Here is a game that has a gorgeous environment, without the blood!
“Free Realms” is an MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role playing Game) created by Sony. Players access this game through the browser, which then opens the program. In the game, humans and pixies talk to each other and enjoy playing random games and doing random quests. There are a lot of games to play in “Free Realms”, such as Tower Defense, Kart Driving, demolition derbies, soccer playing, monster slaying (no blood), card playing, cooking, fishing, postcard delivering and a bunch more! The most hilarious (and suggestive) line has to be, “Click things for fun!” Another aspect of the game that I like is the squirrel mascot. He’s got blue hair and I really wish that I could see a representation of that squirrel in the game. Moving from quest to quest is easy, because there’s a button that allows one to go to a non-player character instantly.
One way to tell whether a game is good or not is looking at the community. Most of the players hang out around Sea Side, because it’s the place to be I guess. That playground area is fun too. Players can jump around on blocks and trampolines in order to get a prize at the top. The community has a crucial flaw that I’ll point out, however. Not everything is peachy.
The community is only based on talking and socializing, not actually playing the mini games within the game. When a player goes to a lobby for a particular game, say, kart racing, there is no one there. How about the soccer games? No one. The demolition derbies? Nope. The main problem is that the game tries to create everything for variety and uniqueness. As a result, the individual games become lacking and boring. For example, the kart racing and the demo derbies have a huge problem with the camera angles. Instead of the angle staying directly behind the driver, the angle tends to turn as the car turns. Sure, this is a pretty unique idea, but the angle disorients players.
Another problem is with the difficulty of the game play. It’s way too easy! For a college student, the game would become too boring because it’s too easy to achieve the goals that the game sets. A great example of this is through the combat within the game. A low leveled monster is able to deal about 21 damage points to a player that has around 600 health points. On the other hand, the player can easily hit one creature three times, which is around 254 damage points per hit. But there are around ten creatures per mob. Boring yes?
Additionally, the game simply lacks a reason for a player to stick around. If I stay for a given amount of time, what do I receive? In theory, I could play this exact type of game online for free in a different location. What does the game achieve when they group all the different types of mini games together? A single player campaign emerges, which consists of tasks, with a lacking peer versus peer element, because there isn’t a reason to. The game does have its ups and downs, game play-wise; however, the game play alone does not make the game. The graphics and sounds within the game are beautiful, however!
The graphics and music always fits the mood of the scenario. For example, if a player is in a light, happy area, the music is bright and cheery. When a player enters a darker area, the music becomes more sullen and creepy. I really like the music, simply because it’s soothing and relaxing. The game also does a good job with varying the environments. There are beaches, snowy areas, forests and creepy hedge mazes.
On a final note, I’m taking requests from the readers. If you have a game that you want me to review, send me an email about which video game you want me to review with the line, Collegian Video Game Blog: (name of game here). My only rule is that you pick games that I can get for free. (No b2p or 100% p2p games).
Reggie Kwok can be reached at [email protected].
