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World Review: Larkinor
Main
Review
Compatible with Operating Systems:
     World Status: Operational
Larkinor is a strange place, almost a chameleon. It is a web-based browser game, same as a thousand others. Only difference is, it is doing its level best to immitate something decidedly more than a game ? it is trying to be a MUD. Larkinor offers a unique take on the concept of MUDding, for it is not real-time. Instead, it is turn-based, using a series of ?clicks? given out on a daily basis. Each of these clicks corresponds to one mouse click ? and everything is mouse driven. Moving from room to room requires a mouse click on an exit arrow, engaging an enemy in combat requires a mouse click. Casting a spell or swinging a weapon requires another. You are given 800 clicks a day, which equates to about a half-hour of playing, which is certainly a good way to encourage dependency without creating obsessive playing. Turn-based has some surprising advantages to a MUD. When attacking an enemy, there is no rogue timer to worry about. Your enemy will sit there, and sit there, waiting for your next mouse click, even if that comes three hours later ? log off, log back on, and it is still sitting there, waiting. Conversely, Larkinor is not a collaborative environment ? the actions of one player have almost no effect on the actions of others. Although everyone shares the same world, and there are no shards, there is no way to talk to other players except via the forum. All you can do, is steam and rob. Attempt to steam from a player passing by, attempt to rob their house ? and deal with whichever traps that house has in place, and steal a balloon from them. There is only one balloon in the world, and its position is constantly tracked. Whoever manages to take it, and hold on to it for 10 clicks or more, wins rewards. However, since information does not update until you click again ? you can never really be sure if you have the balloon or not. Larkinor is a tiny world with less than 500 locations. However, it makes up for this, with the quests it runs. They are simple, and possibly a little silly, but all involve specially designed areas created only for that quest ? and there are thousands of them. The simplicity of design of the environment allows for new areas to be produced very quickly, and so there is a multitude ? each with specific creatures, items and puzzles for the players to deal with. 
Sub Reviews
For some, its the thrill of discovery, the freedom to strike out, to pioneer. Whether its mapping new lands, or exploring unknown fields of endeavour, to be first, to boldly go, this is what explorers live for. Larkinor is a small world, with less than 500 rooms in total, for the normal island. However, it does have countless mini-quests, each with their own separate areas, and these can be as large, or larger than the main play area, possibly ramping the size up to a few tes of thousands of locations.
With thousands of quests, and hundreds of monsters, levels streaming off without end. You have the standard experience mill, and you have skills, each one of which has its own experience treadmill, which you gain on by using them. Likewise, all the spells have individual levels, and the elements have an experience treadmill of their own - Earth, water, wind, fire, each can be pumped up with enough funds, and requitres real work to increase.
Client OS:Win 2K, Win 98, Win 2K, Win 2K
World Purpose:
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