Free Realms Comments by Oli Welsh

Better than dorkfail.

Speaking of which, what happened to the dorkfail re-review?

shhhh.. aydsnay-on-the-dorkfail-ay...

"Better than dorkfail"

/cries

Just a note to anyone who's decided to give this a go based on the review - the (un)official EG server is 3.

Brilliant, cry the bitter HARDCORE tears, Doinkfail JUSTICE and HONOUR seekers! \o/

PCPS3lol

I can't even get the Free Realms homepage to load! Guess it's not for me, then.

Awful review! I have logs (and we all know saying it makes it true) that say the reviewer played just 1 hour! I've played lots more. Well, 11. I haven't even scratched the surface. Oh, just in case anyone's new to EG, that first sentence was another Darkfail reference.

It really is bloody brilliant though, certainly my MMO of choice, though not for people who need combat and guns like Oli Welsh, the big wuss. Kidding, I think the critisisms listed are mostly fair. Nice review Oli :D

Just to elaborate on one thing:

"The Card Duelist job I can't comment on with any degree of authority, other than to note that SOE's work in this area - with its EverQuest and Star Wars Galaxies spin-offs - is respected by those in the know."

If you're a fan of TCGs like Magic and Pokemon, as well as god knows how many knock offs, the Card Duelist class is pleasantly familiar and easy to play, yet with enough depth to allow for great last minute come backs or fiendish tricks. It's great fun if you're into TCGs.

I've just watched the trailer and there's a dog wearing a monacle.

Sold.

You can also have a dog wearing a space helmet. Also, I'm Steve Soulforge in-game, always on Server 3 as Grump says. If you see me, say hi! Then I'll say some suggestive things and get a ban.

I can't even get the Free Realms homepage to load!

Use a computer, not a toaster ;-)

It's downloading ok for me, and my contention ratio at this time in the evening is usually shocking. I'd have a word with your ISP.

I'd say the game is more of an 8/10 considering it is free and even if it wasn't, it still provides far more entertainment for it's buck (or lack of) than a lot of console games, especially Wii ones. Otherwise though excellent review, and i'm enjoying the game more and more.

Pah! Windows only, Oscar Wieselnose will have to wait :(

So when's PS3 version coming?

bear in mind that there's still more to come in the pipeline. Player housing seems to be the first big update. Then there's football - at the moment there's just an empty stadium. Also the map hints to at least 3 more lands to come - they're currently locked behind gates.

With a membership you also get a free trading card booster pack each month (10 virtual cards and 1 virtual item), which sell for US $4.00 in the item shop, effectively meaning the membership is only US $1 per month, at least if you might have been tempted to buy extra cards each month.

The kart racing and demolition derby work fine for me, just took a little bit to get used to the control. I wonder if some of the problem was the servers being US only? Sony need to get some more servers outside the US set up; and have the physical card packs and station cash cards sold outside the USA too, as some non-USA people are having problems with the available payment options.

Of the combat classes I actually like Archer the best so far. But collecting and mining seem to be taking up most of my time.

Fun game, nice smooth graphics and interface, excellent sound. Relaxing and fun game to play when taking a break from the more traditional variety. Still needs some things fixed and some content is missing (kart), and hopefully they'll be adding more content in general over time.

So basically, it's a game that takes the mass appeal of mmo's down to absolute common (lowest) denominator, which is only one step above a game that plays itself, and at the same time pats the poor sod playing it at the back and serves him cookies and milk?

So, the reason to play this thing is...?

Loving the first paragraph there. The idea of a TCG class is enough to get me to try it.

The reason is its a nice relaxing diversion from the more serious games. I just got out of the tutorial, seems really nice so far. I have to admit it was the card game that got me interested, looking forward to trying that out.

The TCG is a key factor here, it's 'free', yes the booster packs aren't cheap but if your commiting to membership you get one for free per month and then the trading side kicks in. It's a fairly sound game system but being in the know about these things it's normally the second set where you get to tell if the game is going to remain balanced. If SOE futher the support by adding player tournaments etc, it'll really corner a nishe there, hence as the arcticle states why Battleforge just went free.

I think that's a fair review. Obviously it's designed for the young 'uns and so it is all a bit ADDlookatthisnowgoanddothiswelldoneyougetacookienowgoanddoth
isotherthingandhoorayyougotsomethingelse and unfortunately I think it gives a lot up early on and after that, it's... more of the same, unfortunately.

It IS brilliantly done and when it is good - as Oli points out, in the Chef Mini games, for example - it's a lot of fun. Also, the kart racing is great and I've not experienced any response problems.

Bizarrely though - for a "kids' game" - it's pretty much a grindfest and it does force a lot of menial activities/daily upkeep stuff (such as resource gathering) onto you if you want to get anywhere.

It's a charming, very cute game with some superb music (the title theme just sticks with you like The Sims theme does) and there's a lot to be had here, but it's all just a bit paradoxical: on the one hand it's shallow, but on the other it's a big time-sink of a game.

i made a char on realm 3. looks nice so far, the hills in the tutorial area scream WoW at me. Which is good, but ofc that's just geometry and cheap graphics. Seems alright, certainly aimed 'lower'. i exited the tutorial and it began to dl a load, so i quit.

better than ulduar?

incredibly shallow... no use looking for depth beyond a few hours play. would anyone put real money into this... even kids ?

DFawkes; Using the in-game name "generator"?

Is there still no invert mouse option? If not I'd like my money back.

@matrim83, "Speaking of which, what happened to the dorkfail re-review?"

The developer posted on their website that they actually didn't want a re-review after all. Can't trust EG, fraudulent review, etc.

"Is there still no invert mouse option? If not I'd like my money back."

Sure. $0.00 has been credited to your account.

@rotmm

but that means the 2/10 stands then and EG can re-post the original review surely? :P

@timberwolf

Given the amount of pets, membership jobs and custom outfits weapons and clothing people are using in game - definitely!

I'm subbed. It works out as £3.90 for me in real money which is less than half-price over any other p2p mmo out there. I would argue that it has more depth than the next leading name. As people said its regularly maintained, there is going to be new races added as well as at least 4 new areas off the current map.

And In the existing world there are placeholder NPCs and locations for more activates and quests, like fishing, ice skating and football (to name a few).

Much of this can be fixed in time by SOE and we're quite sure it will be, so assured is Free Realms' debut.

I wouldn't be so sure. SOE have a knack for creating great stuff then negecting it until it entrophys away to nothingness!

Better than dar... ah shit - several people beat me to it :-P

The main reason to play it for me, Silvervein, is that it's fun. Maybe not if you play it as a hardcore game, but I'm enjoying it quite a lot. Haven't bought any cash shop items yet, although I'm tempted by some of them. I have a free membership through my station account, but I'm considering setting aside $5/month for cash shop purchases if I see something I really want.

The cooking is my favourite mmo crafting system - I really liked Vanguard's crafting, but does it let you slice and fry stuff? Vanguard still wins out on harvesting, though - Free Realms has a great harvesting minigame, but in Vanguard when you chop down a tree, you actually do cause a tree to fall down.

Will play a PS3 or Mac release. At least this one is available here, unlike the Cartoon Network MMO - but the latter runs on Macs.

hm, a good mmo for a change. And almost bug free on release I heard. Not that I care, but good to see a proper mmo launch for once.