Final Fantasy XII.(Product/service evaluation)

Final Fantasy XII has arrived...in Japan, anyway. After years of delays and even rumors that it would never see release, Square Enix's latest role-playing odyssey has beaten the odds and turned out to be an exceptional piece of work, racking up nearly 2 million in sales in its first week and netting gushing reviews in Japan's most respected publications. Still, seeing is believing, and many U.S. gamers are understandably skeptical. This is a radically different take on the Final Fantasy series. Does it really deserve the name? Trust us, though: FFXII is hot.

It looks great, but...

No, it doesn't look great--it looks amazing. If it weren't for the jagged edges you'd never know this was a PS2 game. The secret? Square Enix used half the polygons of FFX and bumped up the texture detail. That means FFXII's world is made of simple …