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Computer Times
Editors' Choice Game - Facebook Adventure World Review by Angie Kibiloski
Over the last month, I have spent more hours than I care to admit, on Facebook, playing an incredibly addictive game. I just can’t seem to tear myself away for long, going back multiple times per day sometimes. This surprisingly fun game is called Adventure World, by Zynga. Just published on Facebook in August, Adventure World already has over 2 million people who have ‘Liked’ them on their page at http://www.facebook.com/adventureworld. That is quite an achievement! The game is sort of an action puzzle, combined with one of those city building titles that are so prevalent on Facebook. With your adorable avatar, custom built to your preferences, you will explore jungles, mountains, caves, and more in search of treasure, artifacts, and adventure. You’ll complete quests and earn rewards for your base camp. Bring all of your Facebook friends on board too, to be your base camp neighbors and crew members on your quests. You can take joy in the knowledge that you’re not the only one staring at this game for hours each day, while your friends simultaneously love and hate you for getting them hooked.
When you first start playing the game, it begins very simply. Professor Allan, your tutorial guide and only computer provided neighbor, will walk you through the steps of setting up your basic base camp. This is where your supplies, tool shop, excavation sites, and other computer characters will be kept, along with any artifacts or creatures you bring home with you from various quests. Here you will learn that doing things like chopping down grass and bushes will earn you experience points and money. You’ll need experience to level up and money to buy anything from an improved machete or whip, to supplies for quests and additions to your base camp décor. Invite friends to be your neighbors, and after they have accepted, you can visit their base camps to see how they’ve decorated, help them out with chores around camp, and get supplies from their resources, which can be water, fuel, or food. You will get a money and energy bonus for helping your neighbors out at their camps. Neighbors are also a necessity for some building projects or quest objectives. Periodically you’ll need things like wood, nails, or paint to upgrade your tool shop, or crazy items like bat houses, sloth milk, or shaving cream for quests. Ask neighbors for these through an in game request or with a post on your Wall.
Once the good Prof starts sending you on quests, you’ll get to enjoy the bulk of the gaming experience. In each quest you’ll be taken to an adventure map, full of obstacles, unfriendly animals, and treasure. Each quest has its own set of objectives, and you’ll get awarded for each one you finish. Most quests are timed, and you’ll have anywhere from 1 to 3 days to complete them. This can be difficult without friends to become members of your adventuring crew, so it really helps to invite a bunch of people to be your neighbors. Each day you will be allotted an amount of energy, the quantity of which will be determined by your current level ranking. Each action requires a certain amount of energy to perform, whether that action is cutting down a bush, disarming a bomb, collecting a precious artifact, or killing a dangerous snake. Once you run out of energy, you’ll have to come back later to keep playing, once your energy has refilled. Fortunately, it refills at a rate of about a dozen points per hour. This is the very reason why I’m going back several times a day…my energy has refilled and I just can’t wait to finish my adventure. Very smart game designers at Zynga. Your friends who accepted their roles as crew members can be hired once a day during each quest. They will give you additional energy, and in return, you can give them a bonus for helping out. Finish each quest for a big reward. You can even replay quests for higher rewards each time.
Back at base camp, you can do fun stuff that doesn’t require energy at all, like talking to the computer characters there, changing your avatar’s appearance and clothing, and remodeling your base camp itself. If you feel generous, you can give your neighbors free gifts. You can move all of the buildings, plants, and other things in your camp around, and purchase more decorations with your in game currency. As you gain levels, you’ll unlock more decorations to buy. Something else pretty great that you can add to your base camp is a collection of animals you’ll discover while out adventuring. If you treat these animals right, they’ll follow you home and become a permanent fixture of the camp. I currently have the cutest little sloth you could imagine, and soon, a very huggable ewe. One really cool, and fairly new feature is the addition of Indiana Jones to the game. Regularly, you’ll receive letters from Indy, telling you what he thinks of your progress or giving you quests to go on. Perhaps, in future updates, he will even become a larger part of the game. A girl can dream. As I mentioned before, there are so many games on Facebook with the main objective of designing and doing upkeep on a city, farm, fish tank, village, etc, that at first glance Adventure World might look like one of them. But trust me, this game is so much more than making your base camp pretty. I play a lot of games throughout any given month, and it takes a truly enjoyable one to keep me coming back for more…day after day after day, especially on my personal, non-work related time. Adventure World is such a cute title, from the sweet little avatars to the lost animals you can’t help but care about. Even the nasty snakes and spiders are more cute than scary, even though they steal your much needed energy when they bite. Next time you’re on Facebook, please check out Adventure World and be a part of the ever growing community of addicted users. Get started on their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/adventureworld, to get more info and load the game app. Trust me, you’ll have hours upon hours of adventuring fun, and you’ll love me (and maybe hate me a little…in a good way) for telling you to play. Enjoy!
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