Well, as you may have caught from my Wednesday entry last week...I've not only been busy with work and classes, but also with a certain game that came out. I'm talking, of course, about Xenosaga III. The final game in what turned into a trilogy on the PS2, "Also Sprach Zarathustra" brings the series to an explosive finale. For now anyway...

I have to say, it definately sets itself apart from it's predecessors. Apparently knowing that they were going to be ending the series at three instead of six encouraged them to go all out on this game. The battle system is streamlined for quicker battles, the graphics look incredible, and the story is gripping from start to finish. Well, okay...I lied a little. It drags at the beginning, but after the first few hours it kicks into high gear. Everything pretty much gets wrapped up, and all questions are essentailly answered. Not to mention it pulls a few nice surprises out of its hat.

Why am I writing an entry about this game now? Because I just beat it on Monday. That's right, 50 hours in under a week (truth be told it was like 4 days because of work on Thursday). It was that fun. My only regret is that there wasn't more sidequesty stuff to do after beating the game. Xenosaga's I & II had that in spades (in fact I havent' finshed some of it).

But the important thing I want to get across in this post...support this game. Go out and play the three of them. The first two are now both greatest hits, and can be found used for under $15 in most EBs and GameStops. The final chapter just came out, but spending a total of like $60 on a trilogy isn't so bad when you get a good 200 hours combined out of it.

The soundtracks in the first and third are great, don't really know what happened in the second. And each game has a unique battle system that allows for a different way of playing for each chapter. I'll let you form your own opinions, but I will say that the middle game is pretty much agreed on as the least favorite (though that's usually the case with most trilogies).

In writing this, and encouraging gamers to go out and give the series a try, I hope to perhaps send a message that we need more of this story. Everything gets wrapped up in the third installment, but there had been plans to kick start a new arc for the final three games (I guess an apt comparison would be to the Star Wars saga).

So if you enjoy RPGs, go out and try this series out. Though if you're an RPG fan you've probably played at least the first. I have to say the third is great, so if you feel like the second is dragging, you've got something to look forward to.