So far, per my own experience, I give Sword Art Online a solid 8/10. Love the graphics, and a lot of the animations are just what make a jrpg. The combat is fast, fluid, challenging at times, and there's PLENTY of enemies to go around. Most of the creatable costumes are available in the shops too, which is kinda dumb, but at least some of the creatable ones have distinct differences, so that's neat. The aim assist system is a neat feature, and you'll REALLY be wanting it when fighting wasps and other fast-moving enemies -- that, or a shotgun (love it). The weapons available are great, though I don't really find the gatlings to be very useful due to the overheat speed, but maybe that's just me, I still favor a lot of the other weapons. Finding more rare gear is pretty exciting, but early on it feels pretty repetitive to find just a stronger version of Sangfroid over and over again, but I do love me a better weapon. Some areas will overwhelm you if you aren't careful, you'll get surrounded by target lines and a hail of bullets, but that adds to the challenge. So far the story isn't bad, it's enjoyable and the characters are likable. The SAO characters retain their personalities from the animated series, and they've got stylish new outfits. A couple of characters' presences don't really make sense, but to see a favorite again is pretty nice. Aside from all that, the one big problem I have with SAO:FB is that multiplayer is very, very, very limiting. I dunno if anything is different in the deluxe edition, but being unable to join your friends in the field and dungeons is pretty offputting, and I'm pretty sure everyone went into this thinkin' you'd be able to, or at least I and a couple of friends did. Not really much co-op without the co-op to be honest. Though, co-op boss raids are fun (for a while) but there isn't even a dungeon to precede them, and the NPC's kinda ruin the experience swarming the place and making very short work of the bosses. The thought of pvp is also shattered here when you find out that it's only a damage race and not actual combative player versus player duels/group fights. A Bullet of Bullets style multiplayer would be a great idea, while keeping Hero and Avatar loadouts seperate just like with the other mode. If multiplayer/pvp were generally more open and inviting, I think it'd really help give more appeal to the game.

All in all the game plays really well, but multiplayer really needs some work.

So far, per my own experience, I give Sword Art Online a solid 8/10. Love the graphics, and a lot of the animations are just what make a jrpg. The combat is fast, fluid, challenging at times, and there's PLENTY of enemies to go around. Most of the creatable costumes are available in the shops too, which is kinda dumb, but at least some of the creatable ones have distinct differences, so that's neat. The aim assist system is a neat feature, and you'll REALLY be wanting it when fighting wasps and other fast-moving enemies -- that, or a shotgun (love it). The weapons available are great, though I don't really find the gatlings to be very useful due to the overheat speed, but maybe that's just me, I still favor a lot of the other weapons. Finding more rare gear is pretty exciting, but early on it feels pretty repetitive to find just a stronger version of Sangfroid over and over again, but I do love me a better weapon. Some areas will overwhelm you if you aren't careful, you'll get surrounded by target lines and a hail of bullets, but that adds to the challenge. So far the story isn't bad, it's enjoyable and the characters are likable. The SAO characters retain their personalities from the animated series, and they've got stylish new outfits. A couple of characters' presences don't really make sense, but to see a favorite again is pretty nice. Aside from all that, the one big problem I have with SAO:FB is that multiplayer is very, very, very limiting. I dunno if anything is different in the deluxe edition, but being unable to join your friends in the field and dungeons is pretty offputting, and I'm pretty sure everyone went into this thinkin' you'd be able to, or at least I and a couple of friends did. Not really much co-op without the co-op to be honest. Though, co-op boss raids are fun (for a while) but there isn't even a dungeon to precede them, and the NPC's kinda ruin the experience swarming the place and making very short work of the bosses. The thought of pvp is also shattered here when you find out that it's only a damage race and not actual combative player versus player duels/group fights. A Bullet of Bullets style multiplayer would be a great idea, while keeping Hero and Avatar loadouts seperate just like with the other mode. If multiplayer/pvp were generally more open and inviting, I think it'd really help give more appeal to the game. All in all the game plays really well, but multiplayer really needs some work.