Amazon’s deal of the day for April 8, 2009, is Square Enix’s latest RPG for the Xbox 360 Star Ocean: The Last Hope. Today, and only for today, you can own this game for just $39.99 sans tax and it includes free shipping.

Originally released on February 24, 2009, this game is the…

Star Ocean: The Last Hope is the latest installation to the Star Ocean franchise and serves as the prequel to the entire series of games released so far. Players are thrust into a not so distant future where the planet Earth we know and love is no longer able to sustain life on its surface thanks to the mass destruction resulting from World War III. Earthlings now have no other choice but to rely on the ambitions of the Space Reconnaissance Force and must abandon their beloved blue planet for the great star ocean in search of another terrain capable of sustaining life.

The stars in the sky beckon once again for a worthy adventurer to delve into its great abyss in Star Ocean: Second Evolution (SOSE) where a young ensign mistaken for a hero of legend and an orphaned girl blessed with the power of healing find themselves bound together in a great excursion filled with discovery and deceit.

This is the second game in the Star Ocean universe following Star Ocean (PS)/Star Ocean: First Departure (Sony PSP) and, unlike its predecessor, players have the option to experience the game through the point of view of two different characters: Claude or Rena. While the overall storyline remains the same for each, whom you choose to experience this adventure with determines which characters you can recruit later on as well as different dialogue during events…

Title: Infinite UndiscoveryPrice: $59.99System(s): Xbox 360Release Date: September 2, 2008Publisher (Developer): Square Enix (Tri-Ace)ESRB Rating: “Teen” for mild blood, mild language, suggestive themes, use of alcohol and violence.Pros: Charming characters, addictive item creation system and lush environmentsCons: Sluggish plot development, poor lip-synching during cut-scenes, ambiguous directions and slow-downs during battlesOverall Score: Two thumbs sideways; C-; 70/100; ** out of five.

Even for all its faults, Infinite Undiscovery can be considered a decent role-playing game for Xbox 360 (since it doesn’t have that much competition). IU had the great potential to be exactly what it set out to be a unique RPG experience, however, it seems as though all its strong points were chiseled down to familiar, if not tiresome, run-of-the-mill attributes.

Click through for the full review…