Take a gander. Pass judgment. The usual.
Square-Enix may have touched many a sour note with the Final Fantasy XIII series. Yes, "series" because it's been a while since we've seen a Final Fantasy that hasn't featured some relation to that ridiculous Fabula Nova Crystallis project (don't even mention FFXIV). However, even if not completely absolving itself, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII does look a bit interesting due to some of the new mechanics Square-Enix has implemented, as seen in the screens below.
For one, Lightning can now jump around town, vaulting over obstacles, and even sneak through when necessary. Towns, despite being somewhat sparse of citizenry, are now open targets to monsters. They also hold their own set of side-quests that Lightning can complete to add time to the Doomsday clock. Also, Lightning's new look is relatively nicer when in motion then when standing still.
As it is, Lighting Returns is still a ways off from release. We can only hope that means more work will be done on it. Check out the Jump Festa for the game below.