FFXI REVIEW UPDATED 12/06/03

Author's Rating:

Pros: Decent graphics and overall good music..

Cons: $13 monthly fee? No storyline? and can you say... BORING?

The Bottom Line: 
The game is simply flat-out slow and boring. Certainly not worth $50 $13 /month

Author's Review
To start off let me just explain that ePinions has not yet added Final Fantasy XI for the PC to its database, which is why I'm writing my review here. I have the PC version as you may have guessed, but I doubt it differs TOO much from the Playstation 2 version since it IS afterall still the same game, right? :)

Well I got this game in the mail on the day of its release (pre-ordered... yes, I'm a fan of the series) and have been playing it almost non-stop, and here's what I think so far...


Getting Started

Originally, I was quite upset when I found out that Final Fantasy XI would be an online-based game, breaking its tradition of single-player RPGs (role-playing games). To be honest, I still am a bit annoyed that Square decided to do it this way, because not only is there no single-player mode (meaning you MUST have internet access in order to play), but there's a monthly fee as well.

Upon installing the game, I had to download about 2 hours of updating software, and I am connected to a high-speed internet server (a T-1 network) and my computer runs at 3.2 Ghz, so expect to spend just as much time or longer to get started. This should provide you with some time to read the instruction manual.

Finally, after I had given my credit card number, installed about 5 discs worth of data, punched in about 4 CD-keys, and made up several accounts with passwords, I was finally able to enter the world of "Vana-Diel."


First Impressions

The visuals, as we've all come to expect, are fabulous. My computer is equipped with a 9700 ATi Radeon graphics card, which isn't the best on the market (but certainly isn't bad), and the game comes out beautifully. The backgrounds are very detailed and well-rendered. The graphics are easily on par with Final Fantasy X, its predecessor, although I don't know if you can say that they're an improvement.

As far as music goes, I haven't heard the entire track yet, as I've only played the game for 2 days, but what I heard so far appeals greatly. The music itself is well composed, and the way it fits in with the scenery and mood is marvellous. The sound effects are as good as they've been.

What really impressed me right off the bat was how incredibly HUGE the online world of Vana-Diel was. When you begin you are given the choice of starting in one of three nations, one a castle-esque realm, one a developing city, and one a mystical forest colony. I've tried them all a bit, but stuck to the castle world in the end out of whim. In the last two days, I've mostly been exploring, and still I don't know where I'm going half the time. Expect to spend anywhere from 3 days to a week just to familiarize yourself with the gigantic environment.


What the Game is Like

For those of you who have never played an online RPG (like myself), this game will probably confuse the heck out of you at first. There are so many things you can do in this game in addition to the traditional buying at shops and sleeping at inns. Actualy, instead of an inn, you have your own "Moogle House," which is pretty much like your very own room where you can rest and store items. It even has a mailbox where you can receive items you win in auctions, which leads me to my next point. Yes, there are auctions in this game where you can buy or sell used armor and weapons. How cool is that? Instead of buying new weapons at the ridicilously expensive full price, you can buy an old one from a more experienced gamer!

To make money, you can take on various jobs that are offered throughout the game by different clients. The jobs range from killing monsters to running errands and protecting your kingdom. Of course, they also range in difficulty, from easy but rather poor-paying jobs to the long and painstaking but highly rewarding ones.

The auction, as I mentioned just before, is REALLY COOL. If you're an eBay addict, you'll love this feature... and if you're good enough, you can even make loads of money just by buying and selling at the right prices!

When you begin, you are offered several different types of characters with different physical appearances and classes. For beginners, there are the simpler to use warrior-class units (yeah, I picked one of these guys) and then for the more experienced there are potent spellcaster-classes. There are also the monk and thief classes, which specialize in healing and stealing, respectively.

The battle system is entirely real-time, which completely breaks away from the turn-based traditional battles. My character is a warrior-class, so my battles are especially simple since I don't utilize spells and special abilities nearly as much as the mage-classes do. I haven't fully figured out the extent of the battle-system, but when I do I'll be sure to post up tips and such, so check back in a couple weeks if you plan on buying this game.


Sounds Great, but Still...

...the bottom line is that you have to pay the monthly fee of $13 to play this game. If you want additional characters (up to 16), there is an added charge of $1 per character. Not cool. I'm not sure on this, but from what I understand, other online-RPGs like Everquest are free to play online. Also Blizzard games have battle.net, a free online gaming service. If I pay $50 just to buy this game (and for PS2 users, an additional $40 for the online peripheral), I don't want to pay a monthly fee just to play it! Plus $13 isn't even cheap. That almost costs as much as some internet services! I truly hope that Playonline.com reconsiders the entire charge. The cost may lower once they have a base set of regular members, but only time will tell.

Another problem with Final Fantasy XI is that because it is an online-based game, I don't see how they can incorporate a deep storyline. Many of the previous games in the series captured our hearts with well made stories, but this game barely even has a plot.


Well, maybe things will get better as the game takes shape. I will update this review in a couple weeks after I get more acquainted with the entire concept of Final Fantasy XI.



UPDATE!

By the way, I've submitted this game in its proper place (under PC games) NUMEROUS times to ePinions' databse, but its been more than a month and they have not complied. Believe me, the platform makes negligible difference other than frame rate depending on what video card you have installed on your computer. Who plays a game for graphics, anyway?

Well on with the update...

After several weeks with this game, I must unfortunately announce that it has failed to keep my interest. The game itself is just far too slow moving; the quests are like chores, the missions themselves are rather bland, and the levelling is far too slow. Also, there simply isn't enough gameplay variety, meaning most of it is just running around the huge, oversized worlds and occasionally engaging in battles that lack depth (how much strategy can you POSSIBLY use in a battle system in which you only control one character for the most part?).

Another huge problem I've had with this game is that I am unable to play with my friends because they are on different servers. In the game, there are over 20 servers in order to keep the game world running smoothly. This presents huge problems because you do not get to choose what server to start in. There are things called "world passports" thata re availible int he game to allow you to temporarily visit another server if you wish to play with a friend, but they are time-consuming and very inconvenient to get, and plus they're still temporary. Not cool.

In my original review I mentioned the issue of story/plot. Let me just tell you know that there is no story or plot.

bottom line is that unless you have hours and hours to waste or pools of money to spend on one single game, it's probably a good idea to skip out on this one. I don't know if you can rent the game or not due to its nature, with a serial registration number and all that, so you really won't be able to check it out. Instead you'll just have to trust my review. The other reviews for this game (at least thus far) are horrendous and do not contain any valuable information. I highly doubt that those writers have even played the game. I've played the game for a total of at least 60 hours and I see it going nowhere. All I know is that I've paid $49.99 and $16.95 for the monthly fee (I have 3 characters, each additional character has an additional fee) and I am not very pleased with my purchase. I will probably be eBaying my game off very soon.

Bottom line... the game isn't TERRIBLE, but it lacks the most important factor: fun. It simply isn't very fun, and it is not worth my time or money.