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Xenoblade Chronicles X (4th Dec)

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Was there an n-europe review of this game in the end? If so I missed it.

Personally I am at chapter 11 now with 108 hours on the clock.

My most played Wii U game of 2015 and only available for the last month!

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Was there an n-europe review of this game in the end? If so I missed it.

Personally I am at chapter 11 now with 108 hours on the clock.

My most played Wii U game of 2015 and only available for the last month!

 

There hasn't been one yet, I had the review copy, but as you can understand with the amount of time you've put into the game, it is massive and I didn't want to write a half-assed review based on a small part of the game.

 

I've been bogged down in other real life stuff (we are just volunteers at N-E), meaning I haven't been able to do it anywhere near as quickly as I had hoped, but I do promise I will have one for you soon!

Edited by Mr-Paul
Automerged Doublepost

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Slowly but surely I'm getting back into this. Although Lyn's affinity quest...

 

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...was not cool at all. :nono:

I'm actually amazed that made it through testing. :blank:

 

Anyway, I'm now on Chapter 6 of the story, and starting to enjoy it much more. The cutscene where...

 

it's revealed that you and everyone else is actually a robot was the real turning point. :awesome: Had a feeling that was coming due to the design of the characters, but it still kind of took me by surprise. :hehe:

Has motivated me to get through the game now, which I have to admit I was very close to selling recently.

Edited by RedShell

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it's revealed that you and everyone else is actually a robot was the real turning point. :awesome: Had a feeling that was coming due to the design of the characters, but it still kind of took me by surprise.

:hehe:

Has motivated me to get through the game now, which I have to admit I was very close to selling recently.

 

Why, why, why did I read this :( :( :( :(.

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Glad to hear you are enjoying it a bit more @RedShell. I would urge most people to get the flying skells before giving up on the game. It really does change the way it is played.

 

Interesting to see how the game divides people so. On the RFN podcast James, John and Greg seemed as hooked as I have been whereas Guillame and TYP seemed to have had your reaction.

 

I am firmly in the former camp - it is now my most played Wii U game at 135 hours, and I am well into the post game stuff, with no signs of slowing.

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Glad to hear you are enjoying it a bit more @RedShell. I would urge most people to get the flying skells before giving up on the game. It really does change the way it is played.

 

Interesting to see how the game divides people so. On the RFN podcast James, John and Greg seemed as hooked as I have been whereas Guillame and TYP seemed to have had your reaction.

 

I am firmly in the former camp - it is now my most played Wii U game at 135 hours, and I am well into the post game stuff, with no signs of slowing.

 

I'm with TYP and Gui. Although the guys banter on the previous episode had me wanting to give the game another go.

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Why, why, why did I read this :( :( :( :(.
Because you didn't read the bit that said "BIG spoiler! End of Chapter 5"? ::shrug:

Sorry though. :blank:

 

I'm with TYP and Gui. Although the guys banter on the previous episode had me wanting to give the game another go.
How far into it have you got?

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Because you didn't read the bit that said "BIG spoiler! End of Chapter 5"? ::shrug:

Sorry though. :blank:

 

I did, but didn't expect this :D.

 

I hope I will forget about it by the time I continue playing it :D.

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Because you didn't read the bit that said "BIG spoiler! End of Chapter 5"? ::shrug:

Sorry though. :blank:

 

How far into it have you got?

 

Probably a few hours. :heh: It failed to grab me in that time and I went back to Dragon Age: Inquisition.

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I agreed with what John (I think) said on the podcast - you get an almost Metroid feel from the game world that opens up even more as you progress through the story chapters. Even after the story I was unearthing quite large underground caves that I had never noticed before.

 

I also like the fact that one of them pointed out that the game can have more interesting and varied landscapes structurally because it is an alien world and so does not have to be realistic.

 

In the latter chapters and post game, the ground combat becomes a lot more interesting as well, as you learn to use it more as it was intended. Better than XC in that regard I think.

 

(Some of the) Music and grinding for items being the downside to the game though. I can understand why people are annoyed by it.

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I agreed with what John (I think) said on the podcast - you get an almost Metroid feel from the game world that opens up even more as you progress through the story chapters. Even after the story I was unearthing quite large underground caves that I had never noticed before.

 

I also like the fact that one of them pointed out that the game can have more interesting and varied landscapes structurally because it is an alien world and so does not have to be realistic.

 

In the latter chapters and post game, the ground combat becomes a lot more interesting as well, as you learn to use it more as it was intended. Better than XC in that regard I think.

 

(Some of the) Music and grinding for items being the downside to the game though. I can understand why people are annoyed by it.

