Reviews of Final Fantasy XI please

[Flying Mullet]

For those of you out there that have played Final Fantasy XI, can you give your thoughts on it? Especially in comparison to other online games out there right now(like Diablo 2 and Everquest). The reason I'm asking is that I want to see if it's worth buying/playing or if it's just a rehash of another online game.

[Kalel]

I doubt its a rehash of another game since it has better graphics than any past online game, plus a background story unlike majority online games, outshines games like Everquest.
I read everything on it and it sounds great. But hopefully someone who played it can help you out more. I plan to get it for sure.

[Bahamut2000X]

Well several friends of mine are beta testers and they have said they love the game thus far. Damn I just can't wait until spring for it to come out.

[Tom Morello]

Some things that seperate FFXI from other online games:

- amazing graphics
- infinite gameplay
- multiple classes in which you can change to at will
- smooth gameplay, and a simple yet addictive battle system
- tons of monsters (although many look the same and just have different names :()
- 10,000 people per server (that's a LOT)
- conquest system which improves cities which have the most land (extra shops open)
- 6 person parties, and three parties can form an alliance

etc. etc.

First Impressions:

When I first logged onto FFXI I was overwhelmed. The world was huge and I really didn't know what to do (or even how to get out of town for that matter). Thankfully the map is very helpful.

The graphics amazed me. The city looked great, and it was very big.

Once I got outside I found some tunnel worms and engaged in combat. The controls are a breeze, and even if you have no idea what button does what when you start, you are sure to quickly pick it up.

One thing that really pissed me off was how hard it was to untarget an enemy to run. Normally you just hit circle, but after you hit an enemy you go into some sort of super lock, and pressing circle didn't work for me. I had to hit "Disengage" to sheathe my sword, and then pick a new target (one in which I hadn't attacked) and then hit circle to untarget.

That may not seem like a big deal, but it get's frustrating when you get killed because you can't untarget the enemy to run away.

Money is pretty hard to come by... but most enemies you defeat drop something or another, and whatever it is they drop, it can probably be sold or traded for cash. I quickly earned enough for a new armor, pants, boots, gloves, and sword. Oh, and getting new equipment is really cool, because it completely changes your appearance...

Now if only I could find a way to unequip a Mithra of all her armor... I mean... umm... FFXI roxors!

So yeah... I personally love this game and can't wait to start playing it for real.