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Free Realms Review: The 2011 Re-Review - Edit
6.5
| Pros |
 Family friendly Relaxing game play Some free content Very casual |
| Cons |
 Childish to adults Duel-only PvP Little challenge Repetitive |
Free Realms is an MMORPG offered by Sony, which offers both a highly limited free version and a pay-to-play (P2P) monthly subscription. With an ESRB rating of “Everyone,” it’s easy to guess that this MMO is very kid-friendly and fairly simple to both understand and navigate. But what does it offer for older players, who expect adult-level entertainment and enjoyment out of their free-to-play (F2P) and P2P MMOs?
Free Realms: MMO Kindergarten?
Before we analyze how valuable this MMO is for adult players, let’s take a moment to look at one thing it definitely offers: A safe, extremely kid-friendly place that is perfect for introducing the younger generation to the MMO world. The game’s system itself is pretty simple—you select your current career, level it up for awhile, then move on to the next—and you can wander around the world without encountering big, scary aggressive monsters. The graphics are very cartoonish, too—more so than similar engines, such as Runes of Magic and World of Warcraft—which likely appeals more to the younger crowd than most of us adults.
New players can also choose between being a human and a pixie, male or female, and then customize their appearance. I wasn’t surprised to see that an option other than human existed, but I couldn’t help imaging the squeals of tween girls across the country as they rolled up their shiny new pixie toon. That’s not to say only young ladies play pixies, of course; I do imagine they make up the majority, though. With so many cute graphics, easy quests and built-in hints, Free Realms certainly has a lot to offer child gamers. As an added bonus, parents who want to let their kids enjoy an MMO, possibly while they raid in WoW, can rest assured that Free Realms is a safer, easy-to-navigate option. Best of all, it’s free (to start—see below), and the membership subscription is an affordable $4.99/mo compared to MMOs that are 2-3x more each month.
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Sony has also included parental controls, which enable you to essentially shut-down the interaction your kids have with other players on Free Realms. This isn’t offered on most MMO options—in fact, many of the most popular options have a Teen rating or higher—and the added flexibility is great for ensuring you know what your kids are doing on the game, and who they are talking with. According to the official Free Realms blog, the game received the 2010 Creative Toy Award Seal of Excellence for being a kid-safe environment. Pretty impressive, and hopefully the award makes parents feel fairly confident about exploring Free Realms with their kids, and deciding if the game is a good hobby for their family.
Free? Well, sure, through level 4.
When I first loaded up Free Realms awhile back, I didn’t expect much out of this cutesy-cute MMO. I was surprised by how much fun it is; a very casual, come-as-you-play environment that had a lot of options as far as careers to level. Unfortunately, players are capped at the max experience for level 4, except for the Adventurer and Card Duelist careers. While I understand F2P games normally have an item mall—and Free Realms does too, in fact—it felt like a free trial cut off at the knees, long before most players would be hooked. Perhaps the addiction sets in quicker with a younger crowd?
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When I started to actually enjoy the game, leveling up my Archer career first and learning the system, I discovered this very early level cap. According to my fellow play-tester and MMO critic, older accounts were grandfathered in when this low cap was implemented in late 2009; he was perfectly able to progress past level 4. I’ll give Sony credit for rewarding long-time players (or those who made accounts but never played ages ago) but level 4—seriously? I can understand the necessity of a pay-to-play option for smaller games like this one, but this seemed a bit ridiculous to me, especially compared to all the content you get with other F2P games like RuneScape or Runes of Magic.
Free Realm careers, zones and other content.
That being said, the monthly subscription does open up quite a bit of content. The different zones in Free Realms are put together very well, from the beaches at Seaside to the spooky elements down in Blackspore Swamp. The fact that teleporting is immediately available in the game was a welcome surprise; you simply click on the map, and choose the teleport location closest to the zone or feature you want to access. There are also seasonal events regularly on Free Realms, with special loot drops and temporary quests or other activities, which correlate with major holidays. Considering the graphics of the game are cutsey-cute, these seasonal updates are often along the lines of adorable panda hats, purple flare pants and teddy bears.
Players can also obtain bonus items by watching ad videos for various sponsors, which is a nice perk for those who really care about a bonus turkey thigh for cooking or a decorative squirrel for their yard.
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Free Realms has a surprising 17 careers are available, which range from the what-you’d-expect Warrior, Ninja and Wizard, to the surprising implementation of Derby Driver, Postman and Soccer Star. Many of these careers require no combat, instead forcing players to hunt-and-gather items in order to increase in levels, or participate in specific mini games—like racing. The Smith and Cook careers both have fairly elaborate, if rather frustrating, mini-games; pour the molten metal (don’t spill!) and fry your ingredients without burning them, for example. Miner and several other actions have a Bejeweled-inspired puzzle, which is surprisingly addictive if I’m being completely honest. Line-up the items, clear the screen, gain more items as your prize. They’re fairly simple, but they’re also relaxing and casual—two elements which may be very tempting to potential adult Free Realms players.
