14 DAY TRIAL // Initially announced as an Xbox 360 exclusive, Star Ocean: The Last Hope finally received an official release date for the PlayStation3. With this, Star Ocean returns to its most familiar grounds, as all previous installments of the franchise have only wooed Sony's console owners. Right from the start, the game's publisher, Square Enix, stated that the Xbox 360 exclusivity wouldn't last for long, so fans of the series were eagerly expecting a new development in this obvious platform war. Microsoft will lose its grip on the market on February 9, as the game will start finding its way to the first PS3 gamers.
True to an international release, Square Enix's game offers a dual audio track, in English and Japanese, as well as subtitles in a multitude of languages. The time passed since the Xbox 360 release will serve to appease the unsettled masses that complained about the single-platform release.
The game received a few, mostly minor, improvements, like allowing players to change their target in the middle of combat now, via the PS3's Start button, a problem that the Xbox version didn't tackle and that vexed many gamers. The forth episode of the successful Star Ocean series will be set after the end of World War III, as humankind sets forth from the Blue Planet in search of the mysteries of the endless Space.
Star Ocean: The Last Hope set a true milestone at its launch, with the help of the Japanese game market, for the Xbox 360, pushing it at the top of the sales chart. With almost 10,000 more units sold than the runner-up, the PlayStation3, the Xbox crushed the competition.
But, with a Last Ocean release for the PS3 as well, this will prove to be merely a fluke for Microsoft, as Sony will climb once again to the top of the sales chart, with an even more staggering gap. A one-time hit won't grant anything to the black box except for a taste of the enemy's usual victory dance.