Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness ($59.99) is the newest action-RPG from developer tri-Ace. Launching internationally on the PlayStation 4 ($799.95 at Amazon) this summer, Integrity and Faithlessness is also the first game in the series released on current-gen hardware. This Star Ocean incarnation drops the movement-centric action of the last game, A New Hope, in favor of the defense-heavy combat from Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. This is a welcome change to the series, but Integrity and Faithlessness still suffers from some of the flaws that plagued earlier games. A New Hope for Action Integrity and Faithlessness, in many respects, feels like an enhanced version of Till the End of Time. Combat uses the same rock-paper-scissors mechanics, combo-chains are still the most effective way to deal damage quickly, and even many of the attack animations are the same. As I was not a fan of the sloppier, movement-focused combat of the previous game, Star Ocean: The Last Hope, ...

Integrity and Faithlessness steps back and embraces the action that made Star Ocean: Till the End of Time so good, but the game doesn't innovate much beyond that.