I saw advertisement for the game and i was super bored so i was like "what the heck why not?"
at first it was pretty cool how you could create your char. and decide what type of wizard you wanted to be. And at first i was impressed by the look of the game, but the combat and quests killed it for me. i was not a big fan of this game, but for kids i could see it being very fun.
It's true, really only levels 1-10 are free, after that you have to either pay a one time fee to unlock the zones you want, or sign up for a sub which unlocks all the zones. Still is a winner in my book. I much prefer this way of charging for gameplay instead of dropping $50 up front and forced into a $15 a month sub for a game that might not even hold my interest for 2 months.
"They essentially want to say 'Correlation proves Causation' when it's just not true." - Sovrath
After reading the review two days ago I decided to download it and check it out.
My MMO past includes EQ1, DAoC, WoW, EQ2, and others. Suffice it to say that I enjoy immersive depth. That said, I found Wizard 101 to be..strangely refreshing, and fun.
I made a Balance Wizard, and he's almost level 9 so far. I've been farming Unicorn Way Bosses for gold, xp, and loot until I make a decision whether or not to invest some real money into the game. I think the subscription plan is really cheap considering it gives you access to all the zones, and is prob the way to go rather than buying it piece by piece (you can buy single zone accesses to pay as you go if you want). I hear stores like Gamestop, Blockbuster, WalMart carry pre-paid cards if you don't want to/can't pay by online methods.
So, yes..the gameplay. Its turn-based, and you cast cards. Some cards debuff, some heal, some are aoe dd, or dd- lots of variety. The School's all have their focuses ( Ice, Fire, Death, Myth, Balance, Life, Storm) and each has their own style of play. Each card (spell) has a cost, a pip, with some requiring nothing and others costing 1 and up to 7 (I think its 7) as the cards increase in level. Every turn, you can gain a pip if you don't spend it (as some cards cost 0 to cast), so as the combat progresses you gain points to potentially cast higher level cards.
The Bazaar is rather simple and it controls the pricing, not the player. So, if you have something for sale it gives you a price based on how much the market has of that item. For instance, if there is 100 of X on the market you will get only a couple gold for sale, rather than if you have the only one available for sale then it will offer more. I initially found this aspect to be annoying, but, meh, its something you either accept or you don't.
I'm liking it so far. Its light, fresh, and fun. So far I am living in an MMO vacuum where nothing seems to please me, but right now this is a pleasant, entertaining, time killer..and isn't that the point of a good game?
Very well said, this game is fun and a fresh idea for MMORPG fans. And if you are young this game is approved for all ages by me. (Even though it is rated everyone ten and up.) Between combat and, running quest, you can make new friend and chill out in a castle. While you look crazy on there you can get a taste of fashion with the, crowns only, clothes. Even though they have no stats you can stitch items for a small price.
I have been on since the game started so, i have very many perks. i have very impressive items i didnt realize there true potential till i buff enough.my clothes give stormzilla, curse, and animate. They are all very good cards considering i have stormzilla which you get at lvl 42, and i am lvl 25.
my point is it is a very balanced game where you get action and you can talk to friends and everything in between.
I am James dragonstalker on there. add em if you want.
I really enjoy Wizard 101. As an adult, I enjoy playing it with my son, and by myself as well. I have been a fan of the RPG genre for well over 2 decades and love the approach of Wizard 101 in both ease of use, and challenge of mastery. Between my son and I, we have 7 Grandmasters, 1 in every school. I have finished every quest in the game on a couple. I have my favorites for sure, but I find the balance of defense, accuracy and power between classes make them all pretty comparable. I have been playing over a year now. While I do split my time between this and a fully free mmorpg, I still enjoy it when a lagging connection might get me killed in the real-time combat RPG game. The 30 second, turn based card combat of Wizards 101 is much friendlier to those blessed with unreliable connection speeds.
The game is not free to play unlimited access. The free trial, however, lasts as long as you like it to. You can't finish or leave Wizard City on a free account, but you can get a good feel for the game and enjoy many hours of fun game play. I have both a subscription account and one where I bought areas with Crowns. The benefit of a crowns account is that once an area is opened, it is opened forever. No monthly fee. The downfall for some people in a crowns account is no free PVP except practice. Since I don't play PVP, that was not a drawback for me.
All in all, I recommend it for both older players whose fingers may not be so quick on the keyboard and younger players who are still learning. I found that the all mouse driven functionality made the game more enjoyable for my son, who is not a keyboard wiz.
