Final Fantasy XI….worth the jump?
First off I want to say that this review is intended for those that are currently WoW players that may be looking for another game to try and/or compare to WoW. As a former WoW player, I tried out and have stuck to FFXI instead of WoW because of one particular thing…….WoW is one of the most broken games I have ever played (in my personal opinion) and I’ve been a video gamer for over 15 years. Before I explain my opinion about WoW, I want to compare the two games by how they play.

FFXI: FFXI is not an easy game. It is truly meant for more hardcore gamers due to the enormous amount of time needed to advance in the game as well as the pretty much colossal initial difficulty level. However, the replay value for the game as well as the overall experience and immersion that players feel from the game is much much more than WoW can ever offer. For one, you have over 20 jobs (classes in WoW terms) to choose from while playing despite having only 6 available when you first play the game. Also, you can have two jobs at once!!!! Meaning that you can have one primary job and a secondary job though secondary jobs are only half the level of your primary job. Want to be a red mage that can heal like a white mage? Go for it! Want to be a dancer that can deal black magic? No problem! Also, once you level up a certain job to the max, the game isn’t over for you, you can switch out jobs and start from scratch while still keeping all your treasures and experience from your maxed out job (unlike WoW where once you hit the level cap, you have to create an entirely new character)! I believe this is what has kept so many players engaging themselves in FFXI for more than 7 years and running! Also, it’s an MMORPG that has a story (exactly what the series is known for!). The story may not seem very prevalent at the beginning of the game, but as you progress through the game you’ll be teased with information that makes you crave to keep playing to find out more! Also, this game sucks the life out of you, it is not meant to be played in mere 30 min segments, you will never get anywhere in the game if you try to play this way. Some gamers may hate it but honestly I think that makes the game even more special. You personally know how much time and effort you’ve put into the game and when you grind all the way up through the ranks and levels in order to kill a great dungeon boss in order to acquire a certain weapon or even a new summon to call at your will, you feel a sense of pride and accomplishment, that’s what I expect from a game from being a hardcore player. There are only 3 things that I think hold the game from being perfect: 1) The initial difficulty is disgusting hard, unless you have an online or paper guide or someone to hold your hand through the beginning of the game, you’ll be truly overwhelmed of what to do, which is why the game is more focused towards the hardcore players. 2)Managing your “buddy” or “friend” list is much more difficult that it needs to be, 3) The process of actually logging into the game before even playing it and having to log out instead of simply turning off your system to avoid possibly losign your data is kind of ridiculous and more tedious that it needs to be. Overall I think that the game is great and I intend to keep playing it until the day it is shut down (which I don’t see happening for at least 3 more years).

WoW: First off, WoW is meant for casual gamers. WoW was designed for anyone who has less than an hour to play to run a simple quest or simply to chat with friends and have a fun simple time. If you’re a casual gamer and don’t have alot of time to invest in a game, by all means play WoW because you’ll love it. Back to my point earlier about why I say that WoW is so broken…this game is all about collecting gear….that’s it! For anyone else who thinks something different, shut up you’re wrong! FFXI has a story to invest in and discover, weapons and treasure to discover, chocobos to raise, sights to see, summons to defeat, dungeons to conquer, missions to complete, and quests for enforcing your conquest toward your nation’s domination. WoW…..is all about collecting items. There’s supposedly a story in it but I never found it (how does Warcraft III which had a great story…try to be an MMO that keeps the same universe….but doesn’t bring a great story?!?!?!). All WoW is about is conquering a dungeon, getting epic gear, showing it off to others, planning on getting even better gear and selling off whatever you don’t need on the auction house in between chatting with your friends and occasionally playing battlegrounds (PvP). WoW is nothing more than a c*@k fest for gear, that’s it. If you’re the type of person that is all about finding loot and trying to get even more and better loot, play WoW. You were meant to be with it. As for me, I expect more from a game that I am going to invest in playing let alone pay a montly subscription for.

In conclusion, FFXI is a great game in so many ways I encourage people to at least try the 14-day trial from Square Enix. If you don’t like it, I thank you for at least trying, if you do end up liking it, I’m sure you’ll love it as much as I do!!!