Square Enix has released some new tidbits of information regarding Final Fantasy XIII. The trailer, which the company has shown off in various lengths since the game's debut, depicts heroine Lightning entering a train carrying citizens set to be deported from the Cocoon. Among those convicts is Vanille, the red-haired girl set to become a member of Lightning's party. Snow, the other playable character featured prominently in various trailers, is the head of a resistance movement fighting against the theocratic government of the Cocoon. In their struggle against the government, the party will not only have to deal with normal soldiers, but also far more potent opposition including powerful officers, weapons and monsters.

All those foes will be visible on the field map. Running into an enemy will trigger an encounter. The transition between exploration and battle will be seamless. As previously mentioned, Final Fantasy XIII employs an enhanced version of the good old Active Time Battle system. Accordingly, battles are command-based. Once a command has been selected, the respective character will execute it immediately. During each turn, a character can only execute a certain number of actions. Each character has a certain amount of action points at his or her disposal. Various commands require one or more action points to execute. If Lighting has three action points at her disposal, she can for instance use three standard attacks (each consuming one action point) or use all three points to cast Fire II. Depending on the order of the commands' input, characters will perform different actions. In the upper right-hand corner of the screen a bonus gauge is visible. Above the gauge the number of successful chain attacks is displayed. The developers haven't shed any light on the workings of this bonus gauge yet, though.

Final Fantasy XIII is set to hit retail store shelves on both sides of the Pacific sometime later this year.

• Famitsu