Free Realms seems to be one of the more interesting MMO's in development. It was hailed by both Kotaku and The Examiner to be the best MMO of E3, and interest in this 'happy go-lucky' title seems to be increasing as time goes on. So what is it all about? Well, in all honesty, it's hard to describe. Free Realms is to be a subscription free game, and whilst the target age range is reportedly for 9 – 14 year olds, it will hold an appeal for other audiences as well. The focus of the game seems to be on social networking, and just plain having fun.
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Free Realms isn't about pouring in hours upon hours of time and effort for grinding or acquiring that special bit of kit, instead it's geared more to shorter play instances, where you may just want to play a few mini games or hang out with friends, complete a task or two etc... Watching the demo that was available, It looks like the ultimate casual game, which is not surprising considering its audience. From the looks of things, you may not even be able to actually 'kill' anyone in this game.
The world is basically comprised of mini games and light quests, where each game has it's own instanced environment separate from the main world. There will be an underlying main point, adding an overall sense of purpose to the game, but there's nothing as in depth as alignments or plot choices. Even combat is an optional 'mini-game' of sorts, giving players a huge degree of control over how they want to play the game. New games will also be added in as time goes on, and new games can be tested out through the main menu without you having to go looking for them. The mini games will range from single player, to small and big party multiplayer, with the maximum party size supposedly being 5.
Moving onto player classes, there's slated to be over 20 at time of release, with more available through future DLC. All of the classes will be playable from the beginning, and users can chop and change roles whenever they want, as many times as they want. The general aim is to earn star points and level up each class, which all have their own unique purpose and special abilities.
There's even an in-game economy, with a separate system for micro-transactions. These transactions are supposed to be more visual then your average MT, and SOE have assured us that they will keep things balanced. Not many details on what you can trade or buy have been revealed as of yet, but judging by the feel of the game, it will probably be mainly accessories or outfits and the like.
Free Realms is a browser based game, so no disc involved. The client actually streams and downloads in the background whilst you create your character on a flash-page, so provided you have a decent internet connection the transition between creation and playing should be seamless. For PS3 players, this game will probably be made available over the PlayStation Network. The main menu will be full of useful information and tips, and will act as the main hub outside of the game. SOE will also be implementing heavy parental controls, to ensure that the game isn't ruined like most MMO's tend to be by immature minded individuals. Under 13's will apparently not be allowed to talk at all, and the game will utilise Sony's universal chat system for added support.
Seems like a very intriguing game indeed. It is currently in the Beta phase right now, but no concrete news to when it's due out. The other title being shown off by Sony Online Entertainment was The Agency. As mentioned above, it is a spy-themed MMO 'persistent' shooter with an emphasis on the player controlling how the game unfolds.
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Like most MMO's, The Agency allows you to customize your character and join one of two beginning factions (UNITE or PARAGON). Whilst there will be PvP opportunities, the rivalry between these factions will be more friendly and professional as opposed to say the Orcs and Humans from World of Warcraft.
Each faction will have it's hub cities and HQ, like Central Prague for the UNITE faction. This cities will be persistent worlds, and may contain some of the early missions. There will be mini-games available as well, such as gambling should you ever get tired of saving the world. There will be several cities that players can travel too, not all of them 'hub' locations. (Especially since there are only two factions.)
The wider game is actually made up of instances as opposed to public space, with an estimated ratio at the time of the demonstration being about 40/60 (public/instance). The instances are the various missions that you can go on, and will vary in difficulty, type and location. Because of the nature of the game, the developers say doing missions may feel like a session of Call of Duty as opposed to normal MMO, and you'll often find yourself in shoot outs with terrorists and other assorted enemies. Each mission will have different ways of completing objectives, to add in a bit of variety.
What makes this game interesting though is the things that players can do outside of missions. Once skilled enough, players can form their own agency, (or 'guilds') and they can also collect 'living loot' in the form of operatives. Operatives come in various shapes and sizes, and they can perform a variety of tasks such as assisting you on missions, gathering Intel, or even conducting research for you in real-time. This again can make missions more interesting, as each operative you take with you will have a special ability, and it should be fun to see what they can come up with.
There are also of course the general community aspects such as trading, and some PvP as we mentioned earlier. There will be an extensive catalogue of weapons and items that you can buy or research, so it should make the combat pretty interesting.
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This could be an interesting title, if handled properly. Unfortunately, the demo that was shown lacked a certain flair, and some of the combat mechanics seemed weak. It is still early days yet though, so there's a lot of room for improvement. Unlike Free Realms, this game will be chargeable, although it is unclear whether it will be subscription or whether you simply have to buy the disk. The game will also reflect the real world in terms of time and season. Certain background elements will evolve as time goes on, and will add a sense of realism to the game. Graphically, it is looking quite good so far, although everything seems a bit 'bright and shiny' for a spy game. There's also rumours that vehicles will be included into the gameplay, although the developers have said that it probably won't happen until sometime after launch.
All in all, a solid couple of titles. The PS3 versions of the two games will have trophy support, although no word on any achievements for the PC version. The Agency will have to really step a gear though if it is to compete with the likes of Alpha Protocol and DC Universe. Free Realms should be interesting, although it remains to be seen if it can really appeal to a wider and much older audience.
