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Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is
the relaunch title of Final Fantasy XIV, an MMORPG released back
in 2010 that received largely negative feedback. A Realm Reborn
is Square Enix’s way of apologising for this huge misstep, bringing
players a much better and refined edition of FFXIV, which should
really be played on PC rather than PS3 to fully enjoy what it has to
offer.
A Realm Reborn’s structure is what you would expect from your
average MMORPG; a huge and gorgeous open world to explore, and thousands
upon thousands of quests for you to complete.
What’s unique about A Realm Reborn’s class system is the ability
to change into any class you want by simply switching out and replacing
different weapons that are associated to the class that you wish to
become. It’s a great mechanic for players who are either unsure about
which class to choose or for those who want to level up every class
without the need of having to start from scratch with a new character.
A Realm Reborn is out on both PS3 and PC, and the PS3 version allows
you to play on both platforms which adds to the value of this already
discounted release. If you have the capability to play on your PC, but
you bought the PS3 version, I strongly recommend putting down your
DualShock and replacing it with mouse and keyboard. A Realm Reborn
is playable on PS3 but it doesn’t run the best, with choppy frame rates
and a confusing control configuration that makes navigating item and map
menus feel awkward and you can easily get lost in the menus. This game
benefits greatly from a keyboard’s wide array of control options.
Network issues were a big problem around launch for myself personally,
but they seem to have been ironed out with patches.
Graphically the game looks great but it’s clear that some cuts were made
to presentation in order to remove glitches, bugs and performance issues
that plagued the original release of FFXIV. Character models can
vary greatly thanks to a beefy customisation system, giving players a
lot of freedom in order to feel that they’re playing the game with a
character that they’re completely satisfied with. There’s little to no
voice acting in A Realm Reborn, understandable due to the sheer
scale of the game but it does take a little away from the immersion.
A Realm Reborn is everything Square Enix wanted FFXIV to be
and more, with a unique class system that gives players a freedom that’s
not found in many MMORPGs today. It’s fun, it’s pretty, and Square Enix
is 100% forgiven. |