I would like to see a little more freedom in trading, messaging, and friending in the game, but the shortcomings in those areas are based more on my desire to share with and help other people. This game allows you to pretty much only help in combat. No giving good equipment drops to a noob, or lending a few gold to a friend. But since games with those features inevitably have flocks of beggars asking for just such favors, it is perhaps a more family friendly game without that ability to share.
So try it, do the free trial, cruise the streets of Wizard City, and see if it is up your alley. The giftcard to subscription option allows you to further your explorations as long as you like with no credit card, At $10 a month it is far from the most expensive MMORPG out there, and probably cheaper than a few peoples coffee habit.
I really liked this article. Wizard 101 is indeed a healthy, refreshing take on family and youth gaming. We need more games for kids that are not about decapitation (not that I do not enjoy a good decapitation now and again). We need games for kids that let them enjoy what is so great about gaming, and gaming online, without exposing them to the harshness of mature games. I know many people do not like the idea of talking about games corrupting children, but GTA played by a ten-year-old can have some negative effects, pure and simple. Of course, some on the right exaggerate these effects. Anyway, I really liked the article, and I love the game (not as a game I would play very much, but as an idea).
I did want to point out that the circles you fight in are in fact summoning circles. You know, because you are summoning things. They are supposed to be summoning circles, in actual fact.
"Gamers will no longer buy the argument that every MMO requires a subscription fee to offset server and bandwidth costs. It's not true you know it, and they know it." Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, 2007
Just from what I've seen from the rabid fans, I'm gonna hafta check the game out now heh
I am one of those rabid fans ... an adult wizard who started in Beta and still playing strong 2 years later. As KingsIsle says, "Wizard101 is a game for all ages and for any gamer's experience". I dare any hard core gamer who poo poos the game to battle in Kensington. Yet a casual gamer can win the battles in Kensington if they team up.
Wizard101's subtle humor is fun. There is a genius to the storyline and how the quests mesh together. KingsIsle is very supportive of fan sites (where we find excellent guides) and the staff''s enthusiasm in FaceBook, Twitter, and Wizard101.com is outstanding. Every battle is different and so boredom is rare.
As a gamer with physical movement restrictions, I have found Wizard101 to be the easiest to move my character. Some games have a great deal of keying just to move around ... not Wizard101.
When I first came into this game and got subscription I was so tempted to play this game every day and night. I kept commenting myself "I have to get to lvl 50, I HAVE TO." That day I found out that I was totally addicted to it. When I got my first lvl 50 (grandmaster) I felt so proud of myself, and even more proud of myself for my 2nd grandmaster. It is a very addicting game.
I started playing Wizards101 only to see if I would allow my son to play. It turns out that I play more the game than he does. It's a fun, easy and very player friendly.
After reading the review I thought I would give the game a try and has been mentioned already there are number of minor mistakes in the original post. First it gives the impression a bit that it is browser based as he says you go to a website to create your character and this isn't really accurate. There is a download client that downloads as he described in the background but it is pretty lightweight for the amount of graphics and sounds that the game provides and isn't bad at all.
The game is definitely designed for family and kid play and towards that end there are a lot of restrictions that might bother some. For example you don't get to make up your own name of if you have a favorite name you always use then that won't be available (most likely). When it is time to pick your name you can only pick from a given list of first, middle and last names or you can spin the random number generator like a slot machine to get what ever hits your fancy. This isn't a big deal since the freedom to pick your own name ends up with players that choose all kinds of irksome names. The in game profanity filter is quite tightly screwed down so when I helped a person and they said thank you my response of "My pleasure" was edited to "My ......." since pleasure is a naughty word. Also, text chat can be disabled for those who are too young which leads you into situations where someone asks for help and when you ask what do they need they can't really respond except to say help again or that their text chat doesn't work. It makes for a safe environment but it is restrictive and if you don't like that sort of thing you probably won't like the game.
The graphics and game pace are decent and the voice overs are very well done. Which leads to the free to play bit which as has been stated is wrong. The free trial is a bit off the mark too. Basically the game has a free content and premium content. The starting zones and much of the starting content can be accessed by anyone. After that there are two choices you either get a subscription which allows you unlimited access to everything or you can purchase "crowns" to unlock content which remains unlocked for all the characters on your account. This does mean that if you have a subscription and stop you lose access to the premium content that you formerly had access to.
In addtion a subscription only really provides a part of the developers income as even with a subscription there are lots of things in the game that you will want to purchase that will lead you into purchasing either gold or more crowns. The monthly subscription isn't too expensive but don't think that this is all you will end up spending in the game.
