Here we are again at yet another video game review and yet another MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game). Tonight i've decided to review a game i've spent the last few weeks with. Final Fantasy XI. This version of the series is the online installment. The first thing that you'll like about the game, is the excellent graphics. Well, that will be the first thing you notice when you get into the game. It begins with a rather long install time followed by an even longer patch to download, after it checks each and every one of the game files to see if they need updated. You'd think they would know what files need to be updated, they updated them. Anyhow. After a few hours if your lucky, or many hours if your not. You'll notice the beautiful graphics. Nothing really spectacular if you've played the other newer games of this genre, such as AC2 or SWG. But still impressive none the less, just not on a comparitive scale and nothing really new. It has a bit of the FF feel with its menu's and jobs and other small parts. The standard jobs appear, and later on you get advanced jobs. You can solo untill about level twelve, and then it is pretty much required that you hunt in groups. Making money is a pain in the ass, you are either required to hunt things for hours on end and sell them at the Auction House (which makes it easy to sell and buy what you need) or camp one monster for many many hours/days hoping it will drop one of the rare items in the game which sell for alot. The game can really be summed up rather easily. Kill stuff, level up, buy some new equipment, cash hunt if you can't afford the new equipment, change jobs if you get bored with your current one, repeat. There are a few missions in the game that are actually very enjoyable and well thought out, as well as a lot of quests. But the quests are the usual fare, get this, give it to me. Not too tough. And rather repetitive because you have to do alot of quests to get some of the quests you really need to do to advance. One thing I really dislike about this game is its ... similarity. Every new area you get to is hunting the same creature that are tougher with a different name and new scenery. Every other person who is your level with your job is most likely wearing the exact same equipment and looks just like you. In an average gaming session you will see a minimum of ten people who look EXACTLY like you, and at least ten more who have the exact same abilities. ABSOLUTELY nothing different between you and those other ten people. And those ten are only a few of many who are exactly like you. In the end, the game is nothing new. It has elements of FF which give it a little feel to it, but its really not a true FF. It's trying to be one, and its not even close. If you are playing a MMORPG right now, I wouldn't quit to play this, because its more of the same. There are really only three reasons to join if you read this far. If you are an ABSOLUTE FF fan and love everything to do with FF. If you don't want to have to make a new character every time you want to change class (job). And if you want a crafting system that you can't master in less than a month. The crafting system is nice, but it costs ALOT and takes a LONG time of boring repitition in order to get anywhere, and it takes even longer to make any money off of it. The things I like about it aren't too many, but they are important. You'll meet alot of idiots, but there are alot of good helpful people in this game. Mostly. The crafting system is one of the best i've seen. The spell effects and weapon skill effects are good. It is in depth and easy to learn at the same time. (Once you get past learning the initial controls). And it does an excellent job of getting you hooked and keeping you on as long as it can. But plain and simple, its more of the same. Without PvP i might add. So actually...less of the same with a little more thrown in to balance out the less to the same. But if your new to MMORPGs then try this one out first. If you like it, you'll like all the other ones. And it will be easy to start out in. If your playing one already i've mentioned the only reasons to switch. If you don't like the levelling treadmill keep looking, because this is more of the same. I give it, 3 stars.