By Danny "Ralsu" Gourley



Graphics

Deco Online
has decent graphics. The colors are tad bright (normal overuse of

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The Rain faction
starter area

bloom in a free game), and the models I've seen are a little cartoony.
Combat animations are fluid, and spell effects get the job done. One
thing to note is that the spells I saw involved a body movement
followed by the magic effect appearing instantly on top of the monster.
In
other words, the magic seemed to be invoked from somewhere else and
brought into the world. 
I also tested a martial arts skill that caused my character to hurl a
fireball that welled up from with him. This skill clearly showed the
magic issuing from within my character.



Buildings displayed sufficient details to create a mood and a sense of
architecture, but they were nothing write Jack Thompson about. The
newbie training area for combat seemed to be an ethereal other-realm
type place with a mostly bland sky and flat, monotone landscape.



The
monsters I faced were two different models with two color variations
each. This was only in the training grounds, but I will be expecting
more variety as I play more. Another thing to note about the monsters
is that they were cuddly looking. One, an Eggvill, was a giant egg with
a toothy grin and bat wings propelled on duck feet.



Game Play

If
everything I have said about Deco
Online gives you the impression that it is merely an
average title, make note that game play is where the game shined in my
experience with the tutorial. Unlike many other free-to-play games, style="font-style: italic;">Deco did not
assault me with Engrish (slang for the garbled translations found in so
many other games).

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Some of the flashier
effects in Deco Online

The tutorial taught me what I needed to know to play the game and got
me to level 10, which allowed me to pick my path as a elemental
damage-dealing Magician or a spiritual-based Shaman. In addition to the
description of what the two classes do, I was actually given the chance
to test their powers. I could try out the spells in the training ground
before making my decision. That was pretty cool. Finally, I settled on
Magician and was dropped
in the real town of Rain, ready to adventure.



style="font-weight: bold;">Parting Thoughts

My first experience with Deco
Online
left me wanting more, a very good sign for a free-to-play game. The
tutorial for the Rain faction was clear enough to teach me to use my
skills, and I felt ready to play the game for real.



Deco Online was impressive enough to crack the Top Ten Free-to-Play
Games based on the tutorial. In order to keep its place on the list,
the translation will have to be solid, and the style="font-style: italic;">real game play will
need to be as smooth and fun as the tutorial.