Looks like Tales of Graces f slows down in the middle third.  Someone has sucked all the eleth out of the Valkines Cryas, and while they were at it, they sucked a lot of my will to keep playing the game.

I’ll get back to it when I have time, but I don’t feel compelled to keep going…

I’ve just put a game into my PS3 for the first time in months – Tales of Graces f.  How’s it going so far?

Presentation

Tales games aren’t known for their eye-popping graphics -and Tales of Graces f is certainly no exception to the rule.  The graphics are serviceable but not particularly impressive – looking more like a last-generation game than something on a current console.  Given the game’s origins on the least powerful console of this generation, that’s not really surprising.

Sound and voice acting really aren’t bad – in other words there aren’t any characters I want to instantly mute.

Gameplay – Battle system

It’s Tales, only without TP.  While the battle system is entertaining so far, I’m not sure I think it’s an improvement over what you get in Tales of the Abyss or Tales of Vesperia.  Instead of using TP (the Tales version of MP in other games), you have CP that are used for attacks.  These CP regenerate when standing still or blocking.   Having to wait or defend before attacking changes the pace in combat – it feels slower so far than previous Tales games.  I’ll give the system a little more playtime before being too harsh on it, though.