Cactus, With Occasional Music

My relationship with free-to-play MMOs can be likened to an unhealthy series of personal relationships. For example, Asda Story was my first, but we’re no longer on speaking terms. LaTale has been the target of a regrettable series of break-ups and getting-back-together, but I can’t decide if it’s an on-again off-again relationship, or if late-night boredom is the video game equivalent of being drunk and lonely.

Yesterday, THQ’s oddly-named online division, THQ Ice, released Dragonica Online’s open beta version, and I’ve been playing it pretty heavily. It’s got a great combination of arcade-style beat ‘em up action and quick character growth that really has me hooked. A lot of the combat is based on combos, with launching and air-combos playing a big part.

Visually, the game is pretty, and although the brightly colored cute look is pretty standard fare, it is at least executed well. The music actually surprised me quite a bit; it’s wonderfully subtle and understated, highly symphonic and, on the whole, awesome. And it fits surprisingly well.

The quest structure and plot (as much as I’ve seen of it so far) has been pretty basic. The quests are the same “go punch 10 bats  for me” all MMOs seem to have, without a great deal of variation. DO’s instance dungeons are an interesting change from the normal, though;the player can select a difficulty level, with each level being suitable for a specific size party. Each run of a dungeon is timed, and the player receives a rating and reward at the end based on how fast the dungeon is completed, how much damage they took, and a few other factors. The practical upshot is that the dungeons feel even more arcade beat ‘em up than normal gameplay.

Unsurprisingly, there are still a lot of unimplimented systems — pets, PVP, and fashion, for a start — but so far, Dragonica Online is looking promising.