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Forsaken World Review: Are Aesthetics Enough? - Edit
7.3
| Pros |
 Graphics Pet system Unique races |
| Cons |
 Buggy quests Dull crafting system Repetitive, grinding quests |
Forsaken World is a game from Perfect World Entertainment with a fantasy world theme to it, which makes it different from many of their other games. It might seem like a rather typical title at first: it has Humans, Dwarfs and Elves as races to chose from, but what makes it a bit unique is that it also includes races called the Kindred, and Stonemen.
Choosing a race is somewhat important depending on the class that you want to play. Humans can play warriors, assassins, mages or priests. Elves can play warriors, priests, or bards. Kindred can play assassin, mage, or vampire. The biggest restrictions are with Dwarves who can only play marksmen and Stonemen who are stuck as protectors. Each class also will show some stars near it to show the level of difficulty expected to play, which could be a nice hint for beginners.
Aesthetics 9/10
The graphics in the game are really quite amazing. While I usually play on my desktop, surprisingly, what I really appreciate about all the PWE games so far is that I can still play this game on my seven-year-old laptop. The lag is very minimal since there’s a handy option on the screen to cut down on the graphics when in a busy main town like Freedom Harbor, or in an instance. A quick drop down menu and I can choose to hide all other players, pets and monsters. Another quick pull down off the same button and you can restore everything to high graphics.
I wasn’t very impressed by the music, it can sound quite dramatic at first, but after it loops a few times the repetition can become boring. The sound effects during combat are rather acceptable however.
Gameplay 6/10
Combat in this game is pretty typical, melee is melee, ranged is ranged and the classes don’t tend to sway to far from what they are designed to do, and what most players will expect if they’ve played an MMO before. In my opinion whatever class you pick, killing mobs can be a little on the slow side. Even something 10 levels below you still might take three or more shots to kill unless you happen to critically strike which is something that rarely can be predicted.
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Crafting and Jobs are pretty synonymous terms used in the game to mean pretty much the same thing. When you’ve reached level 10 doing the quests from your home race area, you’ll be able to move on to the city of Freedom Harbor. After talking to a few people you’ll get 3 Job points, which you can apply to learning the Jobs of Botanist, Alchemist, and Chef. Botanist is one of the first and foremost things to get so that you’re able to do the other two jobs – since Botanist allows you to harvest plants, and you’ll need to be able to do that in order to complete the quests from the Alchemist Tutor and the Chef Tutor. As you learn these, you can then make the potions and foods you’ll need for replenishing your HP and MP, because one very different thing about this game is that there is no sitting or resting in this game. All replenishing is done through eating and drinking or potions. Later on as you acquire more job points, you can learn other jobs such as fishing and weapon and armor crafting.
Forsaken World does not have a lot in the way of tutorials: most things the player learns in the game are learned through doing quests. There are quests that are called tutorials at the chef and the alchemist, but they really don’t teach you crafting. In order to craft you will need to either get recipes from quests, or buy them.
Another thing you will get when you reach level 10 and move on to Freedom Harbor is your first pet. You can choose between a Sheep, a Turtle, or a Wolf. The longer they ‘incubate’ the better your pet will be. They will help you fight, or you can put them into a defend mode and there’s various ways to make the pet more advantageous to your character. Each day you can pick up more free pets from a short quest, and try to get a better one of those basic three. After hitting level 30 you can start learning how to tame new creatures as a pet. Players will also get a free mount at level 20, but it only lasts for five days, although others can be purchased later, including race specific mounts.
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There seems to be little grind in this game, at least as far as killing things for experience goes. Most experience is gained by questing and instances. Almost every quest is displayed like a page from a book, and in fact a consistent underlying theme of the game is collecting cards which result in rewards when a section is completed. Despite the wall of text that usually accompanies the quests, there were far too many that were difficult to figure out and needed a trip to the forums for help. The nice thing about the quests is that they will automatically track on the side of the screen, and the auto routing is very good. The bad thing about the quests is that many of them are very repetitive, and often have you running from one side of the map to the other over and over.
