FFXIII is not necessarily the 13th game in the Final Fantasy series as there have been multiple (and my multiple I mean a massive load) of spinoffs that have all been great in their own right.
I'm not sure how I'll go about this, so I'll just go with whatever I want.
Story-wise, the game brings about its own twists. They have a neat play on settings which plays really well into the people's ignorance with the government controlling the flow of information, which leads to the many misconceptions characters have in the game. A few neat twists here and there showing how all the characters are intertwined in some way shape or form. None of the characters are really static either and they all develop and become better people in the end. Overcoming the typical revenge, distraught at an irreversible fate, triumphing above all challenges, etc etc. I liked it. Wasn't really any romance in the story though. I like romance D=.
Graphics-wise, the game was amazing. From the opening sequence to regular battle scenes, everything looked like it was from a well choreographed movie. The environments themselves were chock-full of minute details that give the settings a realistic feeling. Character models were well created too, making everything move like how they would move in real life. It was amazing what they were able to do with the character's hair though, especially how it wasn't rigid and flowed nicely in context to what they were doing.
Gameplay-wise, I remember reading about a lot of complaints about the game's linearity. Throughout the game's 13 chapters, the first 10 pretty much restrict you to what you're supposed to do. The game lack's towns for exploration, but that plays mostly into the story line because you are fugitives: you run away from the law, no one is there to help you, no one will help you because of who you are.
I actually liked the linearity because it helped me maintain focus on the core of the game and what I'm supposed to do. Most recent games are so packed with extra content and material that the main part of the game is muddled up and you lose pacing. This is readily apparent from Elder Scrolls IV: after the mandatory main mission, you're tasked with finding the emperor's son and basically stopping some sort of world domination kinda deal... except that as soon as you're done, you can frolic around the world for as long as you want then proceed with the main quest.
Also, Penny-Arcade makes an interesting point that the first 10 chapters are pretty much a 30 hour tutorial for the game. The game slowly exposes you the first the battle system, then different classes, then more class combinations, techniques, then finally giving you free reign over all aspects of your characters. Maybe it feels a bit like hand-holding, but in the end it really does provide you with all the tools necessary to understand all the mechanics of the game.
Battle system-wise, the game is focused on paradigm shifts, not selecting specific commands per character. This allows for a much more fast paced battle because you're no longer taking time to select each and every move for every character. Instead, you focus on commanding one character, and switching the roles of every other character. The core of FFXIII's battle system is the paradigm shift.
Each character is (initially) capable of a few set roles, and it's how you set the combination of roles that allow for the most efficient fighting team. There's the Commando focused on damage dealing, the Ravager for building the chain gauge, Sentinel to absorb damage, Saboteur to debuff the opponent, Synergist to buff your party, and the Medic to heal. With three characters and 6 roles each, you're able to create different paradigms to match every situation in the game.
Music-wise, there is definitely a wide range of pieces that are on-par with the series' high standards. Not really sure what else to mention here. It's part of the norm that their music is all orchestrated now, and it's usually pretty epic. Hmm... I just like it over all.
Technically speaking, I've beaten the game (clocking at about 53 hours 15 minutes). There's still a bit more to do because there's a few missions left that I haven't done... but those require me to grind a bit because my characters / weapons are too weak. But the time to content ratio isn't high enough to warrant me to do so.
Regardless... It was an enjoyable experience. Square-Enix did well. Again.
In other news...
Today was a ridiculously slow day. Had a good 6 hours of sleep too. Was falling asleep in Stats, then again later when studying, then again during Mcat prep. Wonder what's going on... sure hope I'm not getting sick, although it it high time I was.. it's been awhile.
Haven't played squash in a while. Sucks that we're busy at different times. Perhaps once the semester is over.
