Tales of Xillia won RPG fans over with its tackling of mature issues, interesting characters, enhancements to the Tales series' real-time battle system and overall structure. This next outing from the series is here to take the baton from that start and run with it. The game takes place a year after the first game in the series. It follows a young chap called Ludger Kresnik who lives with his older brother and a cat named Rollo. On his way to work at a cafeteria he meets a young girl called Elle Marta and.. well, things soon take an unexpected turn. For many, the relationships between the different characters will take centre place in the game, with Ludger and Elle's dynamic forming the core axis of the game, while the returning cast of the first game add depth for existing fans. Bandai Namco is pushing choice as a key element of the game. This can be seen in the way decisions players make affect the course of the game (and the way players can explore alternate timelines). It can also be seen in the way the battle system has been tweaked. Players can now swap out weapons mid-battle (including dual blades, a sledgehammer or a couple of guns) and combat is faster and more frantic than ever. Building on the foundations laid by Tales of Xillia's battle system, the new Cross Dual Raid Linear Motion Battle System enables players to link with any selectable character to have them join the fight, performing linked artes against foes. With some 50 hours of gameplay, Tales fans have a lot to play for.
