Dragon Ball XenoVerse! Quite a bit to say here. Since the previous few Dragon Ball games have been somewhat lack-luster (namely Ultimate Tenkaichi and Battle of Z), I didn't really have high expectations going in. Man, was I surprised.
The game starts off by immediately putting you into the shoes of Goku, the series' protagonist, squaring off against some of Dragon Ball Z's most iconic villains. Suddenly, a mysterious dark energy overtakes Goku's enemies, and Trunks, who in this game is a member of a group known as "The Time Patrol," notices this disturbance. So, he gathers the magical dragon balls and summons forth a warrior who can help him put a stop to it.
You're then given the chance to make your own custom character. Compared to the character creator from Ultimate Tenkaichi, it's quite extensive, letting you pick from 5 different classes, 3 of which have different genders. You can also change your character's hairstyle, facial features, height and weight, etc., which makes it highly improbable that you'll run into a similar looking character while playing online.
Once you're all set, Trunks will set you up on time patrol missions. These missions put you right in the middle of the most memorable battles from the show, spanning from the first battle against Raditz, all the way up to the Battle of Gods movie. Longtime fans of the series will absolutely fall in love with the story, as many of their favorite characters will be shown interacting with your custom character in many creative ways. However, if you aren't really a huge fan of Dragon Ball, the story probably won't have as much of an impact on you. Also, there are over 50 parallel quests that can be unlocked by playing through the main story. These are basically what-if scenarios that can be taken on with friends or strangers from around the globe.
The main hub gives you a ton of things to do. You can outfit your character with different costumes, take on opponents in PVP, find a mentor to learn different moves from, and interact with other users. It's definitely one of the coolest parts about the game, as you're able to see some interesting characters that other people come up with. One thing I noticed is that in the post game, you'll end up with a ton of money and almost nothing to spend it on, especially once you've bought all the skills. I would have loved to see an auction house or something for rare items, or perhaps a costume customization shop.
As far as gameplay goes, XenoVerse gives us an interesting hybrid of 3D fighting and RPG mechanics, which we have seen before in the previous game in the series, Battle of Z. However, this game plays much more smoothly, aside from some issues I had while trying to lock on to specific opponents. Each custom character has multiple stats that can be customized at will, such as HP, attack power, etc. Some classes may be better at using super attacks, while some might be better at hitting opponents up close. There's a lot of room for experimentation, which I find very appealing about this game. There's also a wide variety of special moves, most of which have their own uses, which is pretty sweet, and if you remember a specific move from the show, you're likely to find it here. All in all, it's a fun experience, even more so if you're playing alongside friends.
Where trophies are concerned, they're mostly straightforward, except some of them might make you want to tear your hair out or throw a controller across the room. Specifically, trying to obtain every super and ultimate attack in the game. This will require you to complete every parallel quest with a hidden bonus objective, thus leading to an alternate ending for the mission, and even then the move you're after might not unlock. Heck, sometimes you won't even get to the other part of the battle for seemingly no reason, forcing you to do the same quests over and over again. Admittedly, the longest I spent trying to unlock a specific special attack was about 2 hours. It's all RNG based. Now, there was a recent patch for the game which makes the alternate endings to parallel quests happen more often. This definitely shows that the developers are listening to feedback and I must say, that's a wonderful trait to have in this day and age.
Dragon Ball XenoVerse is by far the best Dragon Ball game in recent years. Whether it's the best one overall or not is debatable, but it is absolutely above average. If you're a fan of the series, then it's definitely worth checking out.
3.5