Mabinogi

This review makes me sad...

I downloaded the Mabinogi client. It took a long time, but I was kind of looking forward to the game. It looked very interesting, for an MMORPG. IE, it looked a little interesting. It was theoretically based on one of my favorite mythologies.

Upon creating an account and launching the client, it promptly downloads nProtect GameGuard. Ah GameGuard, how do I love thee? Wait, I can't find a way. GameGuard is one of the unabashedly intrusive "piracy protection systems" that doesn't even have the decency to close when you're not playing the game.

The game was originally Korean, and evidently they're okay with that sort of thing. I'm not.

But it was too late, so I decided to keep going with the intention to at least get a taste for the game. So I try to make a character.

I spend fifteen minutes picking out various little visual details. Colors, shapes of the mouth, etc.

It tells me that I can't make the character I want to make because I don't have a premium account.

It turns out that every single option I chose was not available. Only three or four options from each is available to those with a free account.

These are not, you know, important options. They're the color of the eye, the precise shape of the mouth. They could have at least popped something up that says, "hey, everything with this little symbol is paying customers only!"

So, not about to (A) keep GameGuard on my system a moment longer than required and (B) redesign my entire character, throwing away 15 minutes of work, I uninstalled the damn thing.

I HOPE it uninstalled GameGuard... I can't find any remnants, but with these inane, insane, idiotic, insulting, overbearing, big-brother, invasive little pieces of shit, you can't really be sure.

So, that's my review of Mabinogi.