So what can I say? This is probably one of the greatest games
 ever made.  A new system of magic takes of 
the place of materia, and Guardian Forces take place 
of summons, but other than that it is like FF7 in style and 
commands.  The game is 4 discs long, so it certainly 
going to keep you preoccupied for loooong time, so 
be warned, after buying this game no one in the outside 
world will be seeing you for around 2 weeks or so.  
  The small blocky "anime" characters from FF7 are
 gone and are now replaced by more realistic 
designs.  Also added is the use of the vibration 
function (of the Analog controller)and the use of 
more CG animation (woohoo!!!!!!)

     Now for some news you probably didn't hear about this 
game.  This is mostly for the people who have played the demo because
 Square is changing up the beginning alot!  

  First of all the beginning of the Demo is NOT the beginning
 of FF8, its actaullly a "test" you come across
 later in the game. Second of all, the song during the demo that 
played over and over had to be redone since it had an uncanny
 resemblance to the theme from The Rock with Sean Connery. 
Also, the time limit on that horrible mech spider is now 30 
minutes, thank god. Finally, Rinoa is taken out form the 
begginning, you don't see her until sometime later in the game. 
Man, Square really likes to change things up for us maniacs who 
memorized that demo to the end!!!!!
  Next let's talk about the full game. The game itself is a 
visual masterpiece. Everything in it is wonderful and I really
 enjoyed it.  The story is a different kind than what you would expect.
 Most games, like FF7,  have you versus the entire world from 
the start of the game. In most games you know who the 
last boss will be at the beginning of the game, its usualy
 quite obvious. But in FF8 this is different, it wasn't
 until near the end of the 3rd CD that I figured out who
 I would be spending an hour fighting in a final battle.  
The story prgressed differently than what you would expect. 
The whole first CD you are basically kept in confined areas 
and not allowed to explore very far in the world. Its not 
until a certain event on the 2nd CD that this is changed, 
and even then you can only explore certain places.  
Something else I noticed was the fact that at the end of 
each CD there is a noticeably large movie or action/cinema 
sequence. By this I mean you play a little then a cut scene 
takes over, then you play, and then a cut scene takes place 
and so on.  This is actually very cool, and at the end of 
each CD it only gets better and better.   The end of the 2nd 
CD is better than the parade on the first, but the space 
sequence tops them all on the 3rd, and of course the 15 MINUTE
 ending on the 4th CD is the best of anything ever made. 

     Now for something I have noticed about this game that you 
probably never realized. What is Square's fascination with water?
 By this mean almost every major character in this game is 
in some way weather/water affiliated!!  Lets see the examples.. 
Squall: named after a dangerous oceanic storm

Laguna Loire: the first name sounds just like "lagoon" which 
   is a beautiful pond, and "Loire" is the name of the largest
    river in Europe. 

Raine: her name sounds like "rain"...

and of course retrospectively..
(FF7) Cloud: his name is a bunch of moisture in the sky...

I am quite sure they are alot of other water/weather names in 
FF8 too, I haven't looked up each name, but they are plenty of 
rivers and lakes that those names can be taken from.  If you 
have any discoveries you would like to tell me then write me at
 Chocobomog@yahoo.com
 Expect more here soon!!!