ROSE (Rush On Seven Episode) Online is a MMOG that takes players to an anime-inspired world where the player traverses the land in search of adventure. The twist of this game is that creatures like jellybean people and smiling caterpillars inhabit the lands, making for a very cute game environment in comparison to many other titles on the market. Additionally, there is no blood, death animations, or anything else that might be dubbed exceptionally violent. This puts ROSE on that area of family-oriented entertainment, where younger children might enjoy it alongside adults.

Veterans of more teen to adult-themed MMO's might find some pleasure in playing ROSE, whether it's for the straightforward gameplay, the bright and cheery graphics (even the Forest of the Dead isn't as oppressive as it sounds), the cartoon creatures, or just a sort of guilty pleasure. The controls are easy enough that they can be understood by casual players, and there is enough content to keep people looking for long-term gameplay occupied. It should be said that ROSE uses a classic control scheme, where the player puts a combination of up to ten commands, moves, or items onto a tool bar - each assigned to an "F" key. In this control scheme, all the player has to do is click on a foe to attack it, and the avatar will repeatedly slash or shoot at it until the player intervenes with the occasional special move or health boost. In some cases, the player can literally get up and go do something else while the avatar is fighting as long as the defenses are high enough and return just long enough to regain health. Balance can be found in the fact that most confrontations are generally pretty quick and don't make for a lot of down time. Movement works by clicking on the target point, however the avatar has a frequent tendency to get stuck on objects like rocks, trees, and walls. It does not have the capability to negotiate a better way to get to the desired location.

However, while the basic gameplay is easy to pick up, other nuances can be a little tricky, especially for more casual players. This is in part due to the lackluster help system. For example, when leveling up a character, the player has to open up the character menu and allot points to specific areas. But the names of each category are shortened, so you're not quite sure what you're investing in or what it does. Cases like "Str" and "Dex" are obviously strength and dexterity, the backbone stats of any role-playing game. However, there is no category for constitution (the category "con" is actually short for concentration), so it was unclear on how to raise actual hit points or defenses. Once points are allocated, they cannot be removed, and there is only one chance in the game for total point reallocation. Tips will flash across the top of the screen at regular intervals, and they actually address each statistic and what they do, but bringing up the help menu just brings up a blank screen. There is no way to look up a specific tip in order to make an informed decision.

One of the great things about ROSE is that it delivers some pretty decent graphics without being a very tech heavy game. Although the game does not exceed 1024x780 resolution, the graphics are still crisp. They do no compare to many other games, but many other games don't offer a free download and a low subscription cost either. There is a very significant amount of gameplay here, such as accumulating parts to put together a big robot, a go-kart, or a flying vessel. There are go-kart races available so that you can compete your finely tuned machine against others.

Adventuring is pretty straightforward. ROSE does nothing to address the level grind that many other games try to overcome. You go on quests for money and experience points, both of which are necessary to use that special armor, sword, spell, etc. The game doesn't truly begin until level 10 (all levels before it are tutorial), where you get a chance to select your first profession. The player may select up to two professions, which will lock the character into a specific type of gameplay - melee, ranged, magic, or crafting. Luckily, those levels are attained fairly quickly, but the player gains their first strain from the level grind here, as they try to race toward a class-capable level.

ROSE also lets players plant their characters down into little trading shops for other players to interact with. Basically, in this mode, the player leaves avatar inside the game world and goes out to watch a movie or something, because the avatar cannot be used for anything else while the trading post is in use. Additionally, a large banner is displayed for sellers to advertise themselves. This by itself isn't so bad, except when you walk into the market district of the game. Then there are so many banners that you can hardly see anything else. If only there was a way to turn off the banners unless you highlighted a specific trading post. This method makes quest-based NPC's harder to find than they already are. The minimap cannot be enlarged so that more area can be seen and there is no waypoint system. Therefore, players are relegated to pretty trying to blindly explore, or running the pointer over the minimap's tiny icons until they get lucky.

The world of ROSE Online are nicely detailed and very colorful. Its different lands are varied, with unique decorations and creatures, ranging from karate jelly beans to killer teddy bears. However, with hit animations aside, the game is generally pretty tame. Defeated creatures fall down and disappear right away. They also respawn so quickly an in such great numbers that camping is never an issue. Overall, this is a game that has a lot going for it, and provides a significant amount of entertainment despite some technical issues. So, even if it's just out of curiosity, check out ROSE Online and see what it's all about!

Our Final ScoreMediocre

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