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

Fun For the Whole Family!

Ten Ton Hammer's Preview of Sony Online Entertainment’s Free Realms

By Garrett Fuller

Sony Online Entertainment has a full platter of MMOGs that are currently in the works, everything from online card games to expansions to existing products. The Ten Ton Hammer team had the opportunity to see one of those upcoming games, Free Realms, during the SOE Gamer Day in May. Interestingly enough, Free Realms isn’t a typical SOE product and instead is designing the style and game design of Free Realms around the idea that the game should be a title the whole family can play.

With both hardcore and casual MMOGs having a high success rate in the market, it looks like Sony is trying to build a game where you can play with your kids and still get a quality game play experience. We only got to see a few videos of the game and received a brief summary of what can be expected from the titles. From those tidbits of information, we’ll relay to you our impressions of the family MMOG, Free Realms.

The game takes place in a fantasy setting that has a cartoony, Shrek-style sort of look to it. The artwork is bubbly and bright but isn’t so over the top that it can’t satisfy both the younger and older gamers alike. This is certainly a game geared around the younger audience and the artwork reflects that. Overall, the movement of the characters and NPCs looks fluid and polished, which adds an element of complexity to the graphics. The lighter style of the game certainly looks to enhance the fun factor of a title that everyone can play.

When Free Realms was described by the SOE employees, it was set up as a game that parents can play with kids. SOE is designing the game to have fun content for children to enjoy, but also have a level of depth as well. The game is being developed in such a style that whether you can play for five minutes or five hours, you will be satisfied with the end result. As the MMOG gaming generation gets older and our kids start playing video games along with us, titles like Free Realms looks to bridge the gap in age among players and make MMOGs that are enjoyable for everyone.

As far as features in the game itself, SOE has plans to establish several MMO design elements that work well within many games. Players will be able to keep pets as part of their development. Let’s face it, everyone digs having a pet to run along with their character. Another huge area for customization will be player housing. Housing will give players a home base to work from and allow even further personal features for players to enjoy.

While the game sounds pretty kid oriented, don’t worry yourself; SOE claims that there is plenty for adults to do too. Quests and combat will be included in the game. Players will fight it out with monsters and bad guys throughout the Free Realms. You can take your character and pets on all sorts of quests in the game to gain favor and abilities. Along with the quests and fights, Free Realms will also contain large amounts of mini-games, fluff activities that any player can enjoy. The mini-games will allow players to log in and have fun even if they have a short amount of time that night.

From the ground up, Free Realms is being developed as a free-to-play game. You don’t need to pay a dime to enjoy the game with your family and friends; SOE will support the game with paid advertisements. If you want to adventure into an expanded version of the game, there will be paid areas for players who choose to participate in this enlarged world.

SOE plans to implement direct item sales throughout the game, meaning that you can buy items, weapons, or other player items with a credit card or other form of purchase. Micro-transaction games seem to be increasing in popularity and this particular business model has worked well for game developers in Asia. If you’re a parent, however, make sure to keep an eye on your spending.

There you have it! From what we’ve seen of Free Realms, the game looks to give a strong game play experience to both young and old players alike. As of yet, there is no time frame on when the game will be released, but now that the game has been announced, you can rest assured that more news will be on the way soon. Keep an eye out for Free Realms so you can finally sit down and play an MMOG with your kids.

Ten Ton Hammer is your unofficial source for Free Realms news and features!