After creating my character and running around at around level 8 I started to hit content that required either a subscription or for me to purchase it which means that a hard core experienced player will run out of free content in a day or two and a more casual or younger player might in about a week. This is enough to give you an idea if you like the game and its flow and if you want to spend any money.
For me I'm not sure if I will stick with the game. It is a nice game but as it is geared for the younger crowd it does fail to provide much of a challenge for me personally. Though as a casual game to pick up and put down it is fun.
The name of the game suits it as it is really a game for beginners and it's Harry Potter world is well suited to those who just want to play and have a bit of fun. It has set itself a specific goal and market and it has delivered a good product for that target market and if you are in that target market then you will enjoy the game. If you are looking for something that challenges you then this is probably not going to be the game.
I love this game. it started out as an ad I saw on Facebook and decided to click on cause I was bored, and turned into a full blown addiction lol. What I like is you that you can buy gift cards for $10-20 (that's all I've found in my area) and use them for either crowns or a subscription and if you use them for a subscription you can end it when the cards are used up. $10 gets you one month and $20 gets you 2 months. You don't have to worry about using a credit card and paying for it if you're not using it.
This game has to be one of the most fun games in the world when i started out i had no one tht i knew then my friend told me he was a lvl fifty grand ice. now in only two months im a lvl fortyeight fire master my players name is galen darkcloud!
when I play it i just kill everything I want to kill with out a wand but I use a staff only because I am not a healer like those healers that doesn't heal anyone but themselfs
Oh come on! Okay, it isn't technically F2P, but it is extremely cheap.
Sure, if you want to you can go the subscription route, but that's not the only way to go, and it shows your lack of exploration that you paint it so.
I bought 5 dollars worth of crowns two years ago. I've been playing for most of that time and I haven't run out of crowns yet, even at 750 crowns per new area. And then that newly purchased area is open to all your characters, not just the character you were playing when you bought access.
5 bucks for 2 years' worth of gameplay seems worth it. If the game can't be completely free, it's so close as to not matter.
Comments
idk about you but i never used the crown shop , what drugs you take?
I saw advertisement for the game and i was super bored so i was like "what the heck why not?"
at first it was pretty cool how you could create your char. and decide what type of wizard you wanted to be. And at first i was impressed by the look of the game, but the combat and quests killed it for me. i was not a big fan of this game, but for kids i could see it being very fun.
Exodus 15:2
Just from what I've seen from the rabid fans, I'm gonna hafta check the game out now heh
It's true, really only levels 1-10 are free, after that you have to either pay a one time fee to unlock the zones you want, or sign up for a sub which unlocks all the zones. Still is a winner in my book. I much prefer this way of charging for gameplay instead of dropping $50 up front and forced into a $15 a month sub for a game that might not even hold my interest for 2 months.
"They essentially want to say 'Correlation proves Causation' when it's just not true." - Sovrath
After reading the review two days ago I decided to download it and check it out.
My MMO past includes EQ1, DAoC, WoW, EQ2, and others. Suffice it to say that I enjoy immersive depth. That said, I found Wizard 101 to be..strangely refreshing, and fun.
I made a Balance Wizard, and he's almost level 9 so far. I've been farming Unicorn Way Bosses for gold, xp, and loot until I make a decision whether or not to invest some real money into the game. I think the subscription plan is really cheap considering it gives you access to all the zones, and is prob the way to go rather than buying it piece by piece (you can buy single zone accesses to pay as you go if you want). I hear stores like Gamestop, Blockbuster, WalMart carry pre-paid cards if you don't want to/can't pay by online methods.
So, yes..the gameplay. Its turn-based, and you cast cards. Some cards debuff, some heal, some are aoe dd, or dd- lots of variety. The School's all have their focuses ( Ice, Fire, Death, Myth, Balance, Life, Storm) and each has their own style of play. Each card (spell) has a cost, a pip, with some requiring nothing and others costing 1 and up to 7 (I think its 7) as the cards increase in level. Every turn, you can gain a pip if you don't spend it (as some cards cost 0 to cast), so as the combat progresses you gain points to potentially cast higher level cards.
The Bazaar is rather simple and it controls the pricing, not the player. So, if you have something for sale it gives you a price based on how much the market has of that item. For instance, if there is 100 of X on the market you will get only a couple gold for sale, rather than if you have the only one available for sale then it will offer more. I initially found this aspect to be annoying, but, meh, its something you either accept or you don't.
I'm liking it so far. Its light, fresh, and fun. So far I am living in an MMO vacuum where nothing seems to please me, but right now this is a pleasant, entertaining, time killer..and isn't that the point of a good game?
