The new 3D virtual world Free Realms by Sony, launches today! So I thought I’d post a review.

Free Realms is sort of a hybrid program. It is kind of like a virtual world, kind of like an MMORPG, and kind of like an online game portal.  “Kind of like” gets used a lot in explaining Free Realms. For example, “the graphics are kind of like World of Warcraft”.

It probably has the distinction of being the first MMORPG for all ages.  Really young kids (below 8 yrs) might find many activities too hard but others just right, Adults might find it a little too cutesy, but it manages to balance things enough so that parents and children could play together and both find it entertaining.

Free Realms has multiple activities. Some include “Brawling” (like a MMORPG style melee fighting), racing, demolition derby, “cooking” (simple 2D flash games for kids),  raising a dog or cat, playing board games (chess checkers, etc), and playing collectible card games. There are other types of activities available if you sign up for the full version of the game.

I tried this out in beta, but even then it already seemed like a full complete game. I did not really run into many bugs or horrible lag. Some players did however. It seems the better your computer hardware, the fewer problems you should have. A good video card seems to be especially important.

I found the game entertaining enough to play and the world is big enough for quite a few hours of fun, but it seems that as soon as you get far enough into an activity, your progress is hindered unless you sign up for the full version ($4.95 a month) . The “Free” part of “Free Realms” only goes so far it seems.

For example, I got into a battle with a “boss” and managed to defeat him by using some health drinks. After the battle, I looked to see if I could get some more health drinks, and it turns out the “gold” I have been collecting cannot be used for more health, only “Station Currency” which requires credit card purchase

Nevertheless, there is enough to do in the free parts to know whether or not you enjoy it enough to become a full member.  It is an entertaining enough program, and I suspect there may be quite a few players who do sign up.

As a “virtual world” it is very basic. You can customize your avatar, though there are not a huge number of choices. Each activity has a different outfit, which you can customize as you advance in level, or purchase optional items. The video demos I see indicate that home and yard decoration will be an option, but did not see anything like that in the free version. There are no player submissions. Chatting is limited for child safety reasons.

The MMORPG part is also somewhat basic. Even in the free game, you get better armor and weapons as you level. Being kid friendly, there is no “killing” or “dying”, it is all about knocking out the other guy before you get knocked out.  If you get knocked out 5 times in a mission, you lose the mission.  Most missions involve talking to NPC’s which launch individual “instanced” missions.  I have yet to see any team missions.

Racing felt a lot like one of those Nintendo kart racing games, where running over things gives you additional abilities like turbo boost, etc. Click to start a race, and others may join you, or more likely you will face a bunch of computer drivers.

It is definitely worth trying out if your computer can handle it.

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