If you've ever played a Massively Multiplayer Online Game, you know you're traditionally limited to desktops and laptops when you want to play. You need a constant, active connection to central servers where other players are actively questing, killing monsters, leveling, customizing their characters, and grouping with one another. Mobile devices have largely been left out of the genre, at least until Pocket Legends, an MMO available for the iPhone and other iOS devices as well as Android mobile devices, appeared.
Pocket Legends is a role-playing game that will look familiar to anyone who's ever played a game like World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy Online. The game puts your player in the world of Alterra, and allows you to select one of three races and classes to group with friends and save the world. The game is completely free to download and play, but if you'd like extra character customization options, emotes, and special in-game items you can buy them from the in-game store for real money.
Pocket Legends is free to download and play. Spacetime Studios, the development team behind the game, uses micro-transactions to make money from the game. This means that while the core functions of the game are all free, if you want some of the best armor for your character, or more character emotes (like the ability to dance, for example,) or more customization options for the items you have or your character's appearance, you'll have to pay for them by buying "platinum," which is the currency you'll use in the game's built-in store.
When you play the game, you select one of three race/class combinations: the bruising, Ursan warriors, the agile Avian archers, or the mystical Elven enchantresses. The one you select defines your starting area and the people you meet at the beginning of the game. Regardless of where you start, you get the thrust of the story pretty quickly: the races of Alterra are all aligned and live in peace, at least until a mysterious attack on the Elf Queen. All capable warriors (that's you) from all three races are summoned to help push back the invaders, but in the process you uncover that there are even more sinister things afoot.
The game itself is fun and easy to play, even in touch-screens, and your character can be controlled either by tapping in a spot on the screen you'd like them to move, or by using the touch-joystick in the lower left corner of your screen. Since the app works in any version of Android and on all iOS devices, you have the option to play the game on a small screen like your Android phone or your iPod Touch, or on a larger screen like the iPad. All of your in-game data lives on the game servers, so you can log in and play your character from multiple devices.
As you progress in the game, you earn experience and gold, pick up items, and your character grows and earns attribute points that you can spend on their strength, dexterity, and intelligence. You'll need to spend carefully, as certain items have requirements for your character's level and/or number of attribute points.
Accessing your inventory and character sheet are a tap away, and while some of the controls and features were difficult at first to learn to use, once you get the hang of it you'll find the game fun to play and easy to learn. The game provides a tutorial at the beginning and on-screen tips as you progress through the game.
If you're looking for a great 3D game for iOS and Android, Pocket Legends is fun to play and runs smoothly on just about every device. We tried it on an original Motorola Droid, a Droid X, and an iPhone 4 and the game performed well on all three platforms. The fact that it's free to play makes it a must-download for MMO fans and RPG fans looking for a way to take their favorite type of game with them wherever they go.