I'm sure I blogged about the first White Knight Chronicles. It was highly addictive, mainly as a combination of being a rather beautiful game with a ton of crap to do and a great, massive online mode. The sequel is just even more. The first game is included, so it benefits from improved graphics and all the new errands, bounties, and combat adjustments they made for the sequel. And this inclusion was also most helpful since I lost my rather massive save file from the first game, giving me a great excuse to go through it all again.

Most people on message boards (and I'm on the GameFAQs and Neoseeker boards for this game daily) would say you should play through the entire single player game before ever going online, because of how much stronger it'll make your characters. But the online stuff is far too enticing and I can't stay away. Plus there's a new guild system that makes logging onto GeoNet daily worth it. At this point I'm not too far off however, maybe halfway through the WKC2 portion of the single player game. And boy am I doing absolutely everything possible along the way. I've been playing for 24 days and put in... I think 109 hours, which is an insane pace for me. No time or interest in other games right now. Thankfully I'm still working, sleeping, bathing, that important stuff too.

The truth is I could type forever about this game, so many many things to say, but I'll spare you unless you want me to stuff your inbox. My 1-year-old nephew got me this for Christmas, such a smart little guy already! I'll be hooked at least another month.

Happy Gaming,

JP

PS -- If anyone actually playing this game reads this, PSN name is on the left, and I'm Fei-hung in the LOLLIEPOP guild.

Can you talk more about the combat system?

I remember wanting to play this game so bad until it actually came out and people said it was disappointing.

Not sure how much to say, but there's a circular meter that has to fill up before you can execute each attack or spell. Wearing heavier equipment or heavier weapons will make this circle fill up slower, though with heavy equipment you'll take much less damage from physical attacks and are less likely to get knocked off your feet by attacks. They sped things up a bit in this game in that when you draw your weapon to initiate combat, you can attack immediately, and also the circle starts filling up again as you begin each attack, rather than after each attack is completed. It might not sound like much but makes a big difference.

There are combos you can create that require precise button-timing to properly execute... if you get good at it you'll deal a ton of damage, but I tend to use short combos or none at all. I like to debuff enemies more than I like big combos. There are so many options and ways to play. Though if you go online and get to a really high level, the other experts out there will assume you know the best uses of your character and that you won't be as random with what you do. Though of course by that time you'll know what you're doing.

After certain story events a few of your characters will be able to transform into massive knights, which is a big help against the many large enemies in the game, and in this sequel they increased your customization options for the knights.

The AI for your fellow story companions isn't stellar, but mainly because they might not use the one specific attack you want them to when you do. Just switch over to the character you want to control if that's the case. But in general, of the few preset AI behaviors you can set, if you put someone on "Heal First" they'll do a really good job of keeping people alive, if their MP holds up. And I love how in this sequel if you go online by yourself, you will be joined by 2 AI allies, so you're never really alone. I do this for low-level quests or grinding, because I don't want to bother my guildmates with really simple things.

I just got this game today. While the town was pretty lifeless and disappointing I can see how a stat-hungry RPG lover such as myself would love it. I am starting out with WKC1 first and then going to 2.

Cool, that's recommended, for all the items and general strength you gain. Look me up if you want, my username here is my PSN handle.