Good MMORPG, take a while to get use to but it's a game you want to spent a long time playing. Note:slight spoile
As a console gamer FFXI can be slightly overwhelming at first but the many guides and Q&As section on the FFXI really new players. you start my selecting one of the five races then gender,face and most import your job which are familiar for any FF fan.
the starting jobs are red, black, white(a must), monk, warrior and thief.Other jobs are unlock when complete special quests which can only started after you reached lvl 30.You can also set a job as a sub-job but you have to wait until your lvl 18 and complete a certain quest.
After you select a job your have to pick a world(server) and a nation, the servers are named after various FF summons and monsters(Odin,titan,shiva etc)the nations are which of the three cities you going to start in.the nations are San d'oria,Bastok,Windurst each have their own stories and missions(Different from quest as you can only do one mission at a time)
When you start you see the world of FFXI(vana'diel)is big and but you only be able to so far as the monsters don't pop as random battles(thank god)and can be avoid but who wants to that.
the fighting is done by itself and all you do is first target a monster you want to battle and select attack
after that your character will attack the monster by themselves but your can select abilities,magic,skills ranged attacks and pet commands which varies on what jobs you have,lvl,what weapons you have your skill lvl with that.The exp depends on if monster is weak,easy decent,even,tough,really tough and OMFG tough,if your in a party or using a item that gives you bonus exp.
if you a battle you lose exp which is about 20% of the total exp needed to lvl up for whatever lvl your on. this means you can actually lvl down which is annoying
Partying up is really the way to play FFXI. playing solo takes ages and is boring compared to the fun of being in a party. you can tackle harder monsters, beat quests that you could not do by yourself and even have fun just chatting.new features such as lvl sych makes party exp make better as everyone's lvl is forced to a lower one(this is good as before the if a party had low lvl and high lvl party members exp isn't great)
Battling takes up most of your time in FFXI but your do other thing like crafts(fishing,cooking etc) and raise chocobos to get around faster and compete in racing.
there also auctions houses which you buy and sell unused stuff to around players as items,armor,weapons in FFXI are very expensive(no joke)and you can get betters prices sometimes from other players.there are Other activities to do in FFXI but i won't spoil that for any one reading this, if you want to know play the game.
Finally the graphics are good and there rarely are any glitches and only ever seen slow down once as there about 4 full parties fighting close to each other. the sounds is good and the music isn't as epic as FFVII or FFX but still has that quality you see fom Square enix.
Overall FFXI is a game you'll play for the long haul
(no joke again(my game time is well over a week and my NO where near the end if there is one)
If cost about £9 per which isn't much and you get a 30 free trial so that very good.
The achievements suck as they are all take quite some time to get expect for one(but it's only 5gp)
A Fantastic final fantasy and MMO