detective skills. Basically, you can warp time (300+ yrs) in the future or past, change events that you set forth in other zones and watch the difference a different choice would have made. Most of this can only be done in towards the end of the game, but there are so many vastly different selections and endings to be had that its fun to go back and forth and view all your possibilities. Certain time zones enable you to end the plot line of FFXIII-2 in a drastically different way than what the normal main plot ending will serve. The fragments and puzzles and quests are enjoyable and among the better of FFXIII-2's qualities.
The battle scheme is similar to FF13 with one major change, instead of an active 3rd person in your party, Serah has the ability to tame creatures and can woo monsters to join the battle in her favor. Come across a monster and just wish you could play as him with its ability list? Well FFXIII-2 enables this as monsters you are able to defeat with style and speed and class will join your ranks and each has passive abilities that can be taught to other species. All monsters are classified as only one rank- Commando or Ravager or Saboteur. Its important to only spend Crystarium Points on Monsters you envision yourself keeping and using in battle and infusing (teaching the Passive abilities of and discarding afterwards) weakers monsters abilities to your better favorites. This sounds far fetched but it grows on you and can actually be an addictive asset. But, battles are a bit slower paced than in FFXIII and feel bit clunkier and reaction time seems more delayed, but the battles are not a total loss and can at times be exciting factors.
The lack of Lighting as a playable character hurts enough, but the lack of Snow, Sazh, Hope & and everyone else FFXIII capitalized on can seem devastating at first, but it will diminish in time as most of the aforementioned characters make an appearance in some fashion as well as some interesting new faces. Alyssa, a spunky cheerful associate of Hope in the future, as well as the greatest character on FFXIII-2, Caius. A villain who is not evil at heart and one who does not necessarily wish doom and dread upon mankind, but rather one who is torn in his direction and has become set in his way and is a good guy doing all the wrong things. His vision becomes a threat to Serah and Noel and will hinder their progress as you venture through FFXIII-2's story. His character is a heartfelt one and is a refreshing new face to spice up the world of Pulse. Noel is likable and is your average kid hero, while Serah is the sweet innocent girl who possesses powers beyond her understanding but both are forgettable and fail to stand out like Lightning or Caius for that matter.
The graphics are of course stunning and cutscenes (and there are MANY MANY of them) offer breathtaking clips of the world of Pulse. Also, newly featured live action scenes will prompt players to push the directed button and can hinder or compliment your progress in battles as well as uncover some nice items to add to your inventory. The live action is a nice fresh addition to the series, while also seems to draw FF more towards the action side of things and away from the forever established home of fantasy RPG Final Fantasy is known for. All in all, it serves the series true.
So, to sum it up, FFXIII-2 is an average RPG adventure and is the likely sequel to FFXIII. While it by no means digs FF out of the rut that its been trapped in since FFXII, it does offer new elements and is an enjoyable adventure that continues on the ever confusing realm that is Pulse. If you enjoyed FFXIII, you should give it a shot, if FFXIII's style and gameplay style and mechanics were just too much of a change, then you probably won't be a fan of FFXIII-2. Tons of replayability and lots of secret items and fragment pieces make for a good 20-30 hour experience.