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How can you give any game a zero out of ten...I wouldn't even give Atari's Swordquest that rating, and that's saying something. Now there is something mighty fishy going on here. To tell you the truth, it really is a good game. I just don't understand what all the bad noise is about. There were issues at launch, just like most MMORPGs invariably have during their first few weeks/months. Perhaps people were coming into it hoping it was another WoW clone, or something like that...which is outrageous, because how could a well respected company such as Square Enix ever release a WoW clone given their long tradition of "turn-based glamour in a box." Well, I knew exactly what to **** I must have been alone. Sure the game has what people call "clunky controls" and a extraordinarily complex user interface. It is a Final Fantasy **** it not? If you didn't want Square Enix's, at times, systematically laborsome turn-based **** opposed to the WoW keyboard-mash, noob-gank, high-vault, free-for-all...then you obviously came to the wrong place. Everything that was right with Final Fantasy XI was preserved in this game. It is true, the quest system is somewhat **** it's the kind of repetitive that feels more Zen-like to me, rather than blatantly contrived. In other words, despite the presence of rice in this oriental dish, there is still a large serving of meat as well. Has anyone ever quit an MMORPG because it was "repetitive"; I wonder if reviewers recognize just how absurd this sounds? MMORPGs are always about a style of game-playing repetitiveness; that is what makes it an **** kind of repetition that feels genuine and fitting, given the genre. Without any "grind", you wouldn't really have an MMORPG at all. Indeed, it is how all the repetitiveness and the novelty is blended together that makes a game like this **** necessarily that there is repetitiveness. It's the way that the recurring phrase reverberates or resonates. And another thing, the game is **** yet whole; and thank God for that. MMORPGs are judged on different standards than any other type of videogame; they are not presented all at once to their public: they unfold over the years. Some companies who do MMOs get it all wrong and try to produce a "finished product" from the very **** it comes across as too slick, hurried or sensational. People should be expecting small or limited worlds with somewhat brief storylines in the **** gives them much more room to grow and blossom in the years to come. And when all the puzzle pieces finally fit into place, it eventually feels more precise and exacting...because rigorous planning was made before each new addition to the world was cautiously made. And, last but not least, we must talk about the game's projected "Lasting Appeal". Can you believe that gaming critics gave the game a rating for this category within the first couple weeks of release? I can hardly believe it! It took me almost two years to figure out how to review this game...both because of the grueling real-life schedule I have had to deal with during this time, and because of the complexity of the product that I was holding in my hand. How can you play any videogame in a two-week period (especially an MMORPG) and critique it believably on "Lasting Appeal"? Do gaming critics have time machines...I didn't know this time-travel technology was even available to us yet? Somehow it must be possible for game reviewers, because it seems they are capable of making speculations on an MMO game's lasting appeal while it's still green...this particularly for a game genre that is generally understood to linger for decades in the hearts of subscribers, rather than a few hours after its purchase. Well, anyway...I believe that the game is quite good now, even before the 2.0 patch has been scheduled for release. I just hope Square Enix doesn't bow too much under the pressure of the western consumer, redesigning their game to be yet another insipid WoW clone...because that is all the western gamer seems to really want in an MMO: bocks of colorfully frozen treacle that can be jumped over in a single bound; beating down both one's friends and foes over and over again until one decides to look for something else to do; unpersuasive heroes that read more like villains in heroes clothing; crafting terribly ugly items to be fitted onto even less persuasive toons; and generic storylines that feel like they come straight out of a Cracker Jack box. I hope that Suare Enix intends to cling to their tradition, despite all this bad noise, because it is a valuable heirloom that they possess: adding a more graceful eastern aesthetic to their games...where "art direction" and game-play combine to make a product truly worth the time it takes to consider its cultural **** me, that adds up to about twenty months, so far.

In my humble opinion, this MMORPG is the best in its **** finest ever released. The story line is extraordinarily engaging, the character controls are right on target, and the player community is exceptional. My major problems with other titles in this MMO genre are the clumsy controls that demand rapid button mash **** cheesy and highly contrived art **** the unsatisfying lore that lies just beneath the glossy surface of monotonous gameplay. This game shines in these areas, and also provides a player experience that allows for truly symbiotic relationships between party members...where timing and skill do factor in as necessary components and result in a truly rewarding MMO experience. The genre might have grown a bit past its **** if you are truly looking for the "best of the bunch", pick this title up and try it out. There is nothing wrong with playing a tried and true classic, especially if it is FF11!