Games

Final Fantasy XII was released today! I picked up my collector's edition copy of the game and guide last night at midnight.

I've been waiting for this console version of my favorite game series for what feels like an eternity. There were so many delays getting it to the US market. I've had my copy pre-ordered (and fully paid for) since June!

Now that I'm moving on, I can finally close up shop on Final Fantasy XI; the first Final Fantasy masssive multiplayer online role-playing game. I admit it was fun but it just didn't have the in-depth storyline you find in the console games. It's that storyline and character development I love about the Final Fantasy series.

I'm closing up my Chronicles of Latcarf blog (a character blog for my Final Fantasy XI persona) also. While it's a bittersweet closure, I'm happy to think I don't have to work so hard to write about my exploits anymore. It was fun for a couple years but a character blog is alot of work and I'me certainly tired of it! I cancelled my FFXI account but I can still renew it in three months so I'll see how I feel about it January. It's tough to let so many hours of work just vanish.

For now, I'll be spending a little time each day getting to know the characters of Ivalice - the world of Final Fantasy XII. I hope it's a great escape!

The Final Fantasy XI (and PlayOnline) Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are still going on and it is definitely making an impact on game-play.

Square-Enix made a somewhat stupid decision to do a major update during these attacks and many, many people suffered from timeout errors and failed updates. I couldn't update for over 24 hours and when I finally did, my plants were dead. Not being able to connect is a real problem in a persistent-world massive multiplayer online game (MMOG); especially one as high maintenance as FFXI. Continue reading "FFXI DDoS Dilemma" »

I just happened to check the Final Fantasy XI Community Site and found the my Final Fantasy XI character blog: The Chronicles of Latcarf is noted as a "Final Fantasy XI Community Recommended Site".


I've worked hard to keep this "journal" of Latcarf's experiences in Vana'diel up to date with news of Latcarf's travels, accomplishments and experiences, and it is nice to see recoginition from the Final Fantasy XI Community for that work!

If you haven't checked it out yet, take a look at Final Fantasy XI and while you're there, check out the link for The Chronicles of Latcarf.

Final Fantasy XI issued a major update in late February that made some significant changes in one of my favorite areas - fishing! The new fishing system is done in the style of Dark Cloud 2, which is a good system.
Continue reading "New FFXI Fishing System" »

It's official. I am addicted to Final Fantasy XI. I tried to put it down and play another game but it just didn't work. I played Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne for two months but I didn't cancel my FFXI subscription during that time. This weekend, I saw a little blurb about the "Chains of Promathia" on G4 TV and it started me thinking about FFXI again.

I went ahead and logged in. From that point on my weekend was shot. 12 hours over the course of two days and I am back chasing the dragon... What is with heroin... err... I mean, uh, Final Fantasy XI that makes it so damned addictive? It's no wonder video games are such a lucrative business. This stuff's worse than nicotine. I was able to quit smoking after 13 years. Wonder if it'll take me that long for Final Fantasy XI? That's a whopping $2020.00 :-$ they pull out of me at $12.95 a month. I'm in the wrong business.