Innovation 6/10
I had looked forward to this game for the fact that it introduced races that were out of the ordinary. However, after playing the game, they are just ordinary. Even though each race starts in their own home town, so little time is spent there that it doesn’t seem to have much to do with any sort of story line. Even going out to the PWE site tells a back story that really doesn’t seem very relevant to game play. While I did like the idea of collecting books and so on, it got very tiring trying to read all of it. It’s just not that engrossing.
Polish 7/10
This game still has some bugs, mostly related to questing. As mentioned earlier, I found several that were very hard to complete based on the information given in the game. Oddly there is also a book that comes from a quest early on after reaching Freedom Harbor that’s an encyclopedia that hasn’t been fully translated yet, so while it seems like a great in-game feature, it’s often of little use. However, PWE has wonderful forums and a Wiki so most questions are easily answered by searching through those.
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Longevity 6/10
This game also has several servers available, including PvP and PvE. They also have servers based on time zones from US East and West, as well as EU, FR, and DE, and each server includes several realms to choose from. This might seem great at first unless you’re a night owl or an early riser and then you might find yourself pretty much alone in the game. However, during prime times the game seems moderately populated. It will be interesting to see if realms start dropping from the game as the player base decreases.
Leveling in the game starts out pretty fast, and it’s pretty easy to level a character up to level 20 in a casual 4-5 hours or less. After that however, it does slow down considerably, and many of the quests are repetitive.
As with a lot of free to play games, cash shop items are often key to really buffing up gear and weapons. This game seems no different. Some items are strictly cash shop items, and while there is a trade system in place in the game, it might be hard for the novice player to build up the kind of in-game cash needed. There are several guides on the web that can help with ideas for making money for the ambitious player. But the wealthy or willing player will wind up the one with the best stuff. And that’s not necessarily a good thing. Luckily Forsaken World is mostly a PVE game.
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Social 8/10
Casual and solo players will likely find themselves losing interest in the game as a lot of it does require instances and guild questing to further them in the game. There seem to be plenty of guilds recruiting and there are usually announcements going on in the world chat pretty frequently, so there does tend to be plenty to choose from. What seems to be a common complaint among the player base is the amount of time needed to build and maintain guild bases, and the casual player might get annoyed spending their limited game time doing guild quests.
Since the game is heavily quest based, and the quests don’t require killing forty monsters at one time, it may be more of a downfall to the game since it’s unlikely people will form a random party while out doing regular quests. However, instances do require parties, and there is a feature in the game to find a party pretty easily. Really, the game almost demands players be social with each other after reaching level 20.
Value 9/10
Forsaken World is a free to play game, and it is quite possible to progress in the game without spending any money, though doing so takes far more time. While I did not notice much in the complaint department about a cash shop imbalance among players, I have seen many games end up that way. Will this game be any different? It’s hard to tell at this point. For now, I feel it’s one of the better games at making sure all players have access to items either through in-game money or their own cash.
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Conclusion
Forsaken World is a visually stunning game, but tends to lack a lot in terms of content. For the player that enjoys role play and instances, this might be right up their alley. But for the player that likes unique quests and casual play, interest may fall off fast. Is it a game worth trying? Sure, but don’t expect too much or it’s likely you’ll be disappointed.
Thanks for taking the time to present your review. It's reasonably fair to be honest, I think, but it does leave the reader with a slightly negative feeling overall which I don't think is entirely justified.
I would have to strongly disagree with your comment at the end regarding a lack of content - I currently have a level 35 mage in the game and I haven't stopped for breath in the last week. There is so much to do in this game that you won't get half of it done on your first character.
The activities themselves are, perhaps, a little mundane at times, but there is a tonne of variety so if you're a little fed up at one thing, you can switch to something else. A lot of effort has gone into this game (bearing in mind that it's not that long out) and I think it shows. You only need to play a game like Runes of Magic - which is little more than a rickety platform holding up an over-priced cash shop - to see the strengths of Forsaken World.
