I consider myself more of a PC gamer than anything. I’ve owned a Wii, Wii U, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 but I always relied on PC gaming to deliver. Outside of console exclusives I found my rather expensive pieces of hardware acting as little more than dust collecting devices in my TV cabinet. However, after finally getting the opportunity to play Final Fantasy XIV on the Playstation 3, I’m far more open to the potential experiences available on next-gen consoles.
My two primary concerns were the lack of communication and the controls. When you’re using a PC you have access to a keyboard with over 110 different keys and a mouse that can also boast an impressive selection of input choices, but consoles are far more restricted. So when I imagined attempting to access my hot-bar or inventory on the PS3, I thought of an overly cumbersome experience that would become the bane of my enjoyment.
Instead I was pleasantly surprised with the approach Square Enix have used. It’s as simple as using the shoulder buttons, directional pad and action keys. It worked very well in Final Fantasy XIV as the combat is quite slow paced but I still think a more action orientated game would struggle. I can’t go into greater detail as I’m not 100% about the current NDA situation but the experience has definitely got me looking forward to vast number of MMO games coming next-generation.
I’ve discussed the potential problems of next-generation MMO’s and communication so I won’t go into extreme details here but so far my concerns have been validated with FFXIV and although it’s not exactly next-gen, it’s the same game we’re going to be getting on the PS4.