Final Fantasy XI (Inc. Chains of Promathiand Rise of the Zilart Expansion Packs) (PC DVD)

Where to start... Final Fantasy XI and its two current expansions are, (I say current, as there is a new expansion due for UK release 20th-22nd April 2006) in my opinion, the most enthralling, and exceptional RPG, let alone MMORPG, that is currently available.

However, before I go into any details on my reasons for saying that, I will offer this before I do. This game is NOT for the casual gamer, if you are looking for something that you can pick up, and play for 30 minutes then go and do something else, then sadly, this game is probably not for you.

This game takes a great deal of time, and effort to accomplish anything, I speak personally from this, after very nearly 1 year of playing, I still haven't got one of the class jobs to level 75 (level 75 is the maximum job level you can get.)

Now that that is out of the way, I'll tell you, in my opinion, why this game is so good, and why I think it deserves a 5 star rating.

My first reason, above EVERYTHING else, is the community of people that play this game. I never dreamed a year ago, that my two best friends would be in a different country to me, and that I would ever be able to visit them. This game has given me ties to people all over the world. The community of players, is one of the most open, and decent of all the MMORPGs that I've played. (I'm a veteran of guild wars, star wars galaxies, everquest, and world of warcraft)

Second, this game is remarkably engrossing, there is just SO MUCH that you can do. As a few examples, you can level individual crafts that will let you make items that other players will buy, there are MANY quests to do, and with 15 current job classes to pick from, (3 more job classes are being added in the new update) there is plenty of leveling to do. A lot of this game, is what we call the "level grind", and for those that have played an online RPG before, you will hopefully understand. It takes a long time to get big, strong, and powerfull in this game, and even then, singularly, there is only so much that you can do on your own. The game itself is geared very heavily towards co-operation between the other players, and without that, you will accomplish very little.

Third, the game has a very in depth storyline, after very nearly one year of playing, I am not 1/3 of the way through the game's storyline. There are 5 seperate storylines, (a 6th being given in the new expansion.) The first 3 main storylines are all based on your national allegiance, from one of the 3 starter cities that you create your character in, The Republic of Bastok, The Federation of Windurst, and the Kingdom of San d'Oria. The 2 additional storylines are from the 2 current expansions, Rise of the Zilart, and Chains of Promathia. You do not have to go through the missions that advance the storyline, but without them, the game lacks a great deal of depth and flavour.

Now for some of the game's downsides, and as much as I hate to say it, there are more than a few, in my opinion.

The first, and probably the biggest, is the ingame economy. There are 4 ways to obtain items in Final Fantasy XI, through random quests and adventures, by defeating monsters in the game, from the NPC shops that offer a very limited selection of goods, and the Auction House (AH.) The first 3 are fairly self explanitory, but the AH takes a little more detail to understand. The Auction House is a facility in the major towns/cities that allow you to sell the items that you have to other players; You list the item that you are trying to sell on the AH for a price, and another player will then buy that item, and you get the money. The problem with this, is the expense of a lot of the things that you are going to need throughout the course of the game.

The second drawback, as I've already stated, is just how much time and effort it takes to increase in levels. Early on, it is very easy, from levels 1 - 15 you can do this completely on your own if you wish to, (what we call soloing) but from that point on, the only effective way to gain experience points, is through parties with other players, which can be good, or bad, depending on what the players themselves are like. The majority of people that you will play with are generous, good people, but sadly, that cannot always be said for everyone.

The third drawback, is that this game is not for the casual player. To do anything, be it a quest, a mission, or partying to gain experience points and level your character, WILL take time, and without the time to put into this game, it can be a frustrating and unenjoyable experience.

Thats pretty much it, I'm sure I've come off biased, and for that I apologise, ultimately, you need to make the decision for yourself, I can only offer my opinion. If you are still interested in this after reading this review, then I would suggest checking some of the very informative websites for this game. One of the best would be the Allakazham site that you can easily find from search engines.

I hope this review has been helpful, and I hope to see you in Vana'diel soon.