Saturday Casual Gaming 307: AdventureQuest

In Which I Talk About One Of My Old Favorites

Real Talk, guys, I don't like MMORPGs. I'm only slightly (and begrudgingly) social, so I don't really want to spend 90% of my gaming time being bombarded by gold-sellers, whiney teenagers, and human trolls. I don't want to be constantly ganked. I don't want to be hassled. I just... want to hit the bad-bads with my pointy stick in peace.

So imagine my joy when I discovered browser-based Single-Player RPGs!

And imagine my exultation when I discovered Adventure Quest?!

But what is AdventureQuest?

Well, it's a browser-based single-player RPG made by Artix Entertainment and based in a world called Lore. You're an adventurer, and you're basically just... free to do whatever! You can click on the hills behind the town of BattleOn (yes, that's the town name) and just roam around, hitting the bad-bads with your pointy stick. Or you can just click on random buildings and take on quests! Or you can get hopelessly lost in menus while you try to find a sword you want to drop your hard-earned gold on! Or you can pay real money to become a Guardian (big bonuses, cool armor, you help the game exist, etc)! There's even housing, now!

All in a brightly-colored Flash-animated wonderland!
This is what it looked like for Halloween one year.

 The game does a pretty good job of explaining itself once you get playing, but it can be overwhelming. I know I was a little overwhelmed after going back for the first time in years. My old account was deactivated because that email address doesn't even exist anymore, but once upon a time, I was pretty good at the game.

You can even buy special armors that level up with you and give you special abilities!

Like this Vampire Slayer armor, which lets you have extra bonuses vs Vampires and Werewolves

The game has changed a lot since I started playing, I have to say. The art has evolved a lot, though... Character heads seem to be about the same. Also, there's no body difference between masculine/feminine armors, which is pretty fun, because you don't have to play a girl in a chainmail bikini!

You can play a girl in heavy robes beating the crud out of a sea dragon, instead!

Sometimes I get nostalgic for the old art, but... well...

The redesigns were a vast improvement...

All told, however, I have to say that I still love AdventureQuest/BattleOn. It was my first positive online RPG experience, and it let me play a blue-skinned, lime green-haired murder machine in Digimon goggles, so I can't help but love it. I also love that it's not afraid to grow and change with the times. There's a 3D version of the game now, too, but I haven't played that yet. Maybe some day...

What about you guys? Do you have any odd games you fell in love with long ago that you're craving a return to?

Go Enjoy Something,
FC