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remind me
By Gerald VilloriaPage 1 of 2
 | GAME AT A GLANCE |  |
Pros: Beautiful visuals and audio; a multitude of locations and quests; smooth, stable gameplay Cons: Unintuitive, awkward user interface; lack of character variety | ||
|
PC
Platform:Square Enix Square Enix Teens December 2003 Developer: Publisher: ESRB Rating: Release Date: | ||
| Buy at CompUSA.com | ||
| STORY IMAGES | |
| VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS | |
The greatest misnomer in gaming is definitely the "Final" Fantasy series. With each new chronicle, Square has been pumping out another not-quite-final story line that gamers worldwide have eaten up. With this latest effort, SquareEnix is set to reinvigorate the massively multiplayer genre with its foray into the world of online gaming. Today on "X-Play" we examine "Final Fantasy XI." Can this truly be the final fantasy?
Who wants a World Pass to Fairy?
"Final Fantasy XI" was originally released last year in Japan for the PlayStation 2. To get going, you'll need the PlayOnline service, a front-end through which players can read mail, send messages, and navigate between "Final Fantasy XI" and Tetra Master, the card game from "Final Fantasy IX." You'll need to pay $12.95 a month to play for one character. Tetra Master will cost an extra dollar a month, as will each additional character. To get a character onto a specific world server, of which there are over two dozen, you need a code purchased in-game called a World Pass.
Welcome to Vana'diel. Yes, we have chocobos.
"Final Fantasy XI" was originally designed with a PlayStation 2 controller in mind, so you'll need to get a hang of the clunky and unintuitive user interface. Once you get past all the rigmarole, you can gaze upon the distinctive world of Vana'diel. The game's graphics are impressive, utilizing high resolution, bump-mapped textures, high polygon count, smoothly animating character models, and effective particle and environmental effects. The flora and fauna are as lifelike as you can expect from such a game, and just wandering aimlessly through the world is a sensory treat. The game's audio is equally up to snuff, with rousing area-specific orchestrations making up a soundtrack that will only grow old after countless hours of play.
I miss the black mages in pointy yellow hats.
To experience Vana'diel first hand, you'll need a character. The available races are the humes (regular humans), the elvaan (tall, formidable elves), the mithra (a race of agile cat girls), the taru taru (a diminutive cutesy-wutesy race that speak in baby talk), and the galkan (big strongmen). Disappointingly, there are few faces to choose from, and a similarly limited number of clothing styles, so you'll run into many identical appearances.
You can choose your job from several quintessential "Final Fantasy" staples, such as white mage, black mage, thief, and warrior. There are quests to earn the subjob ability, where you enjoy the abilities of a second job, albeit to a lesser degree, while gaining experience in the first. There are also quests for advanced job classes, including samurai, dragoon, and summoner. The jobs each have unique abilities and all are useful and balanced. The warrior job has a provoking taunt, for example, while the thief gains the treasure hunter ability, which causes monsters to drop more loot. "Final Fantasy XI" encourages you to experiment -- with no penalty for changing your job at any time -- and rewards you later for this effort.
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