FINAL FANTASY X PLATINUM REVIEW

...in lots of ways. For a start, how they crammed all that onto one disc beats me. The game is huge, the graphics are awe-inspiring, your party members and other non-party members now speak, both during cut-scenes, during battles or when you just click on them, and the storyline spans 1000 years. All on one disc.

Then there's the accessibility to the RPG genre. SquareSoft have done a great job of easing in new players to this traditionally specialised type of game with a simple start, gradually building up and providing ingame tutorials at the crucial jumps in the learning curve that inevitably occur during FF games.

The clincher for the argument as to why FFX should be the greatest of all its predecessors is the 'tweakiness' factor: you can customise virtually every aspect of your party, from the armour, weaponry, abilities, spell strengths, growth of party members, individual battle moves for certain characters, right down to being able to assign your Aeons (known as Guardian Forces previously) with extra abilities depending on what items you have available. For the novice this can all be ignored, because once you get to grips with the new Sphere Grid which you use to increase your party members' abilities you can just push on without having to think about the tactical implications. (Although at the later stages of the game you may find some of the bosses a struggle).

Your main character is Tidus, a Blitzball star who plays for the Zanarkand Abes. During one match, the city of Zanarkand is attacked by the mysterious and deadly Sin, but Tidus is rescued by an old friend of his father who whisks him away to a strange land, where Tidus must discover the fate that awaits him. Along the way he meets Yuna, a Summoner, who's mission is to defeat Sin at all costs.

For anyone looking for a cracking RPG, Final Fantasy X has it all. Great story, as much depth as you want to take it too, loveable characters, fantastic landscapes and scenery, exploring, fighting, mini-games, in fact everything a good RPG should include.

For followers and fans of SquareSoft's series, you'll find that this installment has many improvements over previous outings, with particular note to the cinematic presentation, finely crafted CGI sequences, customisation options, and characters that once again make you root for them as you progress through the epic narrative.

There's now more of a puzzle element to some sections, the multitude of mini-games are included again, some of the more powerful battle moves require some deft fingerwork to pull off because they now involve following onscreen prompts within a time limit when activated, Cid the Navigator makes a welcome reappearance, and some of the Aeons will look and feel familiar to the GFs of old. (You can cut short the Aeons' introductions as they are summoned to cut down battle-time too!) The musical refrains from the previous outings of Final Fantasy have had the full orchestral rearrangement and as always fit the mood perfectly.

The main mini-game this time around is Blitzball, a massive improvement over trading cards. Think Pro Evolution Soccer underwater, with player customisation and the option of signing more players to your team as you discover them.

As for value for money, this game has more replay value than any other I've seen. Because of the customisation options, no one battle will ever be the same once you start forming a party, how you customise your weapons and armor will never be the same two games running and the game is littered with conversation turning points (even during battles) that fork the following conversations and outcomes, meaning you'll be playing this game well in excess of the 50 or so hours that it will take you to complete it the first time.

A word of warning, I clocked up 23 hours of play in the first 2 days of buying FFX, it's THAT addictive.