Review: Browser Game Sherwood Dungeon. Characters, NPCs and game basics.

Game Basics

Sherwood Dungeon is a very basic MMORPG that is easy to learn and can be played from within your browser as long as you have the latest Shockwave plug-in. The goal of this game is to get as far in the dungeon as possible and at this time there is no known end level to the dungeon itself. Players start outside the castle area where then can fight beginner creatures for experience points before taking quests and moving into the dungeon.

Your Sherwood Character (2 out of 5)

Character customization in this game is very basic and you won’t find many options to choose from. There are a total of six basic characters to chose from including knights and a skeleton. You can change your character anytime you want and select a team color that you can use for PVP areas. There are no options to choose from such as skills or attributes, you are left with a very basic carbon copy character which is one of the weak areas of this MMORPG. You can move you character around with the arrow keys, attack with ctrl, and do a block with a combination of ctrl, and shift. As you gain levels a few new combat moves become available to you, like kicks. This sort of customization is great if you just want to begin playing but you will be very disappointed if you like deep MMORPG customization options. You can equip your character with weapons, shields, and armor as long as you are at the level to use it. There are rings that provide bonuses and some healing potions you can use as well.

NPCs and Game World (1 out of 5)

Once you create your character you will begin the game outside the castle area in a forest and almost immediately be attacked by the NPCs there. This can be quite frustrating as a new player because you are not used to the controls yet. You will receive a few items from these NPCs and some experience. The world around you looks quite nice for a browser game but it doesn’t have much variety to it and it becomes dull rather quickly. There are no areas to explore besides the forest, castle, dungeon, and a few PVP areas in the game.

The castle is the next area you will go to where you will find some NPC characters you can talk to. The castle guard will tell you about the game and controls. You will find maid Marian who will dispense quests to you and a NPC trader where you can buy good and sell your loot to. There are the only NPCs you will encounter in the game. At higher levels you will enter other areas such as Frostbite Island but will find the same two basic NPCs just with different names and outfits.

The Dungeon (1 out of 5)

To get to the dungeon you can enter by yourself or take a quest from the maid Marian NPC. You will also see various portals around the castle that will take you to different higher level islands. You can enter these at any level so you should make sure you have the skills before entering the area. The quests given by maid Marian are very basic and after killing a few creatures you will get a reward upon returning to her.

The dungeon is lifeless and very boring to play through. As I went through the first five levels, I saw nothing new just the same blocky walls, corridors, and darkness. The first five levels were carbon copies of each other for the most part. The game feels like a very bad console game, with just endless enemies to entertain you as you progress through this monotonous, extremely boring dungeon.

Combat (2 out of 5)

Combat in this game is not much better than the world around you. The first areas you enter are very dark with basic hallways and rooms filled with the same types of creatures. As you progress further down the scenery doesn’t really change and the creatures just take on new names, different sizes, and colors which make them all bland cutouts of each other. You will find chests in the dungeon and can take one item out of it such as a weapon, healing potion, or a scroll. If you can collect enough scrolls you can form them into a better weapon you can use. There are a few islands you can enter at higher levels which actually look quite nice but these areas provide the same basic types of creatures that are just stronger. The combat NPCs lack variety and make for very lackluster game play. After four or five levels I was getting sick of spiders, and knights of various colors.

The Islands (2 out of 5)

The islands are more colorful than the dungeon but the graphics are very blocky. The islands are also very small and suffer the same boring game play. You will find some dragons to slay, but the NPCs are all basically the same. The islands do offer the game a bit of variety but they still suffer from the same problems as the rest of the game and are very small to play in.

A Stripped Down RPG Game

Despite the negatives about this game it does have a few points in its favor. The first is that it is very easy to play and create a character. Since it is browser based you don’t need to download gigabytes of game data like other games or pay monthy service charges. Combat is straight forward with just a couple of moves and there are plenty of NPCs for you to battle in the dungeon areas. You can also use pets but you can only gain access by purchasing them with real life cash.

You don’t need to worry about skills or what class you want to play or how your character will stack up against other classes, you can just log into the game and begin playing. You won’t find any crafting or need to hunt for that missing piece to create an item that can cause frustration in other RPG games. Games like World of Warcraft and Runescape can take hours out of your life while Sherwood Dungeon will only take a few minutes and you can play it in your browser.

Game Tips

• Stay outside the castle and battle creatures for a while when you are new before going into the dungeon you will loot some items you can use as a new player and gold to purchase a new weapon from the NPC.
• Maid Marian gives quests outside the dungeon entrance but you can enter it without talking to her.
• Be sure to check all the chest in the dungeon level for items, ones that have goods are clickable.
• Use the blocking move when fighting to limit hits on your character.
• Don’t forget to use the special moves that your avatar can gain. Talk to the castle guard to see what moves are available once you reach the required level.
• If the game won’t play check your Shockwave Player and make sure you have the latest version.

Conclusion

Sherwood Dungeon is a very basic MMORPG with repetitive game play and lack of exciting features. The game is very easy and doesn’t take time out of your life like other deep RPG games. I wish the game had more to offer but the features are just not there. The dungeon is too simple and there is not enough content to keep the average game player interested for very long in Sherwood Dungeon. The game is in 3D and that is rare for a browser game but its poorly implemented. If you have a Facebook account the game is playable there or you can play through the website.