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Whatcha Playing: FusionFall

Posted by Nadia Oxford

Yeah, uh, I'm only playing this for work-related purposes.

I...I...

I'm still cool.

Actually, FusionFall has received a lot of hype, and there's quite a bit of charm to it. Worried parents wonder if Cartoon Network's MMORPG is merely another name for Billy's Gateway World of Warcraft Addiction, but there are some interesting speed bumps that are in place to keep kids from descending down the vortex in its entirety. Levelling up occurs through the completion of missions, not hours of grinding, and your rewards actually lessen if you log several consecutive hours of gameplay.

These restrictions serve well as wake-ups for enraptured children who will hopefully realise that it's a good idea to go outside and play once the cow has been milked dry. It's probably not foolproof, though. Who wants to stop when they're with their friends, giving evil what for? It's still up to the parents to pull the game when their kids' eyes start turning into squares. Pity the poor hand-wringing adults: the thought of having to administer some means of discipline on their children will send many of them scrambling for their stationary so they can re-direct their energies into writing a blame piece for Scare Weekly.

It's too bad, because I believe FusionFall might serve well as an introduction to MMORPGs. The game is marketed to kids eight through 14. The missions needed to level up aren't overwhelming, as the game in its entirety is meant to be played in quick intervals. The monthly subscription fee is cheap ($5.95), you tailor your own costume suited for a post-apocalyptic battleground and you basically let loose in a low-stress environment where nobody compares the size of your sword to theirs. It's better to learn to respect the MMORPG environment through an age-appropriate game than to just be thrown head-first into Warcraft.

It's also just kind of cool to explore the Cartoon Network schedule come to life. FusionFall's biggest disappointment is that the art style has been homogenised, and interesting-looking characters like Dexter look like they've come off Generic Anime Template #475. It's not so bad, though. I can finally meet Samurai Jack and ask him if he got that love sonnet I wrote for him in 2005.

Related Links:

Whatcha Playing: Cleaning House, Finding Roots
Whatcha Playing: The New Adventures of the Nintendo DS
Whatcha Playing: Weight of the Stone

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Posted Jan 14 2009, 11:53 PM

Filed under: whatcha playing, world of warcraft, mmorpg, nadia oxford, wow, cartoon network, fusionfall

Comments

Derrick Sanskrit said:

When Fusion Fall was first announced a year or two ago I remember being incredibly excited. As they've been having commercials for it lately on Cartoon Network I've been remembering that excitement and compounding on top of it. I've never been into MMORPGs, but the concept and presentation of Fusion Fall interests me very much and may well be my first real foray into MMORPG playing. I'm willing to accept the homogenous legacy character designs because it allows all the varying characters to come together in one world without seeming awkward. In the commercial I noticed Ben 10, Dexter, Samurai Jack, the Powerpuff Girls and Numbah 5 standing side by side looking badass. On sheer fan service alone, that gets me pumped.

January 15, 2009 1:19 AM

about the blogger

John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Nerve, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines. Based in Toronto, Nadia prizes the certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.

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