First released in 1998, Namco's "Tales" series of role-playing games
(Tales of Symphonia, Tales of the Abyss) marks its tenth anniversary
with Tales of Vesperia on Xbox 360. Featuring characters designed by
manga artist Kosuke Fujishima, the game is distinguished by its use of
cel-shaded visuals, as players guide a young hero in his unyielding
search for justice. The combat system once again offers real-time
battles against an assortment of creatures. While earlier games in the
series involved fighting against a maximum of four enemies, Vesperia
includes as many as eight. Key elements in the battle system include
"overlimits," "burst artes," and