Customer Reviews

Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia, Rise Of The Zilart, Treasures of Aht Urhgan

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

I just wanted to post this to let customers know NOT TO BUY used copies of the game, or betas. I noticed one person selling the beta, it will not work, that is a rip off. The beta stopped working April. Also, some people have said they installed it and decided against playing, or that they just played a little bit. Loading this game onto your xbox latches that game onto that particular console, once you use the enclosed codes no other system can use it.

Therefore, if you buy a copy that has had its codes used, you will spend 5 hours loading the game and then come to find that you bought the instruction book. The game's codes will not work and you will be unable to play tha game. The people selling used copies should know this, it says it all over the box and book and it is dishonest to sell such an item used.

I have logged over 150 hours with Final Fantasy XI. It has an addictive leveling system, engaging quests, and fun community. However the graphics in the game are not awe-inpspiring, leveling quickly becomes very hard, and novelty starts to wear thin.
I love this game and the world of Vanadiel, so it is hard for me to be honest about its faults; faults that have even induced me to take several month breaks from the game. First, you lose experience when you die, and can even level down, which has more than once made me throw my controller with considerable force. Second, after you reach certain levels, lower level monsters now grant you no expereince points, forcing you to fight harder and harder monster and nearly requiring a party to do so. 3) The path for the story often moves along steadily and then suddenly throws a nigh impossible battle in your path forcing you to turn aside for weeks to level up enough (or recruit enough friends) to get by.
If you stand to face some extremely frustrating moments you will engage in one of the greatest MMORPGs ever. The art style, the weapons/armor, the story, and the people who play this game rock. It is an experience I am glad I became a part of.

I had never played this game on the PC or XBox 360 before I purchased it, so I was definitely apprehensive. I asked around and none of my friends had played either format, so no help there! They were, however, playing WoW and described the game to me, how the monthly fees work, etc.

After watching one of my friends play for two hours straight in a large party of characters defeating one of the "bosses", I thought it may be something I'd enjoy to consume time or maybe just get into.

The reason I bought this game is due to my interest in FF since the games were first introduced on Nintendo - loved them! To me, being a part of the world I had been so interested in years ago seemed pretty cool. After purchasing this game I liked it so much that I went out and purchased the PC version so I can play on a laptop when I'm away from home.

If you are thinking about buying this game, please let me provide you with simple advice:

1. This is NOT a "hack-n-slash" game where your only objective is to kill monsters. There are skill progressions, sub jobs, advanced jobs, crafts and plenty of missions and quests to keep you busy for a LONG LONG time.

2. Yes, there are online fees for FFXI. It's on the back of the box stated clearly. Do you HAVE to get an XBox Live Gold account? NO! Silver members also get to play but only have to pay the fee for the FFXI server.

3. So what's the complaint about $13.00/month to get updates, play with thousands of other people and have great support from Sqare Enix (who also deals with cheaters) and be able to play with an XBox Live Silver account? You'll hear none from me!

3. The graphics aren't superb like the newer game titles, but it was released in 2003! What do you guys expect? I appreciate the difference in HDTV format and updated sound enough to play it on the 360.

4. I didn't know that a USB keyboard was required to play the game, but the set I bought for my PC worked fine when plugged into the USB port on the console.

5. I've been playing for two months now and have made hundreds of online acquaintences from other countries and have enjoyed the tatics used to play the game. I plan on making it a mainstay in my free-time.

P.S. - If you don't have enough intellect or are too young to play Age of Empires or other in-depth stragegy games, I wouldn't suggest this game to you as it's not "easy".

Most will overlook the obligatory "This thing will take up all your free time" warning as "Just another MMO!" or "I'll play it so much because it's fun."

No.

It will subsitute your life /expressly/ for the reason that it basically forces you to spend 8 hours a day on the "grind". Yep, 8 hours will get you your first five levels in a day, but after that...well, hope you have a cushion to sit on, otherwise your bum will be raw. Also be prepared to wait on /other/ peoples' daily schedules (to be specific, 5 others' time) since you have to gather and organize a party to do anything.

I say this because it's true. It's like working a full-time job.

Oh, but the graphics are good, cutscenes are cool, and the people are nice...

