At first glance, ForumWarz is just a fantastically offensive satire of the
Internet. The interface fits right inside your browser to give you a new
browser, crammed with dummied-up Google apps, message boards filled with
gibbering morons, and fly-by parodies of technorati like BoingBoing's Cory
Doctorow or supergamer Fatal1ty. It's an elaborate piss-take on the Web. But ForumWarz's real accomplishment is in threading an actual
story through all the fetishes and so-three-minutes-ago memes.
The basic game is simple: You develop a character,
RPG-style, who shuts down one net-community after another simply by being
obnoxious. The more forums you pwn, the stronger you get. But along the way,
you'll find that the non-player characters who are sending you on missions have
their own secrets. The inkling of a conspiracy theory grows more and more compelling,
until it leads to a shocking end.
As the star of the show, you're supposed to think
your cred sets you above all the other re-re's on the Internet. Yet by spending
your days haranguing people on message boards, you remain just another moron
banging your head against a keyboard. In ForumWarz, Internet celebrities and senior citizens swapping
denture tips are two sides of the same coin. The way it lures you in and turns
your ego against you is the real joke in this satire.
Beyond the game: The game has only released
its first episode, but while you're waiting for the second, you can interact
with other trolls, emo kids, and camwhores on—what else—the
official message board.
Worth
playing for: While
the Mad Libs-style drivel in the forums quickly gets old, the actual dialogues
with the characters in the game are deftly written and usually hilarious.
Frustration sets in when: The game limits how many
forums you can tackle in a day, but at this stage, the experience is best
enjoyed in small doses.
Final
judgment: Like
the Internet itself, ForumWarz is more than just a scatological, gay-bashing
time-suck.