Lost Odyssey is a next gen RPG that owes a lot to the Final Fantasy series.
Final Fantasy fans - and there are millions of them - rejoice!
The game's grand-daddy, Hironobu Sakaguchi from Square-Enix, has created a new Japanese RPG which owes a lot to the magic of the hugely-popular Final Fantasy series.
An Xbox 360 exclusive out on Thursday,
Lost Odyssey
, is deep, complex, and touching with some jaw-dropping visuals.
It's the smoothest running game I have seen on the 360 and has absorbing twists in the plot that continue for what's said to be a total of around 50 hours gameplay.
I spent a long time playing over some battles and the repetitive cut-scenes which must take up more than 25 per cent of the game playing time telling a really good story.
I have been playing it for days and find myself immersed in this enthralling title.
The story concept is original: Kaim Argonar is an immortal, a soldier who has lived over a thousand years and fought as a mercenary through countless battles.
But he has nothing to show for it - no battle scars and, worst of all, he has lost his memory at the climax of a mammoth war between the two leading nations of the world.
This is the start of a magical revolution where magic has replaced industrial machines and electricity, military machines and transport are powered by magic engines. And man has gained dark powers of reckoning, building a Grand Staff to channel magical power to the detriment of the entire world.
During the game, you are leading Kaim and another immortal friend to find their lost memories - some of those memories are emotional, occasionally sad and often moving with an insight into the immortal's life.
It's this emotional connection and subsequent bond through your own shared experiences with the main character and his recovering memories that creates a unique connection to, and affection for the game.
This turn-based RPG involves a ring system where you have to time attacks perfectly, and a protection wall system where the front guard watches over those in the rear with guard levels against physical attacks.
White and dark magic as well as Spirit and Special skills are revealed slowly after 10 or so hour's gametime to reveal an ever-changing combat system, a fully-engrossing game by my standard.
Each character can wear a ring with special abilities that makes them more effective. This is achieved through winning battles, or by picking up enhancements throughout the game and lets them inflict more, or sustain less, damage in battle.
The game is powered by the awesome Unreal Engine 3 technology which shows off the intense graphic details and finely-programmed pixels.
The rendering of water such as fountains and streams are delightful and the cityscapes are etched into memory as you nimbly switch from location to location.
This is a compelling and rewarding fantasy epic, a next-gen RPG that is hard to fault in any way. The more I play it, the more I am fascinated by it.
Lost Odyssey
Xbox exclusive, MA15+
MadGamer's rating: 9.5 / 10
Visa and Mastercard push back.