Resonance of Fate Quick Impressions

I'm through the first few chapters of Resonance of Fate and really unsure of what I think of the game so far.  It's not bad by any means, but it's not really pulling me back in the way I'd hoped.  It's funny too because as the battle system was described, I thought I'd be more inclined to like this game over Final Fantasy XIII.  Turns out the battle system is really complex yet somehow simple and repetitive at the same time.

I'm completely disengaged from the story, if there is one.  So far I don't know a thing about my party, why they act, or what purpose is moving the chapters forward.  The graphics are kind of a turd.  I love the concept and some of the environments, but everything looks low res.  The shadows are a jagged mess too.  The character designs are pretty cool and the attention to detail on the models are really the saving grace.

As for the gameplay, it'd be impossible to sum up all the system involved.  Regardless, battles typically devolve into running a path past an enemy with a machine gunner and then follow that up with a run past the same enemy with a handgun.  Positioning is important.  Unavoidable enemy assaults are frustrating.  I fear that the rest of the game is going to play exactly the same since I'm not sure anything new will be introduced.  There are no spells or skills to speak of.  So really, you can upgrade weapons for more power and recharge time and characters develop passive skill like +% chance to pierce armor or % chance to do 2x damage.

The overworld where you move between towns and dungeons is a fun little puzzle in itself.  You earn energy hexes as rewards and you can place them to unlock previously inaccessible areas of the map.  They may also uncover treasure as well in certain spot.  There are also terminals that you can connect with the correct colored hexes that grant party buffs in any areas connects by hexes to that terminal.

I'll give it a few more chapters to see if triggers something positive for me.