bigyak wrote:
Review?
All righty then, Mantison's "Official" review of Final Fantasy XI (after approx. 4 hours of play)
Okay, after what is easily the longest install in modern history (clocking in at a brisk 2 hours, 15 minutes) I got lucky and landed on my server of choice in only my second attempt.
Created tiniest little TaruTaru Black Mage ever, ran around like a lost chicken for about 15 minutes, then got down to figuring the game out.
Rule 1: After starting the game, disconnect the mouse and throw it in the cabinet, you won't be needing that anymore. Control from the keyboard, you will thank me later.
Rule 2: Use your map, it is actually very useful.
Rule 3: Talk to everyone in the game, half of them have quests that give you good items or money. If you like content, this is THE game for you. I actually got a stain on my desk from the content dripping out of the monitor.
Rule 4: Get the strategy guide. It is not cheating, it is the only way to figure out the gardening and crafting thing. Trust me.
Rule 5: Before you venture out to kill stuff, get a Signet cast upon you from your gate guard. This is the only way to get crystals and points for your federation. These are GOOD things, do this.
Graphics: Looks like a Playstation 2 game. Good and bad. Spell effects: Incredible Character animations: Close up, good, zoom out, very pixelated. Scenery, nice prerendered environment, no "popping" here, but not as lush and nowhere near the beauty of SWG.
Content: As mentioned before, buttloads. More content than you can shake a stick at. Damn near everyone has a quest or something for you, and get this, you have a running QUEST LOG !!!!!!!! Thats right, can't remember what ol' Tiny said to get her for the ring of Uberness? No problem, just fire up the quest log and the info is right there, AUTOMAGIKALY!!!!!!!!!! I love this feature. Also works with missions as well.
Customization: Okay, you get a free apartment, in which you can garden, which I haven't figured out yet, but I hear it is how you get alot of cool stuff. You walk into a tunnel, and poof, your apartment. No, no one else can see your place, but you can decorate it however you want with items you buy or earn. Kinda cool, think Animal Crossing if you have ever played it, but cooler.
Combat: If you have ever played FF games before, combat is simple. It uses the RTB (real time battle) system all the latest FF games use. You can run around, but all attacks and spells are on a timer. Pretty fun. There is a "Check" system (conning) that lets you know how tough the critter is.
Overall: Fun game, you get "in" the story pretty fast, and there is always something to do. Grouping is very important, and I hear the higher you get, the harder it is to solo. So, if you don't like grouping, you could be in trouble.
I like the game. I had alot of fun with it so far. I will update you as I progress through the game.