Tales of Xillia 2

Name: Tales of Xillia 2
Item: Tales of Xillia 2
Rating: 3
Author: Michael Lafferty

Game review by

Michael Lafferty, Common Sense Media

Common Sense says

age 15+

(i)

Complex but fun, action-packed RPG stresses player choice.

PlayStation 3
$39.99
2014

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A lot or a little?

The parents' guide to what's in this game.

Positive Messages

Tales of Xillia 2 carries the message of bearing responsibility for your actions -- or inaction. Players will be asked to make decisions that can lead to game-altering consequences. For example, at one point Ludger is asked to kill his brother. If he decides not to, other people die. Overall, it puts responsibility for the outcome squarely in players' hands. Kudos are handed out when a character does something well, but generally there aren't attempts at providing positive messages.

Positive Role Models & Representations

By making decisions, players can affect the game's outcome. They can choose to make strong altruistic decisions or be flippant toward others, think solely of themselves, and play from a "what's in it for me" perspective. But the opportunity is there for creating a positive experience for the central characters.

Ease of Play

Tales of Xillia 2 has a simple interface, and there are tutorials to walk newcomers through the combat schemes. Although the game can initially feel a little complex -- and, for those not familiar with the series, even overwhelming -- ToX2 does a nice job of giving players tools to read up on the series and the game's setting.

Violence

Tales of Xillia 2 does feature blood and characters killed in a variety of ways. The initial protagonist of the game, Ludger, prefers using dual swords, though the actual combat is handled in a side-to-side style with combos that can rack up serious damage. Guns, spears, and magic all play a part in fighting, while cut scenes carry most of the intense violence. The actual gameplay combat usually features characters that dissolve into puffs of smoke when they're defeated.

Sex

Female characters wear skimpy, cleavage-revealing costumes. The game also has references to female body parts, such as talking about a woman's breast size, and there's a scene in which a man "accidentally" grabs a woman's breast.

Language

Ludger rarely speaks, but other characters can use words such as "ass" when referring to others.

Consumerism

When players launch the game, the first message that comes up is something to the effect of "checking DLC." What this refers to is the content that can be added to the game purchased through the PlayStation Store. Some items are free, but some (such as a sword that adds hit points) can cost a couple of dollars.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

One of the game's settings is a bar. Characters are seen drinking, and the use of alcohol is discussed, albeit infrequently.

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Tales of Xillia 2 has a broad range of characters, including some central female figures. Because of the anime nature of the game, some of them wear short skirts and tops that reveal a lot of cleavage. The game also links directly to the PlayStation Store, where downloadable content can be purchased for use in the game world. There's a lot of violence-based combat, with an emphasis on blood and characters being killed in both cut scenes and in battle. There's also some suggestive innuendo, as well as references to and use of alcohol in game settings. Xillia 2 also places a large amount of attention on player decision-making to affect the story line, which changes with each choice made (or not made).

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What's it about?

TALES OF XILLIA 2 is a fantasy role-playing game that features a variety of characters. The main protagonist is Ludger Kresnik, a seemingly ordinary man who has the ability to travel into and destroy fractured dimensions to keep the world in balance. He's coerced into debt to save a little girl, who accompanies him at times, and can use several characters from the previous games.

Is it any good?

Tales of Xillia 2 is a solid role-playing game that pays homage to the previous game (Tales of Xillia), offers a few new elements (side quests are easier to track), and has a deep customization system that allows players to create and prepare a character for battle in a manner they find appealing. The story is a bit mired in concepts that fly past in cut scenes and are intertwined with language that might be familiar to fans of the original but are like a foreign language to newcomers. The game's translation seems to have ended at the text; spoken elements, street signs, and so on are still in Japanese (this game released in Japan in November 2012).

But it's pretty easy to skip the hyperbole and get right to the meat of the game, which is combat. The combat is rich, with a linking system between two characters that can increase damage output and allow for some spectacular combinations and finishing moves. Some segments seem as if they go on and on (the train, for example), but the game does have a nice share of save points that allow players to reload, make a different decision, and see where the new path takes them. The graphics are anime but serviceable, the control scheme is easy to comprehend, and the game does have some nice twists and turns that keep players entertained and involved.

Talk to your kids about ...

Families can talk about the consequences of decisions made or actions taken, as shown in Tales of Xillia 2. How do you weigh decisions from different angles before deciding what to do? Do you take time to think about the consequences before you make an important decision?
Talk about the separation of games and reality and why some of the topics depicted in Tales of Xillia 2 are inappropriate in the real world (such as violence or talking about female body parts).

Game details

Platforms: PlayStation 3
Price: $39.99
Pricing structure: Paid
Available online? Not available online
Developer: Namco Bandai
Release date: August 19, 2014
Genre: Action/Adventure
Topics: Magic and Fantasy, Sports and Martial Arts, Adventures
ESRB rating: T for Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, and Violence