Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

The Wonderland Online Closed Beta began on April 9, and I decided to give it a try because I am always looking for yet another solid free-to-play (F2P) game that can soak up some of my time between play sessions of more intense games. I reported my first impressions from a very brief experience earlier this week. Wanting to learn more about Wonderland Online, I took the plunge once again. This time, I explored combat, grouping, and...er, "looding."

Enter any safe zone  in Wonderland Online and you're sure to see one of these tent cities.

Tent Cities Without Lag
I'd stopped my first Wonderland Online play session after washing up on a beach after a shipwreck. I had met and received a raft from a castaway who'd been living on my island refuge for 25 years. I had experienced a fair amount of lag, but I guessed that it could be a result of the launch of closed beta and a flood of players all on one server. I am pleased to report that the lag was gone entirely for my second play session, and my 75 minutes of game play were without any technical hitches.

I started by floating my raft to the northwest. I had no clue if anything lay in that direction; it was just an adventurous urge, something I get the feeling Wonderland Online (WL) seeks to encourage. A screen fade later, my raft brought me to a new island. I could see other players on the beach with their fishing poles. Sadly, my raft broke as I came ashore, and an on-screen message told me I could not use it again. At least I'd found some other people.

It turned out that I had not just found some other people; I had found dozens of people. In addition to the couple dozen fishermen on the shore, I soon saw dozens more--or at least the tents that represented them. I went inside a tent and saw a player in there just hanging out with what looked to be crafting stations. Another tent I explored had furniture and decorations. The beach was crawling in these things. I was in the midst of a veritable tent city. Between the fishermen, the tents, and the players swarming the beach like ants, I estimated 75-100 people in the zone. And there was no lag at all.

Battles in Wonderland Online take place in turns like those in traditional role playing games.

Round One: Fight
Just past the beach was a glowing little icon that looked like a portal. I followed another adventurous urge and stepped on it. As I had suspected, it was a "door" to the next zone. In this zone, I saw the beach start to blend into some palm trees, and I spotted some colorful dots (maybe Dots) hopping around in the sand. It appeared I had discovered some enemies.

I had not engaged in any combat in WL yet, so I was not sure what to expect. Since movement in WL uses mouse clicks, I expected combat to be a clickfest, too. I charged at one of the hopping dots, praying to the copy of Baldur's Gate II on my computer shelf that I'd receive divine instructions on how to fight very soon.

I was surprised to learn that battles take place in a separate screen in turn-based fashion like many great traditional role playing games I've loved over the years. It was my duster-wearing Silek versus...a pineapple monster. Several combat command icons appeared in a circle surrounding my character, but none of them gave a description when I moused over. I had to guess what each did based on its image. A timer counted down from 20. I couldn't waste time.

It really wasn't so hard to figure out which icons let me attack with my weapons--my fists at this point--use magic and special skills, and use items. One of the other icons might have been an option to attempt to flee. But I could not decipher some in-game. I'd need to visit the website later if I wanted to unravel the mystery. Regardless, I dispatched my foe without much effort. I then proceeded to attack kiwi monsters and grape monsters. Maybe some other fruit, too. It really looked like candy gone wild. Both the enemies and my avatar had their own combat animations, and my spells and special moves showed a little flare.

I walked up the beach a little and found some starfish and anemones to kill as well. I leveled quickly and gained some points to spend on my attributes. I unlocked some news skills in doing so, but I soon found my level one skill cost fewer spell points and did more damage than my new ones against the foes in the vicinity.

The fun doesn't stop at fighting fruit-flavored candy. Read on for my first experiences with quests. And looding.