The other night I saw a TV commercial for Maplestory. The red Japanese Maple leaf logo design looked clean and sharp. So the next time I got a press release from Nexon about the Beta test for their upcoming card game, I thought it was about time to try it out.

The game is far from new, and was released in the US in May of 2005. It is a free-of-charge, 2D, side-scrolling massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by the South Korean company Wizet. They claim to have a subscribership in the range of 80 million. After playing it though the question on the table is: Why? How on earth can a game of this sort be so popular?

Years ago one question that you would see everyplace online was “Where can I play an MMORPG for free?” At that time there were few alternatives. But as more and more free games of better quality and and updated graphics are released every day, the appeal of something as outdated as Maplestory surely must be waning, or is it?

To play Maplestory you’ll download the full game client and play in either a full screen or windowed mode. That’s parallel with 3D MMORPGS. As far as ease of use and installation goes they are all about the same. There’s no advantage in putting a 2D game vs a 3D game on your computer.

One major difference is the controversy and graft that occurs with Maplestory. The basic game can be played for an unlimited time for free. Real money is used to pay for special items, and clothing. Therein lies one of Maplestory’s biggest problems. The number of gold farmers and other low-life’s is rampant.

With the out of date graphics and the kiddie oriented cutsey art style you might wonder why criminals would bother with it. Unfortunately where ever there is money to be made, there will be crooks to steal it. Predators of every sort are allegedly rampant in Maplestory. Although it looks like a game for children it is estimated that many of the players are indeed adults. Although there have been reports of kids stealing parents credit cards to buy game gold as well.

Game play is horrible.The interface is frustrating, “missions” are nothing more than tedious exercises. Jumping and other facets of the game-play are flawed. The level design is bad. The difficulty with movement of the avatars combined with the poorly made terrain makes it difficult to get around in game, giving the impression that the easily built levels were slapped together and never tested.

The game really looks like a rip off of Mario Brothers. The kill system does not share out experience points and loot if someone comes along and kills a monster that you are fighting. Higher level players romp through starter areas stealing kills and loot. The player population is reputedly the rudest and meanest out there. Numerous complaints about Maplestory fill a multitude of forums and portals associated with the game.

Maplestory has spawned many knock – offs of their formula. None of them has improved gameplay or the user experience. There is no main quest in Maplestory. Don’t expect an interesting narrative, or for this to be an introduction to MMORPGS because Maplestory isn’t representative of today’s Free to Play games.

One of the best features of massive, 3D worlds is the roaming and exploration. A good MMORPG will transport you to a new fantasy world and immerse your senses like a great book or a decent movie. Maplestory is like the original Mario Brothers on the NES which is almost 25 years old. Combat in Maplestory is oversimplified and all there is to do is to hit the same button over and over. There’s no strategy. Frankly it is quite boring. For the same investment of time and effort you are better off with a real 3D MMORPG where you have a great looking avatar to show for your pains.

All in all there is no logical reason to play this game. My feeling is that the subscribership success is exaggerated. Formerly deep pockets, and a waning subscribership have led to those TV commercials, rather than true popularity. The inflated population statistics may consist of newbs who have recently come in and then are duped into buying game gold. Then they tire of the game. My guess is that many of those accounts are dead or held by gold sellers. Accounts are regularly shut down for suspicion of fraud. If a legitimate gamer sells an item to someone who pays for it with ill gotten gold that is also a TOS violation and will get you banned. You need a password as well as a pin number to get into the game and that should tell you something right there.

If you have played Maplestory and had a bad experience, don’t let it sour you for playing other free to play games. One shining example is Dungeons and Dragons Online Ebberon Unlimited which is going gold in a couple weeks. If you are late to the MMORPG party due to lack of funds, or no credit card, it’s time to try one of the free games from reputable publishers.

The passe’ graphics, the uninspired level design and the rude, creepy people playing it are plenty of reasons not to go there. So don’t. The story with Maplestory is that it’s just smoke and mirrors or a front for nefarious financial activities. I give Maplestory a 0, Unplayable, with a strong warning not to attempt to play this game, because it will most likely put your computer and your information at risk.