Graal Online
Platform: PC
Review by AvPPoW
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Before I start, I would like to make it clear that I don't consider Graal to be a game. Think back to Waterworld. Remember the Atoll colony, constructed of random hulls and sheets of scrap metal and patched together with bits and pieces of a long forgotten life. That's what Graal is.
Graal was originally introduced as Zelda Online back in '98. From there, it was distributed as a free game up until mid 2001. Written by a single man, this MMORPG was obviously an attempt to bring back the wonderful world of Zelda 3: A Link to the Past and allow for a community to be established inside the Zelda 3 universe. Because of copyright issues the game's name was changed, and the tile-set was completely reworked. Free of the law Stefan Knorr, or Bomber as he's known, continued to tweak the simplistic game engine to near perfection. Today, Graal is a lackluster shell being kept alive by a community of players who have made the game a very large part of their lives.
This isn't a game in the normal sense where you have a set plot, a world ready to explore, instead Graal has been created almost entirely by users. The inclusion of a simple high level scripting engine allows player to create and submit their own levels to Graal Online. If they are decided to meet a quality standard, they will be put online. The only issue here is that all staff are volunteer. There is not a single Admin in the entire game that is professional about his job, and the burnout rate is increasingly high. Players and staff are continuing to realize Graal for what it is and move onto bigger and better things.
As far as content goes you are basically a warrior who forever wanders the world looking for riches and fame. There are quests, depending on the server you visit, but don't expect alot of depth unless your an IRC freak, because thats really all Graal is, IRC with swords. The swords however, and the game itself, is easy to control. The control scheme is as follows, A S D to manipulate weapons/items in the game, P for pause, M for map, and the arrow keys to control movement. These are customizable but for the most case work pretty well.
The Graal engine uses a 3/4 overhead view to convey onscreen action. If you've ever played Zelda 3 then you will understand this type of interface. For such a basic engine, this game does have some slowdown issues. I recommend a PII 200 and 64 megs of ram at the bare minimum. Lighting effects can be turned off, but there are some occasional tile errors. The sound in graal is poor, simple sword effects are all too common and midi music highlights the action. It feels like you're playing a java game... how ironic.
If you opt to create the worlds, rather then play them, Graal provides a wonderful administration tool known as RC. This tool makes it nice and easy for 12 year-old admins to abuse their powers and destroy you're non-refundable account. If you enjoy this sort of thing, or have no life, this is the game for you. Otherwise, go buy a real RPG.
Graphics:
The graphics were simplistic and on-par with what you'd expect to see on the SNES, not the PC. The current design however, was carried out well with a 'cutesy' look and easy to control characters. When communicating with other players the text sometimes overlaps and you can't read it. This needs to be fixed.
Controls:
The controls were intuitive and easy to use, and the game allowed customization for your own personal needs. Gamma correction wasn't really needed but there are levels where it would have helped, especially on the official servers where there is heavy use of lighting and particle effects.
Gameplay:
Gameplay? What gameplay? If you consider pressing D 24/7 just so you can buy the latest hat gameplay, then I guess it deserves something. Sparring is the only decent element of gameplay you'll find here.
Sound:
Sounds were more suited to a browser based game, very poor.
Overall:
If while chatting you've ever wanted to slice someones head off... well here's your chance.
