If you choose to delve deep into it, you'll find FFXI to be a deep and complex game, easily among the finest in the genre from a systems standpoint. Make no mistake: there's nothing "modern" about it. FFXI is an MMO in the EverQuest sense of the world. After your character advances beyond the earliest levels, it's next to impossible, in most cases, to do anything without a full group of players. One could argue that playing alone is anathema to the spirit of this sort of game, but that doesn't take into account the fact that sometimes, players might not want to make the kind of time commitments that grouping up tends to require. To be fair, Final Fantasy XI has gotten better about this over the years, but it's still no where near the level of "modern" MMOs -- games like World of Warcraft or EverQuest II.

Now this is going to throw a huuuuge monkeywrench into the whole "Pirates vs. Ninjas" debate.

Where Final Fantasy XI shines, though, apart from its excellent world design, is in the area of character customization. Basically, the character you create the day you start playing will never become obsolete, regardless of whether or not you become bored of the job you chose for it. If you get tired of being a Warrior, you can simply run to your house, talk to the adorable little Mog housed therein, and change into whatever you want: a Thief, a Monk, a Black Mage, anything. Some of the more special jobs -- the ones like Dragoon, Summoner, Ninja, and Dark Knight -- are only attainable after attaining level 30, and completing difficult quests to unlock them. Pretty early on, you also gain the ability to designate a second job as your "sub-job." It'll stay at half the level of your main job, and grant you both statistical bonuses, and access to the abilities of its effective level. Similarly, this requires you to enlist the help of fellow players, and complete a difficult quest.

Final Fantasy XI is far from the most cutting edge MMO out there, but as far as its fundamental design goes, it's one of the best-conceived games of its type. Xbox 360 players might be put off by some of elements -- most notably, the excessive set-up process, and the lack of voice-chat support (the game more or less requires a USB keyboard to play effectively). In the end, however, it's the only game in town so far as MMOs go. It's also a game that has managed to earn itself a substantial playerbase on every platform that it's been released for, and that must count for something.