But at the same time, I had this nagging feeling that this was nothing but a niche product. I could not see this underpowered, gimmicky console deliver the kind of experiences I wanted. I like my graphically intense FPS-es and stat-heavy RPGs. I want to see graphics get better and better, and play (admittedly badly) against others online. Wii obviously wasn’t for me.

I don’t need to tell you Wii is currently outselling every ‘hardcore’ console out there. Seems there are a lot of people who just want to play tennis and Mario, and don’t care about anything else.

That Nintendo’s machine apparently appeals to just about everybody and their Nan is the reason both Microsoft and Sony ordered their R&D departments to crank out their own motion controlers. And bless em for it. At the very least they are trying something ‘new’, even though they’re just ripping off someone else’s successful idea.

But I think they are kind of missing the point. Nintendendo Wii isn’t a traditional console. You might as well call it it’s own ‘genre’ of product: an activity machine with a rather limited selection of activities.  Most Wii games out there are variations of Wii Sports and Wii Fit. The few exceptions rarely sell well (except if Mario is in it).

So this makes me wonder why Sony and Microsoft want to turn their machines into something they clearly aren’t. It’s as if the manufacturer of traditional mobile phones releases an add-on touch screen to make their product behave like an iPhone.

I just don’t see how Joe and Jill Casual-Gamer are going to be interested in this kind of Frankenstein’s Monster. One of the reasons Wii is so appealing to them, is its simplicity. Now Sony and MS are trying to sell them a console they previously did not want for its threatening amount of features, by adding another feature.

I am not saying Joe and Jill are dumb, or won’t understand. I just think they won’t care. They can just play on their Wii and have a blast.

A couple of weeks before FFXIII arrived in my office, I remembered I still had Final Fantasy V in my DS. I had played about seven or eight hours of it before putting it away. Now seemed as a good moment as any to pick it up again. After booting it up, I  was immediately confronted with what I call ‘Final Fantasy Syndrome’. These old games do not have quest logs or markers or anything to tell you where you are supposed to go next. My party awoke in an Inn on Crescent Island without any clue of what they where supposed to do.

I spent a good 20 minutes roaming around the tiny island, speaking to its inhabitants, hoping to be pointed towards my next destination. I once again realized Final Fantasy worlds are inhabited by autistic villagers, stuck in their three square walk, spouting the same useless line over and over. Hopping on a Chocobo only compounded the problem. I was now free to fly anywhere, to any autistic villager on this huge world map.

Thank goodness for GameFaqs. By following one of the walkthroughs, I mentally retraced all my steps and found out where to go next. Turns out there was only one NPC in one specific location who progressed the story.

I called this ‘Final Fantasy Syndrome’ for a reason. All of the FF games before XIII have had this in one way or another. To be honest, I should just call it JRPG Syndrome. There are several PSOne JRPGs I have not finished because of this same exact problem: not remembering where to go next. In any case, this problem shows that what Final Fantasy games offer isn’t freedom. There is only one path to follow. This path, however, is so wide, that we can get lost on it, and mistake it for free roaming.

If we look at Final Fantasy XIII, the path is narrow. This means we don’t have to bother with GameFaqs to find our next destination. It’s somewhere ‘just ahead’. All the pointless wandering has been taken out of the equation, with emphasis now firmly on progressing the narrative and discovering the battle system.

Now, mind you, I am not saying all games should do away with exploration. I am just pointing out Final Fantasy games have never been about freedom. They have been about telling a story and experimenting with the many different battle systems.

Freedom is such a powerful concept. We want to be masters of our fate and be free to decide what we want to do at any given time. Real life rarely grants us this freedom. Perhaps this is why we as gamers are often looking for this in our pastime. But games can never offer true freedom, only the illusion of it. Some games succeed in hiding their fences better than others. And some others do away with the smoke and mirrors entirely.

1. Classes
You are the healer. Or the tank. Or the DPSer. And once you chose DPS, you are DPS until the levelcap. Why? It’s not impossible to give each player the potential to learn each skill in the game and allow them to persue the playstyle he or she prefers. Healing killer? Why not? A stealth mage? Could be fun! It has been done before. And I am not just talking about the Elder Scrolls series. What about Final Fantasy V, and its flexible Jobs system? Especially in an MMO, where you are supposed to be part of a living, changing world, it makes sense to allow you to really be whatever you want to be.

