We are just weeks away now from Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII‘s release date and in order to help ease that wait just a little bit, Square Enix has released a new playable demo for the game on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with the latter platform including a special bonus feature.
In the demo, you play as Lightning, as she is tasked with tracking down former ally Snow Villiers. You will travel to the city of Yusnaan in order to find out what happened and why you are after Snow.
The real meat of the demo may not come from the story though, as it also gives gamers their first chance to check out the new battle engine present in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. Moving away from the paradigm shift engine that was used in the previous two Final Fantasy XIII titles, Lightning Returns features a new engine involving the use of Schemas. Schemas, or equipment sets, allow Lightning to use several different attacks at the same time. Players will be able to shift between equipped Schemas in order to destroy their enemies more efficiently than before.
Also included in the demo is the new “Outerworld” feature, which allows gamers to share their battle scores with their friends across social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. While the idea of sharing your game progress may make some cringe, Square Enix is rewarding those that beat the monster at the end of the demo and share it with an exclusive Siegfried outfit for use in the full game.
In addition to that bonus costume, gamers who download the demo for the PlayStation 3 will also be treated to another outfit. It’s not exactly fair to Xbox 360 owners mind you, but what can you do about it?
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII will hit the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on February 11th. Are you interested in stepping into Lightning’s shoes again, or are you burnt out on the series? Let us know in the comments section below.
