There is a $20 mail in rebate if you buy it by 11/04/03. And even if you pre-ordered it in 1994, the day you pick it up will count as your "purchase date". 50-20 = $30. Not bad at all.

-Sniper

Using Shadowbane as anything but an example of how NOT to do a MMORPG is futile.

i had fun in the shadowbane beta, not worth purchasing seeing as none of my friends play it, but it still was fun

Supporter of the "A happy fredster is a muted fredster" fanclub.

"Apparently Shadowbane implements this"

Using Shadowbane as anything but an example of how NOT to do a MMORPG is futile.

Is this the Final Fantasy game that finally makes it a good series that is actually worthy of the hype?

Square is honest about their MMORPG. It's combat and nothing but.

Some other developers *cough* Sony / Verant *cough* should take note, and be honest about their MMORPGs as well.

As for the game itself, bah. Where is Final Fantasy XII.

Creston

i cant speak for myself, but a friend of mine participated in the beta and he cant stop gushing over it.. he insists i buy it though i'm not one to pay the monthly fee..

some quotes from him:

"..you've gotta check it out"
"the beta rocked my world"
the fee is "pocket change"
"once you experience it, the monthly fee won't matter to you"
"you'll get the first month free with purchase of the game. after that you will be hooked"

i still probably will not buy it, i've never been a fan of RPGs much less MMORPGs where you have to pay for it.. but i thought i'd point out at least one person i know who was impressed by the game

Sick of level treadmills......

The only reason to withold information is so you have to play longer which means you have to keep subscribing.

Why don't they make a MMORPG more similar to conventional RPGs? What is so wrong with rewarding the player(s) and allowing advancement at a brisk pace? (Apparently Shadowbane implements this<?>) Kick the marketing guys in the nads. So what if some peeps finish in two months. Many more would take longer, and hey, dish out an expansion or two. After a couple/few years it's time to move on to something new anyway.

There might be a story, but damned if I could find it. I sure didn't feel as though I were a part of anything if that makes a difference.

From what I read there is story in this game

The extra $1 per character is to stop a gaming balancing problem they had in beta. It stems the tide of useless new characters. It has nothing to do with greed. Perhaps a beta person can step in here and explain?

Here's something for all interested http://www.playonline.com/ff11us/multimedia/wind/

Its a Live cam of FF XI , nice to have this type of thing but im gonna stick to EQ LDoN for now and wait for EQ2

Looks promising but how many mmorpg can we play? and the bad thing is once you find out you dont like it its a hard thing to sell on E-Bay all MMORPG are, unless you have Uber character...

Played the beta for a couple of weeks. This was in late summer, so what I played was 99% same as what is coming out for retail. I tried to like it. I really really tried. The original final fantasy for nintendo is one of my all time favorites. This game is crap though. The interface is VERY strange. Clicking on monsters to attack them is ridiculously difficult at times. The graphics are very up and down. Some of the cities look incredible, but the terrain is horrible...tons of jaggies no doubt due to ps2 port. Leveling is very, very, very slow. There is no PvP. This is the most bizarre move ever in a MMORPG. They could at least give people the option.
Biggest problem: NO DIRECTION! You have absolutely no idea what to do, where to go, who to talk to, etc. I think in my couple weeks of playing I managed to do 3 quests. I would have done more, but the game doesn't tell you anything...at all. What weapons can I use, how do spells work, what is the auction house, what are crystals, how does crafting work? If you want answers, be prepared to sit for a long time asking random people, because it's not in the manual anywhere and there is no tutorial and there are no forums. You've been warned...stay far away! I am not an avid MMORPG guy. I gave it just over two weeks before quitting in frustration. My brother has played every MMORPG under the sun. He quit after 2 days! His words, in Simpsons comic book guy voice, "Worst MMORPG ever!"

Japan is a continent now?

they charg us an arm and a leg for games and now they want us to pay to play sounds like a damb arcade to me

Wow, Randy, I don't think a marketing copywriter could have planted a better post. Word on the the street, geesh. This is the street!

The dollar things has been discussed before. It was probably implemented to keep people from creating unlimited characters and killing them on the other side to get points for your, somthing like that. Though, I don't think a dollar is going to really keep people away.

The graphics are OK, but considering that this game has been out for a year already in Japan they're not bad. There's no shader effects or anything, the only thing that the PC version has over the PS2 version is a higher resolution.

But anyway, we all know that good graphics aren't the only thing behind a good game. Graphics are only impressive for the first hour.

Word on the street is that this is a GREAT game. Better even than Everquest and is going to be a real problem for that junk game called Star Wars Galaxies.

Anyone have some first hand experience? I am a sucker for all that is MMORPG and I am sure I will be there buying this bad boy tommorrow.

Sadly, almost every MMORPG I have bought with the exception of DAOC and EQ has been a HUGE disappointment. Perhaps this is the one?

Its not expensive at all. Theres no NEED to have another character. You can have 1 character with ALL JOBS lvl 70 if you want. Eliminating the need for multiple characters.

It's a DX 8.1 game from what I have read. There is no pixel shader 2.0 in DirectX 8.1, but can run older pixel shaders fine.