Nintendo has streamed the 3rd episode of the survival guide.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxO6qaXUcGcThis episode details the Skells in a similar whirlwind pace as to the previous episodes.
Because I couldn't help myself, I watched Polygon's 51 minute Xenoblade X video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM3k18G5_1gSpoiler alert for the game's 8th (of 12) Story Chapter. It's the big siege of New Los Angeles that has made for very good trailer fodder. In actual play, Xenoblade X is showing a lot of stops, starts, and awkward pauses and transitions that inhibit the narrative gravitas. The player dialog choice system being the poster example. Also, it is absolutely jarring going from the stand-and-talk cut scene to the assault-by-menu of the player's battle.
At 18:52, the video switches to exploration hijinks with many funny and wonderful moments. Each of the five continents are shown as well as some nitty gritty menu time around New Los Angeles.
As Fallout 4 is released to high praise and Xenoblade Chronicles X is set to release alongside 2015's last big open-world game, Just Cause 3, my mind has once again set to mope on Xenoblade Chronicles X's English-language review prospects. With The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt setting the new high bar for narrative and a world full of life and history, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain blazing a new paradigm in how numerous systems and elements coalesce in to a vibrant action experience, Fallout 4 being a mess of systems and cleverness that hold together just enough to impress, and Just Cause 3 promising to explode continuously, I wonder grimly as to how Xenoblade Chronicles X will fit among its peers outside of being, "that Wii U game."
After watching the Giant Bomb Quick Look of Fallout 4 and hearing Jeff Gerstmann remark how Fallout 4 is still very much a Fallout game in the vein of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, it got me thinking of Xenoblade Chronicles X's legacy as a collection of systems and mechanics. While others have thought differently, to me Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles X take much from the MMORPG genre that has birthed games such as World of Warcraft, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn. Xenoblade Chronicles X is derived from a genre that is nearly exclusive to the PC platform. Adding to that, said genre has seemingly peaked and plateaued in terms of excitement and relevance. Other genres have mined MMORPG's best and most compulsive aspects for their own gain (e.g. Destiny), leaving behind the cruft that alienates more than it invites (possibly hot bar combat, menu labyrinths for character attribute and trait manipulation).
Adding to this, the possibility of Monolith Soft's and Nintendo's isolation from their peers leading to the game not following established best practices. (Personally, Xenoblade Chronicles played exactly how I wish a single-player version of an MMORPG would play, so I'm not expecting Xenoblade Chronicles X to drop the ball in this regard.)
I can't help but think that there will be more of a cool reception to Xenoblade Chronicles X, and that it will be criticized for being dated, perhaps anachronistic, and for being oddly put together.
Watching Polygon's 51 minute video had me... frothing with demand, to say the least. Rough spots considered, Xenoblade Chronicles X looks to be a dream game for me, more so than its wonderful predecessor. Maybe that makes me an oddity in today's console video game audience. And maybe that's okay.