FINAL FANTASY XV WINDOWS EDITION

REQUIRES BOTTOMLESS HARD DRIVE. $60 | PC | www.finalfantasyxv.com “A Final Fantasy for fans and first timers” is a heartening statement to see when approaching a series that has had a troubled relationship with the PC in the past, with some pretty terrible ports. But this is a game that can look stunning, and which can bring even the beefiest rig to its knees with a few tweaks to the settings.

First of all, though, there’s the small matter of storage. You might need a new SSD, because with the optional high-res texture pack installed, FFXV takes up 152GB. That’s twice what Shadow

of War — a ridiculous amount of space, but also a hint of things to come.

The game is simplified from the convoluted RPGs that came before in the series. There’s more focus on action here, and despite the bewildering number of sub-menus, selection screens and choices, it really is a streamlined game, framed as a road trip taken by four friends — all muscular young men, with fashionable haircuts and a liking for wearing black — one of whom is a prince on his way to his wedding. Of course, it doesn’t work out that way; there’s an invasion, people die and you’re soon thrust into a quest to retrieve ancient weapons, and kill a lot of demons and robots.

Being a road trip, there’s a car, and the world is built for vehicles. Near the end of the game, you can upgrade the car so it flies, but for most of the game, you’re confined to the roads. It’s a shame that the second half of the game becomes a more linear experience. It’s hard to get too upset, however, when the whole thing is backed by such a magnificent score, and the highly tweakable graphics look so good. FFXV is a console port done right, and despite being a more streamlined game than we’re used to from the series, it still deals with subject matter that could rightly be described as ‘epic’.

It’s a journey worth taking, as long as you’ve got the storage space.