Grab yourself a USB keyboard
As soon as I heard that the beta disc for Final Fantasy XI was available in the shops I rushed down to nearest WHSmiths to grab myself a copy. I’ve only ever scratched the surface of previous versions, but I have to admit to being just more than a bit excited at getting my hands on Final Fantasy XI and running it on my spanky new Xbox 360. So much so that in my eagerness to download the MMORPG I didn’t bother to take my shoes off as I entered the house, leaving muddy footprints on my cream carpet, ah I’ll clear it up later. I then banged my knee on the side of the living room table, fell over and flapped about on the carpet like a fish out of water. Anyway…when I had recovered I was hoping to just pop the disc in the tray, type in my registration code and then be online in seconds.
Now when you get hold of Final Fantasy XI the first thing you’ll find is that getting online in seconds is feasible… it’s just how many seconds you think are acceptable… The download takes forever, I’m sure I’d grown a partial moustache by the time the mammoth 2 hours was up. Numerous updates and codes to enter, plus an endless stream of terms and conditions to virtually sign made it a nail biting wait. One tip for those eager to get online, make sure you go to the Play Online website, sign up and get your activation codes before you start the download process. It will shave off vital minutes, which could be spent actually playing the game.
Click for larger imageSo, while I’m waiting for the damn thing to get on my console, let’s take a look at what Final Fantasy XI is all about: Vana’diel is a world that stands on the brink of war. Three powerful nations stand together in their plight against the vicious beastman forces. Amongst countless quests and missions your main goal is to discover the secrets that lie within Vana’diel, and make your fame and fortune by whatever means you deem suitable.
Final Fantasy XI is a MMORPG of massive proportions. It’s a world that is so vast that you’ll probably never explore it in full. An hour of gamplay soon turns into four hours; time seems irrelevant when there are Quests to accomplish. It’s a living, breathing community of people from across the Globe hidden behind the masks of various races that inhabit this virtual world.
The Final Fantasy series of games have earned themselves a place in gaming history, with their rich environments and storylines, their imagination and characters. Final Fantasy XI steps out of the mould and brings us an online game with no single player mode. You’ll have to team up with ‘real’ people to be able to succeed in your goal - to become the ultimate adventurer.
The game begins by choosing your character. There are five different species to choose from, the Humes, Tarutara, Mithra, Galka, and the Elvaan. Each species brings unique characteristics to the table. You’ll customize your character by choosing their hair colour, face size and their job. At this point don’t be too concerned if you’re unsure which job to choose for your character. In game you are able to change your job role by stopping by your house in the residential area. I chose a Thief whose characteristics include a slightly niftier style of attack and a 'Treasure Hunter' ability, that increases the chances of gaining more items from a dead foe. Once you’ve chosen your character you’ll choose from three areas that will determine your starting point. I opted for the small mining town of Bastok.
Click for larger imageAnd so the game begins - FFXI requires text based talking so that you can chat, trade and join up with other adventurers. The Xbox 360 version does not make use of the Xbox Live headset. After 10 minutes of playing the game I realized that chatting using your controller is totally frustrating and long-winded. It took me all of 10-15 seconds just to type ‘hello’. By the time I had attempted to reply to a fellow adventurer asking for directions, he’d disappeared due to the boredom of waiting. It was at this point; I logged out, headed to my local PC shop and grabbed myself a funky aluminium USB keyboard. You do not need to buy a keyboard to play the game but you will quickly get frustrated with using the controller to chat. It just doesn’t work.