Final Fantasy XIV Collector's Edition
by Square Enix
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Category: Video Games
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Product Summary
Brand: Square EnixAudio: English (Unknown)
Format: DVD-ROM
Release Date: 2010-09-22
Platform: Windows Vista, Windows XP
Model: 91016
Publisher: Square Enix
Product features:
- Collector's Edition Content includes the following
- Early Access code! (8 days prior to standard edition)
- FFXIV Game Disc, Behind the scenes DVD, Buddy Pass Insert
- "Right of Passage" voucher, In Game Item, Branded Security Token, and Travel Journal
- Delivered by mail-Personalized and numbered "Right of passage" document
Video Game Reviews of Final Fantasy XIV Collector's Edition
Customer Review: New, Innovating, Fun
Summary: 5 Stars
Presentation 4/5
The game gives a first good impresion, though it comes to quickly frustrate some impatient people because the tutotial is really lacking, but it's not very hard to understand or to get into, it could be more informative at least but not a real issue, the crafting also lacks instructions and you have to rely and read guides on the comunity site, then again, no MMO I have played has had any sort of tutorial. Square Enix is well known to innovate or change the gameplay mechanics of their games with every release, and this game is no exception.
Graphics 5/5
A beautiful, richly detailed world, state of art graphics using the same graphic engine that FFXIII and FFXIII versus are developed/being developed on. The world is so vibrant and alive, the weather effects are shocking, the bright sun on the sky in the middle of the day, making the floor bright on the desert, the ocassional sandstorm, the cold nights, the stunning and rich forest, and the rainstorms, it all shapes nicely. The character models are very detailed, the movements are very real as if you watch the making the game video that comes with it all is done with motion capture, there's not a single clipping on gear, like many other mmo's that your armor goes trough your body, or your hair goes trough your armor, everything is carefully made with atention to every detail, including the enemies, they give you the impression how they would look if they were real.
Sound 5/5
The sound is simply AMAZING combat sounds, weather sounds, nature sounds and most important, the soundtrack is simply beautiful composed by the legendary Nobuo Uematsu rest easy that you'll never get tired of the music, and expect some epic soundtrack to go along with epic fights. Unlike several other MMO's (World of Warcraft, Aion, Everquest, etc) that after 2-3 days the music made my head explode that I was often looking on the options how to turn it off, you will not be dissapointed with FFXIV.
Gameplay 5/5
The gameplay is revolutionary, is very fresh and something you have never tried before, the combat is not your average auto-attack game or spam, actually needs stratergy, you learn abilities of other classes if you take the time to play them which is totally worth it, for example I will list my current class build:
Main class: Gladiator (tank/medium DPS)
Gladiator consists on tanking, with the ability to manually raise your shield for defense, while countering damage with several weapon skills to increase enmity, it also has elemental attacks but they consume mp as well as TP.
It lacks self healing abilities, or MP regeneration skills. So to balance the downsides I used.
Cure (Conjurer) This is self explanatory, it's a healing ability that Conjurer has.
Regen (Conjurer) As the name says, this regens your HP over time
These are of course MP consuming abilities so how do I regenerate MP for abilities I would constantly use?
Styngian Spikes (Thaumaturge) This skill turns part of the damage recieved into MP
Then I realized I had a lot of spare TP even if I spammed weapon skills, because unlike other classes, gladiator only uses 250 unlike others that use 1000 so I learned:
Second Wind (Pugilist) This converts 250 TP into HP
If you have played Demon Souls, the system works party similar but still retains a lot of original feartures, you can also manually put your atributes, changing your weapon type also changes your class.
Leaving the combat aside, now to the craft and gathering classes. The crafting is just AMAZING, I have seen a lot of people complain about it, but I think they are used to the autocrafting and the full load of useless gear off them. In FFXIV the crafting is way more interactive you play a mini game where you can control the quality of the item. As I stated before it lacks in game instructions, and it's probably why a lot of people frustraded by not understanding how it worked, but you can find very detailed guides on how it works on comunity sites. A lot of people complains that you need items from other crafts, first and foremost, the crafting isn't for everyone, it's mainly aimed to people dedicated on it, that's why it has it's classes appart. For example:
I'm currently leveling Armorsmith, which I need leathercraft since some plates have leather, and weaver, since the leather has cloth, so I made a deal with two of my friends. for my leathercraft friend, he synths me the materials I need in exchange of me synthing him belt buckles for belts, and a few other items, and to my weaver friend, I give her the mats and she makes them for me all the time since she gets free skill ups with my materials. In the end a lot of people crafting off the bat but a lot of them will give up, which is why in the end it's more rewarding and unlike World of Warcraft, Aion etc, equipment doesn't bind to you, it can be traded again after you wear it or you are done with it, so the market is never overflowed with excess of items, plus you can recover your money after you are done with it. A lot of people complaining about it are the ones that are unable to socialize with other players.
Then there's the Leves, leves Square Enix has said it was mainly intended for the casual players are their main leveling source, you get it from the adventurer's guild, then you run to the respective camp to start it, you are given a series of objectives, you can either solo them, or with group or even a legion (15 players) depending on the dificulty you choose, you get Gil, increased exp from kills, and a chance of equipment.
