But there are different face types, skin tones, facial hair, outfits, face paint and hairstyles to pick from. Once done you get a handful of customisation options – Sony has deliberately held back on some of these in this early part of the game in order to encourage players to continue customising once they’re in the game.
You have the option to choose between humans and pixies, male and female (there are no statistical differences, the choice is purely aesthetic). Once you’ve signed up for an account on the Free Realms website you get to create your character. The idea is that it’s easy to play with few, if any, barriers to entry. It’s low fantasy, light-hearted, family friendly fun. The game looks like a cartoon, the art style seems influenced by the Shrek movies, and the gameplay is RuneScape-esque. If World of Warcraft is the father of the MMO, Free Realms is the junior, a gateway for 10 to 14 year-olds to get into the genre.
It’s a free to play fantasy MMO that publisher Sony hopes will prove a hit among younger gamers when it’s released at the beginning of April. Almost everything you need to know about Free Realms is in the title.
