sure theres also Everquest, LotRO, City of ____, Tabula Rasa, and countless shitty free MMOs, but come on, those get about as much action as a transvestite hooker with elephantitus.
So let us examine the epic struggle between:
well, ok as far as depth i really mean how intricate are the mechanics of the gaming world in which you play, on one hand you have WoW. theres not much to say, probably the deepest feature in WoW is the ability to jump, swim, dive and even fly in certain areas. then you have FFXI... every zone has its own flora/fauna eco system, there is a working calendar, clock, and day/night changes, elemental correlation charts and constellations that actually affect gameplay.... *whew* top it all off with the ability to use all of these things to your advantage while doing nearly anything in the game and its pretty clear...
Winner: FFXI
Round two: Casual Gamer
This is a bit of a turn around from the last round. FFXI up until about a year ago would have lost this round in a heartbeat. the game is simply designed around parties of multiple players, that in most instances have to be well balanced to work. recently theyve added Besieged, Fields of Valor and Campaigns as a way to help people trying to play casually. FFXI still has a long way to go to match WoW though, since nearly anything not considered endgame is soloable. they even allow players who dont play as often earn extra exp to catch up to friends via the "rested" mechanic.
Winner: WoW
Round three: Customization
a close one, WoW lets you customize just about everything, with a wide variety of UI's (user interfaces), facial/hair customizations and, and even the ability to set your job apart by spending Talent Points, very few in a certain job class are alike, let alone characters themselves. not to be outclassed, FFXI has the merit point system, at its best its a great way to make youself more skilled in particular fields your job encompasses but at its worst can have "choices" that are more similar to: "Hmm do i pick between being shot in the foot, or stabbed in the hand?" certain jobs merit point customizations are next to useless, and some are even detrimental to the idea of the jobs they are supposed to define. thankfully the Sub Job system is without real flaw, and the pairing of a main job with different sub jobs can alter the role of a job significantly in many cases. that and the recent addition to FFXI, "Augmented" armor/items helps diversify the game a bit, but considering WoW has had that the whole time, its safe to say they cancel each other out.
Winner: WoW (narrowly)
Round four: Lore/Atmosphere
This one is closer than you might think. WoW seems the obvious choice due to the massive amounts of Lore and History from the Warcraft series thats snowballed from game to game, and dozens of recognizable property-spanning characters but dont count out FFXI just yet. For one travelling and map set up in WoW are incredible, since there is usually no loading or zoning while travelling anywhere on the same continent the world seems much more vast, you know how areas connect and you can see the landscape change even while simply flying over the areas via flight masters. this adds some real solidity to the world youre playing in, making it seem more real. and while there are alot of positives WoW also is its own worst enemy. Its rife with pop culture references. Avenger's Shield, The quest "The Kessel Run", and NPCs like Harrison Jones Sween Netodd, and an entire section of an instance a mock up of a famous scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, the game does alot to ruin its own sense of reality by breaking fourth wall more times than you can shake a stick at. FFXI on the opposite end has done quite alot to ensure as few referances to our world as possible. while references to pop culture do exist, theyre usually so obscure they have to be researched in order to fully understand. also to FFXI's credit, although they dont carry over any lore or history from previous Final Fantasy games (save from job classes, Cid (who is always a different character anyways) and various monsters/critters) they have done alot to expand the all new characters through questions and the various numerous missions you can complete in the game. both games still have to deal with noobs screaming quotes from naruto or 300 though, of course!
Winner: Tie!
Round five: Merchandising
Unfortunatly this is unfairly one-sided. WoW has a Card Game (which i love, i think it was given great planning and R&D), countless brand tie-ins (including the best soda EVER), action figures, comic books, liscenced apperal (including customized guild shirts and hats!), a minitures game, board games, RPG books, plushies, even the ability to get a custom laser cut statue of your in game character! Hell i even had a free track download for Guitar Hero 3 thats a World of Warcraft band (L70 Tuaren Shaman)! what does FFXI have? a handful of t-shirts, some plushies, some very expensive jewelry and statue of the games angriest Galka....
Winner: WoW
Round six: Play Range
How do i love thee? let me count the ways! this section is about all the different ways to love to play your game, and the different ways the game keeps you interested (and subscribed). WoW has a decent ammount. they have multiple PvP formats that are all fun, Instances, Raids, normal grinding, questing, and special seasonal events. FFXI on the other hand has normal grinding, Fields of Valor, Campaign, Campaign Ops, Besieged, Assualts, Salvage, Limbus, Dynamis, Einherjar, BCNMs, ENMs, CNMs, ZNMs, HNMs, Gods/Sky, Sea, Garrison, Moblin Maze Mongers, seasonal and holiday events, tons of missions (and i do mean tons), questing, and 2 PvP formats no one really gives a damn about! did someone say knock-out?
Winner: FFXI
*Fanfare*
And now.... the winner by knock-out... FFXI!
*More fanfare*
now this is the part where i say just weigh in your own judgement and the things that mean the most to you in an MMO experience. that and the part where i turn the mic over to a drunk Larry Merchant for post fight interviews!