I do think your right though, a solo player will eventually feel a little irrelevant in Forsaken World. I can't really explain that comment, I just feel that if it wasn't for the guild chatter (and their occasional assistance), I wouldn't enjoy it as much. Guild membership is important in FW.
Good game though and not overly cash shop reliant (at this stage anyway), though as you say, those with cash will have stronger characters than those without. That's the FTP way, you either live with it or move on.
I'd say to anyone who fancies a chance, give this one a try - you've got nothing to lose except a little time.
I would just like to note that this chinese made MMO literally stole models from WoW.
not even kidding, actually exported the 3D models and animations for various enemies
that's all
I agree with most of your review and have to wonder why the higher score? It's a negative review for the most part and should put this game in the 6 and under category. Many of the issues you described, like having to run back and forth over and over to complete quests, made me uninstall the game. If it can't keep me playing the game deserves a very low score.
This cash-cow aint worth the score given here, IMHO.
The game does have some strengths, thats for sure, but i beleive that any game that can easily cost much more than 15$ a month for higher levels IS a cash-cow, ESPECIALLY considering that there is even some (cash shop) gabling-involved, ALBEIT its LIMITED gambling, and not as bad at all as what some other so called ''free2play'' games have out there.
All in all, IMO, it has pretty graphics, recently introduced mounted combat, some unique race/class combos, BUT the storyline sucks, (eh,, there actually is no storyline, ALMOST:D,) there really isnt much to do in this game besides grinding and some other very (more so than SOME other mmos) mundane activities, coupled with almost-forced cash shop backed by a limited gambling system. (Flavor of the month mounts etc are gambled for, BUT also equipment upgrades can be done via the CS, but there is a chance to fail etc)
All in all I would personally give this game a 5.9 out of 10 currently! But if they were to add more quest and storyline driven activities into this game, got totally rid of the ''REAL MONEY gambling functions mentioned above), AND stuff was cheaper in the cash shop (it costs like 14 bucks (in american dollars) to pay for a mount where i live), than i would gladly play this game and spend money on it too.
Just my two cents, cheers!
Are aesthetics enough? What aesthetics? EMO guys and big boob girls? And their movement? What is the reviewer concept of aesthetics anyway?
Wow look another "YAWN" MMO. Not like we don't have enough MMO's that bring nothing new to the genre.
I'd play it, but there are plenty of better F2P games on the market.
I might have liked it but dwarf females made me angfry to what they did. Biology says that anime monstyrosity should not be able to bear a Dwarven child. I they wanted gnomes they should have made gnomes.
And what asthetics? Its emo vampires, gmone women dating Dwarf men, impossible body formations, the whole asiatic appeal nonsense; and to top it off the game brings nothing to the genre that wasn't done somewhere else.
Personally I think the review was too positive. I don't find any redeeming qualities in this MMO. Just too many issues. I actually got a character to lvl 46 and gave up in disgust.
As to the cash shop it is mandatory after lvl 50 if not earlier. This is NOT a free game.
I am sorry but cannot bring myself to play ANY game that has the female characters adventuring and killing monsters in STILETTO HEELS!!
Big thumbs down
I generally agree with the review and think that overall the score should be a bit lower. I was also recently rather pissed with something the company did; they released a bunch of mounts in the cash shop that are now accessible to rich enough lvl 20 players, but the mounts have the stats of those that were originally limited to lvl 50 players and over. Getting one of those lvl 50 mounts was an achievement to strive for, since they were faster than the first one you could get at lvl 30 and could also be used underwater. Now, anyone with money can just grab one even before you get the basic one at lvl 30!
Total cash grab, and it made me realize that PWE that makes it doesn't care about putting in good content and keeping the heirarchy of item quality in sync with the character levels; they want to get money any way possible and if they have to screw over the game content, so be it. That is not a good way to maintain a game, and I am heavily considering quitting this one.
I believe the gist of the review does not match the final score in that it appears to be very negative.
Here's a couple of my impressions, for what they're worth.
