Final Fantasy XI is a hugely popular online role playing game. The Chains of Promathia expansion is an area expansion - giving new items, monsters and land to explore.

There is a large deserty chasm, an icy mountain range, an archipelago with beaches, and a fortress / dungeon / mine complex. Not enough for you? Lots of ruins and intriguing spots to explore. Unfortunately, if you're a newbie, you won't be able to get to most of these places, and explore the new quests, monsters and items found there. Of course, if you're a newbie, it won't matter because there is plenty to do for low level types in the game. These expanded areas are meant to keep things exciting and interesting for the higher level types.

Of course, people in the US have already had an 'expansion'. The Final Fantasy XI version available in the US was automatically bundled with the first expansion, both heavily used in Japan. So the US market had the benefit of long testing in Japan and started out with that expansion set.

Where other MMORPGs come and go quickly, Final Fantasy XI is proving just as popular (if not more so) at this first expansion point. The graphics and sound still hold up as being quite fun and immersive. Gameplay is easy to understand and draws you in. The communities are generally friendly and cooperative. I know many, many people who soured on other online communities but who found Final Fantasy XI to be well worth investing time in.

Highly recommended if you're a Final Fantasy fan! I still would have appreciated it, though, if they gave SOME new treats for all players to enjoy. Maybe next time!

Score: 4/5