Netmarble’s Stone Age World is a simplified MMO that actually encourages gamers to be just a bit lazy through automatic questing, which is perfect for this platform. It also requires gamers to go into some battles with strategies in mind, which makes it more than just a casual experience. This may not be for every gamer out there, especially since it’s on a mobile device, but it is a pleasant MMO that I might return to once this summer calms down.
Full disclosure, I have never played an MMO on my iOS device. I haven’t really wanted to, as I barely want to play MMOs on my consoles or PC these days. In my humble, sometimes uninformed opinion, the genre has become overcomplicated as intricate gameplay design and loads of options have somehow outshined the storytelling element. The story should be the driving point to any MMO game — without question. Connecting with a gamer is the story’s job, and it creates longevity for an MMO. The simple concept of going on adventures that equal out to a greater whole, sometimes with friends, has somehow gotten lost in the shuffle of gameplay design craziness, specifically the standard MMO HUD, which is generally a mess. I don’t need to feel like I’m on a path to a PhD when playing a game, where trying to figure out what the hell I’m looking at onscreen is more of a chore than the actual game itself. I just want to get lost in easy gameplay that seems endless and tells a good story.
Gimme that!
*steps off soapbox, yells at kids on lawn*
Well, Netmarble has gotten close to my perfect concept of an MMO. They are releasing a new MMO to the world on iOS and Android called Stone Age World. The game is based on cute characters living in prehistoric times, trying to wrangle in pets as protectors (yes, gamers get to capture prehistoric animals, it’s quite fun), and where stones, crystals, and animal meat are a form of currency. The driving point of the game is to find a tribe, train some animals to help you fight off evil animals and other cave folks, and to build out a permanent place in prehistoric history through upgrades, treasures, and large amounts of XP. Yes, there is a pay component in the game, but it doesn’t get in the way of the adventure.
Let’s dig right into it.
The gameplay design of SAW (oh, that’s a nice name) is simple. While the onscreen HUD looks overloaded and complicated at times, as any MMO would feature chat, stats, and such, this game keeps you on track with your adventures and does its best to make things accessible and quick. It’s one of the reasons I have spent the majority of my Father’s day playing this game in between working (yes, I work a lot), as the gameplay design was made for filthy casual phone gamers like myself.
The game starts players out with picking a character. During my review period, there was only one option available and it was the older caveman wearing a bearskin on his head. From there, gamers can customize the name and go through some customizable character options. The options weren’t Skyrim deep, but they were deep enough to be a unique feature in the game. At that point, gamers go through a series of tutorials to learn the fighting system, the upgrade system on animals, how to capture an animal, and various quests they can go on to gain XP.
Capturing animals is pretty neat. Much like a simplified version of Pokemon, gamers can go head-to-head with animals and eventually capture them using a rope provided, or gamers can do a quick capture with a more expensive rope option. Once captured, each animal is given a letter rating, with ’S’ so far being the rarest and superior, based on their attributes, and they become a part of the gamer’s pet army. Each animal comes with a set of upgradable attributes, which can be upgraded after they reach level 39 (took me about two days to get there, so it’s not bad). Upgrades will add stars to an animal’s stat sheet, with a total of six stars available to fill up. The leveling of animals, meaning their attributes become more significant, is done through large pieces of meat (three different sizes and costs), which are pretty accessible throughout the entire experience, although you can purchase them with real-world money (I totally wouldn’t) or with money gained in the game.
For me, capturing animals, which are roaming around everywhere, is one of the bright spots of the experience. You can run into some rare animals out in the open, but most of what you get which are powerful is done through quests and adventures provided by the game itself.
Quests and adventures are broken into different tiers: small/quick to large/hefty. The former is what gamers are going to be running through at the beginning. Doofus, my main character, made it to level 39 mostly on small/quick quests. The game makes these very easy to get through, as gamers can turn ‘auto’ adventuring on and basically ping-pong themselves around the game while eating a sandwich. All gamers have to do is touch the quest name in the upper right of the screen, then their main character is whisked off to said adventure without any gamer effort needed. Gamers can break this auto featuring by tapping somewhere on the screen, but why would they want to do that? Mobile devices are made for casual gaming, meaning that gamers can do other things while on their phone. Having an auto feature is actually more fun than I thought it would be and it works great for this platform. Sitting back, eating a sandwich, drinking some water, chatting with the family, while playing a game that is moving forward on its own is a dream come true.
Anyway, the actual quests are simple battles or delivering something to someone or placing meat on the ground to lure animals to capture them. It’s no biggie and the quests are short/sweet, which means fast XP. Again, the majority of my last two days were leveling the hell up quickly through this method.
Quick quests aside, the game features bigger quests and adventures that will certainly require gamers’ time, strategy, and attention. There are several locations that have multi-level floors, like something you would find in a Bruce Lee film, where gamers face competition for rare items, large money pots, and a crazy amount of XP. As gamers go from floor-to-floor, the competition becomes increasingly challenging, as it should, and will have gamers going back to smaller quests to level up before returning. It’s an interesting, yet expected balance that works well for this mobile game.
The cream of the crop big fights are mostly with bosses. Occasionally, gamers will come across big boss fights with overpowered enemies. The actual gameplay design of Stone Age World is designed to give gamers a chance, and gamers will know how much of a chance they have when they get hit for the first time in the turn-based fighting system. The game shifts away from simple button-pushing to strategy, where gamers will have to decide how they approach the battle — which animals cast defense, heal, and/or which animals attack. It’s not straightforward, yet it is well designed and easily performed. Gamers won’t be going as deep as Diablo or Final Fantasy XIV here, but there is some expectation of strategy. That sort of design helps to remind gamers that they’re simply not running through the ‘motions’ like when they were fighting in smaller quests, rather big bosses require a lot of thought, and maybe some time grinding.
On the surface, the above is the main crux of the gameplay. It’s a pleasant gameplay design that certainly makes getting into SAW much easier and without much thought.
Underneath, gamers will find microtransactions, skills trees, intricate ways to upgrade and level up their characters through various (quick v. grind-y) means. There is so much, almost too much to list in this review. You can discover that for yourself, but I can tell you that it doesn’t get in the way of the gameplay. Honestly, when gamers get their animals and characters leveled up to around 50, the game opens up even more. Again, that opening is a firm mix of the first sentence in this paragraph. I certainly didn’t feel squeezed for money playing this game, but it was definitely present. I could see how someone would drop some minor funds to level up quickly, but that’s what you have with free-to-play games, so there is no reason to bitch/moan about it. It is what it is. The developers have to get paid and keep supporting the game. The important part of all of this is that it doesn’t get in the way of the gameplay. It still can be a solid amount of entertainment without dropping an additional dime on the game.
Overall, Netmarble’s Stone Age World is a simplified MMO that actually encourages gamers to be just a bit lazy through automatic questing, which is perfect for this platform. It also requires gamers to go into some battles with strategies in mind, which makes it more than just a casual experience. This may not be for every gamer out there, especially since it’s on a mobile device, but it is a pleasant MMO that I might return to once this summer calms down.
