Fiesta Online

I first started playing this game in hopes of finding a great MMO to consume a bit of my leisure time. After a lengthy download and numerous patch installations, I started it up and tried it out. Fiesta strongly encourages players to join together in a party rather than take on monsters and quests solo. The game uses four class archetypes: Fighter, mage, archer, and cleric. The fighters are highly encouraged to be the tanks, and take the damage in a party. The archers are ranged attackers, using an infinite supply of arrows and skills to put a lot of damage on their opponents. Mages are known as "glass cannons," and while putting out a lot of damage, they are as fragile as paper. Clerics are encouraged to be healers, and are responsible for giving the party various buffs. Like every MMO, you start out as a little fella that can barely kill anything. You're given a few tutorial quests to begin with, which will help you reach a higher level pretty quickly. The only things your character is equipped with at the start is a weapon and usually no skills. The first sets of quests will grant you one set of equipment automatically, saving a bit of money. At level 5, your character can join what is referred to as a "Kingdom Quest," which allows up to 15 players to work together to kill hordes of monsters and usually take down a boss. At this early in the game, players are strongly recommended to join in the Kingdom Quests, which run every two hours on average. I found myself going from level 5 to about 10 in one Kingdom Quest run. At level 20, your character can undergo his first class change, which allows him to upgrade his weapons, armor, and skills. Another quest chain at 20 will grant you a special skill which is only otherwise obtainable by spending "Fame" points, which are a very unused element of the game. Every ten levels after 20, a player is allowed inside a new instance and "abyss." Instances are home to difficult monsters that are really only defeatable by a party. Abysses are PvP-enabled areas where people can grind experience and kill each other, along with finding very rare items. Players are allowed two "production skills," which allow them to create special items that are of use to other players. This can turn into a primary form of profit, but takes a very long time to show it. Now that the basic elements are reviewed, here come the scores. Graphics - 8/10 The graphics are meant to be cartoon-styled. The characters are portrayed as children, and it uses a nice combination of 3D and anime-style pictures. Sound/Music - 8/10 With light voice-acting, battle effects, and ever-changing music styles, the game's audio environment is pretty mediocre. The music doesn't fit into a certain category, so one area could sound calm and peaceful and the next uses electric guitars. Yet for some reason, the music fits the style of the game. Gameplay - 6/10 Leveling in any MMORPG is tough, but this game brings tough to a new level. Prior to 30, you get a lot of quests to keep you from being bored, but afterwards, it gets tedious. For example, at levels 49 and 61, you get only one quest: a repeatable that gives such an insignificant amount of experience that it's not worth doing. You also lose 1% of your experience on death, which is VERY annoying when you spent a long time getting that amount. The only things that kept me sane were the Kingdom Quests, which didn't help much since they run so rarely. The game is in dire need of more quests to keep its players, because after being stuck at 49 for a couple of weeks, I gave up and quit for about eight months. That's how terrible questing is. Some extra elements about the game. It's free-to-play, which implies that there is no recurring monthly fee. However, an online store is present, and as with most companies, this one wants money. Certain powerups, such as experience boosters, HP extenders, stat-enhancing outfits, and faster mounts make the game's fairness level in severe favor of those with plenty of money and time. Periodically, competitions are held, such as item finding, PvP, etc. Obviously the players with faster mounts are going to do better with finding items, and obviously those people with enhanced stats are going to win at PvP. PvP is almost not even an element in the game unless you have the money to pay for things. This is a great game for kids, and its user-friendly environment helps those new to MMOs. However, most people will agree with me when I say the game is not meant for hardcore gamers. If you're looking for something that will glue you to the seat, this is not the game for you. However, if you're looking for a charming little fantasy game, then I can say I've had fun with it. The environments are great, and the spell effects aren't half bad. If you're new to MMOs, this is a great game to help get you started. Grab some cash and go have fun, since that's really the only way you can enjoy it to its fullest.

Unless you have really bad internet and don't ever take breaks from the computer, this game is really great and interactive. Lots of features to play around with. The community is very diverse and full of fun and enjoyment. I love playing the game. For more information on this game, go to *://fiesta.sparkonline.net