Maple Story, an MMORPG developed by Wizet is slowly but surely gaining a fanbase all over the world. Cute 2D graphics and sidescrolling aside - what do we know about this game? Is it something that hardcore gamers and newbies will enjoy playing or is it merely something for the kiddies to look at?
Game Requirements
| Gameplay | Rating  |
Like most MMORPGS, Maple Story is set on characters going off on various quests, entering unknown regions and battle fierce (?) monsters in a test to prove their mettle. A good thing about it is, its an F2P game (Free to Play) which won't cost a dent in your pocket unless your a serious gamer and needs those extra items at the cash shop. Other reasons for buying Nexon Cash is for opening guilds and clans of your own, or opening up a shop.
You start off in the small island of Victoria where you learn the basics of Mapling where upon completion of the various tutorials, you journey off into the major islands of Maple Story. Meet up with NPCs, take on quests, choose a job and join guilds (heck you can even find love and get married!)
To be sure, Maple Story is as diverse as an online world can get. But what are its limitations?
| Graphics | Rating  |
One of the many pulls of Maple Story is its cute 2D graphics and the way the maps and locations are presented to players. They remind people of an anime-esque spiel to its game, what with the mini-characters running around the worlds and the array of cute emoticons available for people to use (and buy). Monsters are portrayed in again, a "cutesy" manner enabling players to enjoy what they're seeing and battling against. Locations and monsters aside, the graphics for the characters i.e. skill actions, costumes. weaponry are also up to par. Vivid colors and designs show off the graphic skills of the developers during the game.
| Characters | Rating  |
Its as good as it gets, where all players start off as beginners training for experience and ability points, and earning as much mesos (that's their currency) as they can get. But once they reach the main island, the seperation begins. As usual, you are given the choices of becoming a magician, warrior, bowman or thief and presuming you find your place, 2nd level jobs will further seperate you from other players.
The skill points, ability points and stats all play into how your character develops so be sure to take time into deciding how each character is supposed to be.
Doll them up with the right accessories, and outfit them with the most optimal weapons (which as I've stated are pretty cool in terms of design for a 2D game) You can create parties, join clans and guilds all in effort to reach out to fellow Maplers. But once in a while though, there are definite added perks.
What's unique about Maple Story is that players here can get married and yes, divorced as well. FInd love, lose love - all in the life of an adventure traveller right?
| Time and Money Management | Rating |
WARNING: Maple Story isn't a game for people looking for short time game fixes. Once you get into it, it starts to get addicting. Also, once you've sunk your teeth into playing MS, there is no way you can avoid spending real cash in order to get the cute pet, or special abilities or even those cool outfits you see at the cash shop. And once you start, its really hard to break the habit.
Still, its not as expensive as WoW, but then again, its not as pretty either.
So don't be confused about the high ratings. Its a double edged sword if you look at it. You'll spent hours on end playing MS for days and weeks and months but are you ready to take such a big leap in commitment? Think it out first.
| Overall | Rating |
Again, for a 2D game, its pretty fun. There are pros and cons to it as is usual for MMORPGs, but Maple Story offers players a fresh uptake to classic MMORPGs out there. Granted its not as flashy as WoW, but it doesn't take a huge dent on your hard drive or RAM either (even your pocket). Be prepared to invest a lot of time and effort playing Maple Story because it never ends, the quests just keep adding up - patches keep getting introduced and new areas and location are always being created for the game. It's a drag if you don't want to spend too much timee playing one game, but really fun if you're the sort of gamer that's into spending a lot of time online. Plus its not that difficult, even a gaming noob can get into it and really enjoy himself.
I'd recommend it for the gamers out there who've taken a shot at games like Ragnarok who are looking for something similar to play.