Infinite Undiscovery Review

BY Rabie Hassoun | POSTED: 12 March 2009

How far can Potential really take this game?



The name Square alone immediately brings back some found memories of sleepless Final Fantasy nights. Square have made a habit of creating memorable and unique RPGs for years now, and so with the announcement of this Xbox 360 exclusive expectations were sky high. The basic elements that make a great RPG are all here: An experienced developer, a highly acclaimed publisher and a system that is selling as fast as hot cakes at the moment. Is that enough to declare this project as a great game though?



Infinite Undiscovery is a game on its own. Independent from any comparisons with other established Square franchises. You will certainly sense that from the very beginning of the game. You kick start this adventure as Capell - a young musician on the verge of saving the universe. For all of you gamers that disputed the oddness of Japanese’s RPG stories, read on. Capell is actually a musician that simply looked like the world greatest hero. So instead of actually looking for the right man, poor Capell was thrown into the spotlight and is now expected to save the universe! It is now up to him and his crew to save the world. We are pretty sure, if this was a western developed game; Capell would have called the original hero and got the whole thing over with!

Story wise, the game overall is quiet entertaining as you might have expected from a Japanese RPG. It certainly does not qualify as a normal or an every day tale, but that is the whole point of such a game. Over the course of you saving the universe you will meet up with up to 18 party members. For a 17-20 hour RPG that is a pretty large number of team mates. Luckily those AI party members seem to understand what you need help with most of the time. Many of them will spend the game healing you actually, which is good enough in certain crowded situations. The best part of having them around however is the combo moves your characters can perform with some party members on hand.

The real time combat system in Infinite Undiscovery boosts the game with a much needed feel of excitement. Most battles are justly epic and you will truly enjoy each and every one of them, even though you are only using 2 buttons continuously. The speed and size of those battles have an effect on the gameplay however. As a specific battle heats up and more enemies crowd the screen, the game slows down in a very irritating fashion. Add that to the fact that a block button is not featured here and you are certainly in for some slow-motion ass kicking.



The problem with this game is not fighting the battles, it is actually everything else. While the often slow battles are still exciting, the game features a very dull exploration portion as well. Here you will walk around the game world doing some silly side quests to gain experience. Those quests lack any kind of originality as most revolve around talking to someone than finding an object for them (A cat for example!)

The fact that this is a short RPG compared to other games might excite the casual gamers out there. But wait until you see the menus you have to deal with here. You will have to pre set your party members carefully since each have a set of strengths and weaknesses. You will also need to set other game related elements in the menus. Overall, this is a task that takes way more time and effort than what we would have loved and expected.

Infinite Undiscovery does not look that great, but the level of details around you makes up for the average graphics in a way. During some slow battles you will tend to notice items and a certain level of details in the background that you did not notice before. That does not make the slow battles any less frustrating though. The characters in the game look just decent although a far cry from what we have come to expect from Square RPGs. The sound track on board fits really well with the game theme and story. It blends well all along and especially during combat. Voice acting is average overall; the English voice over actors did a good enough job.



RPG fans do not have much to choose from at the moment. While games like Fallout 3 are still a few months away, some might see Infinite Undiscovery as a starter dish to a hot holiday season. Well we can at least say that this game is more than just some game to pass time with. It has an interesting story and will provide those who pick it up with a solid 20 hour gaming experience. It has its flaws yes, but is still just about decent overall. Pick it up if RPGs is your thing.