Wizard101
"Wizard101" is a game where you battle other wizards with spells and summon creatures on cards. It's like a mix of Harry Potter and Yu-Gi-Oh!
Free players can only play in Wizard City, so to experience the best parts of the game you're going to have to subscribe.
With tons of strategy, lots of magic, player housing, duels, and more, however, it's well-worth the price if you like Harry Potter and other wizard-related things.
SCROLL DOWN TO THE COMMENTS BELOW AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF THIS GAME!
- Pro: Plenty of quests that provide direction
- Pro: Simple yet strategic game play. Customizable decks
- Pro: Great map, compass, and interface
- Pro: Great environment and graphics
- Pro: Fast paced combat
- Genre: Action, Girls, Minigames, Virtual World, MMORPG, Fantasy, 3D, Pets, Fighting
- Area: North America
- Official Site: Wizard101
- Publisher: KingsIsle Entertainment
- Developer: KingsIsle Entertainment
- Platform: Microsoft Windows
Screenshots
Review
Wizard101 was free to play during its Open Beta but is now a mainly subscription based game. Players can experience the game and explore the starting areas of Wizard City for free but must pay a monthly fee to experience the bulk of the game.
Wizard101 is one of the most unique and refreshing MMORPGs to come out in a long time. Much of Wizard101's theme is taken from the popular Harry Potter franchise. Like in the popular novels, players play as child Wizard who are students at the Wizard School. But all is not as it seems, mysterious forces are at work that are plotting to destroy Wizard City and it logically falls on the new student (you) to save the day. The graphic style in Wizard101 is cartoony but in a western sense rather than anime inspired. For such a casual game and childish game, Wizard101 has very impressive graphics. Even character creation is handled well. There are sevel different schools of Magic: Fire, Ice, Storm, Myth, Life, Death, and Balance. Players can specialize in one of these. Players can then customize their character's hair, face, hat, robe, and boots.
What sets Wizard101 apart from other fantasy MMORPGs is not its graphics but its combat. Combat is handled in a turn based fashion on circular dueling areas located in many locations around the game world. Whenever players come in contact with NPC monsters or challenge other players to duels, the action will be take place on these areas. Players take turns using spell cards against each other. There are many dozen different cards in Wizard101 and all players can mix and match cards from all schools of magic. I've never been a fan of card game based video games, but Wizard101 is my first exception. The combat is fluid enough to overcome the inherent slowness of card games while still maintaining the strategic aspect. Since everyone has access to the same pool of cards, duels are determined by who put together the best deck, not by who grinded the most.
Questing is another major aspect of Wizard101. There are plenty of quests to do and they do a good job of providing players direction. Never in this game will someone log in, have nothing to do and be forced to go grind. Quests lead players slowly into new areas as they level and also provide some game lore. Wizard101 is obviously aimed at a young audience so the background story isn't awe inspiring, but its still nice to have. Like in any MMORPG, there are a fair share of walking quests. NPCs will order you to walk around talking to other NPCs, back and forth, for no reason. Not one but two early game quests ask you to talk to all 7 magic school trainers who are located in a circular area in town.
I've praised Wizard101 so far but it has several flaws worth mentioning. The first and largest being the inability to chat with other players by default. In order to activation 'dictionary chat', players must go to the home page, log in, and edit your account options. By default Wizard101 only allows a hand full of stock messages such as 'lets go fight!' Another problem is the repetitive spell effects. New players are limited to a small selection of cards which means players will be forced to see the same spell animations hundreds of times. Players will find them selves in battle by accident if they stray too close to an NPC or a fight that's already in progress. Choosing the 'flee' option during a fight doesn't just take players out of a fight, it teleports them all the way back to town. As of July 2008, Wizard101 is still in beta and hopefully some of these flaws will be fixed before the final release. I've had a hard time categorizing Wizard101 and the best I can come up with is 'Magic the Gathering meats Harry Potter.' If you're a fan of casual fantasy MMORPGs, of Harry Potter, or of card game styled games, Wizard101 is the game for you.
