Posted on: June 11, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Final Fantasy XI is one of the largest MMORPGs around; at the time that the latest expansion pack, Wings of the Goddess, was released, there were over 500,000 active subscribers linked up to the service. Final Fantasy XI originally went online in 2002, while Rise of the Ziliart, Chains of Promathia, Treasures of Aht Urhgan, and Wings of the Goddess were released in 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2007 respectively. Each game added on to different monsters, skill sets, job classes, and the like, coupled with an entirely new sub-storyline with which to follow. Perhaps the most interesting fact to me (and I know this seems like a moot point, but still) is the fact that individuals that are playing on the PC, Xbox 360 or Playstation 2 consoles can interact.

The cheap price point (under $30) and the fact that individuals are given a free 30 day trial of the game makes this one of the best video gaming values of the year. What Square Enix has done here is make a value bundle for a game that is still very active and which is continually being patched and updated for the players’ comfort (as of this review, a patch was released a scant 2 days ago). Individuals that have an older computer should not worry too much about being able to play this compilation, as the minimum system requirements listed by Square Enix here necessitate that individuals only have 128 megabytes of RAM, a sub-1 GHZ processor, and less than 10 gigabytes of free hard drive space.

Final Fantasy is the preeminent series of role playing games, and the fact that a nearly-six year old game has so many adherents is further proof that the individuals over at Square Enix know what they are doing. For example, the world in which individuals play is not static: events are still being created and are affecting individuals leading from the ramifications of the Wings of the Goddess expansion pack. Undoubtedly, as the months and years go by, the storyline and world that individuals will have to contend with will change, and the Vana’diel Collection 2008 provides individuals with the proper introduction that they need to properly appreciate the game.

Rating: 9.0/10

Final Fantasy XI Online: Vana’diel Collection 2008 (PC) / 2008 Square Enix / http://www.playonline.com /

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