How old can a computer game be? Wizardry is such a game of long history. It started in 1980, and is popular for its Dungeons and Dragons type of gameplay. Originally this game was for Apple computer, over 50 sequels and spinoffs have showed up on almost every game system. So what brings Wizardry to the MMO world?

Wizardry Online is incredibly difficult with bunches of complex mazes, unrelenting mobs and traps around every turn, and the permanent death mode quite increase the challenge.

Developer Gamepot's latest online venture doesn't sport the refinement of World of Warcraft, the large community of Guild Wars, or the political intrigue of EVE Online. In fact, you may find that this game is featured with the style of older games back in the 1990s, not only the hardcore gameplay, but also the art style and music.

On creating your character, Wizardry Online allows you to roll to get bonus points add to your stats. Rolling result is random. You can reroll several times to get better stat. Once you’re happy with your bonus points, you can spend them on any stat that you want. But the stat is not fixed after your character is created. When you level up, it changes. So what’s the meaning of this bonus rolling?

Wizardry Online has four classes, Fighter, Thief, Priest, and Mage. The older games had more classes like Samurai and Ninjas so I am hoping those will be added later. There are five races to choose from; Human, Elf, Dwarf, Gnome, and Porkul. Gnome is the female versions of dwarfs with different stats. Porkul are very small creatures that are about thigh high to a human. You can also pick your alignment, lawful, Neutral, and Chaotic. Alignment blocks some classes. For example, you cannot be a Burglar if you choose Lawful. 

The game requires group: Wizardry Online is a game you don't flourish in when flying solo. The in-game group finder goes a long way to ensure that you can always find a few fellow adventurers to complete the traditional tank-DPS-healer trifecta, which becomes invaluable when scouring the various dungeons. Quests and other tasks are assigned via hub worlds, and most of the action takes place deep in the heart of sewers and labyrinthine tunnels rife with puzzles. Considering you're spending time within smaller cramped spaces populated with high-level players, you're going to want someone watching your back at all times, and traveling alone is a great way to meet your permanent end much faster.

Even though the game feels very claustrophobic, the dungeons are challenging. You have a lot to explore and puzzle to solve to open the next boss fight. There is a decent number of different monsters to kill. Even at higher levels, experience from killing and questing in the dungeons moves you along at a good pace.

Combat is where you end up ferreting out the fun, which is often overshadowed by the messy UI and more brown graphics than a desert-themed first-person shooter. Active attack and defense moves are natural and much more kinetic than those of traditional MMO hotkey combat. As long as you can successfully sustain your health and mana (which do not regenerate), you're on your way to looting other players' corpses instead of littering each pathway with your hours of earned items and gold.

Leveling up in Wizardry Online is in an unusual manner. There's no sudden "ding" while traveling; to level up, you must visit a fountain or an inn. Paying off an innkeeper determines your stat increases and decreases, and it's here that you ultimately decide your future as a hero. Weapons need repair, skill points are distributed here, and casual players are sorted from the hardcore.

Then there's the constant threat of losing your life. It's the driving force behind Wizardry Online and what keeps it interesting--or terrifying, depending on your viewpoint. Once you create a character, you're in danger of losing him or her forever.

Fortunately, there are several mechanisms in place to ensure that your first death is never your last. If you're venturing through the world as a newbie and you've fallen in battle, after death, you're immediately transported to the spirit realm, in which enemies are still free to roam and ravage you. You must wander around, defenseless, until you can reach the nearest shrine, where you can attempt to revive yourself. When you happen upon a special dark angel statue, there's a percentage that indicates your chances of being resurrected. If you die additional times, this percentage shrinks, until your only hope is to shell out real money or items from your inventory to tip the odds in your favor.

If permadeath isn't enough to scare you away, free-for-all PVP runs rampant here. It's not unusual to find a bounty on a particular player's head or find yourself the target of a jilted newbie's bloodlust. While there's the potential to fall victim to a frustrating gankfest, the offending players also run the risk of losing their characters.

There are traps hidden throughout the dungeons, spikes, poisons, and explosions. They can be seen by a small glowing speck on the ground. If you do not see it, an exclamation mark will show up over your character’s head to let you know. Most times this will happen when you are already fighting something.

Wizardry Online gets you addicted to the simple yet chaotic mechanics. Anyone looking for a challenging MMO and hasn’t thrown their mouse at a wall in quite a while should not miss this gem!