I've played through the first four hours of Eternal Sonata (to the neglect of BioShock and Metroid Prime), and I'm honestly not sure what to make of it. While the graphics are not technically amazing, the art style is beautiful and Chopin's music fits very well with the story and themes. The cutscenes are entertaining (and, at times, educational), but there are far too many of them. This is perhaps the result of an extremely linear story, but the first few hours of the game weigh much more heavily on plot progression than they do on gameplay.

The gameplay, however, is Eternal Sonata's saving grace. While you are severely limited in the amount of exploration and decision-making, the game's battle system is entirely engaging and addictive. The real-time turn-based hybrid is best described as a merging of the free-roaming, button mashing of the Tales of... series and the slow, strategic battles of early Final Fantasy titles. So, while the biggest decision you'll be making on the map screen is whether to go right or left at one of the numerous forks that ultimately double back on themselves anyway, the battle system lends itself to nearly infinite combinations of attacks and strategies.

Voice acting is done relatively well, which is essential for a game that could just as easily have been an animated movie rather than an Xbox 360 title. My major complaint, though, is Polka. To me, having an adult voice a child protagonist by seemingly inhaling helium before recording each line evokes that painful sensation of nails screeching down a chalkboard.

With very little intitial reward, limited character customization, and virtually no achievements to speak of (they're all secret, presumably based on plot progression), it looks like an impeccable story and addictive battle system are going to need to keep my interest.