 

Yeah, I ain't a fan of most the Metroid games. :D

 

I don't mind the grinding, in fact I love it in my JRPGs. The story just seemed very meh and uninteresting. When I play a JRPG I want the story to grip me from the start and I want to care for the characters in the world i'm playing. Having a silent protagonist doesn't help matters, either.

 

A lot of the people who seem to enjoy it do so because of the exploration aspect of the game. For me, this is probably one of the least important things. I would prefer a more story driven, liner adventure over on that has little story but a big world to explore.

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I would prefer a more story driven, liner adventure over on that has little story but a big world to explore.

 

The Witcher 3 has both :D

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I stopped playing after Lin's affinity quest had me mine for white cometites and then had me collect other asorted enemy drops and collectables, just got on my nerves. I did it last night after not playing for a while, hopefully the game is more fun from here on out.

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Finally finished the story last night. Really enjoyed this game and definitely going to return to finish everything else off. All affinity missions and everything :)

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Finally finished the story last night. Really enjoyed this game and definitely going to return to finish everything else off. All affinity missions and everything :)
What was your playtime to finish the story?

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70 hours or so
I'm probably not even halfway through yet then. :hehe:

I must say though, having access to a Skell (even a non-flying one) has made such a huge difference to the exploration aspect of the game. icon14.gif

Had no idea it was possible to...

 

travel across sea to the other islands, and all without any loading breaks! Really impressive. :awesome:

It's also cool how you can just run into/damage smaller enemies, even wipe out an entire group with a single attack!

I understand it's possible to lose your Skell though if it takes too much damage, so I'm being careful not to get jumped by high level creatures, and running away fast when I do. :grin:

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The following was not well explained in the game:

 

You can lose your skell, but if you pay attention and get a perfect in the circle thingy when the skell is destroyed it will get replaced for free, as long as you have one of your three insurances remaining. If you don't, it will still be free but use up an insurance. If your insurance is zero you have to pay - but it is better to sell it at that point and get a new set of insurance.

 

Also - ditch it and buy a level 30 one from the shop as they are leagues better.

 

Finally, don't worry about giving one to your team mates - as long ad you have insurance on it they will always perfectly dismount.

 

Also: It gets an order of magnitude better when it can fly. And after that an end game skell is even faster at flying. :)

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Don't worry about your party losing their Skells. They will bail out and Insurance should always cover it without requiring payment or lowering the Insurance value.

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After 85+ hours, I'm level 58 and finally ready to do the last story mission. I've just managed to plant the last 4 or so data probes. I have two level 50 Skells and two level 30 Skells. Funny thing is, even with 85+ hours under my belt, the game still feels it has so much to give!

 

There's still so many characters I don't have affinity with, so many extra missions, gear to unlock, Skells to collect and a whole wealth of others bits and pieces to see and do.

 

Overall, I would say this is a great game - the only thing is the game's biggest strength is also it's Achilles heel. The game is so vast and so complex (and often poorly explained) it can be overwhelming. It really is like peeling an onion, there is just layer upon layer of depth.

 

There are a few other small niggles - collection quests and the odd vague instruction. One thing that I found refreshing is there really is no need for grinding. I was over levelled for most things just from exploring and doing basic and normal missions in-between main story missions.

 

I'll give my final verdict when I've finished it later today!

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I am now at 185+ hours in and getting through the post game. Beaten a couple of the super bosses, almost all of the affinity missions and normal missions at am about 90% in most areas.

 

I thought the post game would quickly die a death for me, (like it did with the original game) but in this one the addiction is still there. I think I must have completed the last chapter 60 hours ago.

 

There is grinding needed in the post game, but I think you have to have a peculiar kind of love of the game to 100% it. :heh:

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After 89 hours, I've finally done the main quest - and in typical Xenoblade Chronicles X style, I realise this isn't the end, it's just another layer of the onion that has been peeled back.

 

Personally, I loved this game and rate it 9 out of 10. It certainly doesn't have the engaging story of its predecessor, but it isn't really about story, the game is more about exploration. It genuinely feels as if you are stranded on a hostile world - the game is massive and you can spend hours just wandering and finding new areas.

 

Unlike most JRPGs, the star of the show isn't the story, its the world and the size and scope of the game, which only opens up further the more you progress. Each of the distinct environments are giant and each one has enough secrets to keep you playing for over 20 or even 30 hours in that single part of the game world.

 

I would really recommend this. But if you do pick it up, judge it on what it is, not as a sequel to the Wii/3DS title or hope for the same story. It's a very different game and provides a suitably different experience.

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I would agree with all that Zechs Merquise said about the game. Last night, even 180 hours into the game, I discovered a new cave that I had not explored before.

 

Although the director has hinted that there will be a better story in the next game, I hope that it doesn't come at the expense of a massive explorable world like in this game. I think my ideal would be a half way house between this game and the previous.

 

Only five years to wait then..... :sad:

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