Lots of money spent, but not very well

Let me start out by saying that Final Fantasy 13 looks really good. The CG cutscenes (of which there are plenty) are well done and most have cost a fortune to produce. The game also sports a combat system that's intriguing when it starts to open up, but it will take 15+ hours for you to get there. Unfortunately, except these two things there aren't many postive things to say about this game.   
 

This game, and the designers of it, are apparently stuck in a time bubble which closed some 10 years ago. The first 20 hours of the game are extremely linear, to the point where you're just running straight through a narrow corridor, with frequent breaks for combat and cutscenes. Basically, to enjoy this game, forget everything you know about pacing and level design, because FF13 sure lacks both.  
 
 
 
Even though the game is translated into english, the story and voice acting (with a few exceptions) aren't very well suited for a western audience. The characters literally moan everytime someone else in their vicinity moves, or when they are about to say something. It's understandable that they couldn't change the story when translating it, but the dialogue would certainly not hurt from some westernization. 

The game opens up later on, but returns to being linear again in the end, and at this point the game starts to feel like a grind, where they throw enemies that will take you 15 minute to kill while not really presenting a big challenge to you. This game obviously cost a lot to make, it's too bad that they didn't make a better job of delivering a good product.