Not a Heroic action installing a toolbar with MMORPG

As a mini goal I’ve been trying to download and view at least one new and/or different MMO or MMORPG every week. Recently, I’ve looked at D&D Stormreach, Kaneva, Lord of the Rings and Eve Online. With a huge list of different MMORPG out there, it should be awhile before I run out of games to look over. A couple weeks ago I looked at Hero Online and have tried to get back into it a couple times. Unfortunately for Netgame, Hero Online’s creator, it’s not grabbing me yet.

The Hero online MMORPG is free, but comes with a toolbar you don’t need (uninstall advised). Any game that auto installs a toolbar makes me instantly suspicious, even if it’s the greatest MMORPG on the planet (virtual or otherwise). The fact that I could remove the toolbar and continue to play the game doesn’t speak highly for the company behind the game. If you are some company out there thinking of rolling out your own MMORPG do not include a toolbar as part of the installation package. Fine, include one separate, but not as part of it.

As for Hero Online once you get past the download/install scenario? It has a martial arts motiff and reminded me vaguely of an old RPG game called Boshido. Unfortunately, inside Hero Online I didn’t find much training, help and/or instruction once I created my character and this so far has left me frustrated. There are advantages to making a virtual world be mysterious and giving too much away, but there needs to be an option for new players to ease into the game. The graphics were also lower quality and inferior to numerous other competing MMORPG hence only a single photo below. I like to capture what I think are cool parts of games but haven’t found enough cool parts of Hero online to share yet.

Or perhaps I’m bitter for getting p0wned by a level 2 wolf pup (see above).

There is inworld currency called nCash that converts at $5 to 5,000 nCash. PayPal is accepted. Netgame has at least one more ‘free’ MMORPG called War Rock (military MMORPG) that I also downloaded and which included the default installation of a similar toolbar. I’ll cover that review another day, if at all.

I haven’t uninstalled Hero yet, but might as well have. Fun factor for me in this game was almost nil. Any VTOR readers or fellow authors ever try this one out? What am I missing?