GAME DESCRIPTION: In Final Fantasy XI Online, the world of Vana’Diel stands at the brink of war. Three powerful nations, united in their plight against the beastmen forces, look to their last hope — brave adventurers like you! Step into this world and journey forth on grand adventures with players from all across the globe. Final Fantasy XI is the first online game in the award-winning Final Fantasy series. Set out on your own to discover the countless secrets of Vana’diel, or form a party with your friends to purge the beastman forces and bring home sensational spoils. How you play is up to you — the possibilities for adventure are limitless. Complex yet well-balanced battle system that works for beginners and experts alike – perform strategic attacks using magic, job abilities, and weapon skills Participate in special quests or missions to unlock exciting new jobs such as Dark Knight, Summoner and Ninja Playonline viewer software contains communication tools, access to support, customization tools, and games like Tetra Master Card game from Final Fantasy IX Includes Rise Of The Zilart expansion pack, with new areas and features to explore – Incredible landscapes including mountains, forests, ice plains and more.
PLAY: The first thing you need to read is the back of the game where it states: “This game can be played online only.” That’s tough to swallow for anyone that has already plunked down $50.00 for the game to find out they need to pay $12.95 a month and an internet connection just to play it. This is an extra $12.95 on top of the Xbox Live service. There is nothing more irritating than being made to do something that costs money with no other option. This is impractical and reason enough not to buy Final Fantasy XI. Even worse, it takes hours to install and setup before you even begin to play.
After we finally got down to business we were even angrier to find out the game wasn’t worth the time of the setup. And once you get online you have to create your character—taking up more of your valuable time.
The game starts in a city of your choice and then it’s not exactly easy to figure out what to do next. Talk to everyone possible and hope that it helps send you in the right direction—otherwise you’ll be wandering forever. The story is weak and at the end of the day this is a button masher. After our first hour it grew so boring that we had to walk away. It was tough to get interested in the story or the game play.
The inventory is a dual frustration. Every killed enemy that drops an item goes right into your inventory. The inventory is not set up with common sense in mind. You have to go back to a town to dump inventory. It’s so frustrating to try to pick a good item only to find out you are full and then have to traverse a half hour (literally) to a town to unload. It’s ridiculous.
GRAPHICS: In case the creators don’t know, the Final Fantasy XI is supposed to be next generation. This looks like last generation. So far this is the worst looking Xbox 360 game available. It’s amazing that the Final Fantasy franchise used to be the graphic benchmark and here it’s the opposite.
SOUND: The soundtrack and sound effects are below average.
FRANKLY: One of the most brutal parts of Final Fantasy XI is how long it takes to go from one place to another. Everything about FFXI takes a long time. It’s as if the creators built FFXI to waste time hoping you confuse that with getting your money’s worth. Oblivion is the polar opposite of Final Fantasy XI. Everything we love about Oblivion we hate about FFXI. If you don’t own either and need to pick up a great RPG game it is Oblivion hands down.
+ Richie Wright
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