A decent experience
A lot of people have talked about how there are frame rate issues in the battle sequences. While this is true, it was never a problem for me. What may become an issue for some people are the frequent load times in the game. The game provides an interesting story and a villian who looks pretty cool. The batlles are a lot different from what you will find in other Square games. You control units comprised of 5 soldiers. You target an enemy and choose from a list of commands. There is some strategy, some grinding, and sometimes even luck involved getting a win over a big boss enemy.

The Last Remnant
Microsoft continues its expansion into the Japanese RPG genre with Square Enix's The Last Remnant. Xbox fans can finally sink their teeth into a game from the legendary company behind the Final Fantasy series. The turn-based battle system is more complex than most RPG games, with nuances in choice of attacks and battle positions that affect gameplay and battle results. Yet, the developers have still managed to engage and not annoy the gamer with the extra details. Still, the end product is a mixed bag as the game suffers from one major issue - poor frame rate. This causes jerky video cut-scenes and image display problems that mar the enjoyment of the beautiful graphics. Still, longtime RPG fans would not be disappointed with the game as it introduces challenging elements to the familiar formula of one boy's journey to greatness.

The Last Remnant
If you're only interested in flawless graphics, you probably won't enjoy this game. There is numerous amounts of texture-popping; some slowdown and, for the 360, the graphics aren't that fantastic. The former issues can be alleviated somewhat by copying the game files to your hard drive, but some graphical flaws will still be apparent.

The story's premise isn't particularly original either, your typical "boy goes to save girl and in the process, has to save the world" scenario. Having said that, though; it's well executed and enjoyable as long as you're not expecting anything ground-breaking.

The winner for me is the combat system. Although turn-based, it involves the use of unions to attack; one command for your unions can differ between the characters involved - depending what arts they specialise in and what skills they have at their disposal.

If you're out to play a decent RPG on the 360, The Last Remnant definitely fills the spot provided you can look past its shortcomings. The graphical hitches, whilst obvious enough, do not detract from the story and the gameplay. All in all, this is well worth a look for any turn-based RPG fan.