Forsaken World Review #3

[NoCashReq has entered the room]

And now, watch as I pull the end of a review out of this... ummm... hat! yeah, that's where I got it from!  For those of us just joining in, I've been regaling you with stories of my exploration of Forsaken World, an RPGMMO from developers Perfect World.  So far we have looked at four of the six scores, and here is what you missed:

SCORES

Playability: 4/5 A very solid tutorial system, easily used and modifiable keysettings, and a good HUD makes this game easy to learn and fun to play.

Atmospherics: 4/5 Beautiful design went into most of what you see, from the characters to the scenery, and although I think that some of the character designs are a bit too frou-frou (frou-frou: From the pig-latin freoua-freoua, meaning sissy or weak.  See also: namby-pamby and pansy-boy)  for my tastes, there can be no denying that they are visually stunning.

 Learning Curve: 3/5  Character development is smooth, even, but narrow and ultimately did not allow me to try my own style of play due to the strict adherence to class roles.  The fact that all races had only some of the classes available to them was annoying, and the amount of options within the role was not enough.

Community: 2/5  No interaction, despite attempts to reach out, ask for help, or at least talk to others.  Everyone seemed to be off doing their own thing, and with the combat system being so easy to wipe out most enemies without trying, I can see why.

And now the final two scores, Support and Cash Shop:

Support:  5/5 Not once did I have any reason to  submit a trouble ticket, and with a regularly updated game and constant attention, I don't see that you would have reason to save for Deus Ex Machina type events.

Cash Shop: 0/5  There's permanent stat boosts in them thar shops, and I ain't havin' none of it!  Huge amounts of Pay-to-Win violations put this score into the bay with cement shoes.

OVERALL:  18/30  Overall the game is solid, but not my cuppa tee in combat, style, limited development paths, and definintely this game is not a true Free To Play (FTP) game.

If you want to go back and read the reviews that led up to here, here's the links:
http://flatbrokegamerreview.blogspot.com/2012/07/forsaken-world-review-1.html
http://flatbrokegamerreview.blogspot.com/2012/08/forsaken-world-review-2.html

On with the rest!

SUPPORTING YOUR GAME

Her aim, flawless.  Her fashion sense, mmm not so much.

Perfect World does a dynamite job of keeping all of their games up to date, well supported for problems, and in general they really do care about your experience.  You may have read my earlier review of their brawler, Rusty Hearts, and there I did need to submit a trouble ticket with quick results, but this game ran like a sharp knife through hot butter.  I will definitely be reviewing more of their games in the future for this fact alone.

IS IT FTP OR PTW?

The biggest stumbling block that this game has is the fact that there are clearly permanent boosts available in the shop.  As this game is driven by your equipment, and the fact is that you can buy equipment improvement in the cash shop in ABUNDANCE means that this game gets the first goose egg in the Cash Shop category.

FINAL THOUGHTS

If you like Pina Coladas, go listen to Jimmy Buffet.  If you like a simple, easily, heavily structured game with  visually complex and brightly patterned characters, play Forsaken World.  But if you like a challenging game, where your pocketbook does not define your success, with enjoyable character depth and variety, then look elsewhere.

That's it!  I finished one of the new Reviews, and it only took me... way too long.  Seriously, thank you to all of you who keep coming back for more (you masochists) and keep your ear to the ground (or follow my missives by one of the options on the right) for my review of : Maplestory!  Till that uncertain time, Stand Up, Hook Up, and Shuffle To The Door, Jump Right Out And Shout "We Waanntt mmmoooooorrrre........"

[NoCashReq has left the room.]