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Does FFXI's first retail expansion meaningfully expand upon what's already there? Read Review
MMO expansion, in which players undertake multiple adventures through vast environments in a persistent world, including mountains, forests, ice plains, deserts, oceans, rivers, castles, and dungeons. FFXI lets players create their alter ego, choosing from a variety of races, facial features, hairstyles and colors. Chains of Promathia, the official expansion pack to Final Fantasy XI, brings a new chapter to the story of Vana'diel. Expanding the world of Vana'diel, new areas never before seen in maps surface and towns, which have been spoken of but never seen, emerge. Fabled legends will also be realized in Chains of Promathia. As some of the mysteries of Vana'diel are unraveled, additional secrets will be discovered in the intricately designed expansion, Chains of Promathia. Gameplay is identical to the original game.
The precedent established by Final Fantasy XI's first retail expansion -- Rise of the Zilart -- set the bar pretty high. But since it was bundled with the North American release of the game, most of us just took all of its great additions for granted. Chains of Promathia is FFXI's first retail expansion to be sold as a separate product on these shores, and if you judge it against what these products typically bring to their parent games, it's easy to feel a bit under whelmed. Though it's a fairly robust expansion, most of its content isn't immediately accessible, nor is it even readily apparent, especially for beginning players. Read More »
One of the major complaints steady players have about Final Fantasy XI is its relative lack of variety, in terms of environments. Actually, it's not so much that -- it's just that most players tend to stick to a few tried-and-true level spots, and are seldom willing to travel to less popular (but often more exotic and novel) areas. Well, you might want to rejoice right about now, because new areas are apparently what the FF XI retail expansion Chains of Promathia is most focused on. The amount of real estate has doubled (or close to it), and the amount of narrative material in it exceeds what's in the original and the first expansion combined. In the few days since its release I've gotten to sample this stuff, and from what I can tell (and I'm barely scratching the surface on this one), it's pretty neat stuff. Read More »
Previewing an MMORPG is a weird experience. These types of games are designed to be experienced at very long intervals, making them better suited to prolonged, "take-home" types of preview sessions. My recent experience with Chains of Promathia, the upcoming expansion for Final Fantasy XI, hammered this fact in without a shadow of a doubt. Basically, it amounted to me and a group of Square-Enix employees stomping through a bunch of zones from the expansion, and basically killing everything in our path with super beefed-up characters. It was like one of those "maniac holidays" you hear about on TV, except on a computer, with you being able to participate. If I weren't so freakishly into FFXI, I wouldn't have known what the hell was going on. Lucky for you, though, I've dumped countless hours into playing that, and I came away with some information of value. Read More »
Square Enix USA's MMORPG expansion gets a little love on the web. Read More »
Company to show new Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts anf Front Mission games. Read More »
Also known as: FFXI Online: Chains of Promathia, Final Fantasy 11: Chains of Promathia (2st Expansion Pack)
Release Region: Japan
Release Date: September 16, 2004
Publisher: Square Enix
Release Region: United States
Release Date: September 21, 2004
Publisher: Square Enix
T for Teen Animated Blood, Mild Language, ViolenceRelease Region: Japan
Release Date: September 16, 2004
Publisher: Square Enix
Release Region: United States
Release Date: September 21, 2004
Publisher: Square Enix
T for Teen Blood, Mild Language, Realistic Violence
Release Region: United States
Release Date: September 21, 2004
Publisher: Square Enix
T for Teen Animated Blood, Mild Language, Violence
Release Region: United States
Release Date: September 21, 2004
Publisher: Square Enix
T for Teen Animated Blood, Mild Language, Violence
Release Region: United States
Release Date: September 21, 2004
Publisher: Square Enix
T for Teen Blood, Mild Language, Realistic Violence
Release Region: United States
Release Date: September 21, 2004
Publisher: Square Enix
T for Teen Animated Blood, Mild Language, ViolenceExpansion pack for:
Final Fantasy XI (PC)
Also available on: PlayStation 2
2 CDs
For more info on these technical requirements and features, please view GameSpy's Specs FAQ.
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Final Fantasy XI: Chai... at IGN
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