Anyway, with the official website now full of information, many new videos circulating, the beta underway, and the release date(for the PC version) announced, I actually feel out of the loop now. People are talking about the classes, playing the beta, complaining about how the PS3 version won't be released for another six months after the PC version. Seriously, folks, it's never fun when you find out a game you really want to play isn't coming out for a long time, and I know SE were real douches hyping up the PS3 version and saying it would be a simultaneous release with the PC version, but life goes on. As someone who was planning on playing the PS3 version, I'm bummed, too, but there will be other games between now and FFXIV:
Ahem, among other things, of course. To be perfectly blunt, I am in the camp of people who think SE's rather sudden announcement of the PC version release is an attempt to compete for shelf space with Cataclysm. SE has acknowledged World of Warcraft's success and have been saying that Final Fantasy XIV will be competition for WoW. It makes sense; I just have a feeling the PC version is being rushed and will be extremely lacking at first(you know, like Wings of the Goddess was) and I will be glad I waited the extra time to play the PS3 version when it's more of a complete game.
Or in an ironic twist, the game will rock right out of the box, and I will be left whimpering like a puppy and wishing I'd shelled out the extra 200 bucks for a better graphics card for this laptop so I could play it. Maybe then I wouldn't have spilled a glass a water on this thing a mere month after buying it and had to pay 160 dollars to repair it, thus losing the very 200 dollars I wished to save. Yeah, my cup runneth over(Hey, that was a good one.).
Patience is not something I'm normally good with, but with the extra FFXI content, Cataclysm on the way(hopefully), Trauma Team still left to be "XS'd", Rock Band 3 and Fallout: New Vegas coming out this fall, and a Mortal Kombat remake on the horizon, I won't be bored. That's not to mention my backlog, but hey, I should be talking about FFXIV, right?
This game continues to astound me graphically. I know I've been saying this from the beginning, but graphics are not something I usually geek out over. FFXIV is the most visually impressive game I've seen. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. If Final Fantasy is nothing else, it's good looking.
As a non-beta player, it's still hard for me to formulate an opinion on gameplay. All I have to go on are videos and the vague testimonials of the beta players. Combat sounds like a good time, but I haven't heard anything mind blowing. What I've been hoping for with all the emphasis that's being put on the four disciplines is that every job has something to contribute to the fight.
If you look at the official site, you'll see Blacksmith and Miner have the ability to weaken certain types of enemies. I looked through the other classes in the Disciplines of "Land" and "Hand" but didn't see anything similar for them. It may just be that it's too early to post everything about the classes.
It'd be nice if even the crafting classes could at least play a support role in parties. One of the things that always irritated me about FFXI was how out-of-the-way crafting felt. Having to stop to fish to make gil felt like I was putting the really fun things on hold to go play a lame mini-game. Hopefully, the crafting jobs in FFXIV will make me feel more involved in the "main game." How about a Miner weakening an enemies' defense with his pick axe? Why not a Culinarian on the sidelines keeping the other party members fed? Whatever. Anything. Just don't make me feel like I'm taking a time out to go craft.
So far, I've not heard anything of this sort. Seems like combat is still combat and crafting is still crafting. It's just a hell of a lot more convenient since you can switch among the four disciplines on the fly. I guess I'll have to wait for more information to surface. I'm sure everyone is too busy playing the game to write anything about it. I should be so lucky... Damn you, PC gamers!
