Demo Impressions: Final Fantasy XIII-2

In this generation of consoles, there are plenty of game experiences people can play free of charge without resorting to any form of piracy.  Through services such as Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, many gamers can get free demos of upcoming and already released games for their consoles or handhelds.  PC gamers can get demos through a developer's website or clients such as Steam or Origin.  Demos have been around for a long time to give gamers a little taste of the full game that they will be able to buy in the near future.  As an avid gamer, I enjoy trying out certain games that I am on the edge on and also those I am highly anticipating.  I would like to think of a better title for this new article other than Demo Impressions, but it is late at night and I don't have much creativity flowing through me at the moment.  So I would like to pass it off to you guys, comment below with your ideas of a new title for this article and I will pick my favourite for all future editions of this article.  As you probably noticed from the title, I am going to give you guys what I thought about a number of demos I played recently.  As these demos are just a slice of the final product, do not consider my impressions to anything like a review.  Try the demo for yourself and be the final judge.

Let us start off this new article with one of the biggest games be released this January, Final Fantasy XIII-2.  Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII.  It follows Serah and newcomer Noel as they travel through time to search for Lightning and stop the evil Caius Ballad.  This demo found on Xbox Live and PSN drops Noel and Serah at some point probably a hour or two into the game.  You are dropped in the Brescha Ruins and have to fight a gigantic titan by the name of Atlas.  The Paradigm Shift battle system does take a little getting use to, but once you spend 15 to 20 minutes with the battle system things flow pretty fast and very smoothly.  The one thing about the battle system I do not like is that it feels like you are on auto-pilot at all times.  You do not directly control Noel's or Serah's attacks or their actions and it makes me feel restricted.  Even though I do not like the return of what seemingly are random battles, I like the new preemptive strike that you can do when initiating a battle.  One of my biggest complaints during my little time with Final Fantasy XIII was that the game felt far too linear for my liking.  So being thrown into an open environment to explore with optional side-quests to complete was refreshing.  This demo also showed off some new mechanics for a Final Fantasy game.  First was the ability to gain monsters to serve as your third member in your party.  I found this third party member very useful especially for its special Feral Link move, which can deal a lot of damage when needed.  Second new gameplay mechanic was the new Anomaly segments which are little puzzle rooms you have to complete every once and a while.  These segments seem like a nice little diversion, but the one in the demo felt tacked on and unneeded.  The last new mechanic can be found in the big boss battles with Atlas at the beginning and end of the demo.  At certain predetermined points during these battles, you enter cinematic action, a little cinematic that has you preform quick-time events to avoid damage or do more damage to the boss.  It is an interesting mechanic that allows for some epic moments while keeping the player engaged.  Overall, this demo for Final Fantasy XIII-2 was pretty good.  It has showed me that Square Enix has at least tried to right the wrongs they made with Final Fantasy XIII.  This demo did not convince me that I should run out and buy this game at launch, but I did get a feeling that Final Fantasy XIII-2 will definitely please the Final Fantasy faithful and those looking for a good RPG.