MapleStory

At first glance, MapleStory is a charming online multiplayer platform hack and slash game. Cute characters traverse landscapes reminiscent of old Super Nintendo levels, swinging swords and shooting spells at cute monsters, accompanied by music that is, if not good, at the very least not unpleasant.

I remember how excited I was when I first loaded it up and saw gameplay that seemed as if player skill might just trump 22 hours a day of grinding. Sadly, this illusion was broken pretty quickly.

The sad truth of it is that MapleStory is not a good game. As a matter of fact, in a genre where the norm is monotony, MapleStory stands out as being not only monotonous, but grind-heavy to the point of serious unbalance. In fact, Unbalanced gameplay seems to be the majority of what MapleStory is built of.

MapleStory features four profession tracks (thief, warrior, wizard, and archer), each with their own skillsets. A brief look at a forum or wiki will advise strongly against certain skill choices for any class, as a large number of the skills are basically useless for a serious player. As for casual players, well, the MMO scene just isn't for you, anyways.

For an MMO, the ability for it to remain entertaining hinges on variety, and Maplestory is sorely lacking in this department. Quests from NPCs either involve travel, collecting a large number of a certain item (dorpped randomly by certain monsters), or killing a large number of a certain kind of monster. What's worse, NPC quests often unlock a good 10 levels lower than you'd have to be to complete them.

All that said, however, MapleStory is free to download and play. If you find that you enjoy it, there's a premium item shop you can spend real money at to enhance your gaming experience.

In any case, have some relevant links, kay?
The MapleStory Homepage where the game can be downloaded, the in-game currency can be bought, and a variety of other information can be found.

A MapleStory Wiki