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I found the combat careers to be the most enjoyable. You essentially have a primary attack, plus a secondary attack which is dependent on your equipped weapon, plus any bonus attacks which pop-up as little icons on the battlefield while you assault your enemies. If you die, you wait 10 seconds and respawn, and are temporarily invincible on top of that. There isn’t really a whole lot of challenge here, and there is next to no reason to group up with friends especially at lower levels, unless you just happen to prefer a more social game. You have to initiate combat, which means there are zero lurking threats to pop-out from behind boulders to attack your leg, which—again—lends to that relaxing, casual feel. At the end of combat, it’s a gamble to see which item will be your reward, from career-specific weapons to a few coins, or maybe a potion. Switching careers allows you to do the same combat instance for more career-appropriate weapons, and most items can be traded to other players.
The “Station Cash,” the Free Realms currency for the real-life money item mall, is fairly competitive with other F2P MMO item malls. Most of the content seems to involve vanity/novelty items, such as a T-Rex mount (called “rides”) or a cute pet to follow you around. There are sections for armor, tools and weapons, but those are pretty pricy considering what you can find on your own while completing quests and random combat encounters.
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Free Realms: Final Verdict
Ultimately, Free Realms is truly a game that has been created, marketed-to, and enjoyed by a younger crowd of gamers. That’s not to say it doesn’t have its merits as far as adult players are concerned, but one of the best aspects of this game is the kid-friendly design which parents can enjoy. Of course, kids are never 100% safe if left unsupervised online, but Sony has put some great parental controls in place which you can opt to employ while your kids are on the game. Above and beyond that, this game offers quite a bit to do, if you don’t mind the $4.99/mo. The mini games are fun, and the whole world is this cute, happy-go-lucky little universe without impending doom and unnecessary evil. I was surprised that Free Realms hooked me as much as it did, and I honestly think this is one I could enjoy playing around on it with my kids—even after I was sure it was safe, and into the realm of my own personal amusement.
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There is no PvP to speak of, short of player duels, and you can expect to be continuously bombarded with friend requests from random strangers. But if you want to kill time in a cartoonish little world which will absolutely forgive you if you only play once every seven months, Free Realms isn’t a half-bad choice. There are certainly worse options, though I would consider the F2P version barely worth your time beyond a very brief trial period. I can’t split the rating for adults vs. kids, so I’m going with a 6.5 overall, but I feel the score is probably 7.5-8 for the younger MMO players out there. If you want a fun way to kill some time with zero commitment, consider giving Free Realms a try. You might decide it’s too cute and cuddly for your gaming style, but you also might find a surprisingly enjoyable trip to an almost Never Never Land type of world.
It wasnt that bad.......
kinda looks like WoW lol.
i really enjoyed playing with my ninja character xD
For adult MMO gamers, I'd say the review was spot on. This game doesn't have much to keep adults hooked persay, unless you have the option to play it with your kids or just enjoy another method of playing a few minigames.
For it's intended audience, though, I'd definitely say it's a great game. Do 8 year olds care about a level cap? Very doubtful. It's nice to see that SOE has continued to create a safe, fun game world for children that doesn't require a purchase or letting them use an internet browser.
I've tried it, its not a bad game at all for what it is.
The game is for kids, why rate it for adults? That is like comparing the card games Go Fish with Poker.
Like everyone already said, were you expecting permadeath when going in to play that game? Review the game for what it is please.
We are announcing a brand new system for our reviews in July that will hopefully help us all clarify our thoughts in a numerical fashion easier.
That's all well and good, but that doesn't change the fact that, according to her review, it should have been 7.5-8.5 and she graded it a 6.5. Now, I've read many reviews where a game gets a higher score then the review itself suggests, but to outright say she'd grade it 7.5-8.5 for kids, and then post a different score is just sloppy, on the editor's end as well.
Would also like to add, I think this is the first time this site has re-reviewed a game and given it a much lower score.
Besides having a cartoon look, IT HAS NOTHING THAT "KINDA LOOKS LIKE WOW".... /sigh
Its funny that Free realms i probably the best MMO SOE has :)
...Wait are you kidding me?
It's been two years and they still haven't added any of the new maps that say "coming soon"?
Or did they remove those already and are just never going to make any new zones because they're lazy/cheap and kids are stupid?
I had a lot of fun in Free Realms but I used it as a totally casual change of pace game. It is a very relaxing game with fun lil quests and mini-games all over.
Why oh why do Professional writers use the word "an" in front of "MMO"? "An" is used in front of a word that begins with a vowel, last I checked, "m" was not a vowel, (I even checked with Vanna White, she does not sell m's).
"m" begins with a vowel in spoken language. you write 'm' but pronounce "em". if you can pronounce 'm' without any vowels in front of it like in the word "Matrix" then its with an A.
trust me.
my english - being my third language - isnt strong enough to think of a word that actually starts with a vowel in pronounciation but not in spelling, and i'm not sure if they exist but if "mmorpg" was a word -and its not - then it would either have an E at begining or receive the 'an' since there's an e-sound there regardless of spelling.
spelling reflects spoken language not the other way around.
