I love World of Warcraft but there are times when I'd prefer to get my fix on the sofa rather than on the PC - usually when my mouse hand starts twitching. I really must see the doctor about that. So anyway, the release of the Final Fantasy XI beta for Xbox 360 was highly anticipated in the Howson household - well, by me anyway. Here was a game that promised exploration, character advancement and wildlife culling all in spangly 360-o-vision and all from the comfort of your favourite sofa. Oh dear.
Anyone tried it yet? It took me nearly 3 hours to install - keep reminding yourself the 360 is a console and not an off-white PC - and even longer to get up and running. The resultant experience was underwhelming in the extreme. The aged graphics were only the start - basically it looked like a PS2 game.
Just getting going was a faff, with a steep learning curve and a decidedly unwelcoming interface (the on-screen text was hard to read on a normal sized TV). Yes, I've been spoilt by WoW's polished assistance, and yes this is a "beta", but FFXI as it currently stands is recommended only to masochists or hardcore Final Fantasy fans who probably already have the game on PC as well as a chocobo tattoo. The wait for a decent console MMORPG goes on - is it really 6 years since Phantasy Star on the Dreamcast?
