NEOPETS The Darkest Faerie Preview

Neopets is an interesting game and an interesting, hugely successful concept.  It began as an online version of a Tomagachi, growing to 30 million users (www.neopets.com).  In time it caught the attention of Sony, who realized that if this simplistic, online virtual pet thing can attract players of all ages, maybe a PS2 version could too.

But they couldn’t just slap together a virtual pet and call it a game.  Nobody wants that.  In fact, the PS2 version is far beyond the online game.  You may not be able to tell that the two are related.

Featuring wide-open (in a word, enormous) spaces and cartoon graphics, Neopets is a semi-Zelda, semi-Ratchet & Clank-style game.  It’s got smooth controls, a good camera system and a lot of characters to talk to, which makes it more like an RPG.  Items can be selected and assigned using the directional buttons (sound familiar?), and you can also give your Neopet equipped items to enhance his or her powers or to shield the character from that particular item.  Equip a fire mote to your armor to keep your body safe; equip fire to your sword to take down those who are weak against flames.

There are two main playable characters – Tor and Roberta, and each may be effected by a mote differently.  Tor is the stronger fighter; Roberta can use magic to attack from a distance.  That’s a decent-but-typical way to differentiate two characters, which is one of the reasons why the motes are an integral part of the game.

The game’s graphics are coming along nicely.  As mentioned above, the backgrounds have something about them that’s distinctly cartoon.  The first thing I thought of when I saw the game in motion was Ratchet & Clank.  Neopets doesn’t have nearly as much combat as that game, though there are similarities that’ll gain praise from the younger and/or diehard Neopet crowd.

Creatures are generally harder to care about than human characters, but the Neopets’s storyline is much deeper, much more involved than other virtual pets.  Wait, scratch that.  This isn’t a virtual pet, it’s a game where you lead a humanoid creature through a long journey.  Talk to those who are friendly; avoid or destroy those who are not.
 

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