For hour upon hour during 2006, Guild Wars ate up my gaming time. That is, until Final Fantasy XII hit the stores, and sucked up all of my free time. After experiencing both for more than eighty hours, I’ll take a look at the two games that pretty much summed up 2006 for me.

Guild Wars: The obvious benefit this game has is online play. The obvious drawback is that the internet is full of idiots. There’s definitely a sense of connectivity to know that so many people like the same game you do. However, a town full of people does not mean that it’s a town full of people you can share your interests with. Most people are busy when they are in the game. Missions and quests make people focus on the game, and few people want to stop and chat. It’s also painful to find people that want to do the exact thing you want to do, and much time is wasted forming a party only to watch it fail because some members thought you were doing a different quest. It’s a lonely city full of strangers.
The thing is, the game itself is very fun to play. The different skills make the game a joy to play, and finding new combinations can really enhance the gameplay. Combining these skills with other members of your party can make for a lot of destruction. Once you manage to find a good party, things go smoothly and you wonder why they were so hard in the first place. A positive experience can help you overlook the bad ones.

FFXII: I’m amazed at how much fun this game is. FFX looked very nice, but it somehow felt hollow. I never really thought, ‘I can’t wait to play this game because I enjoy it so much.’ FFXII makes combat fun. This game makes me wonder why I ever put up with the endless clicking in Diablo. This is great, especially considering how much time it takes to play this game. Endless side quests continue to pop up and provide interesting diversions from the main game. Hunting Marks in particular gives a nice amount of interaction between the characters and their world, giving depth to a very slowly developing plot. Being able to command the entire team helps eliminate some of the frustrating characteristics of online play as well.
However, the game lacks a sense of customization. Every character can learn every skill, and though certain characters are better at casting magic or attacking, the equipment you can put on them pretty much defines what they can do. It would also be nice to see a change of clothes once in a while, too.

I would give the nod to FFXII over Guild Wars. The reason would be that Guild Wars really seems to have a lack of accomplishment in it. Many times, quests are completed that give you items you don’t need and experience points that don’t improve your character. In Final Fantasy XII, the characters upgrade at a much better rate. I’ve always been a fan of single player RPG’s, and FFXII is the best I’ve ever played.
-mlbradley
durden26@comcast.net