Very well said, this game is fun and a fresh idea for MMORPG fans. And if you are young this game is approved for all ages by me. (Even though it is rated everyone ten and up.) Between combat and, running quest, you can make new friend and chill out in a castle. While you look crazy on there you can get a taste of fashion with the, crowns only, clothes. Even though they have no stats you can stitch items for a small price.
I have been on since the game started so, i have very many perks. i have very impressive items i didnt realize there true potential till i buff enough.my clothes give stormzilla, curse, and animate. They are all very good cards considering i have stormzilla which you get at lvl 42, and i am lvl 25.
my point is it is a very balanced game where you get action and you can talk to friends and everything in between.
I am James dragonstalker on there. add em if you want.
peace, love, llama O. o
I really enjoy Wizard 101. As an adult, I enjoy playing it with my son, and by myself as well. I have been a fan of the RPG genre for well over 2 decades and love the approach of Wizard 101 in both ease of use, and challenge of mastery. Between my son and I, we have 7 Grandmasters, 1 in every school. I have finished every quest in the game on a couple. I have my favorites for sure, but I find the balance of defense, accuracy and power between classes make them all pretty comparable. I have been playing over a year now. While I do split my time between this and a fully free mmorpg, I still enjoy it when a lagging connection might get me killed in the real-time combat RPG game. The 30 second, turn based card combat of Wizards 101 is much friendlier to those blessed with unreliable connection speeds.
The game is not free to play unlimited access. The free trial, however, lasts as long as you like it to. You can't finish or leave Wizard City on a free account, but you can get a good feel for the game and enjoy many hours of fun game play. I have both a subscription account and one where I bought areas with Crowns. The benefit of a crowns account is that once an area is opened, it is opened forever. No monthly fee. The downfall for some people in a crowns account is no free PVP except practice. Since I don't play PVP, that was not a drawback for me.
All in all, I recommend it for both older players whose fingers may not be so quick on the keyboard and younger players who are still learning. I found that the all mouse driven functionality made the game more enjoyable for my son, who is not a keyboard wiz.
I would like to see a little more freedom in trading, messaging, and friending in the game, but the shortcomings in those areas are based more on my desire to share with and help other people. This game allows you to pretty much only help in combat. No giving good equipment drops to a noob, or lending a few gold to a friend. But since games with those features inevitably have flocks of beggars asking for just such favors, it is perhaps a more family friendly game without that ability to share.
So try it, do the free trial, cruise the streets of Wizard City, and see if it is up your alley. The giftcard to subscription option allows you to further your explorations as long as you like with no credit card, At $10 a month it is far from the most expensive MMORPG out there, and probably cheaper than a few peoples coffee habit.
enjoying myself in wizard 101. Definatley not your typical mmo but man its fun in its own way.
i play this game i robert giantblood level fifthty myth wizard and also level ineteen death wizard named robert deathblood
I really liked this article. Wizard 101 is indeed a healthy, refreshing take on family and youth gaming. We need more games for kids that are not about decapitation (not that I do not enjoy a good decapitation now and again). We need games for kids that let them enjoy what is so great about gaming, and gaming online, without exposing them to the harshness of mature games. I know many people do not like the idea of talking about games corrupting children, but GTA played by a ten-year-old can have some negative effects, pure and simple. Of course, some on the right exaggerate these effects. Anyway, I really liked the article, and I love the game (not as a game I would play very much, but as an idea).
I did want to point out that the circles you fight in are in fact summoning circles. You know, because you are summoning things. They are supposed to be summoning circles, in actual fact.
"Gamers will no longer buy the argument that every MMO requires a subscription fee to offset server and bandwidth costs. It's not true you know it, and they know it." Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, 2007
WTF? No subscription fee?
I am one of those rabid fans ... an adult wizard who started in Beta and still playing strong 2 years later. As KingsIsle says, "Wizard101 is a game for all ages and for any gamer's experience". I dare any hard core gamer who poo poos the game to battle in Kensington. Yet a casual gamer can win the battles in Kensington if they team up.
Wizard101's subtle humor is fun. There is a genius to the storyline and how the quests mesh together. KingsIsle is very supportive of fan sites (where we find excellent guides) and the staff''s enthusiasm in FaceBook, Twitter, and Wizard101.com is outstanding. Every battle is different and so boredom is rare.
As a gamer with physical movement restrictions, I have found Wizard101 to be the easiest to move my character. Some games have a great deal of keying just to move around ... not Wizard101.
When I first came into this game and got subscription I was so tempted to play this game every day and night. I kept commenting myself "I have to get to lvl 50, I HAVE TO." That day I found out that I was totally addicted to it. When I got my first lvl 50 (grandmaster) I felt so proud of myself, and even more proud of myself for my 2nd grandmaster. It is a very addicting game.
