Final Fantasy XI (Xbox 360)

Well i have been playing this game for 3 years now and have had a hard time picking up other games and getting into them. FFXI is to put it simply ... enourmous... there is no way you will ever do everything this game has to offer. I have been an avid role player ever since the Original Nintendo. probably beaten 70 RPGs and have played about 5 online rpgs including World of Warcraft.

Like any game it has its good points and bad. so i will list some of the pros and cons

PROS:

There is more content in this game than any other competitor. you will stay busy for YEARS! there are 6 seperate HUGE storylines.

There are 10s of thousands of obbtainable items. just when you think you have the ultimate item you examine someone else that has something better.

SE (Square Enix) makes it a huge point to keep the players entertained! there are always new events, quests, missions, and storyline additions to keep the player addicted to the huge epic. Every holliday there are events (easter, christmas, halloween.. ect..ect... whether you are dressing up like santa and passing out presents to the children on christmas or dressing up like a skeleton to scare and go trick or treating on halloween, there are always new and fun things to do.

This game has the greatest since of achivement ever! when you finally triumph at something that you do... others can look at you and only wish they had done the same. when you hear that NAME has gained a level... you feel like you have truely earned it. this game takes hard work to gain that level (not including the first few beginner levels.)

There is a huge community that you will become a part of... meet friends... follow them into epic adventures (or lead them) become a memeber of a party, alliance, or larger linkshell.

you can actually feel your heart trying to rip through your chest as you stare down some of the enourmous bosses in this game.. and with 40 of your best friends next to you ... you will charge into battle.... relying hevely on one another as each unique job is of absolute importance in their role.

SE is constantly updating this game.. CONSTANTLY... there are always new items, missions, etc.

There is no other Online RPG that is as well balanced as this one.

CONS:

There is a monthly fee of 12.95 for one char and 1.00 each additional.

the mode of moving from area to area is a bit slower then other games and can add some time to your playing. (however SE is addressing this issue)

the graphics are a bit dated compared to some of the newest games. they have a little more realistic feel to them and are now as vivid as some games. (however with every expansion pack they do improve as far as backgrounds and armor detail.)

this game requires alot of time in order to make it far. this is not the game for the hour a week player. if you are only going to have 1 or 2 hours a week to play then i would not recommend this game.

OVERALL:

Overall this is by far the best online rpg out there for content. the attention to detail as most will agree is just simply amazing!

When playing world of warcraft i could easily obtain my levels by myself and the crafting and armor creation where no where near as detailed as Final fantasy. The graphics in WoW where a little brighter and the movement from area to area was improved over ffxi.

However after playing for about 3 months i canceled my account and went back to ffxi. some of my best friends are there and always will be as long as the game exists..

About 70 or so people i knew switched to world of warcraft when it was first released and about 90% of them are back with us in FFXI.

If you have some time and want an unforgettable experiance then this is definatly the game for you!

see you in game!

i've played this game for over a year on the PC now, and i have to say i do not agree with the other reviewer

There is 3 very in depth storys that you play though for each of the starting citys, there is also 2 addon packs (3 when it comes out on the 360, which will all come In-The-Box for the 360) each with a new story line making for a total or 5(6) full Final Fantasy Storys, each requiers you to team up with other players to complete at some point.

You start the game with a choice of 4 races each with differnt looks, genders and stats, there are also 6 starting jobs to choose from and once you hit level 30 there are other jobs to unlock. (for a total of 15, at least 17 with the new addon)

There are also Lots of side Quests and by lots i mean so many it will take you more than a year of playing to do them ALL, why so long you ask? the game gets a huge update every 3 month which adds lots of new things like crafting recipes, Quests, monsters, maps(sometimes), Items.

The leveling system is great, you can Check each monster before you attack to see how strong it is, so you can stick to the Easy Preys or go all out and attack Very Tough monsters, every job can reach level 75 and you can level as many jobs as you like on 1 char. you can unlock Sub-Jobs, which are the normal jobs Sub'd with a Main job to added abilitys or spells.

You do have to pay to play But you only need Xbox Live Silver (which is free and FFXI payment is $12 for your main char $1 for every other char) to play final fantasy XI, there is no voice support due to this game comming out on the Ps2 and pc before Xbox360 and would you really want a male voice comming from a female char?

The GFX are a bit dated but still look great, and with Added HD in the full release will make it a great game, the Playonline system is a great program too as it holds the names of players you befriend ingame so you can chat while your not logged in(though Friend list Plus on playonline website) and its also the tool used to Update all the software

This game will keep you playing for years to come

For more information i would say go to the playonline website

p.s. i play on the Lakshim Server, one of the 32 servers the game currently has!

Final fantasy XI is a good MMORPG you cant take that from it.

However there are alot of issues with the game in the modern day world of mmorpgs, chances are if you love world of warcaft, you wont like FFXI.

Why ?

negatives are
-big grind ( can be a postive for some)

-Death pently

-Hard to solo(play by yourself) , even with a job that excels in that area

-out of date to some extent , and very linar in gameplay

But to be honest this is a First gen mmorpg and for its time and age , its one of the best of its time.I played this game back a few months ago , for a break from WoW , being the old school everquest vet like i am , i enjoyed this game very much so.

The point of this game is to advance and make your character more powerfull and basicly lvl as many jobs as you want , but unlike WoW it is more soical based , friends mean alot more in this game , and despite its draw backs , if you dont mind the grind, the deaths , and the sometimes awfull groups ( mind you this game has a good community) it is worth trying out.

So overall

if your old school , and not a carebear , try it out , you might fall in love with it , i did for four months or so , i dont regreat playing it ,even if i stopped to go back to WoW, i met alot of people , and had some great adventures , that is what a mmorpg is all about .