Articles
By Brent3000
Published: Mar. 4, 2007 9:25 PM
After the long and exciting trilogy of Final Fantasy on the Play Station 2, the long wait has finally come to an end with the release of Final Fantasy XI on the Xbox360. Final Fantasy XI is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG), allowing you to play against people all over the world as well as across different platforms. This is done through the unique coding, allowing all platforms to equally interact within the servers.
Although the interaction between each platform is equal, the difference in controls and options does vary. As the game began as a PC/PS2 game the use of voice was not enabled, meaning the main way of communication must be done via the chat option. To make this whole option a lot simpler for console users it’s recommended that the player use a USB keyboard. This saves having to scroll around the on-screen keyboard all the time to trying to reply to messages.
One of the major down sides to the game is the lengthy set up process, which is both time consuming and annoying. First up you need to install the required software, allowing you to connect to the main server. The PlayOnline Manager is the first of the installations required and will take you an average 1-3 minutes to install. You must then get the latest updates from the server which will take another 3-4 minutes to download and install. At this point the registration begins. Here is where it gets interesting… if you have a spare USB keyboard it is recommended you grab it for this part of the registration as it requires a few options for you to fill in. If you don’t have access to a USB keyboard you can enter the data manually but it is by no means a quick or easy process, and can take up to 40 minutes.
After registering the product and accepting all of those terms and conditions you are finally able to install the game. All up, installing FFXI as well as gathering the required updates will take an estimated time of three hourse. This is one of the major problems with the game. Plus, after the hours of installing and updating, the game still requires the game disc to play! Though this does allow the load times to be reduced drematicaly.
Once the PlayOnline manager has started up your then able to select the game you wish to play (in this case FFXI). The game finally starts without any fuss and after entering the registration codes for FFXI you're able to start playing. As well as being able to play the basic FFXI your also able to play 3 of the expansions: Rise Of The Zilart, Chains Of Promathia and Treasures Of Aht Urhgan. Each of these expansions contain additional areas and are accesible whenever you wish.
Once you have started FFXI you're able to begin customizing your character. Some of the well knows FF characters are available, each with a wide range of jobs to take on. These range from a Warrior, monk or a mage, each with their own specialty. After selecting the job and character you wish to be, you can alter the look and style of your character. This allows you to choose from a range of faces, hair styles and body sizes and shapes. Once the customization of the character is done, it's time to pick a name and then your ready to go.
After the setting up of your character and account, the game finally begins. Now you must choose your home city and where you will spend the first part of the game. Before you start wondering around looking at everything and seeing what’s where its best that you just stop and get a feel for the controls and the game options, as Final Fantasy can be difficult to get used to.
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