Final Fantasy XI celebrates Halloween News

Master of terror Square Enix has announced that it's Harvest Festival time in Vana'diel - the realm in which its recently released Final Fantasy XI MMORPG is set - and that anybody playing the game ought to celebrate by running around singing hymns about apples, gathering straw and buying home made angel cakes from five year-olds.

Actually, we think Squenix may have confused matters slightly; the Harvest Festival the company is actually running sounds a lot more like Halloween. The idea is to dress up as monsters and employ other deceptions and then run around scaring the bejesus (and the items and other treats) out of your fellow gamers.

Townsfolk in the San d'Oria, Windurst and Bastok areas of Vana'diel are being encouraged to take part. If you're around there, watch out for players masquerading as ghosts, and feel free to swap various treats with them and the other locals. As for getting in on the act yourself, apparently when you offer certain NPCs a treat you'll be transformed into a monster or beastman. At least visually.

The FFXI "Harvest Festival" is running now and should conclude on Monday morning at 7am GMT, so if you fancy getting in on the act, make your way over to one of the regions we've mentioned and start pulling a scary face. We're off to a singles night to do much the same thing...