Final Fantasy XI (Xbox 360, 2006)

Final Fantasy XI: Online. Yes, its for the hardcore. Yes, its slow-paced. Yes, its not as graphically impressive as other 360 games. But is it worth playing...YES!

Given that I am the hard. The core. The hardcore...I can handle this game. In fact, despite having GRAW, Oblivion, Battlefield 2 and Tomb Raider at my finger tips...countless hours are spent playing Final Fantasy XI.

Originally, on the beta, I held back a little. I wanted to test the waters, but wasn't sure how much I could get into it. I got my character to a level 10 warrior. Decent, but you're not able to do much yet. The fact that the retail version opens up a number of options to you should let you know there's much more to anticipate here. First off it includes all three expansion packs, one of which JUST came out and is selling for $30. So to get this game for $50 is a bargain (if you exclude the monthly fee).

One thing to note, especially about the beta, was that you just got dropped into this world. No manual, no real sense of what the heck I'm supposed to do. This is where the game fails, it is -at times - too large of a sandbox. It is a MMORPG, and the game is supposed to live forever, but goodness. When you don't know what does what, we have a problem.

A couple saving graces about the final version is that 1) we have a manual now, which includes some of the keyboard shortcuts. 2) We have veterans from the PS2 and PC who have been playing for years, and for the most part are friendly and willing to share their knowledge with you (I've had on a few occasions high lvl characters stop what they're doing to help me though a quest). These two factors add to bring a sense of "I know what to do now" that most probably didn't have before.

You can go solo, or in a group - its your choice. You can hook up with a Linkshell (CLAN) and check to see when your friends are on, and when their not. The reason this (Playonline) needs to be seperate from XBOX LIVE is because you are online with PC and PS2 players. So to keep track of a friend playing on a PS2, a gamertag they have NOT. So, the game itself keeps track of who is where, much like Halo 2 did on the XBOX 1. Not only will it tell you if your friend is online or not, it will tell you which region and what level they are.

Are you a white mage looking to hook up with a warrior? You can do a search for someone in a number of ways. By level, by job, or just see who's in your area. Once you know what you're doing it really does improve the gaming experience.

Outside of its dated graphics (though noticably better then the PS2 and in widescreen) and the audio (which is ashamedly electronic sounding as oppossed to the amazing orchestrations I know Square Enix can do), there is a great game to be had. It will not fit everyone, but there are some of us that I've run into (Japanese gamers included) who are playing on their 360 and share my heart.

Yes, it is for the hardcore, but the game is so relaxing...It takes a hardcore audience to get into it, but the gameplay isn't fast and frantic. You want that, play an FPS. This game rewards you in so many areas. It takes time to build a strong character, but then you will be a force to be reconed with. From there you can adventure whereever you want. Explore the new lands included in the expansion packs. Pick up a craft like woodworking and make a living creating and selling items. Furnish you house.

For those who have the patience this game is highly recommended.

What a money grubbing scam. First, you have to pay for the game, then you have to buy an online account specifically for the game, and on top of that, you have to pay to play it monthly. Oh yea, you still have to pay for X-Box Live fees. What a rip off.

This is ridiculous. You have to pay for the game, have to buy an online account specifically for the game, and you have to pay to play it monthly(on top of your xbox live fees). I hate it.

I personally love the Final Fantasy series of games. I received this game as a gift from my girlfriend and I couldn't have been happier. I loved the graphics and the ability to basically do about anything or talk to anyone. There are countless of things to do in this game. Time for the pros and cons. Pros first: Great game, great interface, decent controls (except for some camera angles) countless hours of things to do. Cons: Install time, file size and time (overall around 6gb of updating is necessary), typing without a USB keyboard (MS360) can be a pain and pretty time consuming, and the monthly fee needs to be lowered. Also unfortunately if you own a microsoft xbox 360 and you don't have the hard drive you won't be able to play. 5/5 though for graphics and fun level.

This is just a warning for other people.
Never buy this game used. You can only register it once and once that is done their tech support says you have to purchase a new game to get your own unique registration code.
Buying this game used is the same as buying a paperweight.
Be careful!

This game is a total rip-off!! I wasted 44 bucks on it just to find out I had to download a ton of stuff. This took me about 3 hours to complete just installing it. After it was done loading I had just about had it and deleted my profile. 14 bucks a month just to play an online game, I think square enix (I don't care if I miss spelled it for you fan boys out there) has totally lost it's flippin' mind.

