Atlantica Online is something like what would happen if Final Fantasy 6 got dragged through a Hong Kong cinema before being dipped in 3d sauce and stuffed full of multiplayer. In this world, all the legends of myth have come to life, and you get the supreme honour of beating them back into the collective unconscious. You can also do the same to other players, with PVP guild wars and tournaments being a strong part of the world.

Every player forms his own party, made of his own character and a selection of mercenary warriors who fight with you. All of these folks level up in their own ways, gain special powers, and otherwise beg for fiddling and theorycrafting. You can join other players in mega-parties, and there are good reasons to do so and no downsides. Parties can join up from across the game world, letting everyone share in the gentle streams of incoming XP without care or concern. Characters themselves are defined by the weapon they wield, from the ordinary sword and axe, to the more exotic gun and war cannon. Why yes, one of the classes does his business by inserting the angry end of a cannon into bad guys and making them rain down in little chunks as victory music plays.

The big deal here is that combat is turn based, just like in your old school games. When you aggro a monster, everyone lines up in a field and takes their swings, one at a time. Characters have combo attacks and special buffs and debuffs, so using the right characters at the right time in the right way is a big deal. Fights are also lethal. Not hard, in the conventional sense, but after the newbie areas if you aren’t using those abilities you aren’t going to walk away with all your vital organs in their proper places. Also, when the game tells you an upcoming fight is tough, you can be sure it means just what it said and more. Some of the bosses in the game keep score, and will tell you how many players have died against them recently.

There are guilds, there are towns, there are towns taken over and controlled by guilds. You also have access to the crafting and marketplaces common to MMORPGs these days.

Atlantica Online is free to play, the game supported by a cash shop that sells various convenient goodies like a mount, teleport items, and other things to make life easier. Word on the street says the game is pretty good, and getting better as more people sign up. If you’ve got the hard drive space (it wants about 10 gigs, go figure), then give this free ride a try. Check it out at atlantica.ndoorsgames.com.