Ragnarok Online

"A Whole Different Universe"

I was skeptical when I was first told about Ragnarok Online. Two of my closest friends were losing sleep, family time, and school to play RO, and my neighbor had just gotten sent to boarding school because of EverQuest (another popular MMORPG, or Massively Multiple Online Role Playing Game). I myself had become addicted to various games (Starcraft, Ultima Online), thankfully not to that extent. Plus, having just moved, I was trapped on a 56K, meaning lag city for me.

I don't think I've ever been so wrong in my life. RO is easily the best MMORPG I have ever had the privilege to play. To sum it up, you get absorbed in the universe, which is incredible, seeing as how there is zero storyline. But we'll get to that.

Graphics - 8/10
The in-game graphics are ridiculously well done, the best I've seen for an MMORPG that isn't in 3D. However, in some cases they prove to be too well done... In a few places throughout the world trees, shrubs, and various other flora and fauna make the maps unbearable to travel across. Up until the most recent release, the maps were almost useless: get lost, check the map... wait, which green blob and I standing next to? Your character takes up a good part of the map! I complain a lot, but really the graphics are breathtaking. To top it off, the official artwork found on the website is glorious, all done in anime-style drawing, they truly capture the ''sometimes-fun-sometimes-serious'' atmosphere of RO.

Sound - 9/10
I'm a huge fan of music, and I can't stop listening to the MP3 BGM's from this game. Each fits it's area perfectly, and the soundtrack is so diverse, it makes it seem like a true album, not just junky background music. The sound effects of the various enemies are superb, and the various terrain effects complete the world; walk by the ocean and frogs croak; walk under a tree and bird begin to chirp. Fabulous.

Controls - 10/10
Honestly, I've found nothing wrong with the interface or simple-yet-useful controls. Almost everything is done with the mouse and a few buttons (shift, ctrl, alt, and the F1-9 buttons) but proves to be complete enough to work well. The interface can be skinned, and there is a huge community of skinners on the web. Everything can be moved, sized, and customized to your own personal tastes.

Connections - 7/10
The part of the game I feared the most. Although the servers do tend to be a bit picky (more than once you'll be booted while changing screens for no apparent reason), the initial loading time is quick, usually 5-7 seconds, so it's not a huge deal. I'm still on a 56K, and I find lag to be a problem very, very rarely, and usually only during peak times in popular towns. The bad part? Gravity can't seem to keep the servers up for too long. It's always maintenance, adding new features, fixing this or that... It's not horribly often, and since the times in Korea and the US are almost switched (it's 4PM there right now, and 12AM here) it rarely becomes an issue.

Community - 8/10
Some people are jerks. Others are polite, kind, and understanding. RO contains mostly the latter, but the former do show up every once in a while in the form of looters (those who steal the drops from other players), kill stealers (''aiding'' in another's kill without asking, which lowers the EXP gained for the first player), and botters (those who use third party programs to level while they eat, sleep, or are lazy). Gravity has taken huge steps in stopping these people, and it's working. Slowly. Also, you'll find many sites dedicated to the game with huge amounts of info, downloads, and skins.

All in all, Ragnarok Online delivers. Now if only we could get some of the features on the Korean servers, we'd be in heaven. Or maybe that's just an Angelring.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/24/02, Updated 12/24/02