I got a dirt cheap copy of Final Fantasy XIV off of ebay and have been messing around with it for the last few weeks since I have had some time off(thanks surgery!). I was in the beta and the game was terrible, and since firing the team responsible and bringing a whole new group on and spending the last year revamping the game I have to say they have done a decent job of it. If this had been the game at launch it would have done much better. The in-game* cutscenes are very nice and put SWTOR's to shame, as far as the cinematic nature of them is concerned. Of course FFXI's
cs's, especially the later expansions, were were well staged and engaging as well.
The character models and armor have a real feeling of dimension and weight. Different types of cloth and leather have a sense of thickness and pattern, heavy armors look like they are resting on the model. It is actually a very low key aesthetic that works very well for the game. The classes are interesting as is the ability to choose abilities from other jobs to create a hodgepodge of skills to play how you like to some degree, and the crafting, which is a big part of the game isn't to bad, though like anything if you level it solely through grinding can get a little dull. I like that you don't have to buy spells but that they grow with the mage. For example a Conjurer gets Stone at level 1. Instead of having to later get Stone II, Stone III, ect the power of the spell just grows with the player, as does it's mp cost. You don't spend time and money upgrading spells or having to camp scrolls. The main problem I have had so far is that the community, not surprisingly, is quite small.
OTOH it is a tight nit group that is generally very helpful.
I'll probably keep messing around with it becuase I would like to see the
cs's and story before they release Final Fantasy XIV 2.0 later this year in which the game story will be completely changed. There will be events that the players will be involved with that herald the coming 'destruction' of the world which could be interesting. Some items will only be available pre-2.0, like a gobbue mount that 'legacy' players will get to carry over. I don't know if the new classes (Paladin, Monk, ect) will be implemented before or after 2.0, but everyone is looking forward to that. There apparently is also Magitech Armor from FFIII/
VI on the way.
It is also full of puns and word play. On of the the Blacksmith quests that has you making saws or axe heads was called "Get to the Chopper", and the new Ifrit fight is called "Ifrit bleeds, we Can Kill It".
There is still a good amount of work to do before 2.0 as there is still a bit of UI lag, and a glitch here and there, but overall it is very playable, and if one is so inclined can be fun. It is also nice to play a
FF game that is more grounded in the Fantasy side and less of the Sci-fi elements.
*The CGI videos are done as well as any of the CGI that SE has done over the last few years and is very good, though I think the SWTOR CGI nudges it a bit.
