I bought FFXIII on release, and have had mixed feelings so far. They have seriously streamlined the battle system, which is both good and bad. I won't go into great detail, just incase anyone wants to play it for themselves.
The first 2 or 3 hours or so are very poor though. The story is quite unclear, the battles are far too easy and offer little in the way of variety/customisation. It picks up after that though, so anyone reading this should persevere if put off by the opening sequences.