That was lame, come on, really? If that's the case, then there would never ever be a use for "a", ever. Sorry, that doesnt cut the mustard.
It's not wrong, actually. The Modern Language Association is pretty clear on the subject. For a common acronym such as "MMO", the decisive criteria for the use of 'an' rather than 'a' is pronounciation, not spelling. And in terms of pronounciation "MMO" does indead begin with a vowel (em-em-oh). A great example is the use of 'an historic (fill in the blank)'. For example, "It was an historic occasion" is completely correct. But don't feel bad, English is my business and I had to look it up just now to be sure. The article determines how the writer wants to reader to say it in his mind. I've often wondered about this and never bothered to get an answer until now, so for that I thank you. Additionally, don't look to professional journalists as though they are grammarists. They aren't. Journalism ruins language for speed and flash. Everytime they use the word "quote" instead of quotation it makes me go crazy!
what's the first sound you hear when you say "market"?
what's the first sound you hear when you say "mmo" ?
your mustard needs refrigiration.
I think maybe you're confusing the pronunciation of words with the pronunciation of letters. It's a different thing. Take the example of the acronym FOB. In medicine it means fecal occult blood, but in usuage it's said "eff -oh -bee". In military terms FOB means forward operating base but it's pronounced as a word "fob". So for the first one you would say an F.O.B. and for the second you would say "I was at 'a' FOB last night. As I said before it's based on how it is used. Check out MLAhandbook.org if you have any more questions.
i played for about a yr got a lifetime subscription in the hopes new areas would be available to explore however as with most sony products that isn't the aim. the cash shop gets more frequent updates than the world does and the introduction of farming/gardening is pointless unless they allow you to do it on the lots with your house......frankly i've been disapointed and the games port to ps3 hasn't changed my opinion
I was just contemplating this the other day and reached the same conclusion. It sounds like 'em', a vowel, so it needs "an" in front of it. " A MMO" sounds so wrong and awkward.
The game was about perfect for kids and was even fun for adults, at launch. Health Potions were essential for completing many of the quests with out dying, but the vendor prices for loot drops were high enough that you could self fund your potion needs and have a small amount of currency left.
However, a few months in, Sony got greedy. They cut the vendor payouts for drops by 90% (yes, you only got 10% of what vendors used to pay for drops), which then forced players to buy potions with real money, if they wanted to continue to get perfect completions on level appropriate quests.
It was right after this change that FRs previously mindboggling momentum at signing up new users crashed and burned. (I think they had hit four or five million in short order, before the game maiming change to the economy).
The game offered good incentives for paying the $5/month fee. It also offered weapons and armor in the cash shop that were worth buying and with weapons being class specific, it was likely that people willing to pay for one weapon would by others as they added and leveled additional classes.
I don't know what the in game economy looks like now, but at the time, SOE, in typical SOE fashion, killed the goose that laid the golden egg with idiotic, short term greed.
fiontar is right, the game was much better before the drastic NGEesque changes to the game. It used to be a pretty good family MMO, now it just okay.
an MMO
an heir
an honour
a year
a unicorn
pronounciation wins.
The review on this would be above a 5.0 (so-so) if it bothered to mention the Cash Shop and the fact that some of the jobs (professions) are unable to be advanced without Cash Shop purchases.
That is the reason I quit playing Free Realms. There should not be a subscription, or at least it should be very low, for example $1 a month since players wanting to play certain jobs MUST upgrade to advance thru the Cash Shop.
The above is what I remember, oh yes, gifting other people what they need from the Cash Shop is missing from Free Realms as well.
Greedy, but then it's Sony. No real surprise on the greed there, eh?
Free Realms is nothing more than a few popular web/console games bolted onto the skeleton of an mmo the size of a postage stamp. It tries to be a real mmo and at the same time force players to play minigames from other popular titles that do not feel connected to the mmo side of the game. It tries to do so many different things that it ends up a confusing mess that doesn't really do anything well.
The game engine is pretty slick though, but the design of the game seems like nothing more than trying to cram a bunch of popular concepts from other games and trying to figure out ways to force people to pay for it. It just didn't work.
It's really good if you want to be more casual... if you want to play hardcore then there are other MMOGs for you... I love Free Realms casue I only need 30mins to 1 hour to get some gaming in.
Cons
A game which focuses on kids is childish to adults? that is one the of CON of Free Realms? okie. Also i still have to play a MMO which is not repetitive.
*rolls eyes*
It is ridiculous though the review this from an adults perspective... it should be reviewed from the perspective of it's design and intention.
It's like giving a PvP game a low score because you reviewed it from a PvE perspective.
Not attacking the reviewer personally, but the fact that some adults play it doesen't mean that it should be reviewed as an adult game.
If she felt that it was an 7.5-8 for chlldren then that should of been the listed score.