Review on Wii U Xenoblade Chronicles X - Special Edition by Eduardo Long

Is that Xenogears? For better or for worse, no. Xenosaga? Absolutely not. Xenoblade? If you've played the first part, you'll recognize the combat, collection, and equipment systems, but not otherwise. Is it an instant classic that I will repeat a dozen times for years to come? The jury is still out, but so far it seems a bit slow and vague in offering a hard-hitting, harrowing replay experience. What it is, however, is unmistakably a monolith. A deep, rich setting with good character storytelling, mechanics that attempt (mostly successfully) to remix and expand on established concepts, an aesthetic that is as polished as one would expect from a console. And if what I've heard about the budget is true, it's Monolith's ability to double and triple in key elements of gameplay, world design, and core user experience, with most of its shortcomings culminating in support mechanics and expanded content are due. (It also features combat in a huge, almost infinitely customizable mech.) And it's a big world and a big concept. It's larger and more open than some dedicated MMOs, but is based almost entirely on a single-player structure. This is the game's most embarrassing paradox. A single-player game is _not enough_ to survive the transition to a platform without dedicated MMO support or visual space for second-screen content. Still, it's not an MMO _enough_ to capitalize on the sheer volume of side content and its own social system to the extent its design expects and invites. It's hard to imagine a game being re-released on any platform other than the WiiU without major mechanical and architectural changes alienating the community caused solely by the platform change and not by problems inherent in the original game. So. that makes it a collector's item; a story unlikely to be repeated and most likely lost no matter how great the game. And if you're collecting and investing in WiiU, let's be honest, mostly just for that game, then the jump in price for a complete Special Edition boxset is a fairly small fraction of your total justifiable cost.