Silkroad Online Review
First Impression
Silkroad Online, by the looks of its website, looks like a fantastic MMORPG. The most eye-gazing aspect of the site was the word “FREE”, being that this is a free MMORPG game.
My first opinion was immediate upon browsing the site: skeptic. I was very skeptical of how good the game would be, considering the last free MMORPG I tried before looking into Silkroad Online was Runescape; which is not impressive from my experience of lag, slow, and overall horrible gameplay.
I looked more into the site to find amazing gallery screenshots taken in-game while playing. The game looked amazing (stunning graphics), and as I browsed and looked more into the game, I found the plot along with the time, date, and setting to be very unique and interesting.
I decided to give this game a try. Something neat like this, and for free, don’t appear too often - it seems like all of today’s most popular MMORPGs are getting obsessed over money with its increasing monthly fees, such as World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XI.
Being a n00b
For a free MMORPG, I was shocked at the quality of the 3D graphics while playing the game. I wasn’t shocked for long, as being a n00b in Silkroad Online was the most confusing point in my MMORPG gaming “career”.
For start, the controls weren’t like anything I was used to. I was frequently having camera problems as there is no automatic option (you have to hold the right button on your mouse and move the camera along with you). On top of that, many windows pop up if you forget to hit the “enter’ key to chat with people due to this game’s shortcut feature [where all you have to do is select a single key for each menu; ie: “I” will open up the Inventory menu].
Asking for help was useless in the game. I could spend hours on my new server without receiving help from any other players. There were some that helped me but the amount of times I shouted throughout the busy [starting] city of Constantinople, the response-rate I received must have been anywhere between three to five percent compared to the amount of requests I was shouting out for help.
What’s a n00b to do in this case? Well, being the smart n00b I was, I decided to go to a Silkroad Online forum and ask for help. Obviously for the credit of my-own-self, to show other players that I wasn’t a n00b at all to MMORPGs, I left a link to eGaming Supply in my forum signature. Forget a decent reply to my thread, I was flamed and told to “GTFO” instead of being helped. Luckily though, I was able to find a decent player in the game on my server [Poseidon] and get help from him.
Understanding all of the features, commands, and how-to’s of Silkroad Online will be difficult for n00bs. It’s easy to grasp the combat system and level up, but navigating around, doing quests, and transacting with other players will take a good hour or so to grasp.
Playing Silkroad Online
Silkroad Online is a great alternative for all MMORPG gamers. I am still debating whether or not I like Guild Wars or Silkroad Online more; they are both very comparable. One thing is for certain, though: Guild Wars controls are MUCH easier than Silkroad Online. However, comparing price, Silkroad Online beats Guild Wars (since Guild Wars you have to pay for the game; Silkroad Online is entirely free).
The game is awesome to play. I really enjoyed playing on a server with so many players - something Guild Wars, in comparison, does not allow you to do unless in a party. Silkroad Online offers an easy-to-understand combat system and player interface, and amazingly great graphics for being a free MMORPG - remember, I said my first impressions were based off the first MMORPG I ever played: RuneScape!
Quests may be difficult at times and finding someone to help you with them may be even more difficult. However, if you just like playing online role-playing games, and the whole leveling up scheme, this MMORPG is suitable for your interests.
Silkroad Online is one of, if not the best free online role-playing games available. I really enjoyed playing the game (in fact I am still playing it as I write this little review) and highly recommend this MMORPG to any online role-playing game player. I cannot stress enough how astonished I am that the game is free, so being that said, there is absolutely nothing to lose by giving this game a try. Simply put: great MMORPG, and free!
-Game Monarch (07/28/2007)