Review Mister 101
November 4, 2009
Review
this game makes runescape look good....
bezerker, on October 22nd 2009 02:56 pm
I never get tired of playing this game. It is so much fun ... for all ages. You can be a casual gamer (Unicorn Way) or hard core (Kensington area). Playing or not playing Kensington will not effect your stats or advancement in the game. Wizard101 is ever changing and the KingsIsle staff seem to listen to the opinions of what the wizards (players) want. Just recently, a Seamstress feature was introduced. For a very inexpensive amount (which can be won during play) a wizard can have the stats of a hat "stitched" into the hat that he/she really likes to wear (or robe or boots). Not only does this provide individuality but those highers stats are necessary as you gain more power and then entrance into new realms. This is a game that entire families play (parents and children and Aunts and Uncles and Grandparents). Some wizards say that when the family gets together for Sunday dinner, they have massive strategy pow wows for going in, as a group, to do an area. I can just imagine how much fun it would be to listen to these wizards talk. "Fire is the best school". "Did you see the new Myth spell?" "Hey, did you hear about the secret shop where you can get spells for your minions?" There are Grandmothers who live in one state playing the game with grandchildren in another state. It doesn't cost them anything to chat. There is a humor in the quests and in some of the NPCs (the ninja pigs are very funny). The worst thing that can happen to a wizard is probably one of the Gobblers passing gas on you or Humongous Frog vomiting fish and trash from the Wizard101 waterways on you. No scantily clad female wizards. There is a monitoring system that is truly used. I have seen just how fast some kid (wizards don't do mean things, so I will say "kid") is booted from the game. As a disabled gamer, I have found that this is a game that I can solo in, join a group, or simply ask for help on one of the fan sites. There are a lot of games that become to difficult for me to do ... merging this with that and tapping the arrow key 2x for this action and then I forget and have tapped myself out of the area. I don't get lost anymore now that Wizard101 has the directional arrows. Wizard101 has even recently participated in an interview shown on a gaming site for gamers with disabilities of any kind (physical or cognitive). I hope you give the game a try. You can have up to 5 wizards. Trying each of the schools is a good way to keep the game fresh and to find what kind of wizard you like the most. I consider myself a "back up wizard" ... a support wizard. By having Balance as my second school, I stack my deck with spells that help wizards from any school during a battle. Some wizards enjoy being Life Wizards because they have the ability to heal. See you around the Spiral.
Victrolla, on October 21st 2009 07:37 pm
How can I transform? Other players even NOVICES have done it!
Pokey Mon Fanzo, on October 21st 2009 08:15 am
This game is great, for all the people complaining about this game, this is easily one of the better designed mmos out there! It doesnt have 5 million players for no reason! GREAT GAME, GREAT GAMEPLAY, GREAT EVERYTHING! Cant wait for the mount patch!
Autumn Dreamwalker, on October 1st 2009 10:52 pm
After 3 days of playing I ran out of things to do. The game was great right up until then. Be aware that if you are looking for a free game, this will keep you entertained, but not for long
Dave, on September 11th 2009 07:41 pm
looks decent
Anonymous, on May 5th 2009 09:55 am
use to crash on me during battles:/ and very buggy.
hayley, on May 3rd 2009 08:06 pm
i love this game so much
joel, on May 1st 2009 09:40 pm
i wounder if this game is like asome i see it on t.v do ya see that
kelly, on May 1st 2009 09:32 pm
i think this place is awesome
kelly, on April 27th 2009 01:31 am
this is the best game
Anonymous, on April 27th 2009 12:28 am
hey it seems realy fun on here so i wonder wants its all bout
lexy-p00, on April 24th 2009 12:03 am
What happened to the real wizard101? The one that takes up the full screen.
Eric, on April 19th 2009 12:09 am
this game is awsome.
natausha, on April 18th 2009 09:24 pm
really gooooooooooooooood!!!!!!!!!
ckfk, on April 16th 2009 11:01 pm
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I play Wizard101 and it's awesome! I'd reccomend it to everybody! ~Fiona MoonWalker
Fiona MoonWalker, on November 1st 2009 12:44 pm