Final Fantasy XI Online [PlayStation 2 Hard Disk Drive Bundle] [PS2]

Rarely have so many people been psyched for the release of a game nearly two years old (based on its Japanese release). Thankfully, those same people will find the experience of Final Fantasy XI for the PlayStation 2 an ultimately pleasant one, once they get past the daunting preliminaries. And make no mistake, they are daunting -- the online experience of Final Fantasy comes at the price of some "initial reality," as it were.

As an owner of the "stock" PS2, here's what you'll face before jumping virtual feet-first into Vana'Diel's world: $100 for the game/hard drive bundle, about $30 for a USB keyboard (more for wireless), and that necessary evil of the massively multiplayer online world, the dreaded monthly fee. And don't forget the network adapter at another $40. How's that for a dose of reality?

Of course, none of this speaks to the most precious of your decidedly finite resources -- the raw time a game of this nature demands. Even starting up takes time. Out-of-the-box to installation, to updating game data, to wrestling with the game's frumpy front-end, to entering the game world... well, there goes an hour and change.

Becoming part of that world, however, is when Final Fantasy XI starts paying off. As a stateside player, you're a latecomer, but that's not all bad; many of the game's early hitches have now been dealt with. Obviously, a persistent-setting RPG is a very different beast from a story-driven game designed for solo play. Old-guard Final Fantasy players might feel adrift in this new make-your-own-fun world.

Not that FF XI isn't stocked with all the detail and content that made the franchise famous. You still have Chocobos, Moogles, and tons of other personality staples. And the online world is still heavily infused with narrative. The overarching story involves the aftermath of the massive Light-versus-Dark clash some 20 years ago, and the influx of people uniting to drive back the hordes of Beastmen threatening Vana'Diel.

Players will find the early experience-building on the forgiving side; characters tend to be strong and well-suited to the monsters they face in the beginning, regardless of the six initial "job" types. Soon, however, it becomes clear that cooperation with other players is a necessity. This is as it should be.

Later quests allow players to unlock special advanced job classes (paladin, dragoon, ranger, ninja, samurai, etc.), but characters can also select a secondary job at which they excel. RPGers call this "dual classing," and it ensures that players don't get too narrowly locked into one skill set. This secondary classing won't be of the same potential level as the character's main job (following classic pen-and-paper RPG conventions), but the system offers players a great deal of character variety and individuality.

Variety is one of the things that keeps a MMORPG alive, and Final Fantasy XI gives its players much to do. You can travel by boat or airship (or Chocobo, naturally), deck out your own personal living quarters, wheel and deal with other players at the game's trading bazaar, work on vital skills (magic, smithing, cooking, combat, and alchemy among others), or venture off on the numerous story missions and quests.

The world of FF XI is huge. The sooner you level up and get yourself a Chocobo ride or fancier mode of transport, the better. Regardless of whether or not you're hoofing it, you're going to want to join forces with other players. The game's spectacular skill-chaining scheme lets characters, well, "chain" their special weapon abilities -- with large parties (or alliances of parties) it can be pretty wicked, annihilating even the most serious threats and god-awful boss creatures.

Aside from the chaining, the core combat system isn't worth getting too excited about. It's still automated, requiring little more of the player than target selection. And forget the player-versus-player, at least in the game's current iteration.

But that nitpicky stuff isn't going to bother the players this game appeals to. Final Fantasy XI is about communicating and participating with hundreds of like-minded gamers in an online world that is big, beautiful, and considerably more polished in this stateside console release. It's the most ambitious thing currently going for the PS2, and those with online RPG aspirations should already know the cautionary drill.

If you're a Final Fantasy fan with a yen for online interaction -- and the time and money to spring for the experience -- then the question isn't if you'll want to check out Final Fantasy XI, but when.