Warcry Team takes a final review of the FFXI Beta

We sent a couple of our team members into the fray of the final days of the FFXI Online beta test. After coming out speaking tongues, we worked them over a little bit, and got their impressions of what this game is going to look like when it hits the stores later this month.

Sokaku: This month introduces Final Fantasy fans to an all new arena of play. Final Fantasy XI is a graphically stunning massive online world that keeps with the traditions and includes parts of several of the previous titles. This being the first Final Fantasy title that I had played, I was in for a special treat. Being mainly a console title for many years and the reviews from the PC re-launchs I had stayed away from the title. Going into the beta test I was unsure what to expect: Was it EverQuest with different creatures, a poorly transformed console title, a little of both, or none of the above?

Lunarstar: As a veteran Final Fantasy player, I was very excited to find the next installment would be an online experience. I had been highly anticipating the release since I first read about it. Having played several mmorpg's , I was not sure how Square was going to take the console title we all know and love and transform it into an online game. Unfortunately, I was not able to spend much time in the FFXI beta, so my experiences are probably much different than most of the other players who have had their hands on it longer.

Sokaku: To start, you will have the normal classes from which to choose: Warrior, thief, monk, and 3 kinds of mages. At level 15, after doing a quest, you can also choose from paladin, dark knight, beast tamer, bard, and ranger. With the Rise of Zilart expansion, you can choose from 4 new classes at level 30. You can switch classes at will and with the introduction of sub-classes the combinations are almost endless.

Lunarstar: When first getting started, you must install the Play Online Viewer and create a new account. I found this to be a little bit more confusing than it needed to be. The system itself will be very useful once it is fully functional, enabling users to access emails, send messages to your friends, and view game manuals. Once you have your account set up, you can then log onto the game and select your character.

Sokaku: Final Fantasy XI gives you 3 major cities from which to start and 5 different player races. Initially, there is a human type race and an elf type race. However, this game has some strange races unlike any I had seen before.

[li]The Tarutaru look almost like toy dolls that a child would play with. Standing no more then 2 foot tall you almost want to giggle when you see one. Except for that, the Tarutaru are a powerful magically inclined people.

[li]The Mithra are catlike creatures that are both beautiful and quick. The first oddity is not their appearance but the fact that they are all female. Males are seen in the village but are not playable and very few even exist.

[li]The final race is the Galka, an all male race. This massive warrior race is rumored to lay eggs (this, hopefully, will never be confirmed). With 5 types from which to choose all players will have the ability to explore in ways not seen before.

Lunarstar: After viewing a short cinematic movie, you will begin in your starting city. I personally found the default User Interface to be very non-user friendly. For example, the expanding main window box was very annoying to me. You can customize this and many other features to your liking. The keyboard controls are very similar to most other mmorpg's which will make it easy for those familiar to the genre. As I walked thru the city of Bastok I was amazed with the detail of the graphics. They are definitely a step up from any other online game I have played. FFXI is crisp, clean, and full of textures and colors. I traveled around my hometown for a while, talking to several NPC's and absorbing the scenery before I finally decided to test out the melee battle action. After equipping my weapon and memorizing my level 1 spell I was ready to go. The battle system is fairly simple to use, and the spell graphics are very stunning.

Sokaku: Just like many other online titles, this one also uses levels and skills to define how good you are. Although I am not a big fan because this often leads to power leveling and exploiting, this game seems to have good systems in place to discourage this behavior. Leveling is not something that is done easily and after about level 12 it is next to impossible to do alone.

Sokaku: This is one of the many ways Final Fantasy XI promotes team play. Friends are needed, not just desired. Unlike other games, getting your high level friend to help you level is not an option. Experience is based on the player, not on the creature. This means that if the party isn't about the same level, you get less experience. So you and your party grow as a team or not at all.

Sokaku: Currently the game does not have what I would call a huge selection of weapons or armor and they are both very level restrictive. In many cases everyone looks almost the same. Each weapon has a skill set so you must use every weapon class to become good with it. Armor is class specific, so you won't see a warrior walking around in a mage's robe. I am hopeful that in future patches this will be fixed.

Sokaku: The lands of Vana'diel are vast. As a new player I found it very hard to get my bearings. As time went on I learned how to use the map and actually started recognizing landmarks. The ground, vegetation, and sky are well done and the weather effects are stunning to say the least. I think if I had to pick one area that impressed me; it would be the city of San D'oria. This large stunning city contains everything from an amazing castle to airship docks.

Sokaku: Traveling is done in one of four ways:

[li]The Chocobos: The large cities have stables for these. You must have a license to ride one and they seem to go pretty fast.
[li]Airships: A lifetime ticket to ride is 500k Gill (their term for gold). I did not have the pleasure of riding on an airship. Sailing the seas between Mhaura and Selbina is a personal favorite of mine. Just watch out for pirates, crabs, and sea horrors. All of these will leave the average player flat.
[li]The most used form of travel is running. I ran all over and all the time.

Sokaku: Overall I would give this game a "B". It is graphically superior to many of the games it will go up against. I think it will have some growing pains in the beginning with the game mechanics but I think it will grow into its own and take its place in online history. One definite plus about the game mechanics is that it takes just as much brain to advance in the game as it does slashing monsters. The quests and puzzles are well written, properly placed, and move the game along nicely. I have already pre-ordered Final Fantasy XI and I look forward to growing with the game.

Lunarstar: As mentioned previously, I have not had a chance to totally immerse myself into the world of Vana'Diel. I do think the game has a lot of improving to do if it wishes to compete with up and coming mmorpg's. It seemed to me to be a little more complicated and confusing than it needed to be. At this point my overall opinion will remain neutral, and in time I will add more to my review of FFXI.