Let me start off by saying that I enjoyed this game as a whole. It was an entertaining way to pass the time which in the end is the goal of all video games. Unlike other folks though I was not expecting anything revolutionary nor was I expecting Final Fantasy 6 again with updated graphics, which from others comments I've read seems as if many people would prefer.
The minor concerns that Joe and I were discussing prior to its release such as silly names: Snow, Lightning, Hope, Cocoon and its lack of towns I quickly dismissed once I actually started playing. The names didn't distract from the game in any way unless you're simply looking for a reason to dislike the game and those listed are really the only ones that stand out as odd. Lightning also has a real name so no harm there! As for the towns your characters are fugitives, it makes no sense for you to even be in them, you can still shop so while you'll miss some immersion you don't dwell on it.
In the beginning of the game my biggest complaint was "I can't choose my party setup! This is bullshit I don't want to use this kid!" But after a while it made sense, this isn't a group of friends, these people just got stuck together. So it's understandable that you not be able to use everyone as one big group right away. I actually found that it was a nice way to progress the story along and get me interested in characters that previously I had not been. It managed to work for me, I previously thought low of Vanille but after seeing her story my mind was changed. Although that is also its flaw, it attempts to make you like all of them which is just impossible and at times may just feel like a drag to some people.
The plot is standard Final Fantasy, save your new unique world from destruction. If you were expecting anything else I might venture a guess you've never played a game in the franchise. It doesn't stray from this path nor should it. What may appear to make FFXIII's plot more shallow than previous games is that you aren't as attached to Cocoon, not that your characters aren't. Without the world map and active exploring it is a difficult task to accomplish, how can I care for a world when I've only seen a single city from flashbacks and some corridors? The answer is, you don't. You either care because your characters do, or because you just want to be a hero.
The characters are a more personal matter so feel free to disagree. I loved Lightning's hard ass attitude, Sazh's humor and Snow's heroic antics, Sazh had a phenomenal story arc that almost brought tears to my eyes. While I was not a fan of Hope's "wisdom". Fang and Vanille I found to be the most interesting characters with Fang being my overall favorite. Yet these are things you must decide for yourself.
The main aspect of combat is no longer your ATB gauge, instead they focused on Paradigm Shifting. A system where you can change your groups roles during combat to your current needs, and they will change quickly. I found it to be a enjoyable, everyone in your party will always be doing something. No healer to just chill while you grind monsters, your healer now beats the shit out of them. Not to say your new ATB gauge is uninteresting! The ability to queue multiple moves in advance is a nice concept and smoothly executed.
Others may argue that this game plays itself. While this is true to a moderate degree what did you do in other Final Fantasy games? Buff your melee characters out the ass because attack was the first on the bar and hit X three times. It didn't matter that your mage is going to attack for crap damage, its easier this way. The only time you really went out of your way was boss fights and special monsters. At least the computer makes intelligent choices for you instead of poor ones.
Overall, yes this game is linear. It will tell you exactly where to go and while I don't mind linear games it feels alien in a JRPG. If you consider the computer helping you an insult to your intelligence then this isn't the game for you. However if you can get over that fact and accept that Square Enix is willing to experiment then give it a try, you may be surprised for better or worse.
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