Infinite Undiscovery

"Infinitely Unfinished"

Infinite Undiscovery

Note: This game was played on a 19" Magnavox HDTV

Overview:
Infinite Undiscovery is a new RPG from Square Enix. That's right, a new RPG not Final Fantasy MXI. I love RPG's more so Western than JRPG's, and trust me you won't forget that this is a JRPG.

Story:
Infinite Undiscovery just throws the JRPG Cliches at you left and right, the only problem is they miss their mark. Cue the annoying kids in colorful big hats, mini-quests that require you to talk to animals, and how can we forget the characters with "in-between" genders (Here's looking at you Vic). Cliches aside, the game opens up with Capell (you, the main character) locked in a jail cell, being tormented by the guard. After a few bad jokes Aya (main female lead) jumps down, kills the guard and sets you free. Once free we soon learn you are mistaken for Lord Sigmund, who is trying to stop the Order of Chains. (main bad guys) Once everything is worked out your off on your journey to free the moon from the Chains that bind it to the Earth. The story isn't bad, just very cliche and slow moving.

Gameplay:
IU is an Action (J)RPG and it delivers very well in that department. You can only control Capell and assign 3 other people to your party. There are no random battles, and whenever an enemy appears on screen, it's a seamless transition into battle. Although you can only attack with Capell, you still have say over what the other party members are doing. By pushing the right trigger you draw your sword, which puts everyone else into "attack mode" from there you can pick commands such as "Free" which allows them to attack whatever they want, or "Combo" which will focus their attacks on whatever you're fighting. The combat system is very innovative and welcome.

Graphics:
Towns, and cities are extremely detailed and colorful. Characters are all very unique and pretty cool looking, aside from 2 or 3. although the cities are detailed, the large areas (overworld type thing) are very bland, but colorful. As much as I love the Graphics and level of detail put into the game, I can't say the graphics are perfect. There are some cases of clipping (textures going through other textures, it's ugly) and the lips don't sync with what's being said. That is completely unforgivable for a next gen game. Another complaint I heard is the text being really hard to see on some TV's, I didn't have this problem but someone without HD might.

Sound:
The music is amazing, from the main menu you are drawn into the game. my only gripe would have to be the're some cutscenes with no voice acting, though they are few and far between this is yet again unforgivable. The battle tune is cool, and drags you into the fight. I can't complain much here.


Pro's
+ Amazing Gameplay
+ Nice graphics
+ Really good music
+ A large cast of characters

Con's
- Missing VA in some cutscenes
- Lips don't sync with words
- Slow moving, boring at times
- Small text + Bad TV = Annoying

All in all, Infinite Undiscovery isn't a bad game, but no way can it be justified for it's $60 price tag. Like the title says, the game just seems unfinished. It's worth renting, and a playthrough but you won't want to play it more than once.

Rent or Buy?
- Rent

~ Scream Review

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/15/08, Updated 06/29/09

Game Release: Infinite Undiscovery (US, 09/02/08)