Free Realms: Pirates and Dragons

The continued success of Sony’s massively multiplayer online RPG (MMORPG) Free Realms is linked to providing their youthful audience with a regular supply of new content. So far, the site hasn’t disappointed and those who can pay a bit extra are now enjoying access to new pets and companions. Dragons which let you move faster are probably the pick of the bunch but you can have a horse or a pegasus if you prefer.

Subscribers have their own new add-on in the form of Pirate’s Plunder, a minigame that puts players into battle against other players. It’s nothing fancy but there’s a surprising amount of fun in collecting treasure, sinking your opponents’ ships and trying to get back to harbour before time runs out.

Players without a subscription can’t get into Pirate’s Plunder but the dragons are available with ‘pay-as-you-go’ Station Cash. The subscription pestering for free players is fairly intense, though that has to be expected. Free Realms remains the pick of the current crop of MMORPGs for younger kids for now. It’d just be good if Sony was in a little bit less of a hurry to recover the development costs.