Final Fantasy XIV

Fans of Final Fantasy will find many of the franchise's iconic elements here, including sweeping musical themes, memorable characters, Chocobos (giant flightless birds we can ride), and movie-like cutscenes that feature the player's protagonist. The story and game world are wonderfully rich and complex. Players are not limited to a single class and consequently can learn many skills -- many of which have nothing to do with fighting, such as fishing, mining, cooking, and leatherworking.

Unfortunately, it's not an easy game to learn. The tutorial and help screens, for example, could use more mouse-over hot-tips. Most players will be forced to rely on fan sites or Square Enix's own web site for tips and explanations. However, once you get used to your interface of choice (the game supports both a PS3 gamepad and a keyboard-and-mouse setup), MMORPG fans will likely find the game a rich and satisfying challenge.

Online interaction: The online experience can vary greatly between players. The game has the usual protections of a default word filter for stronger words such as "f--k" as well as the ability to ignore and report other players. However as it is a teen-rated game, there's a black list of words that cannot be used as opposed to white-lists of allowed words. Note that these filters do not necessarily deter players from sharing personal information.