I'm really enjoying the mechanics behind the pet taming and incubation. The sense of anticipation tempered by the probability of disappointment when your "green" pet has been incubating 29 mins is enthralling, for me, anyway.
I would classify myself largely as a solo player, but I'm in a very active guild that is just starting construction quests for the guild base. The whole concept has certainly made me a lot more sociable than I otherwise would be.
Server population always seems pretty good to me, and I live in Oz!
My only real whinge is that the game crashes regularly in Freedom Harbour. (I may try the option the article writer alluded to).
My rating: 8.4.
Yeah, I found the relatively high review score at odds with the review itself. I'm playing FW at the moment and it is fun in its own way. Sure, there's plenty of step and fetch it quests, but many of the sub-only games have this, so that's nothing new or surprising.
The biggest problem with this game is there's too much in it information-wise too soon, and not a good job done at explaining it.
You do get what you pay for, I suppose.
I had played FW myself. This is what i find about the game it has pve servers that you must do pvp events to get rewards for daily quests. There are just too many daily quests that doesnt leave alot of time for main quests. And the main quests isnt enough to carry you far enough to reach the next levels higher up to get next main quest. To sum it up. Too much daily's not enough main quests. and forcing pvp upon non pvp people on pve servers.
I took the time to download this game about a month ago.
It wasn't long when my Dwarf started eating a banana.
Well, for any of you that have seen that... that was enough.
I'd really like to play some of these asain games, but I find it hard to play with no mouse support beside the norm. I can't assign 6 of my buttons on MX518 mouse to anything.
I'd say that leveling to 30 is pretty easy in the game, that is when everything really starts getting repetetive. After a certain amount of time, the xp requirement to level up keeps increasing drasticely. And as someone else said, once you run out of the main quest line, you are stuck for a level or 2 before you can get back on it, and it doesn't last long before you have to wait again. It can be very annoying. that score works till around level 35, then I would give it a much lower score because it really drops off and fast. Add in the fact that they have bugs that they won't fix or don't even know how to fix, it get very irritating really quick. If you just want a game to be sociable in then this game could work for you, but I found the gameplay to suck myself, and I usually never have a problem with gameplay in a game.
surprised you didn't mention the horrid interface. Every players name is set in the same 2D plane, and when you get more players, prepared to be bombarded with text everywhere.
Nice review, the scores are a bit high IMO.. I played for a while, and although its not the WORST Pay to Win mmo, its certainly isnt very good :-/
But you could sum up all of Perfect worlds game by saying "Halfway decent, HIGHLY pay to win lol
why play wow / sw:tor / rift / or any other p2p theamparks out there..if you want your 3-4hr theampark fix..just play this you wont be dissapointed
I can agree with most of that krelian but when i played i had a 50 sin when the cap was 50 and there litterly was nothing to do other then do grinding dailies or grinding dungeons for blues to break into mats for better blues. Your right you can switch out stuff to do but its only dailies and events which are repetitive either way. And if your new to perfect world games you should know all their games go cash shop reliant sooner or later (i assume you though cus you said "yet"). If they would take the gems out of the cash shop on FW i think it would be much better.
Between the game play and the in-game music I had a lot of problems just keeping my eyes open long enough to do anything in the game. Almost as boring as Duck Hunt!
FW is a typical asian grindfest. Quest are all the same, when after a certain level you go out of quest what is left are, daily dungeon, and daily quest. No more. Gathering is pretty boring too.
End game = zero, the goal of these games are character development through massive grind, after 2 years of massive grind the only thing you can do is uninstall because there is no mor econtent to keep you busy.
Combat is dull, like any f2p mmo, Tab targeting and spamming of skills, no dodge, no tactics. Game is also heavy gear dependant and attacks are based on RNG like crafting, you win if you have the best enchants and aging, mean who buy preservation stones from item shop to avoid failure has the best gear = automatically win in pvp.
4/10 my final vote, because is a another redundant clone with a different skin.
agreed lol a woman would have never designed that