Evony
Evony… probably one of the most advertised free online games out there, honestly. I play this one as Lord Wolfemann on Server 7, at the moment, and figured it was about time to write up my thoughts on it, since I’ve been in the game for a couple months now.
First off, let’s get the most obvious rough point out of the way. Evony currently has one of the most misleading ad campaigns you could ever ask for, I’m sorry to say. Constant web ads imply a romantic medieval setting, with some semblance of plot, romance, and intrigue… and none of that is currently in the game. There may be intention to add it to Age 2, and I sincerely hope that’s the case, but Age 1 is much more like a game of Civilization than Defender of the Crown.
That said… it *is* a fair amount like a game of Civilization. You start out with several ‘quests’ that step you through how to play the game, serving as a very comprehensive tutorial. You build structures, research technologies, recruit heroes to enhance your abilities, and train troops to send out so you can conquer valleys to enhance your resource production and conquer cities. As you go along, you collect medals for your conquests and use those to help build up your rank, and reward your heroes for their service. Through all of this, you build up your prestige and ranking within the game.
From the perspective of the 330th-ranked (roughly) player on Server 7, the early stages of Evony are the most fun. You’ve got a clear idea of what you’re supposed to be doing, and you’ve always got something you’re supposed to be doing. As you go along, technologies become more powerful, units take longer to build, and some of the buildings literally require days or weeks to finish processing. However, you still have good reason to check in every day – the game grants a free spin on the Wheel of Fortune (also referred to as the Resource Wheel) every day, as long as you check in to collect the amulet you receive from the Daily Gift quest. Since the prizes can be worth a small fortune in game coins, it’s well worth checking in.
And that brings us to the economics of the game. You can play Evony without ever putting a penny into the game – when they say “free forever,” they seem to mean it. However, if you want, you can plop down your cash to purchase Game Coins that can be used to purchase in-game items that will do anything from improving your production to moving your cities to allowing you to fully upgrade buildings to Level 10. But you don’t need to spend anything in order to make it up to Level 10 – you get one free item to let you upgrade from quests, and they show up on the Resource Wheel periodically too.
However, if you do decide to invest in the game, you’ll find that you have several options. There’s the quick one – shell out $30, and you get 300 in-game cents (typically along with a bonus package that’s worth about 500 cents and includes many of the high-demand items right there). And there’s the Evony Rewards program, that lets you invest a smaller amount (between $10 and $200) in the game and subscribe to receive in-game funds gradually for the next four months or so, which ultimately works out to a much higher investment (about 4-5 times the amount you get for a straight purchase, spread out over 15 weeks.)
As the fact that I’ve been involved in the game for several months now proves, Evony definitely has a good amount of staying power. If there’s one real problem with it, it’s that after a certain period of time the game runs out of things to do besides attempting to conquer your neighbors, or defending yourself against the neighbors trying to conquer you. If they work in the plot elements their ads promise, Evony’s going to find itself with some serious potential for long-term gameplay and an even larger community than it has. It’ll also help the game retain players, since it’ll give the “old folks” more to do than pick on smaller alliances and players, which often ends up driving good players either off of servers or out of the game entirely.
All in all, I have to give Evony a positive verdict – check it out, and drop me a line if you end up playing on Server 7. I’ll be glad to show you the ropes – or at least introduce you to folks who can.
