Game
Evaluation
Title: Final
Fantasy
XIV: A Realm Reborn
Developed by: Square Unix
Director/Producer:
Designer:
Naoki Yoshida
Nobuaki Komoto
Programmer: Hideyuki Kasuga
Artists:
Akihiko Yoshida
Hiroshi Minagawa
Writers:
Kazutoyo Maehiro
Yaeko Sato
Composer:
Masayoshi Soken
Basic Information
Type of game: Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG)
Platform: PC and PS3
Minimum specifications:
●
OS Windows® Vista 32/64bit, Windows® 7 32/64 bit, Windows® 8 32/64 bit
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CPU
Intel® Core™2 Duo
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Memory
2GB (4GB recommended for 64bit OS)
●
Available space on hard disk/SSD
20GB
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Graphics Card
NVIDIA® Geforce® 8800 or higher, ATI Radeon™ HD
4770 or higher
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Screen Resolution
1280x720
●
Internet
Persistent broadband internet connection required
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Sound Card DirectSound® compatible sound card (DirectX® 9.0c or higher)
●
DirectX®
DirectX® 9.0c or higher
Basic Information Cont.
Recommended specifications:
●
OS Windows® 7 64 bit
●
CPU
Intel® Core™ i5 2.66GHｚ
●
Memory
4GB
●
Available space on hard disk/SSD
20GB
●
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® Geforce® GTX 660 or higher, AMD Radeon™
HD 7950 or higher
●
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
●
Internet
Persistent broadband internet connection required
●
Sound Card DirectSound® compatible sound card (DirectX® 9.0c or higher)
●
DirectX®
DirectX® 9.0c or higher
●
Price: $29.99 (PC) $39.99 (PS3)
●
Subscription Fee: $14.99 /month
Game Summary
Overview: Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is a follow up to the original Final
Fantasy XIV. The game takes place after the apocalyptic conclusion of the first
installment left the fictional land of Eorzea devastated.
Disoriented by a time traveling escape you awake five years later in a rebuilding
Eorzea and must aid in the defense of another impending invasion.
Storyline: The game's storyline aids in telling the player about the events that
occurred five years ago and works to unveil an evil plot that has been set in motion
by a secret group of ancient magic users.
Player's role: The role of the player is to aid the recovering land of Eorzea by
defending the lands and uncovering a plot that could lead to their destruction.
Installation: The game installs by a disc or by a download if on a PC
Game Summary Cont.
User Interface: The UI uses a H.U.D approach displaying all needed actions and
information right on the main screen. Many features of the UI can be turned on or
off and the game also has a H.U.D customization menu allowing the user to
change size and location of UI elements.
Game play: User begins by creating a character choosing it's race and class which
defines the user's role. The game is played in third person view using a mouse and
keyboard or a game pad to control the character. The user is able to select from a
set of abilities to use during combat and may also chain abilities together to cause
additional damage or effects. As the player completes tasks and defeats enemies
they earn experience point that will allow their character to advance gaining more
attributes and abilities. As the character advances it will face increasingly harder
tasks and enemies. The game also features group play where a small group of
players is required to carry out and complete certain tasks.
Game Summary Cont.
Scoring: The game uses and experienced based system rewarded to the player by
defeating enemies or completing tasks. Certain aspects of the game reward bonus
experience based on difficulty and time of completion.
Artwork: The art was well done they kept it fairly simple with good detail giving it a
good clean look with some flash and flare during combat to liven things up.
Sound and Music: Their music is mainly some simply melodies with some more
upbeat ones used during more intense moments. Combat also features weapon
sounds and character voicing such and grunts.
Special Features: The unique feature about this game is that the user is able to switch
their character's class by simply changing the weapon their character is holding.
Bugs: Some enemies can get stuck and prevent the completion of a task and some
NPCs stop responding.
Game Review
What's good: The artwork makes the game visually appealing while the combat
system keeps the player engaged and the story keeps them interested.
What's bad: Thought the music is decent it tends to feel very repetitive. The game is
also very segmented which leads to a lot of loading screens.
Compared: The game compares fairly well with similar games using some familiar
elements which most players seem to like.
Better/Worse: I find it a better game in the aspect that one character can be used for
multiple classes, however the amount of loading that is done during game play can
get rather irritating.
Audience: The game is intended for the teen and up based on difficulty and content
which is well suited for that age range.
Summary
Strengths: The strengths of this game are it's good art, engaging combat and
intriguing story.
Weaknesses: The repetitive music and large amounts of loading are the main
weaknesses of this title.
Improvements: Combined areas to lower the amount of loading during area
transitions.
Worth the money: Overall I believe the game is worth the purchase if you don't mind
a monthly fee because it does have good overall game play and story.