This game pales in comparison to the other FF games out there. So save your sanity and buy an off-line FF game and avoid the hassle of downloading content before you play your game (the 360 doesn’t work that way.)

you have to pay an additional monthly fee ALONG with your xbox 360 charges :(

not for me sorry

and it is not applicable with ps3 which most people play it on so its not as fun. i think i will be selling this game. i dont like it very much.

dissapointment :/

VDon't Buy Used Versions, the online serial number will be already registered to someone else and they will NOT give you a new one.
Throw disc in garbage or use for a drink coaster.
BUY NEW ONLY.
Plus it is ONLY ONLINE PLAY with a monthly fee of $14 above the cost of xbox live!

This game can only be purchased new. Do not buy a used copy unless it is to replace one that doesnt work. There is a special subscription associated with each disc that can only be given ONCE.
Never got to play the game, They have lots of followers so I would imagine its good for the right person....

I don't know what others are talking about. I played the Beta version and thought it was awesome! There are tons of people to help you if you have questions (gamers, computer characters and live help) and the graphics are pretty awesome! There are so many things you can do besides go out and kill things, although to increase your level you gotta kill stuff. You can heal yourself after battle without buying expensive potions like in previous versions, make your own weapons, armor, food items and other things through synthesizing items, fight alone or join a party, go fishing, gardening or mining, or just sit around selling stuff in your own bazaar. They even have auction houses where you can get whatever you need generally lower than the actual stores. This game rocks! You can also join the mentor program once your level is high enough (to be a mentor) so you can help others out or you can join up with a mentor to help you along if you need it. And they still have chocobos, ferries and airships. There are missions and quests for you to sign up to get special and/or rare items and you can inquire and then choose to accept the mission/quest or not. I especially like the fact that I can have a main job and equip a sub or second job like a warrior who's also a white mage. You can fight and cure yourself at the same time. They also have advanced jobs like ninja, dragoon, summoner and samurai all which are a blast to play with. You can change your main job at any time. Because of all the stuff there is to do in this game it will take some time but that's what makes this game so cool! Who wants a game you can beat in a day and then you either sell it or it sits on the shelf in your room collecting dust? This game offers something for every level of player and the fact that there is so much to do and that it's online makes it fun, interesting and challenging everytime you log in and play! I would recommend this game to everyone!

The delivery in the game was very fast. My only problem was the seller's failure to mention the registration codes with the game. The seller did mention that it was necessary to have Xbox Live in order play the game, but did not mention that each disc/game has a specific registration code. Once these registration codes are enter in once they do expire, therefore rendering any used version of this game useless to the buyer. I informed the seller of the situation after I received the game and they simply provided me with a link to go buy a new version of the game. If it wasn't for this lack of customer concern and attention the seller would have received an excellent rating.

Haven't even had a chance to play the game, just the online registration is rediculously long and very hard to even complete because of the lack abbreviations and symbols available to use, I had to change my info through my bank just to be able to complete registration and also looks like there could possibly be a monthly fee seperate from the X-Box Live cost as well, not very happy and will probably sell this game before I play it!

Don't buy this game used unless they sell thier "play online account" with it. Once the registration code is used, it can never be reused again. This renders the game useless as not only do you have to have x-box live; you also have to pay "play online" to use this game. I don't recommend this game unless you have the time to invest in playing to make the extra monthly charge worth it. This is an ONLINE ONLY game.

I had never played Final Fantasy until a couple of years ago and I am saddened that I had missed out on it until then! I owned a Super Nintendo when I was little but always played the Mario games and never tried these. I highly recommend you play it and own it but I will warn you it's very addicting!