YOU JUST GOT SCHUTZED
I started playing Wizards101 only to see if I would allow my son to play. It turns out that I play more the game than he does. It's a fun, easy and very player friendly.
It's also a little educational too for kids to play so they can learn math
YOU JUST GOT SCHUTZED
After reading the review I thought I would give the game a try and has been mentioned already there are number of minor mistakes in the original post. First it gives the impression a bit that it is browser based as he says you go to a website to create your character and this isn't really accurate. There is a download client that downloads as he described in the background but it is pretty lightweight for the amount of graphics and sounds that the game provides and isn't bad at all.
The game is definitely designed for family and kid play and towards that end there are a lot of restrictions that might bother some. For example you don't get to make up your own name of if you have a favorite name you always use then that won't be available (most likely). When it is time to pick your name you can only pick from a given list of first, middle and last names or you can spin the random number generator like a slot machine to get what ever hits your fancy. This isn't a big deal since the freedom to pick your own name ends up with players that choose all kinds of irksome names. The in game profanity filter is quite tightly screwed down so when I helped a person and they said thank you my response of "My pleasure" was edited to "My ......." since pleasure is a naughty word. Also, text chat can be disabled for those who are too young which leads you into situations where someone asks for help and when you ask what do they need they can't really respond except to say help again or that their text chat doesn't work. It makes for a safe environment but it is restrictive and if you don't like that sort of thing you probably won't like the game.
The graphics and game pace are decent and the voice overs are very well done. Which leads to the free to play bit which as has been stated is wrong. The free trial is a bit off the mark too. Basically the game has a free content and premium content. The starting zones and much of the starting content can be accessed by anyone. After that there are two choices you either get a subscription which allows you unlimited access to everything or you can purchase "crowns" to unlock content which remains unlocked for all the characters on your account. This does mean that if you have a subscription and stop you lose access to the premium content that you formerly had access to.
In addtion a subscription only really provides a part of the developers income as even with a subscription there are lots of things in the game that you will want to purchase that will lead you into purchasing either gold or more crowns. The monthly subscription isn't too expensive but don't think that this is all you will end up spending in the game.
After creating my character and running around at around level 8 I started to hit content that required either a subscription or for me to purchase it which means that a hard core experienced player will run out of free content in a day or two and a more casual or younger player might in about a week. This is enough to give you an idea if you like the game and its flow and if you want to spend any money.
For me I'm not sure if I will stick with the game. It is a nice game but as it is geared for the younger crowd it does fail to provide much of a challenge for me personally. Though as a casual game to pick up and put down it is fun.
The name of the game suits it as it is really a game for beginners and it's Harry Potter world is well suited to those who just want to play and have a bit of fun. It has set itself a specific goal and market and it has delivered a good product for that target market and if you are in that target market then you will enjoy the game. If you are looking for something that challenges you then this is probably not going to be the game.
I love this game. it started out as an ad I saw on Facebook and decided to click on cause I was bored, and turned into a full blown addiction lol. What I like is you that you can buy gift cards for $10-20 (that's all I've found in my area) and use them for either crowns or a subscription and if you use them for a subscription you can end it when the cards are used up. $10 gets you one month and $20 gets you 2 months. You don't have to worry about using a credit card and paying for it if you're not using it.
This game has to be one of the most fun games in the world when i started out i had no one tht i knew then my friend told me he was a lvl fifty grand ice. now in only two months im a lvl fortyeight fire master my players name is galen darkcloud!
ya thats right noobs...
when I play it i just kill everything I want to kill with out a wand but I use a staff only because I am not a healer like those healers that doesn't heal anyone but themselfs
I hate non healers only good healers
no signature
Oh come on! Okay, it isn't technically F2P, but it is extremely cheap.
Sure, if you want to you can go the subscription route, but that's not the only way to go, and it shows your lack of exploration that you paint it so.
I bought 5 dollars worth of crowns two years ago. I've been playing for most of that time and I haven't run out of crowns yet, even at 750 crowns per new area. And then that newly purchased area is open to all your characters, not just the character you were playing when you bought access.
5 bucks for 2 years' worth of gameplay seems worth it. If the game can't be completely free, it's so close as to not matter.
Another article that makes a major gaff in describing this game. Wizard 101 is NOT a f2p game in any sense of the word.
It is basically still subscription and item shop based as you cannot get past level 10 without one or the other nor visit any of the advanced areas.
Beyond that it is a fun game.