Wicklow People

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 a huge disappoint­ment

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BAFFLING design choices and horrible voice acting have transforme­d what is supposed to be a massively epic Nintendo Switch RPG into a title brimming with unspent potential.

Playing as unimaginat­ively-named cliché rags-to-riches hero, Rex, you almost immediatel­y bcome emrbroiled with the game’s soon-to-be antagonist­s. Once you ascertain that what you seek is some sort of legendary sword, Xenoblade Chronicle 2’s story begins to manifest. While the plot of this game is almost without fault and often rife with surprise and subterfuge, it is let down massively through lazy craftsmans­hip.

Disregardi­ng the admittedly hard-to-disregard voicing, it could be argued that Xenoblade’s most crippling pitfall is the extremely steep learning curve. Breathless­ly fast tutorials do a paltry job of detailing the already overly-complicate­d game mechanics. To make things worse, each tutorial is gone as soon as it comes, only accessible again through a shady in-game vendor

If, like me, you found the junctionin­g mechanics of Final Fantasy VIII unnecessar­ily intricate, then you will not be a fan of Xenoblade’s similarly obtuse battle system. Blade seal combos, team chain attacks and various meters that serve more than one purpose all come into play in an oft rewarding and enduringly stressful dance of chaotic micro-management.

Variety is the spice of life, but Xenoblade 2 even manages to homogenise variety. The vast collection of accessorie­s and options in the game, coupled with the atrocious item-management system

 ??  ?? Admirable in its scope and ambition, terrible execution of gameplay mechanics makes Xenoblade Chronicles 2 a huge disappoint­ment.
Admirable in its scope and ambition, terrible execution of gameplay mechanics makes Xenoblade Chronicles 2 a huge disappoint­ment.

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