The verdict is out, and it doesn't look good for Final Fantasy XIV. IGN.com gave the game a weak 5.5 out of 10. A quick look at Gamebuynow.com places most other reviews in the same general area: FFXIV received a 4.2 from Gamebuynow.com, a D+ from 1UP.com and a depressing 4.0 from Gamespot.com.

Most of the game's failings are attributed (unsurprisingly, given the responses in our own thread devoted to this topic) to the title's gameplay, which spoils what is otherwise called a "well-realized world". The IGN review praised the game's graphics, music, FFXIV Gil expansive world and class systems, yet concluded that the interface and performance issues that plagued the game entirely spoiled these strong points.

For those here who have been muddling in FFXIV Gil, Square Enix has also recently announced that it would extend the free trial period from 30 days to 60 days, almost certainly in response to the overwhelmingly mediocre reviews.

In addition to this, it appears that the company is busy trying to tweak their latest release, adding a patch to the market system. Given the sour reviews, I would expect many more of these in the near future. Given the nature of the complaints against FFXIV, I think that Square Enix should be able to fix many of the game's failings. At the very least, I would expect a considerably stronger version of the game to be found in the PS3 release, which is still a ways into the future