Infinite Undiscovery

"A good game, with a lot of poor reviews it doesn't deserve"

This is one of two RPGs that I got for my birthday recently, the other being The Last Remnant, and I started with this. I was a bit unsure about playing it at first, considering the low scores I had seen for it, but I decided to give it a try anyway. 25 hours of playing later - though much more in real time, since this was not one of the games that I spent every spare moment playing with an obsessive passion - I have finished the game and decided that I needed to post a review, considering how very few of the ones on here are doing the game any justice.

Graphics - 8/10

I'm not very good at judging graphics, and usually limit myself to them being either great or horrible, the latter if they have really significant bugs, etc, so this section will be short. I've seen better graphics in some new games, but they are by no means bad. Things don't go through walls unexpectedly, there are no glitches that I saw, and Michelle's... uh, female parts, bounce deliciously. So as I said, there are better graphics out there, but I have no complaints with these, and in my opinion graphics only need to be good enough for the game to be playable, and not the best in the entire world.

Gameplay - 8/10

The core of any game is its gameplay, and here Infinite Undiscovery delivers from the very start. The fighting is fun and intense, and neither too easy nor too difficult. There is a weak fast attack, and a stronger slow attack, that can be combined together into three different combos. Nothing too complicated, but enough for entertainment and usefulness. Then, reminiscent of Star Ocean, there are skills that can be set to either the strong or weak attack buttons. There are no short or long variations, and instead of consuming HP, the attacks use up MP. However, the idea is very similar, and pretty fun.

As Capell, you will be one of the main attackers of the party. The game continues when you enter the menu, so it isn't a good idea to use it during a battle unless you desperately need to use an item, so instead pressing the Y button tells one of your party members to heal you. The AI is quite talented at telling who needs healing most, and will behave accordingly. You can't use magic, though others in the party can, and for the reason I discussed above, it is extremely useful to always have at least one mage in your party.

As mentioned before, you perform skills in battle. Some of the other party members - the ones that can't use magic, usually - can also use skills. And all characters have special connect skills that can be accessed when you connect to them. These can be anything from having them do an attack where you direct them, to letting you control one of the characters and shoot her bow, etc. There are a lot of variations, and although most of them aren't necessary in battle, they can be integral to getting certain treasure chests that seem to be beyond reach, or to solving some puzzles.

There is also an item creation aspect to the game, and enchantment too, but I never got into using either, so I can't comment on them, except to say that they seemed rather useless to me.

Additionally, after beating the main game, there is an optional dungeon that opens up - perhaps more than one, even, I'm not sure - with much harder enemies and bosses, which is a great addition to any game.

Sound - 7/10

The music in the game is pretty good and appropriate. There is a suitably eastern sound to the music for the desert environment, and at other times is appropriately gloomy or uplifting. I would have given it a higher score if not for the voice acting. Though normally it was pretty good - not spectacular, but good - at times the voices didn't sync with the movements of the character's lips. A minor detail, but I took of a point for it.

Story/Characters - 7/10

The story is fairly simple. You're confused for an important member of the resistance movement and because of that resemblance get involved in a quest to help save the world. Sounds fairly simple, right? If that was all there was to it, then I would have to say yes, but there actually is more to it. I won't get into any spoilers, but the story has enough surprises to be quite entertaining while not quite groundbreaking or amazing.

I'm also including the characters into this portion of the review. Far too many games have characters that can only be described as horrible. And not horrible in the manner that Sephiroth is horrible, or Grahf, or Ocelot, but horrible in the sense that the developer responsible for them should be shot for their insult to video gaming. So I decided that characters were an aspect of any video game that deserve a mention, particularly a RPG.

In the beginning, I wasn't particularly interested in Capell or even the storyline. But as the storyline progressed, I found myself being sucked into the game. Not because the storyline was that complex or interesting, which is normally what I prefer, but because the characters were so likable and entertaining. Capell in particular had a lot of truly hilarious lines, and there were many amusing and entertaining cutscenes. I was truly sad when the game was over and there was nothing more to be seen about the characters, because I still wanted to know about the things that they went on to do, etc. I don't remember ever having that reaction to a video game. To books, yes, but never to games. That counts for something.

Overall - 8/10

You might be wondering at my math here, considering the scores so far are: 8, 8, 7, and 7, but as the quote goes, "The whole is more than the sum of its parts," and the same is true here. The game isn't perfect, it isn't something that will be hailed as a classic years from now. But what it is, is a very fun experience that anyone looking for an RPG should enjoy.

My only real complaints about the game are that it seems short to me, and that there weren't really any sidequests. Of course, some characters do send you on minor errands, like finding something, or killing some enemies along a certain path, etc, but none of it really seemed like a sidequest. Though I admit I was a bit impatient and did not bother talking to people in towns while connected to other characters to see if I get different responses (another aspect of the game that I liked, and that sometimes even opens up new cutscenes).

And speaking of that, the game has an excellent sense of humor, especially with the "personal" section in the menu, that shows various facts about each character. Some of them were funny, and those that weren't were still a nice addition, and reflected Capell's attitudes about everyone. Once again, nothing ground breaking, but still a nice touch that shows attention to detail.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/23/08

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