Shippin' Out 4/17-4/21: Final Fantasy XI Online, Brain Age

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpotPosted Apr 17, 2006 2:17 pm PT

The Xbox 360's first MMORPG and the Nintendo DS brainteaser join Dreamfall in stores this week.

Just under 100 years ago, San Francisco was all but destroyed by a 7.9-magnitude earthquake and subsequent firestorm. A century later, the news is much less earth-shattering--unless you have been waiting for the sequel to The Longest Journey.

Yes, after three years in development, Funcom's Dreamfall: The Longest Journey has finally made it to the Xbox and PC. It joins a host of other games shipping this week on a variety of platforms. The highest-profile releases come from Square Enix. The publisher is not only releasing an expansion to Final Fantasy XI for the PC and PlayStation 2, it is also releasing Final Fantasy XI Online, which combines the two titles and all other FFXI expansion into one Xbox 360 game. Though the game was originally released in 2003 on the other platforms, it will be the first massively multiplayer online role-playing game for Microsoft's next-generation console.

If Japanese RPGs aren't your thing, this week will see another major release, but of the more puzzling kind. Yes, after taking Japan by storm, Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day will finally hit American DSs. It marks the sole release for any Nintendo platform for the week--besides Blades of Thunder 2 for the DS, that is.

APRIL 17, 2006
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (PC, Xbox)
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day (DS)
World Poker Tour (PSP)

APRIL 18, 2006
Atari Racing Collection (PC)
Blades of Thunder 2 (DS)
Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition (PC)
Final Fantasy XI Online (Xbox 360)
Final Fantasy XI: Treasures of Aht Urhgan (PS2, PC)
Franklin: A Birthday Surprise (PS2)
Take Command: 2nd Manassas (PC)
Tokyo Xtreme Racer DRIFT (PS2)
Puzzle Challenge: Crosswords & More! (PS2, PSP)
WRC: FIA World Rally Championship (PSP)
SnoCross 2: Featuring Blair Morgan (PS2, Xbox)

APRIL 19, 2006
Atari Flying Bundle (PC)
Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg (PC)

APRIL 20, 2006
Xpand Rally (PC)
Pet Soccer (PC)

APRIL 21, 2006
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (PC)
Magic Match (PC)
Super Collapse 3 (PC)

42 Comments

  • UltimaCloudX

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 2:52 pm PT

    This message is intended for those that have not played Final Fantasy XI or any MMO:

    I played FInal Fantasy XI for 3 years; was end game for 2 years... Just to warn you, this type of game is NOT pick-up-and-play, you need to invest many, many many hours in this game to truly appreciate it. I only say this warning for reasons of someone's comment on the disclaimer at the start of the game where it warns you not to forget your friends, family, school or work. I know it sounds corny and cheesy at first, but I promise you, if you dont heed that warning, you will be very sad, lonely and/or broke when you decide to quit this game. Once you reach end-game status, you will be into linkshells with the sole purpose of killing the toughest, meanest things in the game. While this is incredibly fun, (and for some linkshells can last many hours O.O); the respawn on these HNM's are 24 hours, with several "windows" of which they can spawn. This can be a VERY time consuming process as you need to be on each day at roughly the same time unless the monster was pushed back or held longer than it normally takes (which usually has lots of drama involved too -_- )

    I do not bash this game in any way since it was one of the best videogame experiences I've ever had, but it was also one of the hardest things to leave, as the people are real people, not all npc's, and emotions can get involved. Know what you are going into, and if you decide you want to take that path, try to remember the disclaimer and above all, your significant others. Everyone will have to grow up and out of this type of genre at some point in their lives unless this genre can make some changes towards not making it so time intensive to be "living another life" (and I say this with respect) in a game. Thank you for your time, and enjoy.

  • aatish_n

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 1:41 pm PT

    haha, while reading the intro I was like 'What is this?' Good job Gamespot!

  • samekila

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 11:35 am PT

    i played the demo on 360 love it never liked FF but I gave it a chance and love it plus I dont have a p2 or a good pc so i wont it on the 360 so whut it came out 3 years ago I still play my sega gen at least there giving me an option to play FPS or something xbox never had the more the better im getting married to my 360 this week

  • kappachan

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 11:33 am PT

    FFXI Treasures of Aht Urghan, me wants now!

  • SavoyPrime

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 10:30 am PT

    I'll be picking up Dreamfall.

  • terrabreak13

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 9:24 am PT

    FFXI is a fun game. I didn't give it a chance in 2003 because it was MMO and didn't consider it a FF game. After playing the beta on the 360 I can't wait to transfer my character. You either love it or hate it. To me it's like crack. Addictive.

  • TintedChimes

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 8:43 am PT

    CHEAP GAMES, CHEAP GAMES!

  • quadonet

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 6:58 am PT

    Blades of Thunder 2 is already out. I'm holding it in my hand right at this moment..

  • mr_squibble

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 5:58 am PT

    I'll probably eventually try out Brain Age. Sometimes I just don't feel like blowing stuff up or scoring touchdowns. It's then that I have cravings for something more cerebral...

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 4:42 am PT

    once again, the not so final fantasy...

  • Nafda

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 2:23 am PT

    Woah, what a deal, buying a game that's been out on PC and PS2, along with paying it's monthly fees on top of whatever extra costs for X-box live.

    Yeah, get Brain Age, sharpen up that grey matter, X-fanboys.

  • tonyleo01

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 10:31 pm PT

    For those that will be playing FFXI for the first time on the 360, please don't forget your real world friends, family, and the great outdoor. Happy walking...

  • gatsbythepig

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 7:46 pm PT

    I like play braingame. Me like.

  • supersaiyanjohn

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 6:34 pm PT

    Oh there is one game that I and maybe a bunch of other importers are looking forward to on April 20th.....MOTHER 3!!!

  • NeoJedi

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 6:13 pm PT

    Nothing interesting this week... next!

  • Kwiksilva

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 5:30 pm PT

    brain age is worth the 20 bucks

  • 1425678786655

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 5:16 pm PT

    FFXI FOR 360!!!! FIANLLY I CAN GET IT FOR THAT TOO!!!! i have it for pc and ps2 also but my PC sucks so im lookin forward to this alot

  • DevKaz

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 4:55 pm PT

    Wow.

  • mickel_darmawan

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 4:51 pm PT

    WOW.

  • thekey

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 4:42 pm PT

    The more 360 hits the better, Bring it on!!!!

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