Faunasphere

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Zap pollution and breed cute animals in casual pet MMO.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

Find out more

Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

Find out more

Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

Not yet rated

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this is a casual massively multiplayer online game (MMO) where you grow and feed cute little animals (called Fauna) while fighting pollution. The game is particularly attractive to young girls and women as it is cooperative, pro-environmental, and social. The game targets the casual game player ages 13 and up, and thus does not have parental controls and the in-game chat is open with bad-language filters in place. Most of the breeding of Fauna is facilitated in off-line forums which can get dicey since players may be tempted to exchange personal information. While initially free, players will find that the best way to breed and participate in this online game is with a subscription ranging from $2.49 to $9.99 a month.

  • This game is all about ridding the world of pollution and cooperating with other players to build a community project.
  • All the players in the game are working to better the world by ridding it of pollution. Scientists are shown as helpful, important characters that advise this world.
  • Very easy to pick up.  All actions are accessed by mouse click.  Play is at a slow pace and casual.
  • By using Amulets hung around the neck, animals (Fauna) zap blocks of pollution during some "boss fights" against pollution monsters.
  • Not an issue.
  • Players can chat with others using an open chat mechanic that uses a bad-word filter. Some determined players may find creative ways to cuss and say inappropriate things even when filters are in place.
  • This MMO uses a "Velvet rope" which allows players to play for free but the accessible content is limited.  Some items have to be purchased with "Bux" which is the paid for cash and the "Bux" stores will inform players that they have to buy Bux to access the items.

What's it about?

FAUNASPHERE is a casual, social, pet simulation set in a massively multiplayer online world. Players become caretakers of cute animals like horses, dogs, cats, elephants, and and variations of these, all called Fauna. Game play involves breeding the Fauna, keeping them happy, exploring the world, and zapping pollution along the way. Players are also responsible for the Faunasphere where their Fauna live and can decorate it, create sleeping Dens, and grow Treat Trees that will provide food for the Fauna. Building Resource Totems can generate resources used to grow the Community Canopy, which is a cooperative project. And if you donate, you will receive rewards and raffle tickets for more prizes, including decorative items for your Faunasphere. Managing your totem for efficiency, yield, and profit is a mini-game in itself. By zapping pollution, players earn more items and fill up an egg meter, the way this game allows you to breed new Fauna. Breeding the Fauna requires players to trade eggs with others.


Is it any good?

 

Faunasphere is a browser-based game so computer requirements are relatively low, making it easily accessible. It is simple to find things to do because in each area of the world there are Goal Stations where players pick up quests. Players often team up to accomplish the harder goals but most of the multi-player interaction is done out of the game, in the forums, where players ask for eggs or trade eggs. The community is friendly, helpful, and generous in not just trading, but actually giving eggs to each other. But getting eggs to others requires traveling to another's Faunasphere, not an easy task within this game since you can only travel to others on a Friend's list.

While this game can be played for free, to get the most out of the breeding game, players need to subscribe to the game. As it is a casual game, the cost of subscription is relatively low and the game itself is not fast-paced and goals can be accomplished in 15 minute chunks of time.

Online interaction: Chat is open chat with no restrictions except for language filters. However, most of the interaction actually take place on the forums rather than in the game.  Because trading of eggs to breed new Fauna tends to start in the forums and requires being added to another's friend list within the game, kids may be tempted to exchange personal information.


Sign Up Message
Sign up for our weekly newsletter
Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.
Please enter an email address.
Please check your email address for possible typos.
Sorry, you must be 13 or older to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Sign me up!

What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about online Social Behavior and boundaries.
    Why should you not give out personal information online?  Does a
    character's behavior impact the way you think about the person
    controlling that character.  Do you think what you do in game reflects
    upon you as a person?

  • Families can also talk about pollution and the impact on the environment.  Can animals mutate when they live in polluted environments?

  • Families can also talk about in-game Consumerism. How does this game make you want to spend real money? Is it worth it?


This review was written by Carolyn Koh
Kid, 12 years old
March 16, 2011
 
It is not runnign now it did nto have rescourses required to run it.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 17 years old
October 30, 2009
 
iuyiytiytiy
iyui

Flag as inappropriate 
Parent
June 21, 2011
 
beta tester
I was a beta tester of this game and loved it due to some personal problems I could not spend the time after 1 yr to keep my game going. I think kids will love this I had my (then) 5 yr old helping make decisions on the animals breeding to make the eggs and the color were very eye catching...most of the players were quite nice and my family had a great time with it...

Flag as inappropriate 

This review was written by Carolyn Koh
Platforms:Windows
Available online?Available online
Genre:Massively Multi-player Online Game (MMOG)
Developer:Big Fish Games
Release date:August 12, 2009
Price:Free & 3 subscription tiers
ESRB rating:NR for Not Rated

This review was written by Carolyn Koh

Contact us to give us more feedback on our learning ratings.

 

Review It

Share your review with others

Hang on! You need to be a member to post your review.
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines.

Screenshots


Tell us what you think about our new Learning Ratings. We value your feedback.


About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

Great alternatives handpicked by our editors

 

vote now

Will you play Faunasphere?


Already played it? What do you think?

 

Been There? Tell us about it