This one hurts.

As someone who had waited for this game when it was originally "Final Fantasy Versus XIII" for TEN YEARS, I wanted what Square Enix would call their magnum opus. THE Final Fantasy game that stood the test of time and beats the rest.

Yet it just... isn't. There ARE good things about this game that it has going for it, don't get me wrong. The graphics are absolutely stunning, even for a base PS4. The character DESIGNS are memorable, and the music is what you expect, completely solid.

And yet, for every positive it feels like, there's always a net negative at the whole, where therein lies the main issue: it just feels like a waste of absolute potential. I'll always have fond memories cooking with the boys, I just wish Square didn't leave this in the oven for it to burn.

American Wasteland is an interesting game, but not for the reasons you may expect.

It felt like after Tony Hawk's Underground 2, Neversoft possibly made their best games ever with the Underground duology. Refined gameplay that could match no other, iconic locales, amazing choices for a soundtrack - where could they go from here?

Well, it's a bit of a double-edged sword. For me, I think the gameplay is still well-intact with the fluid, vast options you have to get as many combos racking up as possible for the high score. Though admittedly, I don't think in terms of locales - and especially characters - it doesn't reach the highs of what Underground had provided.

An all around good game still, though it's best to go in with the mindset of knowing that this was the start of an period where Neversoft was trying to find their footing after THUG2.