NeoPets

"Love it or hate it: a short review from an average player"

Neopets. I believe that it was formed in November 1999, and contrary to what so many people think, Neopets isn't only a children's website. It was first aimed at college students, but of course, recently it has leaned over to the younger audience, but it is far from being only for children. I know people over 40+ years of age who play Neopets. And frequently.

In the world of Neopets, you adopt your own Neopet, and earn Neopoints (Neopets money) to sustain them, train them and so forth. (Right now it must sound as if I was talking about Pokemon or something. I assure you, Neopets has its merits for being quite complex). With your pet(s), you roam the world of Neopia, and play its many games, and enter various contests. You can battle your pets against other pets, and join guilds in a sense of community, and submit your articles and comic strips, and sometimes even flash movies to the online Neopets newspaper. But of course, there is the pitfall. Generally, the Neopian public is vicious. Unforgiving, ferocious people, many with few morals. I tend to stay away from the chat board, and stick with my guild. Also, I have heard stories of the seizing of many accounts - and unfairly. I am constantly afraid of being 'frozen', not because of my imaginary Neopoints, but because of the time involved with playing the game.

Gameplay 7/10
Games can be found in the game room. As for these flash and java games, many of them are the familiar 'Snake', or 'Blackjack', or 'Slots', only Neopets version. Other games though deserve some credit. Some are actually fun, but nowadays, incentive of playing games will only come from earning Neopoints of trophies, rather than for fun itself. I think the biggest of Neopet's game achievements could be NeoQuest, Neopet's very own RPG. It runs by java, and you play as a character battling evil. Other games such as the Stock Market can be good for users in the real world, and can teach them a thing or two about the real world stock market.

Graphics 9/10
I must say, the pictures are very finely drawn. I wish I could draw like that. The reason why it got a 9 instead of a 10 is because of the flash animations - sometimes they are drawn and animated, not to the best of quality.

Sound/Music 4/10
Well, I wouldn't expect much out of this category anyway. Sounds and music primarily come only from games and movies (and yet in movies, the characters don't even speak - it is moving mouths with subtitles). But really, what can I say? Sometimes the music can be annoying, sometimes you want to hear something.

Storyline 7/10
The main reason why this score plummeted is because story events rarely come. These stories are written by our dear Neopets staff and released for a certain time frame. Many of these incorporate 'wars', between different regions of Neopia, in which you can take part in using your pet to fight, which of course, can determine the outcome of the war and story. Some of the actual stories, accompanied sometimes by flash movies are usually quite nice, only they are resolved too quickly. A particular one, 'Battle For Meridell', was tear jerking for me. :P Other kinds of plots may be ones that the users have to solve, to get a prize. I must warn you, these can get *extremely* complex to solve, depending on people's computer ability, and the ability to think laterally. Some puzzles involve you looking at the page's HTML source to find that little javascript code to be converted to make sense which needs to be linked to another location where you find a clue that leads you to another clue which points to an established user to do with the plot, to whom you need to send a special item of which you need to brew from two other items to get you to your location. Or something like that. So there goes your image of the child's game. :P I suggest just going to the Neopets.com and look at the plot solutions. I was completely baffled. :P

Replayability 6/10
I think you're either not interested, or very interested. Sometimes playing Neopets can get repetitive, and much like a chore, especially if you're earning your Neopoints. Some people are devoted to collecting items, others just committed to their guild. Truly, it is possible to be playing this game for years and years. The question is, when will you stop? There is no ‘accomplished' status, it continues and continues.

Community 2/10
It's an all time low for this category (of which, by the way, should be commented on, being an online game). As I mentioned before, I strongly advise you to stay away from the chat boards. I think guilds are fine, but… be sure to pick the right one. I could gripe and complain about so many Neopets users, but I will spare you this eternity, with the small comments of people *usually* being very unfriendly. The terms of service are very easy to follow, but be sure to read them. Too many people get ‘frozen' for breaking them.

If you're going for your end of school exams, or writing that really important thesis, then I suggest, stay away, this is a real time consumer. I myself am addicted to it until the point that it is unhealthy. So I question whatever made me join. But I like to play Neopets. It relieves stress, but can also cause it. Think about it, people. Neopets could very well be, nay, must be, the best virtual pets site on the Internet. Therefore, in summary, this game can be a very nice experience, or a negative one. Be wary of where you tread, but have fun.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/28/04