MMORPG’s, and even PC games in general, are often given some leeway by reviewers, who know that glitches, bugs, and even shoddy game play can be improved over time through patches. As such, games are often reviewed with one eye on the present, and one on the future. Whether this is a legitimate way to review these games is up for debate, but the fact stands.

Therefore, it comes as a bit of a shock when one considers the overall revulsion from critics and gamers that has greeted the PC release of Final Fantasy 14. Despite having what some reviewers have described as incredible depth and potential, FF 14 has been vilified for its interface, quest design, and overall game play, like very few MMO’s before it.

Majority Bellows, Square Cowers

The criticism has been so strong that Square-Enix recently took some drastic steps to try and salvage what they could from the game. Firstly, they decided to massively restructure the upper management working on the game, appointing Naoki Yoshida to replace the well-known Hiromichi Tanaka as Producer/Director. Other key areas of the game’s development have seen personnel changes as well, including for the positions of lead game designer, lead artist, and lead programmer.

A Game So Bad, They Can’t Even Charge Money For It

In a further last ditch effort to try and maintain some semblance of a player base through the game redevelopment process, Square-Enix has decided to forgo charging a monthly fee for the foreseeable future, until they’re satisfied with the state of the game. They also announced that the PS3 version of the game (originally scheduled for March 2011) would be delayed until they’re confident that it lives up to the (once?) hallowed Final Fantasy name.

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