During the Free Realms beta, I had some pretty bad performance problems that at the time I thought probably were the result of server load and restricted bandwidth. So at the end of the beta I decided to see if the problem had been fixed and created a new character. Initially I didn’t see much improvement, but I didn’t want to give up without a fight. So I decided to see if updating my video drivers would do the trick. Yup, that was the problem! Once I’d upgraded the drivers for my cheapy Nvidia GeForce 7300LE, it was smooth sailing in Free Realms.
Now I can see what all of the fuss and hype was all about with the distraction of hurky jerky performance. While I find some of the character designs, trolls I’m lookin at you, creepy, on the whole Free Realms is a beautiful virtual world. And as an MMO enthusiast, I must say that I like being able to just explore the world without either a random battle, or unwanted MOB aggro. I can travel the world and explore in safety.
To me, Free Realms is what Wordscraper on Facebook is to my wife. I can jump in and experience some pretty laid back fun at my own pace. So I’m looking forward to seeing more of what it has to offer.