2. Agro/tank/heal/dps combat system
You know the drill. The tank grabs agro. The DPSer hits as hard as possible without taking agro away from the tank. The healer heals and the rogue debuffs. Yeah, that is fun and allows for interesting combat. But why is that the only way to play? What about mobs with more than two braincells, who take cover, flank you, call for help and generally make more tactical decisions? That would liven things up!

3. Zones with level ranges
You start off in the newbie zone. After ten levels you go to the next area. Level some more and on to the next. If you go to the wrong area, every beast will kill you by just looking at you. Or no quest gives any XP at all for being too low level. Why? Sure, it’s easier to design a zone that’s just tailored to a certain range. But easier isn’t more fun. A more open design with something to do for every level would open up a world tremendously. Travel from town to town, looking for the jobs you’re capable of and come back for the rest when you’re ready.

4. Quest hubs
You arrive in town. You see the question marks or rings or whatever floating above the NPCs. Pick up your quests and you’re off. Okay, fair enough. But must every task be so obviously placed? How about the entrance to a cave, somewhere in the hills. You go in, explore and find monsters, and some treasure. You keep going and at the end of a coridor you find a cage with a trapped woman inside. She begs you to help her. Now the quest starts and you do what she asks. The quest becomes the reward for exploring. Hide lots of these ‘secret’ quests and people have much more incentive to explore every inch of the gameworld

5. Player influence
The gameworld you enter at level one is probably about the same when you cap out. Sure, some more area’s have been added and you feel your class has been nerfed more than any other. But generally, it’s all the same. Wouldn’t it be cool if players had an actual influence on the world they are part of? Would it not be cool if the towns in the world are actually built by players. And I am not talking about suburbs of player houses. Imagine Stormwind, but built by players. And every city is like that! Places start out as small hamlets and grow during the game’s lifetime. Who knows what will be the capital after three years? And what if some towns are destroyed during player-fought wars? And how about the landscape itself… Look at what humans have done to the earth… what if a gameworld would allow similar interference, with rivers blocked by dams, tunnels dug and mountains leveled…

Of course, these are difficult things to pull off. But after seeing MMO after MMO follow the Diku mud rules as if it is the only way of doing things, it is time for some change. Isn’t it?

1. Storytelling
Not surprising, since LOTRO is based on one of the greatest Fantasy books ever written. But there is arguably more story in the game than in the books. At least more than in the movies. The Epic Storyline is a side-story to Frodo’s journey, and includes epic moments and wonderfully crafted instances and story sequences. Compare that to WoW, in which story is something that you notice vaguely in the corner of your eye while grinding out your next lvl 70.

2. Graphics
Even though WoW’s artstyle is fun and colourful, it hardly qualifies as ‘high impact’. And even though there are better looking games out there, LOTRO offers beautiful vistas and (at higher levels) impressive boss characters. This is one pretty game.

3. Raid access
You know how in WoW you have to grind and grind and grind to get all that epic gear to make any kind of useful contribution to that next raid? Even though WoW’s endgame offers some of the greatest team-based play in the industry, only a small percentage of players will see it all. Here comes LOTRO which has opened up raiding to any character of suitable level. No keys, no gear, just get a group together and dive in. This makes so much sense, it boggles the mind. Why keep players from doing the high end stuff? Just let them in and do it, already! Now if only Lotro offered raids of the same quality as WoW, but that’s another article…

4. Crafting
At a first glance, you might think WoW and Lotro are the same in this respect. Nothing is further from the truth. Players can get proficient in several crafting tiers, each with progressively better products. But mastering tiers offers the chance to crit items, that are even more incredible. Also, crafted items in Lotro are better than any other in the game. No drop can compete with the best critted craftwork (edit:except Rift Raid gear). It takes time, but the system is far more rewarding than WoW’s.

5. Updates
Even though WoW is updated often, and new content is added, it can’t hold a candle to Lotro’s ‘book updates’ that arrive every two months. Updates that contain substantial additions, including whole new areas. And more importantly: updates for all level ranges. It’s not just the endgamers who feel Turbine’s love. Everybody can join in. This keeps the game fresh and alive, even if you can’t spend 8 hours a day to play.