December 2009

Here you can find news items that were posted on Hell and Heaven Net in the past.

Final Fantasy XIV

While Final Fantasy XIII was released yesterday in Japan Square Enix has announced that they have opened application for the beta of Final Fantasy XIV.

This beta test is for the PC version only. When the beta of the PlayStation 3 version will start will be announced at a later date.

So what are you waiting for? Apply for the beta of this interesting MMORPG that is coming in 2010. Note that you must be at least 18 years.

» Final Fantasy XIV Beta Application website

Final Fantasy XIII

Since Final Fantasy XIII is only a week away from release in Japan the first review has been done by Weekly Famitsu.

One editor wrote: "The story being told is very deep and uniquely charming, not at all like FFs up to now. The battle system is innovative and has a lot of strategic elements. Being able to rewind back to just before the current battle is really nice."

The reviewers also had good things about the graphics ("without a doubt, the state of the art in story cutscenes") and the battle system: "It's built both for beginners and seasoned players. Things proceed speedily and since you're always rated, every battle has a sense of tension to it. The ability to switch Optimas instantly and use a wide variety of skills and magic simultaneously in battle is exhilarating."

Despite that, the game received a 39/40: three editors awarded the game with the perfect score, but editor Yamamoto Penki gave it a 9. He wrote "Given the quality all around, it's a bit of a shame that the story is a straight path until the midgame. I'm also concerned about the lack of [gameplay] gimmicks before the midpoint."

Source: 1up

Other Final Fantasy XIII news: Square Enix has announced that there will be two differences between the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 version. The Xbox 360 version will feature compressed audio and music, while the PlayStation 3 version will feature it uncompressed. Also the PS3 version will be larger than 25 GB.

It seems Square Enix has decided to totally change the usual white boxart to something completely different. Here are the European boxart images from the game which shows a 16+ rating, which is TBC though.

Final Fantasy XIII PlayStation 3 European boxart Final Fantasy XIII Xbox 360 European boxart