Final Fantasy XI
Platform: Xbox 360
Publisher: Square-Enix
Review Type: Touchy
Version: Retail
It's hard to talk about MMO's without mentioning World of Warcraft, so I won't bother trying. The first thing I noticed on returning to Vana'diel after years in Azeroth is how user-unfriendly Square's online universe is. Firstly, one must survive the installation and registration process. Mine took several hours, requiring me to click through countless agreements, create several logins and passwords and enter four registration codes (one for each expansion). Granted, getting World of Warcraft running isn't a piece of cake, but once you're done you're not saddled with the unwieldy PlayOnline interface -- a vestigal collection of features that add, for me at least, no useful features, only delay between sitting down and gameplay.
Once you've got your boots on Vana'diel soil, there's more punishment to be had. Final Fantasy IX adds to the sting death a loss of experience points. One false move can erase hours of progress, forcing the player to play conservatively, grinding on smaller enemies rather than venturing off into unknown territories. Also, quests and missions are hidden, discovered only by talking to every NPC you encounter. I see what Square is going for. They're shooting for immersion over ease of use, forcing players to engage their characters and each other to experience the story. Thing is, I don't feel any less immersed in World of Warcraft with its huge yellow exclamation points and question marks. I'm merely grateful.
Final Fantasy XI isn't all bad. While I enjoy the stylized look of World of Warcraft, I have to cede that Square's game wins points in the style deparment. Characters and monsters have been crafted with the utmost care. There's less variety in their models, but they're downright gorgeous. And the world too, while more sparse, is a thing of beauty. Environments are more reality based. Gargantuan trees are few and far between. Instead, they've created believable, but alien environments. Each zone is slightly different rather than the jarring transformations that occur when travelling from on World of Warcraft area to another.
On the Xbox 360 the game looks better than it did on my PC. This build of the game has a very long "draw distance" meaning you can see enemies from farther away. Topographical features don't "pop up" as you approach. There's no mist on the horizon that trees and hills eventually emerge from. You can look far in a direction, pick out almost any landmark and walk to it. And I'm impressed at how playable the game feels with a controller. I'm doubtful that World of Warcraft could ever be managed without a mouse and keyboard. This game's sometimes confusing controls are managable on both PC and consoles -- a feat that I imagine cripples both control schemes in one way or another. But impressive nonetheless.
A particular painful missed opportunity is fact that Final Fantasy IX is one of the few Xbox 360 games without Achievments or Gamer Points. Would it have killed them to hand out a couple points per rank?
The surprising thing is that I'm considering keeping my subscription beyond my trial period. Despite (or perhaps because of) the massochistic game rules, I've grown attached to Mudhoney, my Tarutaru warrior. I played a Mithra before, but I'm finding that exploring from the perspective of a tiny character makes every fight seem much more momentous -- there's not a crab or caterpillar out there that doesn't outsize me.
I'm also looking forward to socializing with other players. My Final Fantasy-obsessed friend, Jeremy, has been playing again. If we're able to pull off regular meet-ups I'd gladly pay to play with him. Some people you just can't convince to play World of Warcraft.
Publisher: Square-Enix
Review Type: Touchy
Version: Retail
It's hard to talk about MMO's without mentioning World of Warcraft, so I won't bother trying. The first thing I noticed on returning to Vana'diel after years in Azeroth is how user-unfriendly Square's online universe is. Firstly, one must survive the installation and registration process. Mine took several hours, requiring me to click through countless agreements, create several logins and passwords and enter four registration codes (one for each expansion). Granted, getting World of Warcraft running isn't a piece of cake, but once you're done you're not saddled with the unwieldy PlayOnline interface -- a vestigal collection of features that add, for me at least, no useful features, only delay between sitting down and gameplay.Once you've got your boots on Vana'diel soil, there's more punishment to be had. Final Fantasy IX adds to the sting death a loss of experience points. One false move can erase hours of progress, forcing the player to play conservatively, grinding on smaller enemies rather than venturing off into unknown territories. Also, quests and missions are hidden, discovered only by talking to every NPC you encounter. I see what Square is going for. They're shooting for immersion over ease of use, forcing players to engage their characters and each other to experience the story. Thing is, I don't feel any less immersed in World of Warcraft with its huge yellow exclamation points and question marks. I'm merely grateful.
Final Fantasy XI isn't all bad. While I enjoy the stylized look of World of Warcraft, I have to cede that Square's game wins points in the style deparment. Characters and monsters have been crafted with the utmost care. There's less variety in their models, but they're downright gorgeous. And the world too, while more sparse, is a thing of beauty. Environments are more reality based. Gargantuan trees are few and far between. Instead, they've created believable, but alien environments. Each zone is slightly different rather than the jarring transformations that occur when travelling from on World of Warcraft area to another.
On the Xbox 360 the game looks better than it did on my PC. This build of the game has a very long "draw distance" meaning you can see enemies from farther away. Topographical features don't "pop up" as you approach. There's no mist on the horizon that trees and hills eventually emerge from. You can look far in a direction, pick out almost any landmark and walk to it. And I'm impressed at how playable the game feels with a controller. I'm doubtful that World of Warcraft could ever be managed without a mouse and keyboard. This game's sometimes confusing controls are managable on both PC and consoles -- a feat that I imagine cripples both control schemes in one way or another. But impressive nonetheless.
A particular painful missed opportunity is fact that Final Fantasy IX is one of the few Xbox 360 games without Achievments or Gamer Points. Would it have killed them to hand out a couple points per rank?
The surprising thing is that I'm considering keeping my subscription beyond my trial period. Despite (or perhaps because of) the massochistic game rules, I've grown attached to Mudhoney, my Tarutaru warrior. I played a Mithra before, but I'm finding that exploring from the perspective of a tiny character makes every fight seem much more momentous -- there's not a crab or caterpillar out there that doesn't outsize me.
I'm also looking forward to socializing with other players. My Final Fantasy-obsessed friend, Jeremy, has been playing again. If we're able to pull off regular meet-ups I'd gladly pay to play with him. Some people you just can't convince to play World of Warcraft.
2 Comments:
Unless there has been a major changes, I think that the loading screens as you zone between areas in much more jarring than WOWs transitional areas between zones.
True, but there's not stark contrasts between adjacent lands, such as between Thousand Needles and Ferelas. I agree that zoning is lame and so are a million other aspects of FFXI -- like the fact that whispers still can't be recived while zoning. I'm just saying that one of the game's pros is their care in creating slowly changing landscapes, rather than dramatic shifts.
Post a Comment
<< Home