This game and the Microsoft XBOX 360 Live experience is by far the worst I have ever had since playing games online. The game itself cost 50 bucks, Then you can only play it online. That means 12 more dollars a month for XBOX Live for the gold supscription, which is a ripoff. It tells you can download games watch video and all that, what they dont say is you buy points from a XBOX Live Media center, like for 69 dollars u get 5000 points, then the games they offer cost you 1200 points or even more, so u download like 3 games for 69 dollars. They dont even give you any when you sign up, nor did they when I spent 600 dollars for the entire system, controllers, etc. Then you have to buy access to Playonline to create profile, another 12 dollars, Then after all that and about 2 hours of downloading updates to the game, It makes you buy each charcter, 12 dollars for the first and a dollar more for each one thereafter, did I also mention, thats per month!!!! So startup for this game alone was around 86 dollars, and to keep playing it every month it costs you 36 dollars, a MONTH!!!!!! If you want to be squealing from the feeling, email me and Ill sell it to you. Well, thanks again to Microsoft and other spineless, souless, marketing powerhouses for stealing more of our money. Thanks to Mr. Gates for wasting my time - time I will never get back; sleep well and %$#^%$#*^!!!!!!! Whens the new playstation comming out again????

I owned this game for about a month. It does nothing for the FF series. Anyone who was a fan of good RPGS like FF7 are going to be very disappointed with this game. It is very hard to make money, and it takes a long time to level up. The world is so big that you can spend hours trying to get where you want to be. The group fighting is very fun, but you almost always have some idiot in your group who pulls a monster too strong or too soon! I guess that was what made the game fun though... If you really don't have anything to do, then I guess this game would be good for you. It is very depressing trying to make money, and there is no story line whatsoever. You will meet some great people though, and that made the game fun. The only point in the game is to achieve higher levels, so you can wear better armor, so you can fight stronger monsters, so you can achieve higher levels... and while this ideology may help prep younger children for corporate america, it can get pretty tiresome after about a week for the rest of us. If you want a massive online chat room with a hefty monthly service that has some cool grafics and battles, then buy this. If you want a great RPG that has outstanding grafics and an excellent story line, buy Oblivion.

Awesome game - started playing when it first came out on PC, now im playing it on my 360. Every part of this game was thought out in detail, amazing. The only down side to the game is how addicting it is. haha.

Its an alright game only bad part is that you have to use a credit card for the online feature. and its the only way you can play the game. its actually a waste of money the graphics arent that good the online feature is sorta slow and the game will practilly take you a year just to beat . If you want to buy an rpg game get something like morrowwind aka elder scrolls its more worth your time then this game .

Wow the game doesn't even come out till April 19th and already two trolls have told you hwo bad it is! I for one will probably wait until I've actually played the expansion to comment further, but the first two segments FFXI and the first expansion are pretty cool in my opinion.

In a long line of Games that had their start as early as Nintendo the Final Fantasy franchise is one of the most popular and revered RPG's of all time. Since Square Enix designed and released it's first MMORPG (mass multi online role playing game) it has drawn hundreds of thousands of gamers. The world of Vana'diel is deep in story and adventure that you can never possibly exhaust. Since it's release in 2002 four expansions have been added to this already gigantic world, three of which are included in the XBOX 360 release. The fighting methods and role playing qualities in the game urge you to make friends and work with other players like yourself to defend the land from countless enemies. This game has been compared to WOW (World Of Warcraft) and for myself and many FFXI players they left WOW wanting and found what they were looking for with Final Fantasy XI. The amount of jobs and characters is overwhelming for the gamer and you can boast over 2000 hours of game time and still never tire of the gameplay and fun. This is a must for all gamer fans no matter what your taste you will find something your looking for with Final Fantasy XI online.

This Cost Money To Play on line.And You Cant Unlock the extra games with out a credit card.Come on times are tough who's got the time or funds to spend on yet another drain on yer card.Other then that i hear its a pretty cool game.

Well, my husband wanted this game, so i found one and bought it. got a really good deal on it. but come to find out you can't play used copies of these games once the registration code has already been used. stupid me though, i should have definately researched more on this before buying. but hey, you live and you learn. although the seller was very nice and did refund my money. so that was a good thing that came out of this. so in the future i will always check on stuff like this before buying. but i just don't understand how a company can make a game for the console and only allow one person to use it in this day and age of trading video games to get the newer ones. that is just ridicoulus. but i guess that's how they make there money. my rating is for the purchase experience. and not the game. since we weren't acutally able to play the game.

i have been playing ffxi for about a year now. And i love it there are so many games out there where you can only be one thing in ffxi you can be it all. From a mage too a fighter,it is all up to you how you wanna play if your a big ff fan i would get this game it is worth your time, if you're not a serious RPG Player then i don't recommend this game.