Xbox 360
What I knew about kingdom hearts was that it was Disney doing a Final Fantasy styled Role Playing Game (RPG). So it's not such a stretch to imagine Mickey and Goofy fighting Scrooge McDuck for polluting the world or some such sillyness; I did not expect a dark, mysterious or in any way interesting game. I was wrong(ish).
358/2 starts off at day 358. Everything seems happy and cheery: ice-cream and friendly banter abounds, but then, you are bumped back to day seven, and everything is mysterious. From now you recount the days and experiences of the main wunderkind Roxas: apparently the only heartless (members of the Dark Cloak wearing organisation; a seemingly pretty amoral bunch) who can wield the ‘keyblade' - a magical weapon which collects hearts from the heartless creatures (how?) which populate the land, which is actually the world of Disney.
So the game sets up on a journey of discovery: cutscenes and dialog are used well to develop a keen sense of mystery and it is hard not to really get involved in the intrigue of just what the hell is going on. Why has he got no memory? Why do they all seem evil but not too evil. How do you get hearts from a heartless and what does this have to do with Mickey?
And so you play the game, begrudgingly.
Levels are very samey; the first fifteen or so taking place in the same small town, although mostly only some of it is available to run around at any one time. During each mission you must stomp around killing heartless or exploring the environment for clues. What this means is running around and bashing ‘A'. Which does everything. As you progress you can kit yourself out with ‘panels', essentially the games skill management system, which would provide a nice bit of thought if it made any difference on the missions: have magic/don't - whatever, you will probably use it by accident - the controls are that bad - but you won't care as you can just bash ‘A' some more. Safe. Mission done. Now what's going on in this Dark Bloody Castle?
While the intrigue is good, everything in between it is less so. Levels are samey, the strategy is inconsequential and the cutscenes/loading/menus/prettymuch everything takes so long that it isn't so much as a game as a series of Lost; how long can they drag out this story for while still keeping you watching?
Considering this is a Disney title, it is probably aimed at small folk who will probably not be put off by the combat and will still enjoy the simple but curious plot. So let them play (the story is Dark but only in a mysterious way - not in a nightmares at bedtime sort of way). Everyone else; if RPG's are your thing or have some strange affinity for Disney, or just want to know how Mickey is involved (I did), then it is worth a look, but you will have to invest in some serious time and probably a new ‘A' button if you want to find out.
Note: A bit of research does show that 358/2 Is actually set between the first and second Kingdom Hearts games. If anyone cares; though if you do care, you likely already knew that...