Maple Story

Maple Story is one of those games you hear a lot of people sing the praises of, and I'll admit it has some good points. However, you need to be able to look past some quirks if you truly wish to enjoy it.

The game itself, is quite different from your average MMORPG in that its played entirely from a 2D sidescrolling perspective (think Castlevania SOTN, or Super Metroid) rather than the usual top down or 3D affair. As much as you would think it would, this actually doesn't take away from the exploration element as the game world is quite huge; with environments ranging from forests to mountains to deserts. The graphics are quite charming and maybe a bit cutesy, but the anime style works well for this game's presentation.

Typical MMO elements are still present: Kill enemies to get XP, get enough XP to lvl up, lvl up to equip better stuff and become a more efficient killer so you can do it all over again. But here's one of the places that Maple Story falls on its face. After about lvl 7 it takes a lot to lvl up. I mean A F---ing LOT too. This is further compounded by the fact that enemies take hit, after hit, after hit to die. So leveling up becomes an absolute chore after a rather short time.

Also the community is something of a mixed bag, some are helpful but others are as rude as the internet can readily supply. Killstealing is particularly rampant, partially due to the 2D nature of the game, but just as many do it simply to be an ass, ditto with loot theft.

Also the quests are a bit on the cheap side, most are generic fetch quests which can be frustrating due to the amount of time it can take a single monster, moreover the 20-40 you'l need for quest objectives.

All these things being said, the game is free and is virtually lag free even on dialup. If you can look past some small annoying details, theres a lot of game to be had. But the amount of grinding is really hard to look past. If you're looking for a free MMO fix, this could be for you, but there are better ones out there, P2P and Free both.

3 star(s) out of 5

Discuss More PC Games More RPG Games