Oh man, 'On The Spot' was a great show when these guys were on it. I watched it every week. I was sad when Jeff was dropped, and the rest of the good writers left the site, but for the most part it all seems to have worked out for the better.
 
I'm curious, if you can remember, what was your favourite moment from the show?
 
Mine would have to be an episode, where for some reason, whenever Jeff said something evenly remotely surprising or interesting, Rich would say "Get out of town!", to which Jeff would reply, "No, it's true!". I have no idea what they were referencing, but it was hilarious. They kept it up for the whole episode, and would often break out into a bit of laughter. I was trying to find a clip of it on youtube, but had no luck.
 
I have fond memories of their E3 coverage as well. It was great hearing Rich on one of the GDC or PAX bombcasts (cant remember which), felt like old times! He's such a funny dude.
 
Anyways, begin your reminiscing!!

So, i picked up FFXIII on release. I had read a lot about peoples criticisms leading up to the release, and none of what people were pointing out as design flaws really bothered me (the linearity, combat system, etc.). Once i started playing, i was immediately drawn into the story and found the combat to be fantastic. After a few hours of play, i noticed a bit of a formula developing: You control a party of two, run down a corridor, clearing all the enemies, then watch a cut scene at the end. Eventually, you'll take control of a different set of 2 characters who are in a different locale and pretty much do the same thing you just did. While i was conscious of this, it really didn't bother me after a while. I really liked the cut scenes, i thought the combat was challenging and fun for the most part, and overall i was really enjoying pushing forward and moving on with the story, as linear as that may be!
 
I am now 25 - 30 hours in, where the game has opened up a bit, and at least for the moment, the linearity is gone, and i have to say that i feel a little lost! I haven't played the game in about 2 weeks and i'm not sure when i'll put it in and continue on... What i've found with a lot of the FF games i've played is that I get a bit torn between playing through the story and doing side quests. In the other FF games, the linearity has been somewhat masked by the overworld maps and towns, so when it comes to plodding through the story and hunting out a side quest boss, there isn't as much of a stark contrast as what i've come to experience in FF13. Its like i've been lead down a corridor for 25 hours, then out of nowhere dropped into the middle of a vast sprawling field. It all feels a bit overwhelming.
 
I'm curious if anyone else had an experience like this? I will certainly get back into it soon, and figure out if i want to push the story forward or do a bit of side questing, but at least for the moment my drive to play it has totally gone.