First, there's the exploration. Rogue Galaxy 's environments are huge, both in scale and in overall distance. We're talking cavernous starship factories, sprawling futuristic cities and mazelike jungles, all rendered beautifully and seamlessly. With all that space to move around in, it's a godsend that every conveniently located save point is also a warp point - step into one, and it can instantly take you to any other save point you've visited on that planet, whether it's in a dungeon, a town or even on your ship. Suddenly, backtracking isn't such a drag anymore.
Rogue Galaxy's real-time battles are a lot of fun, which is great, because you'll spend most of the game fighting through them. Not even towns are safe havens from monsters, who jump you at random no matter where you are. The fights themselves play out a lot like the battles in Kingdom Hearts - real-time and button-mashy, with a couple of computer-controlled sidekicks that you can order around. They seem pretty simple at first - just hop around and bust out repetitive sword combos, or stand back and unload your blaster while your allies do their thing - but like the rest of the game, a simple appearance hides layers of complexity.
