User Rating: 8.6 | Final Fantasy XI PC
First off let me start by saying I do not play this game anymore, but played from US Launch until late May, so I can easily say I have experienced enough of the game to give it an honest review. The game is the first MMORPG for Square-Enix, and the first in the Final Fantasy universe in general, so it is quite a different experience for those people who have come to love the Final Fantasy games. All the things you would come to expect from a Final Fantasy game are all here (Summoning, spells, potions and ethers, etc.) but there are quite a few surprises as well. The combat system, while turn-based, doesn't resemble anything before attempted with a Final Fantasy game. all combat is in real time (you don't go to a battle screen a la previous titles in the series) and the party members are controlled by different people, rather than by the same person. This is to be expected by people who are familiar with the MMORPG format, but people who are new to Massively Mulitplayer Online RPGs might be momentarily surprised. Gameplay wise, this game really shines. The controls are very easy (with a keyboard, you can control your character with just your right hand, and the game is just as easy to control with a gamepad) and the combat is straight forward and intuitive. There is the occasional minor glitch (a friend of mine got stuck in a pond somehow and had a group of players laughing at him as a GM had to come to his rescue) but overall this has to be one of the least bug ridden MMORPGs I have ever played. The graphics are, without a doubt, gorgeous. This is more true on the PC version than the PS2 version, so if you are trying to decide between the two versions, my recommendation is definately to go for the PC version unless your system is outdated. Although there are a few low res textures to be found in the environment, most of the textures do the job and the background sky textures are beautiful. They really give you the sense you are in a wide open world. This obviously isn't the case, but it does lead you to feel that the gameworld is expansive and really one world, rather than a lot of connected areas. The spell and other battle effects also shine in Final Fantasy XI, all of which are colorful, exciting, and appropriate for the setting. The sound also sets a nice tone for the game. Clangs and clacks of weapons being swung and booms from guns fired and twangs from bows being shot all sound authentic. Especially nifty are the sounds of some of the Advanced Job weapons like the Samurai Great Katanas and the Ninja Katanas. The music, while sometimes plain and dull, is usually very mood setting and classic. Quite a bit of the music actually reminds players of the old Final Fantasy games, especially some of the battle music found in higher level dungeons. The sound is definately one of the better points of the game and helps to create the atmosphere of an authentic Final Fantasy world. One of the big problems I had with Final Fantasy XI is the forced grouping. Just ask any higher level player on any server in FFXI what they feel about grouping and usually you will get a response somewhere inbetween mumbling about waiting for hours for groups and flat out whining about the harsh restrictions players put on their preference for group layout (not often you hear a White Mage or some other needed job, but many times jobs such as Monk or in later levels Warrior are left out of parties because to many unexperienced or impatient players they are "unneeded," which is completely untrue). The community itself is unfortunately one of the other few dark spots on record for FFXI. Part of the problem is a large segment of the FFXI community in most servers is young and/or inexperienced in MMORPGs because of the large influx of PS2 gamers in March who have never played an MMORPG or who are not aware of how most MMORPGs really work, and this shows. Many lower level players at this point in time create some rediculous situations because of their inexperience, making leveling a lower level job in groups a hit or miss operation at this time. This may change as the general segment of lower level population on the servers becomes more experienced (or rather just grows up), and to their credit Square-Enix has tried to rectify the problem by creating a Mentor system to help "noob" players who don't have a great deal of experience with the game as of yet. But the biggest problem is the game is flat out addictive. If you have a job/wife/girlfriend/life, or any mixture therof, kiss them all goodbye if you pick up this game because it will suck your every waking moment away. That is both a good and bad thing, depending on the person's responsibilities and priorities, but overall the game is definately worth giving a shot, even if only for half a year or so. 
