Dragon's Call Review
Dragon's Call Review
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Genre: Browser based MMORPG
Browser-based MMORPGS tend to be underwhelming at best. When the vast majority of computers are more than capable of playing almost any downloadable game on the market, the only real reason to play a browser-based game is if you have a strict download allowance or are on satellite internet. Still, there are people out there that have to rely on playing games in their browser and, if I’m honest, it seems like they’ll mostly be disappointed by what they’ve been given thus far. Dragon’s Call is an older game and so anybody who’s looking for this sort of thing has probably already considered playing it. Was it a wise decision to steer clear or should this have been something you were playing back when it first released? We took a quick look to find out.
Calling all Dragons
One thing that Dragon’s Call does is telling the truth. After completing your character creation, and I use that phrase lightly (it’s the equivalent of picking a male or female avatar and basically equates to some otherworld beauty contest), you’ll be met with a screen that tells you to follow the tutorial. If you do so, it promises, you’ll learn the game, obtain gear and level up. Most games hope you’ll follow the tutorial, and punish you if you don’t. I still don’t necessarily approve of being put into a closed quest path so early game but at least I’ve been warned that it’s an important thing to do. The opening moments will have you learning how to click quests, accept quests, complete quests and collect rewards. If you can’t do those things, all of which have you clicking a large button which explains, In a single word, what the button is for, then you probably shouldn’t be trying something as complicated as an MMORPG.
MMORPG for Dummies
If you’ve ever found yourself playing an MMORPG and not knowing exactly what the implements around you are for, things like the mouse and its buttons, Dragon’s Call might be for you. It features a tutorial that may have been created for victims of accidental time travel and members of the Flintstones cast. Perhaps it was done this way so that people don’t have to think about their actions later in the game but, actually, it has the opposite effect. You click the button that the big green arrow is pointing at and it does what you want it to do, you don’t really read the actual description says and you certainly don’t take in what you’re actually doing. As a result you’re left relying on the big green arrow, which, let’s face it, isn’t exactly the enjoyable feature in what is supposed to be an interactive video game. None of this is helped by the fact that the big green arrow actually blocks much of the text you’re meant to be reading.
Snake Eyes
The graphics in Dragon’s Call are underwhelming to say the least, but I suppose given that it’s hardly a new game and considering that it’s all in-browser, a little bit of that can be forgiven. You don’t expect the best of the best and, while there are browser games out there that are doing great things with visuals, I suppose less impressive graphics are going to be easier on the system and more ideal for people who literally can’t play those high-end games. I’d say that thing is passable for the most part, but there’s also moments where the developers have tried to fit too much onto a relatively small screen and it doesn’t really work. You’ll see messages on top of one another, the ability to click off hidden by a logo or window. It’s frustrating because, being in the opening hours of the game, you know that the developers will have seen it time and time again and, presumably, chosen to do nothing.
Questing… Again
Quests are something that MMO players need to deal with on a daily basis, it’s how we level up and it’s how we progress through a game and its story. Dragon’s Call doesn’t have quests that introduce you to the world, its colourful people and its dark history, oh no. Dragon’s Call has you performing menial tasks for men and women who don’t wash. “Collect wolf hides so that I can create armour,” “Find a man in the strawberry fields,” the search for sweet experience has never had you doing such dry, meaningless things. This is made more annoying by the fact that there are occasions where things don’t register or clicks on certain things don’t work, so bugs in the game itself can make a mundane quest go from annoying to enough to make you turn off and walk away.
Fighting Dragons (and bunnies)
Fighting enemies manages to retain that dry feel as well. It actually makes me glad I accidentally picked the bikini-armoured warrior princess as my character because at least it looks like she’s having fun while fighting deadly animals (and defenceless rabbits, of course). You click an area on the world map that signifies the location of a certain sort of animal, then you click to fight said animal and you watch as the battle unfolds. In the animated version you can watch as your character and the enemy jerk slightly, proof that there has been an attack, or you can watch the text version which just shows pictures and results of attacks. There are instant attacks but they cost in-game currency and it’s just not worth it.
Free-to-Play
One of the most annoying things about browser games is when they start to break the third wall by offering quests where you must like the developer on Facebook or something like that. An early quest in Dragon’s Call has you adding the game to your favourites. You can also pay up to $200 for Dragon’s Gold, although why you’d want to be far beyond me.
Conclusion:
Dragon's Call review
Dragon’s Call seems like a fairly decent game, for what it is. If you played it and it somehow inspired you to keep playing, there’s probably months’ worth of content to keep you happy. But that seems unlikely to happen, not when there are so many browser MMORPGs on the market that do everything Dragon’s Call does and do it more enjoyably and, more importantly, stably. With so many glitches, so many double clicks gone unregistered, it’s difficult to say that it’s a well-made title, but there’s obviously been effort put in and for that reason alone it’s probably worth taking a look at if you haven’t before and if you’re in the market for a new browser-based MMO. If you can look past the spelling mistakes and the occasional accidentally hilarious line ("My strawberry enjoys high reputation with everyone") then Dragon’s Call is definitely one to try.
by M. Growcott
© 2012 - DevilsMMO.com
Otherwise, check out something like Crystal Saga from the same developer. It still won’t compete with the downloadable games, but it’s better than this.