My advices:
1) Each box of the game have a password therefore you cannot resell or len it (if used).
2) It's online ONLY. You need an broadband internet connection.
3) You have to pay a monthly fee ($12 ~ $20).
4) A 20 GB hard drive will fall short in the meantime.
5) You need an USA credit card with local address.
6) Install it overnight (while you sleep) because it takes a long time to download the updates and patches.
7) Not for casual gamers. It will take several hours a day. It's like a job. If you have a life of your own you won't enjoy this game.

the graphics are not next gen but they are still good.Although This game requires you to party up in order to get the best xp you'll find alot of the community willing to help. A ton of content that can last for years. Also DO NOT BUY THIS USED because the play online codes that come with the game are a one time use only. That means if you buy it used you can install the game but you wont be able to play it so you spent money on a paperweight.

THE 360 IS THE BEST THING THAT HAPPEND TO FFXI
no questions about it.
the controls are 100% easier then PC keybaord.
the frame rate is betiful in the game
no lag at all
easy to set up macros with controler, vs the keyboard where u have to hit three keystokes for the PC version of this game.

for the people tha complain about the install time..
The 360 install time is not a problem.. does take like 3 hours.. most MMOs take over 10 hours of updating on PCs.. plus the 2 hour install.. so in my opinoin 360 is hte best thing that happend to FFXI

and for all the other people that complained about monthly fees...
you don't have to have the Xbox live membership to play this game, as long as you have an online connection you can play. you should read your manual -_-
there is also bulk priceing you can do, like pay for a full year, and it wil be like $5 month vs 10 or what ever it is.

First off, I want to say that this is an ONLINE MASSIVELY ONLINE ROLE PLAYING GAME, which means it incurs a monthly fee. This is the main complaint I hear from people. Yet, the ironic thing is the price is the same as WoW.

Beyond that, this game is great for those who like hardcore MMO's. There are monsters that will kill you in one hit. Even then, when you are strong enough to kill that monster, you get a HUGE sense of accomplishment, which is why I must recommend it.

I am posting in response to the negative posts. First off, yes the game is incredibly complex, it takes awhile to setup, awhile to learn, and is impossible to master. You complain because it costs [...]$ a month and say over a year trhats [...]$ well how about this for a little math, how many games will your son, daughter, etc play for a year?! few to none, usually games can be beaten in 3 weeks then are never played again. I dont mind paying [...]$ a month because I have been playing for 7 months and its still something I look forward to daily. As for your complaint about charging for extra characters, yes its [...]$ a month if you want an extra character I see no problem with this, it eliminates people having 200 characters they do nothing with and clogging up the servers.

I will agree with you the game is hard to get into, but someone on my linkshell (sort of clubs/groups of friends you join in the game for help) and his 5 year old daughter plays on a regular basis. There are mentors and linkshells setup to assist people, and if you just ask in your starter city people will help you. If you end up on Odin and need a LS send a tell to cdgreg Id be glad to make you a pearl. Also there are great online sites where you can read about the game. Anyways, yeah its complicated to start, but once you get rolling you will enjoy it, I promise you that.

I feel that most of the bad reviews here is doing too much unjust to this game. That is why I am writng this review. Firstly, complicated and complex is a different word. FFXI is a great game if you can afford it first. For parents, don't try to buy this game for your little kid. He/she will not understand the concept. I have been playing this game eversince it came out in 2002 Japanese version and mind you, I am still at it. This is not your ordinary game, it's an interactive game whereby you organise, think and execute what you need to do every step. You interact with people all over the world, China, Japan, America, Malaysia, Singapore, Europe etc... If you are matured enough, patient enough and you are able to pay for the game, as well as the subscription by yourself. Then this is the game you will like to stick to for quite sometime. I have got many friends in this game who go play WoW, EQII and still turn back to this game for more. You will never get another game like this. Boring? Surely not I assure you. Even for my mom who is a hardcore FFXI gamer on at level 75 (max level) has not been to all places, FFXI world is so big, you will never fully completely gone everywhere. With so many jobs, skills to try, with so many missions, quest to accomplish, what more can you ask for in a game? Graphics are great as well, unless you are not on HDTV. With that many platform all on the same game PS, PC and 360, can you imagine how many people are into this game? Not to mention the number of servers servicing (more than 10) I bet at least 10,000 members are on each of them minimum.