Then there's story missions which they unlock as you level up, after you reach level 20, several new options unlock, such as class especific guildleves (which SE has said you obtain especial class unique equipment off it) and faction leves, I haven't tried either since there's still so much to do.
Lasting Appeal 5/5
I can see this game giving me a lot of fun time to last a while, Square Enix was known in FFXI for constantly make content updates, and always leave you something to do. I was crafting the other day on the camp and some guy came saying the game sucked because it lacked content, most people seemed to be shocked to be reading this because it's untrue, a lot of the content is locked, they don't make the same mistakes that a lot of MMO do, which is unlock all the content at once and have people quickly bored of it, even though there's so much to do, there's unexplored dugneons on the staring areas, 3 large, and I mean large areas that could probably take hours to explore each of them, there's a 4th large city that you see from affar when you enter one of the areas, and people ventured and found the gates closed with some guards saying they aren't allowing people to pass for now. Not to mention there's a whole large blank spot on the map that hasn't been added yet or you can't even enter, but people have digged the DAT files and have encountered at least 5 more large areas, including abilities that go beyond the level 50 cap. A few trolls say that the game has the same content as the beta, but they fail to realize that the beta was 5 GB large while the retail game is 22GB large.
Other Thoughts:
There are a few problems that trouble the game or functions that are basic and there aren't present, there's no sort function for your invertory, there's a slight UI lag but it's not as bad as some people was claiming 1-5 seconds which is totally a lie, it's more like half a second delay or a second.
People seems to believe that Square Enix is just sitting on their thumbs doing nothing, they just said on a interview on September 29, that people isn't using the feedback option they listed on the game menu and they are having the same problem as the beta, not much people saying what are their dislikes of the game and what they want improved, and they have resorted to have a small team to read in game chats and comunity sites to see what people complains are, so pretty much people instead, rant and complain to boards or here and try state how annoying it is, instead of telling Square Enix their dislike so they can work on it. Even so, they got player's feedback about how hard was to browse trough the markets and have listened to the players complains they saw on comunity sites:
Markets
Q. I have read that there are changes planned to improve the market system, but is there any more specific information available regarding these changes and the direction the market system will take?
A. We have continued to receive copious amounts of feedback regarding changes that players would like to see made to the market system. As a result, we are planning a number of revisions and additions to the system, the first of which are scheduled to be implemented in the next one to two weeks.
Specifically, market wards will be organized according to specific item types, making it easier to consolidate similar items in the same area. Further, if an item sold within a ward corresponds to that wards' item type, the tax incurred will be reduced. Items not of that ward's category may still be sold, but the tax imposed will remain the same as it has up until now.
We will be closely monitoring the trends and developments of the market system following the implementation of these revisions and new features, and will continue to make further adjustments and alterations to improve player usability and convenience. For example, we are currently looking into options that will provide players with precise information as to which items are located in which market areas, or the ability to seek out specific items without the need for speaking to retainers, and more.
A lot of people will say, "there's no Auction House still" but they fail to see the reason they aren't adding it yet, a fine example is their own game, FFXI, they released the Auction house too quickly because players demanded it, and RMT (Real Money Traders) took advantage of it and inflated the prices beyond retarded, to the point that a lot of people was desperate and couldn't make money to buy from the auction house, resulting on a lot of frustrated players quitting the game because of the inflation, another example is Aion, they had auction house on release, and the prices inflated beyond insane ammounts and couldn't be controled, lot of people quit because they couldn't afford the equipment, nor the stigma skills or anything at all.
My advice, if you have short patience and very picky, wait and buy the game around the release of the PS3 version, the game is great, is fun, it might have a steep learning curve but once you get used to it, is a very one of a kind MMO with lots of fun, and expect to have some epic experiences, heart pumping and full adrenaline battles.
Regarding the Collector's edition itself, don't buy it, it's a rip off, just get the Security token instead for 10 bucks on the Square Enix site.
Description of Final Fantasy XIV Collector's Edition
Embark on the myriad journeys of an epic in FINAL FANTASY XIV, the revolutionary MMORPG from Square Enix. As denizens of the new and visually stunning realm of Eorzea, players will actively engage in compelling storylines narrated through high-definition, real-time events featuring the players? own highly personalized and versatile characters. While exploring even the farthest reaches of this magnificent world, adventurers are given the freedom to entirely alter their gameplay experience by simply swapping out equipment, and realize objectives with or without the aid of others. The entire experience is crafted to accommodate the widest variety of play styles?from the lone mercenary with only moments a day to spare, to the legion of comrades campaigning for days on end, and every combination in between. Join players from around the world in an adventure of infinite possibilities. NOTICE: This product requires: (1) an active internet connection; (2) monthly recurring subscription fees; and (3) agreement to certain license and usage terms (available at FINALFANTASYXIV.COM). Currently, children under age 13 are not permitted to play; users 13-17 require parental consent. Users are granted a limited, revocable license only and do not own any data or intellectual property generated during gameplay.PC Games
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