Frank Caron

"Getting it on with aliens" may not be an appropriate answer as that feature has not yet been announced for the game, but I'll be damned if its not the first time I actively and willingly roleplay to enhance the gameplay experience.

I'm surprised Final Fantasy XI is on here. Learn how to communicate and hang with the Japanese players, and you'll find it has the best PUGs in any game. It just takes a bit of humility, politeness, and skill.

Clearly, I'm looking forward to the Postman class, which is without a doubt the greatest innovation in the history of the genre. One can only hope they've included a clock tower in the Starter Town so that I can play the role most effectively.

While I spent a considerable amount of time playing the PS2 and Xbox 360 versions of Final Fantasy XI, it was Everquest Online Adventures and its subsequent expansion that really had me rapt. I played all the way through the end-game and continued to play until the one and only remotely-populated server had all but dried up.

For a number of reasons, EQOA is a telltale example of how console MMORPGs *can* work—it's just a shame that the initial outing of SOE was a little too dry for most.

Some key design decisions were made to facilitate gameplay of an MMO on a console, which is why the game has some times been unfairly labeled as "watered down." Most notably, the game's control system all but eliminated the need for a keyboard. Anyone who has played FFXI on a console at any remotely difficult area or boss fight can attest to the fact that FFXI demands a keyboard. It just isn't possible to manage macros as quickly and efficiently with the controller, and that renders the controller all but useless for FFXI.

However, EQOA was designed from the ground up to be perfectly playable with only the control; the keyboard is purely for chat (though it can be used to play for super diehards). Likewise, combat was somewhat simplified to make everything work. And it worked well, for what it was.

Because of this, it was much easier to sit comfortably on the couch and enjoy a raid. Had the game shipped with voice chat, it very well could've been the first break-through console game.

As far as I'm concerned, EQOA and FFXI are the only two "true" MMOs on a console (Phantasy Star is more of a co-op action RPG with MMO trading imo), and EQOA was the only game to really *be* a console MMO from the ground up.

Ultimately, I think there's definitely room for some really good console MMOs. It's just going to take the right kind of mindset from developers from conceptualization through to distribution to make the game work. The tech and playerbase is there; the developers just have to make it happen the right way.