World of Magic Review- Magic at Your Fingertips!
By Kei Beneza (dividelife), OnRPG Journalist
World of Magic is a 2D MMORPG made exclusively for the iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad. The game uses the isometric bird’s-eye-view often used by regular 2D MMOs such as Ragnarok Online. When I first saw the game, I was instantly captured by the town screenshot (back in the iTunes store), which showed a huge population of players sitting down in the middle of the virtual town. It’s quite rare for handheld devices to support MMOs, making this game a blessing for all apple handheld users. The best part? IT’S FREE! I’ve been seeing a lot of positive comments regarding World of Magic, and since the app was only 30 MB, I clicked on the download button as soon as it came up. So what does World of Magic have to offer? Is it really as awesome as people claim = or is the ‘pocket MMO factor’ the only thing going for it?
Take It Anywhere!
What’s really great about this MMO is that you can literally take it anywhere! Aside from the usual wifi connection, players can use 3G signals (please contact your network provider) to connect to the game. It can be a bit laggy at times, but I personally had no problems playing it through 3G signals. I guess this serves as a big plus, especially since you can just pull your iWhatever out and start playing anytime— anywhere. What more could you ask for?
CREATE YOUR POCKET CHARACTER!
Much like any other MMO, the game gives players the ability to customize their character before starting the game. Compared to other handheld MMOs like Pocket Legends, the game actually lets you edit some of your character’s features such as: hairstyle, gender, and color scheme. You’re given a rather small set of customizable features to choose from, but heck, at least they gave us something more than the ability to change our names. Much like Pocket Legends, the game uses the old generic Diablo classes, namely: The Warrior, Ranger, and Magician. Seriously… when will this class-renaming stop? They’re still the same class regardless of what you call them.
– “Berserkers are better and stronger than Warriors!”
– “Why?”
– “I dunno… it just sounds better”
Upon customizing your desired character and class, you will be prompted to pick between two factions (Lanos and Siras). Be careful when choosing your faction as you are only allowed to pick one faction for all your characters per account. At least you won’t have to worry about spies this way.
Go Forth Adventurers!
Perhaps the best part about this game is that it doesn’t really hold back on content despite its small file size. You’re given an open world where you can interact with other players as you level up. It’s actually a good thing since I believe that instancing is only good for dungeons (that’s just my opinion of course). The game has a decent amount of quests but still requires some hefty grinding sessions for your characters to progress.
More MMO-ish Than Other Handheld MMOs
Aside from huge player base and broad maps, the game managed to retain some of the general features of MMO gaming. Comparing it with other iPhone MMOs like Pocket Legends, the game actually puts you in one persistent world rather than a room full of game hosts. The game also has a bunch of quests and dungeons that are sure to expand your MMO experience. Tired of grinding? You can always join the PVP arena to prove your worth. I’m not sure how they managed to fit all this stuff in a 40 MB application, but heck I’m not complaining. The main fact that you’re able to explore different areas and fight in dungeons guarantees the quality of this pocket MMO.
Controls
The controls revolve around the touch screen dpad, which sort of feels okay since you’re only allowed to move in four directions (up, left, right, down). The skills are perfectly aligned on the right side of the screen, allowing players to click on them easily. Also, the attack and pickup buttons are located on the bottom right part of the touch screen. Definitely better than one big attack button right? <__<
Graphics And Interface
When I first saw the game, I instantly laughed at its horrendous 2D models. The monsters were ugly, the background looked like repeating tiles, and most of all, the frame rate was poor. Guess I was wrong. Upon progressing further in the game, I saw a lot of awesome spell animations that made up for the small 2D sprites. The bosses looked extremely menacing as well, and of course, seeing tons of people cast tons of fiery flash effects was marvelous to behold. You won’t be able to tell how good the graphics are, until you’ve played the entire thing.
The Verdict
After exploring the game’s features and participating in a couple of raids, there’s no doubt that World of Magic is an MMO worth playing. It really sucks that the game is an iPhone exclusive as not all players will be able to enjoy it; however, for those who are interested in buying one, the game can be downloaded for free in the iTunes store. Aside from the lack of textures, I can’t really say anything bad about the game, and the fact that you can play it through your 3G network showers this game with utter awesomeness. The controls could also use a bit of tweaking, but it’s only for proper polishing. The game also suffers from a bit of lag and connectivity issues, but I’m sure they’ll work on it soon enough. I’ve recommended this game to various gamers and none of them were disappointed. If you have an iPhone, iPod Touch, or an iPad, don’t forget to try it out (COME ON! IT’S FREE!). You might actually drop your desktop MMOs for this.
Pros:
– Character customization interface
– Dungeons
– 3G network compatibility
– Guilds
– PVP
– Awesome spell effects.
Cons:
– Textures are a bit old
– Lack of classes
– Can get a bit grindy at times.