Only weeks after going public, Sony Online Entertainment’s new MMORPG “Free Realms” opens with a new splash page celebrating one million subscribers. After a slightly rocky start following an extensive beta period, the game seems to have stabilized with eight servers available in the US.
Navigating through the virtual 3D fantasy world of Free Realms is similar to that of hugely successful World of Warcraft but includes a wide variety of alternate modes og gameplay in the form of mini-games (based on and licensed from the creators of Bejeweled), trading card games in the vein of Magic: The Gathering, instanced combat and racing games (similar to hoverboard races in There.com).
One of the nicer design choices in Free Realms not found in World of Warcraft is the ability to teleport instantly to warp stones at any major location once that location has been visited only once. Additionally, a player can teleport to anyone on their friends list. Classes are changeable on the fly based on the activity of the player, so making decisions when just starting out will not lead to dozens of hours wasted while learning the game only to discover that a certain class doesn’t suit their preferred style of game play.
