Shimmer, Shine, Sparkle

I promised a Perfect World review, and here it is, albeit a day late. Sorry about that, work got busy and I had to skip both breaks and lunch to accomplish anything.

To examine Perfect World International, we must first have the context, examine the games that have been coming out lately. Each game that launches in recent days would appear to be locked into a full-scale arms race with all of the others, each trying desperately to be more gritty, dark, gloomy, edgy, and simple than the last. A few rare exceptions exist (LittleBigPlanet, Valkyria Chronicles, etc.) but for the most part, the plan seems to be centered around making it darker, simpler, and more depressing. We'll have a game out in three years, at this rate, that will be so dark you can barely make out the main character, and you'll only need to press one button to make him curl up into a fetal position on his bed while he cries and cuts himself. It'll get Game of the Year from every review site, and high scores in all departments, including best story.

No, I'm not bitter. That would be ironic, though, wouldn't it?

But now that I've gotten that off of my chest, made my point plain as it were, let's prop Perfect World International against that backdrop, and quickly realize that no camera made could handle this much contrast.

This game is ridiculously "twee". Pretty, full of glitter and glam, upbeat and energetic... I could go on like that but I think you get the point, especially if you were observant enough to realize that the word "twee" in the previous sentence links somewhere.

It's plain that the makers of the game consider anything ugly to be evil, because that's the only place you're going to spot unattractive sights. The towns, the fields, the woods, the water, the people, all have been painstakingly crafted to be as beautiful as the game makers knew how to make them.

On that note, it's important to point out that the game has clearly been made by a team of straight, horny men. They are plainly and unabashedly obsessed with the female creature. Every piece of promotional art, every loading screen backdrop, almost every screenshot features a female character not wearing a whole lot. In the game it doesn't get much better. All female characters start off wearing a midi top and a short skirt, and progress in the early to mid levels to equally sexy armor and clothes. The Untamed are another good example of this thinking in practice. As men, the Untamed race are full-on werewolves, lions and panda-men, but as women they are essentially humans with perfect physiques, with cat or fox ears and tails. Slightly biased, eh?

What's amusing is, this actually works in this context. The game is fantastical to the point of fracture. People ride around on the backs of giant panda bears and ride flying manta rays, enormous swan, and mystical swords like they were airborne surfboards. Elves have wings and can fly around starting at level 1.

It's simple enough, game play-wise. Click on the ground to run to that spot. Double-click on a monster to start attacking. Click on an ability in your spell bar to use it. Use the space bar to jump and the arrow keys or WASD keys to move around. The game can be driven almost entirely with the mouse, though certain acrobatic feats (such as tricky jumps or swimming at specific depths) may necessitate using both hands, one on the mouse and the other on the keyboard. Quests in the early levels, at least, are straight-forward: Go kill fifteen of a type of critter, come back and be rewarded. They get more complicated as you advance.

There's a focus on social and romantic interactions that isn't present in most games. A man can pick up a woman and carry her around in his arms, snuggled close to his chest. They can smooch in this pose, sending valentine hearts flying and drilling cavities into the teeth of all observers. A winged elf can take flight like this, lifting his true love up and away. Twee? Oh yes indeed!

The customization of player avatars is unprecedented, permitting the creation of truly lifelike faces and bodies, perhaps for the first time. I can't say enough good about that; I'm an addict for this sort of thing, my big desire being to attempt creating myself in all games with this type of feature. PWI has gotten me closer than anyone else ever has.

There are some oddities. The game is fast-paced, perhaps even to a fault. One look at the speed at which windmills turn in the game is all that needs to be said; hurricane force winds couldn't produce this result. I can only assume they use such high-speed windmills for something very intensive, like grinding up diamonds. Combat is very, very fast, with swordsmen taking two or even three swings per second. Incredible.

Did I mention the game is completely free? To download the game is free. To play it is free. The only time you ever have to spend money on it is if you want to; like, if you check out the boutique and see a dress you like, then you can spend real money on it. Or if there's a special mount you want. Or if you want some unique wings. There are other things too, but that's the gist of it. It's essentially like tipping the devs. You love them? Show it with an in-game purchase. You can't even *do* this until you get a character to level 10. How's that? They won't even let you pay them until you've played the game for a while.

I give this one an 8.5 of 10. More involved quests, a better run animation, and giving the ladies the option to slow less than 80% skin sometimes would make it a perfect 10/10 easy.