Free Realms

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Beautiful MMORPG lets kids have fun safely.
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.

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

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this is a massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORG) with safe chat and optional combat (with no blood). The game is free to play but children may wish to have special in-game items such as pets or fancy outfits that cost money to purchase. There is also content that is not free and it becomes available with a $4.99 per month fee. If parents choose to activate it, there is menu chat for young players. The game also has filtered open chat where the filters cannot be turned off.

  • The game features two playable races in the world, humans and pixies, quests are mostly “assistance” type quests where players are asked to help the townfolk.  All races and genders are equally playable in game, with no advantages or disadvantages to playing either race or gender. Players can make their avatar belch or fart.
  • There is no requirement to participate in battles to advance your character.  Fighting - known as brawling in the game -- is a choice.  If you do choose combat, then characters can use swords, hammers, axes and magic to attack others. You will hear sounds of these battles including cries of pain. You will fight against other humans, insects, animals, goblins, monsters, and others.
  • Not applicable.
  • Menu-chat for younger children can be enabled, and strong word filters may not be turned off. Language is simple and at a reading level of about age 9. Quest texts are easy to follow. There is some humor in game such as the Brawler Trainer telling the RobGoblins "Get off my lawn!"
  • Small ads on the front page inform players as to where game cards may be purchased.

What's it about?

FREE REALMS is an MMORPG – a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game created by veteran MMORPG studios, Sony Online Entertainment. It is targeted at children 10 to 14 and their families. Children choose a character –- either human or pixie -- to represent them in the game. They are free to explore this wide open world as they wish and play it in the way they want to choosing to take on jobs, going on missions, fighting others, and/or playing minigames.

The game is flash based and played through the Free Realms website. All character creation is done on the website and once satisfied with the character and the name, clicking play launches a new window and the character arrives in the world. Movement and most actions in the world are accomplished by mouse click. Others are automatic, such as teleporting to certain points in the world you've visited by clicking on that point in the map, and obtaining rewards.


Is it any good?

 

The website is like a social networking page where children can share their likes and dislikes, links, and messages. This, however, can be controlled by the parent. The choices for things to do in game are very broad. The child can simply run around, exploring the land, or learn a job by doing a task. Each job has its own associated outfit and the character is automatically dressed for the job. Combat in Free Realms is also a choice as well.

The world is massive and the quests or tasks available in any area are plentiful. Younger children may get confused when faced with so many choices; parents may want to assist or play along to provide a little focus. Because there is so much choice within the game, this game will appeal to kids, but adults playing with their children will not be bored. This is a game that can keep families entertained for many, many hours.


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What families can talk about

Families can calk about why games are not truly "free." How do the game developers make money in this game? Families can also talk about choices, why one may wish to focus on certain jobs in the game, be a jack-of-all-trades, or try playing every one of them, or not many at all.  Why are jobs and skills something that has to be learned? Why does experience help?


This review was written by Carolyn Koh
Teen, 15 years old
July 5, 2009
 
fun
love it

Flag as inappropriate 
Kid, 13 years old
April 17, 2011
 
Good virtual world, but ya gotta pay
I played it for a few days then quit. First off, it is NOT completely free. They have a "store" and over half the items that you know your kids are gonna want require some certain in game cash which you buy with real money. I don't know if it's just my old computer, but it ran really slow, unless you buy full membership, you can only do a certain number of quests in the game. A lot of people use it as a social network though, and I'm not surprised. It's a pretty good developed virtual world and I do enjoy that part, but unless you're willing to pay a bunch per month and get a RECURRING membership, don't even let your kid ever see the site.

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Teen, 16 years old
July 11, 2009
 
Great Website
First of all if your a new user I suggest getting a starter card. It cost one dollar (great deal). It gives you one months membership. The other cards cost 5, 10, and 25 dollars. Station cash lets you buy much more weapons, clothing, and much more items. Try not to spend so much. If you want more Station Cash you have to buy another card. If you get membership and don't want to buy station cash, that's fine. Buy a regular months membership. The graphics or great. Free Realms world is at least ten times bigger than pirates online. That's how good it is. There's goofy spells that can turn you into crabs, monsters (their hardly scary). The emotions are amazing compared to other Disney websites. The violence isn't that bad. You can race cars in this game also. The racing is better than Mario kart. The tracks aren't as good though. The environment is safe. It's very rare to find a person who uses foul language on this game. I haven't heard any yet. In my opinion get the game cards. No credit card numbers or anything like that. They're found in Target, blockbuster, two more places. Sorry I forgot the other two. This websites is very popular there's over 4 million accounts on Free Realms. Play this game.

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Parent
September 11, 2011
 
Not good for anyone!!
Ummm.... girls act sexy, one boy tried to see if he could have sex with me. I wouldn't be surprised if girls walked around in panties and bras on this website.

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Teen, 16 years old
July 5, 2009
 
love it

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 14 years old
August 24, 2010
 
Free??? YEAH RIGHT!!!
oh yeah right like kids of 10 would learn stuff from that dreadful site! im scared some kids found out how to say bad things on there! idk i have not been on this site before i just dont know!? Free realms just wants money!!! volince is the worst thing because when there 3 something would happen to one part of there brain! i read it on the newspaper!!! but im sure its easy to play!

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Kid, 13 years old
April 16, 2011
 
This game
I only played it for 1 day and theres ppl flirting and hitting on each other wanting to date u, and it has grown ups in it playing too, and u cant get all the cool things like the dinosaur mount without paying real money so unless u get ur mom to let u pay real money u wont ever be part of the cool kids who own all the cool stuff, I dont like the game becuz of that, my mom wont let me use real money so i cant be like the others who have it, The game is ok sorta, except for creepy adults pretending to be kids

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Kid, 9 years old
August 3, 2011
 
Great
Girl are sexy. Also it is more of E game. It is sooooo cool the game because you can battle. The puzzles are fun.

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Kid, 11 years old
September 16, 2011
 
One of the best kids mmos out there. Good for Juniors.
If your looking for a safe mmog to play, adult or kid. This is it. But the violence is neutral, like a pg film for violence. You fight with all kinds of weapons but it's a choice. But when fighting, you can hear your character screaming when they are hit, or yelling with determination when fighting. You can hear cartoon like smacks as your weapons hit characters and yes, they yelp in pain. But it is not needed to progress in the game. You can be a chef or anything and learn small things about proper jobs. But the sexual clothing is moderate, with some faries wearing bikinis and humans wearing short skirts and tops that only cover half the body. But this is a brilliant game for kids. But if you want to do lots in the game then become a member, as you can't do alot with non member. Every day of playing edges you into paying for special features, and yes. I fell for it, but it's worth it!

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Teen, 15 years old
February 14, 2011
 
Great game!
I love this game. It is true that you only get about 30% of the game without paying. However, that is still quite a lot. You can access all the areas and a lot of the quests and minigames. You can play for as long as you like- there is no time limit for free players. You get a lot as a free player, but you get so much more as a member. My only concern is that it shows you many opportunities to buy things with real money in the game. However, I love it! Great for everyone.

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This review was written by Carolyn Koh
Platforms:Windows, Mac
Available online?Available online
Genre:Massively Multi-player Online Game (MMOG)
Developer:Sony Online Entertainment
Release date:April 29, 2009
Price:Free, subscription, ingame buys
ESRB rating:E10+ for Crude Humor & Fantasy Violence

This review was written by Carolyn Koh

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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.

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