Square Enix

Sony PlayStation 3 (Xbox 360)

$59.99

ESRB rating: Teen

Review rating: 4.0 stars

"Final Fantasy" games are known for presenting iconic Japanese characters that explore vast, surrealistic vistas while making new friends and battling nasty enemies. Unfortunately, "Final Fantasy XIII" drastically changed this formula in an attempt to appeal to casual gamers, but "Final Fantasy XIII-2" strives to present more of a traditional Japanese RPG than its predecessor.

After sacrificing herself to save mankind at the end of the last game, Lightning becomes trapped in Valhalla. Despite her godlike power, she still needs her sister to help her escape, so a human named Noel is recruited to find Serah and bring her to Valhalla.

Confused? You should be! This convoluted time-hopping tale pales in comparison to the FF games' typical emotion-driven storylines.

Thank goodness this game isn't nearly as linear as "FF XIII." For example, the Historia Crux lets players travel to several different areas whenever they choose. In addition, towns make a welcome comeback and are fun to explore. There's also an almost infinite number of side quests available. But there are so many boring fetch quests and "kill 'x' amount of this monster" side quests that sometimes I feel like I'm playing "World of Warcraft."

The saving grace of "Final Fantasy XIII-2" is the intricate real-time battle system that starts off very easy but eventually becomes rather complex. Each character has a segmented gauge that is used to initiate combat moves. Depending on the power it exudes, each move takes one to four segments to perform, and several moves can be queued to perform combos. It's also possible for players to recruit monsters into their group and use them during combat.

Despite the annoying characters and awful story, "Final Fantasy XIII-2" is still much more enjoyable than "FF XIII."

'Soulcalibur V'

Namco Bandai

Microsoft Xbox 360 (PS3)

$59.99

ESRB rating: Teen

Review rating: 3.5 stars

Fans of fighting games have always admired the Soulcalibur series for cutting its own path through the competition like a Ginsu through warm butter! Several other weapons-based fighting games have come and gone over the years, but this series is already on its fifth generation. So why, oh, why, does playing "Soulcalibur V" sometimes feel more like playing "Street Fighter" than "Soulcalibur IV"?

While most of the combat has been left intact, Critical Edge moves are now simple to perform and can be unleashed more often. It's much easier to remember one "Street Fighter"-influenced quarter-circle, quarter-circle move for all characters instead of a different move for each one. In addition, they only require half of the soul gauge to be filled, so they can frequently turn the tide of battle or be used for a crushing finale.

Defense has also received a slight overhaul, and Guard Impact sees the most benefit. Simultaneously pressing three buttons "charges" the new Guard Impact so that it hits back harder than a normal counter when the player is attacked. Guard Impact, coupled with the new Critical Edge moves, help to speed up combat and make it even more unpredictable than before.

"Soulcalibur V" sports more than enough online features to satisfy any fighting fan, but the single-player offerings are far from robust. For starters, separate storylines for each character have been replaced with a poor tale about a misguided holy warrior seeking revenge. In addition, the character customization doesn't seem as robust as what's found in "Soulcalibur IV."

Nevertheless, "Soulcalibur V" still provides fast and furious melee combat both online and off.