I've never played a Final Fantasy game but FFXIII is only $20 on amazon today. I've read the review and I hear the game is slow paced but maybe that's good for someone knew to the genre like myself? Should I pick FFXIII for the amazing price of $20 or should I pass on this one? (Keep in mind I have a million other games on the platform to catch up on)

I'd say you should give it a shot. 
 
It can get very challenging but it's also very forgiving (with a retry option so you're never really screwed)

FFXIII was actually my first game in that kind of genre. It does try its hardest to ease you into things but if you slack off you'll end up in a situation like me where it's like "Surprise! Here's a boss that's going to completely murder your face!" For $20 I'd say go for it. That's a great deal

Compared to the older games it is very slow paced, but it is also pretty linear. I believe that would make it better for newer players. it teaches you the mechanics pretty slowly so your sure to get the hang of it pretty easily. Not to mention its beautiful. play it on PS3 tho, looks better IMO. but after your done with XIII you should check out the older ones. all of them are pretty freaking amazing

It's definitely the most forgiving entry in the series. It's also one of the worst in the main series, but the Final Fantasy games have always been good, so that isn't saying much. This is also a good game.
 
I'd say give it a shot. It's quite an interesting game and well worth playing. The story is great, and the graphics on the PS3 version is nothing short of incredible.

yah know, it probably is.  Since the game is basically a tutorial most of the way through.

Excuse my noobishness, but what's the combat like in it?  I've never played a FF game before.  Is it pretty standard JRPG fare?

I was in exactly your position and got it when it was 30 bucks used. Well worth the money. Good story, unbelievable production values and (eventually) fun combat. And towards the end it became very challenging and rewarding. Yes, it is one long trek down a hallway, but an exceedingly enjoyable one.

There are like a ton of tutorials going through the game. Bosses are tough though until you get the right tactic down to defeat them, which makes it easy. Look it's considered one of the worser (is that even a word) FF games, however I liked it even if it's overly linear for most of the game. I say you should start out with FFX and FFX-2, however for this gen, it's okay. Yeah buy it.

Go for it! It is true that it is very linear but it's a very good way to ease yourself into the Final Fantasy series. Also, the battle system is a lot of fun. 
 
@InfamousBIG:  The battle system is a mix of turn-based and time-based systems. It involves a lot of paradigm shifts but I won't get into any of that since I'll probably make it sound really confusing. But basically, you are able to chain moves up to a certain amount (based on one of the character's attributes) but cannot execute the attack until a enough time has passed in a meter to allow your character to attack again. Once you make your moves, then you have to wait until the time meter fills again. "Paradigm shifts" allow you to change "classes" and give you access to different movesets. I hope this helps somewhat. Sorry if my explanation is a little confusing because its been awhile since I've played it.

Go for it, it's a good game and astonishingly beautiful.  Just go slow, back up lots to lvl yur characters, and get used to using all the paradigms as you'll need them all to survive later.