Wurm Online Review: Most Impressive Community
By Rick Charbs (Jammart), OnRPG Journalist
Wurm Online is an outstanding MMORPG developed by OneTooFree AB, a game development company formerly known as Mojang Specifications based in Sweden, and it could be otherwise known as Runescape on steroids. Carrying such a downright odd named title, this MMORPG stands out. Almost completely developed on a voluntary basis, the various techniques used to create this game seem to have worked seemingly well-people love this game. It is certainly available for free, although you will not be able to accomplish a majority of this game’s content without paying for the premium version. Typical? Of course!
However, this game still holds a very tight-knit community (mostly premium members, at that), and everyone I have had the chance to meet in this game was generally kind and helpful. For once, I have located some maturity in a semi-free to play MMORPG.
Peaceful Mountain in Wurm Online
General Gameplay
I will not go into many details with the whole combat system of the game, mostly because there are none to spare in the first place. Basically, you watch your character slowly lug at your opponent with a repeated animation, and collect your loot. Set in the Dark Ages, weapons and even monsters, respectively, have a certain medieval and fantasy allure to them. Adventurers begin by fighting off plagued rats with basic swords and as they advance, challenge various large feline beasts and other interesting creatures with golden weapons.
PvE combat may be a little dull in this game, but this dullness pays off when you have to get out of nasty quarrels with enemy towns and kingdoms. Sometimes, one can find themselves running alone in a forest only to encounter an enemy hideout. Hence, travelling in groups is recommended and can prove very useful when running into similar situations. Fighting with other players in this game is very fun, I must admit. As players have complete control over the realm (I will get into this shortly), the terrain is ever-changing and everyone must learn to adapt to this change in order to succeed and conquer the enemy kingdoms. Due to this, players work hard to make sure their claimed territory remains theirs, and in lieu of this, construct many fortresses and the like.
Lava Spider
Players level up on a skill basis, and are not limited to a certain character class. As such, there is no limit to what a character can do within the game world. This system is much like Runescape, as I previously compared. Skills ranging from cooking to weapon craft are available for training, as well as the basic combat skills. This means you can fulfill many roles in your team, and switch your gameplay at will (you can be a healer one day and a warrior the next… maybe even a combination).
Now, on to the most important and most refined aspect of this MMORPG-this is what makes this MMORPG so great: terrain manipulation. What this means is that players have free control over the surface on this MMORPG, as well as what is built upon it. The staff members at OneTooFree AB has provided various tiles and trees to start the game off, but from then on, the players have been in charge of developing cities, bridges, and marketplaces alike. This is what makes the game so unpredictable and so realistic. You never know what could be going on at your rival kingdom’s base, and the only way to find out is to gather a team to go and explore yourself. Players even have control over the terrain underground, in mines for example. The more players mine in a certain mountain, the more it will grow into a gigantic source of minerals underneath the rock… and eventually make up a vast amount of ground. Unfortunately, I found this building system to be rather difficult to start using, but I have been informed that the techniques come naturally, and that one can learn the basics pretty easily. A similar system can be reviewed in the items of the game. Almost everything players make use of in-game (weapons, armor, tools) is player-made. Talk about an immersive MMORPG!
Graphics and Sound
For a game developed in Java, the graphics of Wurm Online just have to be appreciated to a certain extent. I am not one to really prioritize graphics before gameplay, but even so I did not mind the sub par graphics Wurm Online had to offer. They are definitely not amazing, but they are not bad either. There are tons of environments, items, NPCS, and buildings-it is very impressive. One huge setback I had found was the lack of animations in the game. The sounds are pretty decent as well. They do a great job putting you into the context of the game. No real complains here.
A Cyclops in Wurm Online
Personal Recommendation
From the wise words of OneTooFree AB, ”Wurm is a complicated, wonderful world, where you can live simply or become a true master of your destiny.” Despite having an iffy learning curve, and a few complex elements, Wurm Online allows its players to completely control the environment they play in. Can it really get any better?
Champion Black Bear in Wurm Online
I absolutely loved how players had complete control over the game world. I even encountered a little bit of roleplay along the way. I do believe I am too much of a casual gamer for this particular MMORPG, but for those who really want to immerse themselves in a game, this is it.
I was partly disappointed in the lack of animations and dull PvE combat, but overall I really had fun, even if the community is rather small. The game experience is even more worthwhile if you pay 5 Euros (approx 7 USD) a month for their premium service. If you can see past their graphical technicalities and really enjoy strong gameplay, try this MMORPG! Happy gaming!
Pros:
-Tight-knit community that is very helpful
-Kingdom wars
-Players have complete control over the game’s landscape and buildings
-Almost every item is player-made
-Very immersive MMORPG
-TONS of features and skills
Cons:
-Mediocre graphics/sound and lack of animations
-You have to pay to play without limitations
-Dull PvE combat
