First round battle in the MMORPG Showdown 2 series. 

The Match-Up

Final Fantasy XI and Lord of the Rings Online are both fantasy alternatives to MMO giant World of Warcraft and both are based on well-known franchises, but the two games differ on the type of players that they target. While Final Fantasy XI goes after the hardcore players who want more from a MMORPG than WoW delivers, Lord of the Rings Online appeals more to casual players like WoW. LOTRO's casual appeal comes from both the popularity of the books/movies and from making the game's basic mechanics somewhat similar to WoW. This strategy by Lord of the Rings Online is a good one since most games that try to be too different from WoW usually don't perform well. Of course, the best example of this is Vanguard with its very buggy launch. In contrast, Lord of the Rings Online had a very smooth launch. That smooth launch along with the game's focus on casual players helped Lord of the Rings Online conquer Final Fantasy XI by a fairly large margin. This marks the second year in a row that Final Fantasy XI has been ousted out of the tournament in the first round. 

Tale of the Tape

Final Fantasy XI

• Targeted more towards hardcore MMO gamers.
• Extensive job system.
• Hard to play solo at higher levels.
• The MMO version of one of the most successful RPG series ever. 
• Can also be played on consoles.
• Was released in Japan before America.
• One of the top fantasy MMORPG alternatives to World of Warcraft.

Versus 

Lord of the Rings Online

• Based on one of the best fantasy franchises ever.

• One of the top fantasy MMORPG alternatives to World of Warcraft.

• Strong focus on stories.

• Very little magic.

• Targeted towards casual MMO gamers.

• The game, like the movie and books, will end eventually.

• Can acquire cool titles from doing various tasks.

Select Comments For Final Fantasy XI (Edited for Presentation)

Rating: 8
Author: Galefenrir
Comment: How could not trust Square Enix? I have personally played this game. FFXI does not boast great graphics like LOTRO does, but that is the least important feature in an MMORPG or any game. Overall, an 8.

Rating: 7
Author: YetAnotherLlamster
Comment: Innovative with nice quests, but nothing really special.

Rating: 6
Author: Banger
Comment: Not bad, but is a fun game only if you like to group constantly and wait on groups. Lord of the Rings Online is much better to me.

Select Comments for Lord of the Rings Online (Edited for Presentation)

Rating: 8
Author: nolonger
Comment: Great graphics and a good storyline. A very nice game overall. 

Rating: 8
Author: jrod
Comment: Very polished with great graphics. However, the quests and user interface are not very innovative.

Rating: 8
Author: YetAnotherLlamster
Comment: Turbine did a good job. This game, while somewhat incomplete, certainly lives up to the Tolkien legacy.

The Voting

Final Fantasy XI received a total score of 5.25

Lord of the Rings Online received a total score of 8.83

The Result

Lord of the Rings Online Wins!