Free Realms is, of couse, free to download and play. It launches from a Web browser and the inital, 64 MB game client download is via an ActiveX controller, so getting started involves little more that signing up on the Free Realms site. Like many free games, it's funded by selling premium accounts and virtual goods in an "item mall."
A Welcoming World
As you would expect, the world is very colorful, cartoonish, and cute. In fact, everything about Free Realms, from the Web site to the in-game GUI, is dripping with candy-coated visuals. Both the graphics engine and the artwork are impressive, making you want to explore the vast and largely seamless areas.
You play as either a human, or, oddly enough, a Bixie, which is essentially a pixie. This choice doesn't actually have any impact on gameplay; it merely determines your avatar's appearance.
The game's interface is outstanding, removing all sorts of barriers to learning an online RPG. Navigational aids are everywhere, including a fully functional mini-map, paths that take you to your next quest objective, and even a "Take Me There" button that will automatically run you where need to go. If you don't want to run, the world map offers instant travel between key locations.
Image © 2009 SOE
Pick a Job, Any Job
Most of what you do in Free Realms is decided by what Job you are pursuing. Jobs are a bit like classes in other RPGs, except that you don't select one at character creation and you can switch Jobs at any time. A single character in Free Realms can reach the maximum level in all of the game's Jobs. Each Job has it's own quests, items, and experience bar, as well as a tutorial that shows you how to play that particular Job.
Perhaps even less conventional are the variety of Jobs offered. Right now there are about 15 of them, including such diverse engagements as Kart Racer, Pet Trainer, Card Duelist, and Postman. There are also fighting Jobs which entail bashing down monsters in the usual RPG fashion, albiet with a greatly simplified combat system. Some Jobs, such as Card Duelist, which involves a trading card game, are entirely unrelated to the other Jobs, making them more like separate games within the game. The combat Jobs, on the other hand, with more common roles like tank and healer, do encourage group play to some extent.
Of the 6 combat Jobs currently available, Brawler and Ninja are free, while Wizard, Archer, Warrior, and Medic are for members only. These Jobs play like a very simplified RPG; you can have a maximum of 5 skills and 4 consumables on your hotbar, and your basic attack needs to be mashed rather than toggled. Still, they make a nice introduction to RPG mechanics. All the combat is instanced and the majority of it seems to be solo-friendly, but there are dungeon crawls suitable for groups. It's a little odd that they require a subscription for Medic, the only healing class, unless they did it to sell more healing potions in the item mall.
Perhaps more impressive are some of Free Realms' non-combat Jobs, for the simple reason that they're not the sort of thing you expect to see in a game of this kind. How do you take a Job like Postman and make it interesting, even for kids? It's actually better than I expected, as you quickly learn to throw your mail at the boxes to save time, and you'll also have to drop bones to occupy dogs that will knock you down, keeping you from your deliveries.
Jumping from Job to Job, many of which entail their own 2D mini-games based on popular casual games, makes you realize each of Jobs in Free Realms almost warrants a review of its own. The Card Duelist Job tied to the trading card game, for example, is quite robust, and could justify a subscription by itself. They've even thrown in a few classics like chess and checkers. Free Realms is truly an online "theme park," and there's more on the way, including soccer, fishing, and housing.
Image © 2009 SOE
The enormous variety Free Realms offers does come at the expense of depth, so if you want to spend most of your time at one Job, it will get a bit repetitive, and you'll reach the current level cap of 20 in that Job before long. Reaching the maximum in all Jobs, however, could keep you busy for months. Because SOE has concentrated on game mechanics that will appeal to the short attention spans of children, I don't think we'll see parents drawn into Free Realms the way they might be with other recent games of this kind. That said, fans of TCGs and casual games of any age should check it out, because it seems particularly strong in those areas.
Chat and Parental Controls
When you register for Free Realms it asks for your age, and those under 13 are limited to menu driven chat. Those over 13 have access to an open chat system, but even that has a heavy-duty filter on it which blocks plenty of perfectly innocent phrases. As has become the norm for games designed for youngsters, there is also a full compliment of parental controls.
The Bottom Line
Free Realms might best be described as a "Jack of all trades, master of none." However, it's hard to complain when that is exactly what the target audience is looking for. The game has been meticulously planned, and the execution is finely-tuned enough that adult-oriented games could learn something from it. They do their best to draw you into a premium account, but at just $5 month it's hard to go wrong. If you have kids that need a safe, friendly, and enjoyable distraction, Free Realms is an excellent option.
