A Preview of Evony the "Free Forever" Web Game

With the Evony ads flashing on practically every conceivable page on the internet, almost everyone is intrigued for sure - be it a school-going kid or the corner-room executive in his business suit. Being a World Of Warcraft addict, I invariably skipped the ad, until I strongly felt the urge to give it a try.

Essentially a browser-based strategy game, the moment you sign up and start playing, you quickly start wondering why was I intrigued with all those over-sized boob with the mid-riff displayed all over, repeated signs of domination, and the term 'discreet' sprinkled all over. You will be surprised (pleasantly, as I was), there is none of those scintillating stuff in the game.

The purpose of the game is to let you build a city at your own pace. You have full control of your own city, and you keep expanding it by acquiring resources, conquering portions of the land, trading and it goes on. The intrigue really is in the classic use of free in-game resources and that makes Evony pretty interesting. Graphics are mildly low but yet pleasing to the eye and the designers have ensured you do not dislike it at any stage in the game. The best plus is, you are not under any time pressure at any of the stages, and you can keep coming back to the game at your own pace and convenience.

One flaw I currently see in the game is when you first start; there is not much interaction with other players you intend to play with. Your city is picked in a random location, you are given a city teleporter but that is also random. Further on the game you'll receive an advance city teleporter which then you can move your city near friends if empty lots permit. Last but not least, the medals are too difficult to acquire in which you'll be more or less forced to spend money in order to play aggressively and compete with others.

After a few days of play time, I can say the game is very enjoyable and the fact that I do not need to spend a whole lot of hours on it is very ideal to me. I spend most of my day in front of the computer and alt tabbing to hit build or attack once in a while is a relief from work. If you're the type that really enjoys Civilization and Age of Empires type of games but wish it could've been with 100 other players then this might work just for you.

Final Conclusion - If you don't mind forking out some money then this game is definitely worth playing but otherwise, there are many other games that are free and just as good. Overall, this is a fantastic strategy game, and it would suit gamers of all ages and profiles. Perhaps the strategy of flashing those intriguing ads was a perfect marketing gimmick, and I am sure this will rope in a large number of mainstream gamers.

Read a full review of Evony by Gossip Gamers or you can skip the reading and play the game here.