A great way to sum up an amazing trilogy! The space odyssey ends in great fashion!
HIGH POINTS: Story. If you didn't enjoy the story, you probably stopped playing this series before you finished the first game. Well, since you kept playing, you are rewarded with some very interesting, albeit sometimes confusing, twists that really make you think. You will find out what really happened on Miltia, what caused Ziggy to commited suicide, and so on. The story is engaging, and you will not be disappointed. You will need to read the "Xeno Bible" (game database) in order to keep up with all the story points, however, but it is fairly easy to keep up with. In reading it, you will probably notice important story points that they were probably planning on making into individual games before shrinking the series into a trilogy. I guess that alleviates the speculation that the people at Monolith were just sort of "making it up" as they went along.
Graphics. The graphics are very good. The mix between the styles from the previous two games amount to a perfect combination. Good work, guys.
Sound. Music is SO much better than in the second game! Sure, I liked a couple songs off of Xeno II, but most songs sucked the salami. This iteration uses more subtle music in the "dungeon" sections, and decent upbeat ditties for the battles. The boss battles normally have specific songs for them as well, expecially late in the game, and this come off as a nice touch and lends to the series' continuity. Though the music never tops the brilliance of the first game, it is still very effective. Also, the voice acting is GREAT. They finally combined the best voice actors from the previous two games and formed the best cast yet. Great.
Gameplay/Battles. The battle system is very much improved, and is alot more fun than the last game. The boost and break systems have been improved and incorporated better, and the crappy Stock business has appropriately been shown the door. The only beef for me is that some of the boss battles take FOREVER to complete, but don't require much skill, at least until the end of the game. Its not much of a setback, however, especially if you had trouble in the other two games, because this one is much easier.
LOW POINTS: Presentation. Yes, I know I said the story is great, and it is. And the cutscenes that are present in the game are great also, but there is a major weakness that this game has in this department...too many textboxes!! This series has been built on its dramatic camera angles, realistic and believable on-screen character interaction, and other cinematic goodness. In Xeno III, however, most of the story is conveyed through boring text boxes. Sure, the text boxes are voiced over, but all dramatic flair is gone. The camera is almost always panned out, and character interaction involes walking around and moving one arm a certain way over and over again. Think PlayStation One RPGs like Final Fantasy VIII and Legend of Dragoon (to name a small few) and you shoul get the idea. Don't get me wrong, the story is still awesome, but some important points don't have the same emotion as they would if they were cinematically orchestrated. Oh well, I guess thats what you get if you have to cut budgets on an underappreciated franchise...
THE SCOOP: This is a great game. It brings sums up the story really well, and adds some nice twists that you probably won't see coming. The battle system is actually enjoyable, and the games length will ensure that you will have plenty of fun with your latest RPG purchase. WIth the exception of the obvious budget cut that they cinematics took, overall, this game does every thing you expect it to do well. It just doesn't quite capture the suspense and emotion that the first title did, and unfortunately, and perhaps unduely, it will be compared to the first game, which was an entertainment and gaming masterpiece. No doubt this will be one of the best RPGs you play this year, and if you have enjoyed the series to this point, nothing should keep you from finishing the trilogy.