VideoGame AQ Worlds: A Review
Graphics: 2/5
Gameplay: 2/5
Story: 2/5
Overall: Mediocre. Sub-Runescape. Pay to become overpowered. Self insert characters. Fucking ridiculous.
VideoGame A review by a long-time player
My credentials: I've been playing AQW since Beta (October 2008) and have purchased a total of 18 months' membership, which has now expired. I've seen nearly every weekly release since April 2009.
AQW is clearly aimed at a younger audience. The cartoony, 2D style, dialogue and storylines are all quite simple, and it can be very off-putting for someone who is used to complex storylines and immersive worlds. If these are what you're after, then AQW is not for you. Sure, there are some bits which are very well-written, but the Hurricane Of Puns often detracts from any drama created, which can be seen as either something awesome or horrible. There are some parts which are aimed at an older audience, but this pales in comparison to the light-hearted, quirky and more straightforward side of the game.
The And Your Reward Is Clothes trope is essentially the selling point of AQW. All the weapons (yes, from the Infinity Plus One Sword to Starter Equipment) basically do identical damage if they're 'enhanced' at the same level. Helmets and capes follow a similar principal. The biggest offenders, however, are armors and pets, which (with a few exceptions) do nothing except alter you character's appearance. Some of the rarest and/or impossibly hard to get items in the game are purely cosmetic, though obviously they look pretty nice (albeit in 2D) and earn you a lot of respect as a player.
Like almost all RPGs, AQW also has a vast amount of "classes", including staple ones such as Warrior and Mage, many unique ones such as Dragonlord and the odd joke class. All classes have 6 skills which can all be acquired very easily; actually obtaining the class is often by far the hardest part. Again, if you're thinking this is simple, it is - some skills use quite complex damage formulas, but it's far from necessary to delve into them, and overall it's very straightforward.
Concerning finances, AQW is free to play, but unlike many "free" RPGs you get loads of value with no catch. If you are an astute player, you can get some of the rarest equipment in the game and hit for a truckload of damage if you know the right methods without paying a cent. Membership is absolutely awesome, and I definitely recommend it if you're going to play frequently, but it's not essential.
Overall? A simple, cartoony, punny, cosmetic-orientated and great value MMORPG.
VideoGame Simplified But Enjoyable
AQ Worlds is an Animesque game done in the style of most western Rpgs where the setting is set in the fantasy land of Lore, with a Steam Punk approach. Most tropes (and stock clichés) of many Rpgs are often parodied for the Rule Of Funny (such as Save The Princess), and there are a lot of puns for the younger audience (who weren't around for AE's earlier game) from Dragon Fable, which storyline is very 'mature' for a pre-teen audience. Fortunately, there is minimum violence and monsters get only knocked out by your sword.
AQ Worlds had a rather good premise (Chaos ruins every faction in Lore), but couldn't quite deliver on the story-lines of the former game. Some of the in-game cut-scenes are quite brief which is bit of a downer, however it gets a bit pretentious when most NP Cs refer to you as your 'title' The Hero instead of 'Hello Insert Name Here'. The storyline showed some drastic improvements in the Doomwood saga and Horc/Trolls faction as of late, a trend which I hope continues...
The positives are: the entire game is free to play and download. Because younger audiences might not get the references to all the previous AE games, sometimes a pun is needed for a comedic effect. The game is easy to get into and addictive. There are guest-stars every couple of months and in-game variants of holidays such as Frostvale (Christmas) and Hero's Heart Day (Valentines). The fact that there is something new every week means that there is never a chance to get bored.
The negatives are: Membership 'perks' only last a couple of months, to 'build up reputation' for your respective faction can take forever due to daily quests turn-ins and most of all, you need a LOT of in-game currency to get ahead in this game and 'Limited Quantity Item' Shops... There is a lot of advertisements BUT The creators and staff members actually care about every game they create, so I appreciate their dedication/creativity and customer service input!
Thank you for listening to my review, now leave and get some fresh air for a change... I mean it! (runs for air)
Storyline: 4/10 (+2 for recent changes) Addictiveness: 7/10 (+2 for every week) Membership: 2/10 Creative Ideas: 6/10 Customer Service: 9/10.
VideoGame Adventure Quest Worlds review
Graphics and art direction : 4.5/5 - The cartoonish and stylized 2D graphics look really good. The art direction is really cool, as well. Many of the armor sets in the game will make you feel like a badass just because you look like one. The animation looks quick and smooth, though I've seen a few cases where many enemies exploding at the same time caused massive lag.
Story & NP Cs : 4/5 - While it's no masterpiece, it's a lot more memorable than most browser MM Os. Don't expect anything great, it's just a story you can actually pay attention to. What really makes the story, however, are the NP Cs. While I don't really like self-inserts, I found the AQ staff inserts to be memorable and fun. Humor is everywhere in this game, while sometimes it may seem like they're using dead old memes and trying a little too hard, it's better than being completely dry.
Combat : 3.5/5 - Smooth, simple, but it has a few glaring issues. Lag can be pretty annoying in some cases during combat. And there's also the fact that, you need to be next to the enemy to attack them, however when the enemy fly across an entire freaking continent to hit another player your character doesn't automatically follow them. Combat usually isn't much besides remembering the right order of skills to push. Really lacks depth.
Music and sound : 3/5 - Forgettable, but it's not bad and it exists.
Character customization and builds : 2.5/5 - Ehhh....this is what I think is one of the game's biggest flaws. While the items looking cool certainly help, there's really no real reason to get higher-leveled items because they're purely cosmetic. Enhancements are the only thing that really matter as long as you have a full set of gear of any level. Atleast you can switch between classes easily without needing to create a new character, which I'm thankful for because the classes aren't very balanced.
Free player VS Paying player : 2.5/5 - Players with membership will get better enhancements faster than normal players, but what makes it pretty unfair is that some very powerful classes are member-only(and of course, those exclusive cosmetic items), so the PVP can be really unfair. There are locked exclusive quests and items that require you to pay in Artix Entertainment's other games to get, too.
Overall : 3.5/5