My (cynical) thoughts in no particular order:
- I expect the road trip elements come from the early game, so we're looking at the first 5-10 hours here. This is almost certainly before the game opens up.
- It increasingly looks like they've ditched EncounterSpace and made gameplay consistent in and out of battle, and battle abilities will solve puzzles out of combat. ABOUT DAMN TIME.
- It also looks like you only directly control Noctis. I can live with that, actually.
- I SERIOUSLY DOUBT that party member AI will be as smooth and lifelike as that in the game. Do you really think they're going to program GESTURES AND BODY LANGUAGE into the friendly AI on top of the dialogue? Technically that's possible, but I think it's much more likely this shit's scripted. I'll settle for a few scripted instances.
- The Graphics: I expect a downgrade that probably COULD run on Wii U. I'll still be happy. After XIII I really stopped caring about FF becoming prettier. I will never mind prettier, but I don't need it.
I'm definitely pumped that we have a new FF title coming, but the things that they're advertising are also things I'm conditioned to not expect from video games. And that disclaimer they've had for the last two trailers; it's like they know they're doing false advertising. I REALLY want to believe this will be everything it looks like, but I just can't bring myself to be that optimistic. And the director stepping down so late in the game doesn't bode well, either.
If they do get the AI to consistently be that fluid in actual gameplay, this game will totally be worth the ten year wait, perhaps even longer. It could be game of the gen on that regard alone. But I don't think they will. I will, however, settle for a game with gameplay someone actually thought out and playtested and a story with a bone or two of subtlety.
