Final Fantasy XIII

Developer/publisher Square Enix Format 360, PC, PS3 Release 2009

How long does a getaway sequence need to last before it turns into a running joke? Final Fantasy XIII is very nearly the punchline, there. A misjudged bid to pump acid into the veins of a famously stately series, it starts with a boss fight on the roof of a train and keeps up that intensity for 20 hours straight.

There’s seldom a moment to breathe as your motley band of fugitives tumbles through the crevices of a mechanical world. The environments, ranging from airship hulls to the whipped-cream contours of a frozen lake, are grander than any previous backdrop, but also far more disposable, quickly lost in the slipstream. There are hidden treasure orbs, some short-lived terrain puzzles and opportunities to flank enemies who are now visible in the field, but for the most part each area is a corridor, always shoving you onward. The interludes of previous s have been discarded. There’s no overworld exploration