My girlfriend and I made a deal when this came out. Since this one and God of War III were only a week apart, we agreed I could play through God of War III and she could play through this one. The problem is that she has a lot less free time to play than I do (she's a teacher and is now having end-of-year crunch, prepping students for AP exams and such) so I'm now waiting for her to be able to play some more so I can see more story. :)
I eventually started my own game so I could get familiar with everything. It took me only about four days to catch up to where she is (about halfway through chapter 8, I think), so I had to stop there to keep my promise. I love the Paradigms. Love the characters and am happy to see Square's still awesome at character development -- both Hope and Lightning start off as very objectionable but are much more interesting as they develop.
The graphics are amazing, too. The Eidolon Parade cutscene in Nautilus was just gorgeous. If that isn't art, I don't know what is.
Overall, having lots of fun with this one!