Review: TibiaME - Cell Phone Multiplayer is Possible

One thumb combat
Let’s be clear — this is a game with classic 2D tile graphics, but although you can only move in four directions the game offers a great sense of freedom. Because the controls are so simplified it feels very fluid when transitioning between travel and combat. This is not a turn-based game like Dofus where action during combat is controlled by movement or action points. Your character attacks automatically if you are standing next to a monster. It’s that simple. To focus combat you simply face the direction of the monster you want to attack first. Tapping the directional pad toward the monster incessantly doesn’t help, but it sure is more satisfying.

The free movement style of combat reminds me of Adventure for the Atari / PC, and offers a lot of maneuverability where one might not expect any. By using precise Pac-Man style movement players can not only evade monsters entirely, they can actually avoid damage during combat. Although not an intended game play feature, the combination of network latency and properly timed movement patterns can allow a player to kill a much stronger monster. This exploit was a complete accident, but its fun, challenging, and offers a sense of personal accomplishment in a game devoid of any complex combat.

If you cannot escape with your 1987 arcade skills and end up getting spanked by three cave bears, your character will resurrect at the nearest town. When you die in TibiaME you will drop one of the items in your inventory, and lose 10% of your total experience, or 5% if you’re on a Premium account. This adds to the sense of danger one feels when trying to avoid a monster, and makes you think twice before just running blindly through a dungeon. When dying to a monster you will drop something of low value, like a health potion. However, if you die to another player you will generally drop something very valuable like a weapon. Players cannot attack each other out in the open world, but once inside the boundaries of the arena anyone can be attacked by anyone else.

Free for all arena
Aurea, the first island players visit after newb-ville, has a town with an arena. Some even refer to this town as “arena town” or Aurea as “pvp island” just to be concise. I didn’t find it for a week, as I was only interested in exploring on my own, figuring I could pretty much stumble over everything the game had to offer. Once I found Aurea I immediately saw a group of people standing around a fenced area of dirt called the sandpit. I talked some trash, walked straight in and attacked someone from behind! When their auto defense kicked in I was dead in two rounds. Apparently my victim had 30 levels on me. Oh well, it was fun… until I found my new Fire sword missing. I tried to convince myself I’d left it in the storage depot (the bank), but I knew what had happened.

Much like my favorite multi-user dungeons (MUDs) from back in the day, when you die in the player versus player (PvP) zone, you lose your items. In TibiaME players only lose one item from their inventory; you won’t drop an item that is equipped. Even as forgiving as that is, losing my brand new sword when I was just two levels from being able to use it was quite a blow. I immediately put my communication skills into overdrive and sent a private message to my victim. I groveled and pleaded, and my victim laughed and dropped the red sword icon on the tile next to me. Snagging the sword and sprinting off, I was a little confused. “I wouldn’t have given it back,” I thought. “Not after what I said about his mother.”

Not characteristic of a role-playing game
Although primarily non-existent in the world of TibiaME, there are certain instances of role-playing occurring when players interact out in the world. Whether its choosing to take pity on someone and giving them their loot back, or to interfere with them by dragging monsters on to them, players can define themselves by how they treat other people — and how they get their kicks. Other than that, there is no way to specialize abilities or to differentiate oneself from other players. Warriors of equal level will use every weapon with the same proficiency, and Wizards are all exactly the same as well. The only way for a player to enhance their character is by upgrading weapons and armour.

As it is, the only choices the player makes most of the time involve repetitious tasks like swapping out a fire weapon for a soul weapon when fighting the undead. While this has a hint of strategic flavor to it, it hardly helps the game identify as a role-playing game (RPG). That’s like saying the early Final Fantasy games were RPGs merely because the characters had equipment slots. You were also the protagonist in a story, and while TibiaME has some well-written quests and excellent English translation, the point of them is always to send you off in the direction of some group of monsters. There are named monsters and useful quest rewards, but there were no big bad bosses or story arcs to keep my motivation clear. There did not appear to be any other elements to the game. After completing a couple quests I just killed monsters all day, and while the grind is the same in World of Warcraft, at least it offers a choice about the role you will play.

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