I just got Tales of the Abyss, and it's pretty cool. Didn't play through the whole thing, so there's not a complete rating yet.
Ups:
TotA has an AD skill 'Free Run', which lets you run anywhere when you hold L2.
It tells you how much longer till Overlimit mode, and you can activate it whenever you want, so you can save it for a hard boss.
The Field of Fonon effect is nice.
You can veiw the status of the end of a battle by pressing the triangle button.
ANIME CUTSCENES!!!
Downs:
Some things that seem really stupid to hunt for.. you have to hunt for, like a flag that lets you switch which character is displayed on the map, and a ring that let's you switch to manual mode.
Learning Artes (techs for Symphonian fans) is a lot slower than in Tales of Symphonia.
Some titles come way later after the last one. i.e.: The first title you get for Luke comes after his fake solo fight where one swing and you win. And it comes kinda late for a measly title.
Can't link artes*.
Overall Rating: 8.9: The battle style and actually slightly tricky puzzles more than make up for it.
*I still only unlocked 7-8 techs some point after gaining your last party member, so it's not an absolute rating yet.
