Overview

"Moshi Monsters" is a 2D browser MMO that allows players to adopt and raise a monster, customize their own house, and play mini-games to earn currency.

Features

• Safe environment for kids (profanity filters)
• Dozens of pets for your monster
• Helpful tutorial video & FAQ
• Bright visuals
• Customizable houses
• Multiple shops, lots of items

Review

Players start by adopting a monster of which there are six types. There are several color templates and later players can purchase clothing to further customize their monster. The main goal in Moshi Monsters is to keep your monster well fed and entertained. There are several indicators to track your monster's status; Mood, Health, and Happiness. The best way to care for your monster is to feed it and play mini games regularly. New players will start out in their own home which can be customized to a great degree. New wall papers and furniture can be purchased at the 'Yukea' store. The game currency in Moshi Monsters is 'Rox' which is earned by playing mini games.

Your main Rox earner is the daily puzzle which can only be played once a day. This game is a series of timed visual questions which are similar to the mini games found in Nintendo's Brain Age. Players can earn around 100 Rox through the Daily Puzzle. Individual puzzle mini games can be replayed but the Rox prize they offer is much smaller. There are currently two other mini games in Moshi Monsters; En-Gem and Flutterby Field. En-Gem is a classic puzzle game where players must align four or more squares of the same color, the goal being to get the highest score possible before time runs out. Flutterby Field is more action oriented, players must catch various hued butterflies and avoid touching the other bugs. There is no time limit, the game ends when the player's hp runs out. Both games have three difficulty settings; easy medium and hard. I found the Rox reward to be rather low for both games but they are repeatable so the only limit to your Rox earning capability is your patience.

Besides playing these mini-games, players are encouraged to explore the Moshi Monsters game world. Moshi Monsters has some great visuals, the game is bright and colorful, but sadly the world is very small. The game is still in Beta so additional content is in the works, but players may still be disappointed. The only explorable parts of town are 'Main Street' and 'Sludge Street', both of which contain several stores. There is a dressing room where players can cloth their monsters and a 'moshling' garden where players can tame moshlings. Moshlings act as pets for your monster and there are several dozen varieties available. As you play the game, your monster will gain experience and level up. Most items throughout the Moshi Monsters world have level requirements so the longer one plays, the more items become available to them.

Moshi Monsters is not a traditional MMO, instead players are encouraged to make friends and talk with them as they would do on a social networking site. Moshi Monsters is targeted at young children and it has little appeal beyond this age group. But even as a social networking site, Moshi Monsters seems limited. Players can leave notes on each others bulletin boards and rate each others home decorations but that's about it. Would a chat box while in town be too much to ask? Many more mini games and other activities must be added before Moshi Monsters can rival some of the larger browser based games available.