Review | Final Fantasy XI

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Tired of that pesky social life? Girls won't leave you alone? Well, I've got just the thing to solve all of your problems–Final Fantasy XI! Why worry about finding a job or moving out of your parents’ basement when you can kick butt in the fictional world of Vana'diel? These days the MMORPG landscape has become so crowded, it's hard to decide which leisure time-swallowing option to choose. Let's face it; if you're going to be living there, you might as well like it, huh?

So you've decided to take the plunge and live vicariously through an avatar. You like elves. You bought an Xbox 360, and are dying for *something* Square-Enix made. Why not give Final Fantasy XI a try? Like most MMORPG's, Final Fantasy XI has a monthly subscription fee, so let's review the plusses and minuses of the game to see whether the online installment of this classic franchise is worth your hard-earned pennies.

I Would Walk 500 Miles, and I Would Walk 500 More
In the MMORPG universe, Final Fantasy XI is one of the oldest offerings next to Ultima Online or Evercrack, I mean, Quest. FFXI has been around for over 2 years, and in that time has achieved a loyal network of fans that have lots of experience in the world of Vana'diel and can help newbies out with their knowledge.

Getting FFXI on the Xbox 360 as opposed to the PC or PS2 is the best choice for a couple of reasons; the graphics on the 360 are clean and bright and as good if not better than any PC graphics card can muster. The controls are smooth, responsive, and uncomplicated on the 360 controller, and adding a USB keyboard for macros and chat is a snap.

There is no lack of things to do, with tons of quests and missions to keep you busy, and every expansion adds more activities to the roster. Final Fantasy XI uses a job system much like the Final Fantasies of old, and you can change to any job on any character if you get tired of a particular skill set.

For you frugal gamers out there, the Xbox 360 version of FFXI includes ALL the expansions, even the most recent, Treasures of Aht Urghan, so you won't have to spring the extra 30 bucks to get the newest content if you're new to the game. Square-Enix uses their own servers to host FFXI, so you don't need a 50 dollar-a- year subscription to XBox Live on top of the monthly fee to play. This is the cream, but as you will quickly learn, Vana'diel has a seedy underbelly just like anywhere in the real world.

Other Than That, Mrs. Lincoln, How Was the Play?
Okay, so first and foremost, if you are buying this game because it's got “Final Fantasy” on the box, you'll be disappointed. Not much other than Cid, chocobos, and the job system has anything to do with the Final Fantasy franchise.

Secondly, if you're a casual gamer, you simply won't want to commit the amount of time that this game demands. Quests are long and complicated and can require a full party, or you and five other people to complete, which can be nightmarish to organize. Speaking of full parties, you cannot solo experience effectively beyond level ten, and you'll sometimes spend hours waiting for full parties to form. Not only that, but you lose experience when you die, so getting to the highest levels in this game can take many months or even a year to achieve.

Each character is $12.99 a month, and if you want another, it's an extra dollar a month per character. FFXI is the only MMORPG to require extra money for alternate characters.

Hey, want to play with your friends? Sure, but they have to purchase a "worldpass" in the game to get a code for you to plug in during character creation, otherwise the server you begin on is randomly generated. If you wanted to go to another server with an established character, you're screwed; you can't port over character information unless SE has a server migration, which is rare.

When you buy the game, even though all the expansions are included, you'll be tapping your fingers for hours to update Play Online, the server lobby application, and also the game itself, which is extremely frustrating.

Trial By Stone
So there you have it. Final Fantasy XI looks beautiful on the 360 and will always keep you busy with a variety of different environments and monsters to conquer, but it demands you invest extreme amounts of time to it, or you'll be frustrated when your peers advance so much farther than you that you can't catch up to them.

gameplay: 8
graphics: 8
sound: 8
value: 6
overall: 7.5

Pros: Graphics and controls are excellent on the 360, All expansions included, many activities and environments to keep you busy, great established community

Cons: only distantly related to Final Fantasy franchise, extremely time consuming, extra cost for alternates, difficulty in playing with your friends

Review courtesy of Gamehelper.com.