by Kevin Freeman

Created on: December 16, 2009

Ikariam.org is a site which hosts the free to play browser game Ikariam. Ikariam puts you in charge of a mediterranian town which you must guide and grow in order to compete with other players in a consitent world. The best part about this game is that it is free and simple to set up. Simply go to the site sign up for a free acount and within minutes you will be looking at view of a empty cityscape where you can commence building your empire. The game runs straight from your browser window so there is no need to fiddle around with downloading and installing programs. The game's  interface is relatively straight forwards and intuitive, within moments I was able to figure out the resource gathering model and begin constructing buildings. Being a browser game the graphics will not blow you away but considering the medium they are of quite high quality and certainly adequate at bringing the world to life. The only major drawback I found was in the game's pacing. Resources rates are calculated on an hourly basis and build times can be anywhere from a half to two hours. This leisurely pace means that you can close the game and come back when it is convenient,without having to worry about micromanaging. However I found that it was very fusrtating for players just starting out as you will have to wait thirty minutes before your first building is constructed. Also while one building is being constructed or upgraded you will have to wait before starting another. This means that it will be a very significant time before you will be able to have any impact on the wider in-game world and compete against more established players. These time delays seem to be in place to encourage players to upgrade to a premium account which requires payment. This premium account along with other incentives gives players the ability to set building ques rather than having to check back every hour or so in order to start building or improving another structure. This seems to give an advantage to those who pay over those just playing for free. Overall those with a bit of patience will find this game a good experience and will enjoy checking back in every once and a while to see how their city is doing and the changes in the world around it. However many players may discard the game before they have even begun to experience all of its features in favour of online games with more immediate feedback and won't have to wait as long to see an impact on the larger community. 

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