Fists of Fu, from Outspark, looks like your generic side-scrolling MMORPG in the format of Dragonica, or the much more successful MapleStory, and it is, to some extent. This game is lacking several features that are common in most other MMORPGs, most noticeably, and what will possibly be the biggest turn-off to all potential players, is the lack of any real form of character customization; aside from choosing your name, you select a male or female character from one of three basic classes: a mage, an archer, and a warrior.

You’re not allowed to customize this character, which means that, essentially, everyone is uns around looking almost exactly the same, except for differences in armour and weapons. Fists of Fu also features your generic “kill X monsters” quests, albeit with the added exception that, since this is a side-scrolling MMO, it’s more like “kill X monsters in Y stage.”

Of course, for it’s glaring negatives, Fists of Fu is looking like one of the most genuinely fun games I’ve played. The combat is just plain fun. It easily beats out MapleStory’s simplistic and even Dragonica’s slightly more complex combat system. In fact, Fists of Fu’s combat and gameplay feel like that of a console game. Enemies die quickly, but not too quickly; the combos look interesting and even cool; the camera frequently changes angles, or the game slows down time, just to show you that last hit you pulled out in excellent detail.

All of this, combined with the extremely limited character customization, makes Fists of Fu feel more like a console game, in a good way. Stages even have multiple difficulty settings, just like in most console games. Its console like gameplay is what might truly make Fists of Fu a good competitor in the side-scrolling MMORPG arena. While most other side-scrollers on the PC lack that distinct console feel, Fists of Fu pull out this feeling gloriously and to its advantage, which, coupled with it’s graphics, would entice both core and casual gamers alike.

Fists of Fu’s extremely cartoony graphics will probably be it’s biggest downfall. With its gameplay, Fists of Fu can easily attract the most hardcore crowd, but it’s graphics are designed toward attracting the more casual gamer, which might lead to most people dismissing this game as nothing more than a kid’s game, which it somewhat is, but Fists of Fu does contain many of the other staples of MMORPG gameplay. Crafting is readily available and party play is very well promoted in the game, a party-search feature is even included to ease the task of grouping together and playing with random players, and potential friends, online.