FusionFall

FusionFall Full Review

By Erhan Altay

FusionFall is the new browser based MMORPG developed by Cartoon Network and Grigon Entertainment. The game was announced several years ago but has suffered several delays and was finally released in mid January 2009. FusionFall is a great achievement considering it runs on a web browser. The game contains a huge persistent world with great graphics, music, and depth that it puts to shame many client games that require a large download. All the major Cartoon Network characters including the cast of Dexter’s Lab, The Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack, and Code Name: Kids Next Door make an appearance in FusionFall, with voice acting included! Unfortunately, this kind of production value doesn’t come free. Like in Wizard101, another game geared towards kids, only the first few areas of the game were originally accessible to free users, playing through the rest required a monthly subscription. Cartoon Network has since released a major update that made the entire game free to play.

Join the Team

In order to launch FusionFall, players will need to install something called the Unity Engine which is a sort of browser plugin. It downloads and installs within seconds so it isn’t much of an inconvenience. Currently, the game only functions on Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox so if you’re using a different browser, you’ll need to switch over to one of those two before playing. Right from the beginning, FusionFall shows its high quality with a voice acted introduction. Naming your character is a bit tricky, you can use a random name generator or enter a first & last name but it must be manually accepted by the mod team. My desired name of ‘Lord Altay’ was rejected so I went with a more generic random name, Rex Helmutwalker. The level of appearance customization was impressive, with 5 height, 3 weight options, 23 hair styles, 12 skin, 18 hair, and 5 eye colors to chose from. There were even more clothing options: around 30 shirts, pants and shoes. After character creation, a series of voice acted scenes and movies guides you through the tutorial.

The Clutches of Lord Fuse

The story behind FusionFall isn’t very coherent but the amount of backstory, or lore, that’s available is impressive. During the first few minutes of the game Dexter and several characters from Code Name: Kids Next Door explain that in the future the evil Lord Fuse is poised to conquer our planet by spreading slime all over the place. This slime, or fusion as it is called, has spawned evil duplicate versions of all the major Cartoon Network characters and it falls to you to stop these evil copies. But first, you’ll need to learn how to play. A private assistant called ‘computress’ will explain the games controls and interface as you progress through the starting area. Movement is done via the W,A,S,D keys while the mouse controls aiming and interface navigation though keyboard shortcuts can also be used to open up menus. The combat is actually very fast paced; players use guns and swords and attack by left clicking with the mouse which fires at their current target. Switching targets is done simply by moving the curser over a new target, no need to lock on. The game’s minimap shows the direction of mission objectives which are tracked one at a time and the inventory menu functions similarly to other MMORPGs.

Save the Nanos

The main form of progress through FusionFall is tracked by how many nanos you’ve unlocked. Nanos are tiny versions of Cartoon Network characters that are acquired by defeating evil Fuse versions of those same characters. The first nano, Buttercup is gained during the tutorial mission but the rest dwell in their own small instanced zones which players gain access to by reaching a certain level. Players can equip up to three nanos at a time and summon them by hitting either 1,2,or 3. Once summoned, nanos hover over the player with their energy bars slowly diminishing. Right clicking with the mouse causes the nano to use its activated ability while passive abilities are in effect the moment the nano is summoned. Each nano has three abilities though only one can be selected at a time. By the end of the first area, called ‘the future’ you’ll have 4 nanons collected all of which I detail in the overview.

A Technological Masterpiece

Few MMORPGs today have the same level of production value as FusionFall, with voice acting and a huge game world that has very few ‘invisible walls.’ Players are free to jump onto roof tops and explore the world on their own. The overall graphics are very impressive and leave many of the client based games I’ve reviewed in the dust. Obviously the game is geared towards kids but teenagers and adults who grew up watching Cartoon Network classics like Dexter’s Lab or The Powerpuff Girls will feel a nostalgic affinity with FusionFall. There are always extra missions available to keep the game’s pacing bearable but since combat is so fast paced and monsters usually die within a few hits, combat is rarely boring. The only problem is the amount of travel the game requires. I found myself running back and forth between town after killing 4 of a certain monster, than 8 of a certain monster. Later on, you can pay to have Mojo Jojo’s monkey agents fly you from one area to the other but even that involves plenty of waiting around. FusionFall has raised the bar for future browser games and hopefully as time goes by, Cartoon Network will release more of it content to free players so we can all enjoy the game.

Final Verdict: Good

FusionFall is a very impressive game with varied environments and characters. It has a larger world and more fluid gameplay than most client MMORPGs. FusionFall proves that browser based games have come of age.

FusionFall Videos

FusionFall Links

FusionFall Wikipedia Page
FusionFall Wiki [Database/Guides]
FusionFall Retro [Private Server]
FusionFall Legacy [Private Re-Make]

FusionFall Music & Soundtrack

FusionFall Additional Information

Developer: Grigon Entertainment
Publisher: Cartoon Network
Directors: Levon Hakobyan, Greg Grigon
Producers: Cree Haas, Toe Bronson
Designers: Levon Hakobyan, Chris Sunn, D. R. Watson, Jeremy Polk, Greg Grigon
Writers: Levon Hakobyan, Erab Azraeu, Greg Grigon
Composer: R. Gerald Pott

Engine: Unity
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X

Release Dates: 

Beta 1: November 14, 2008 - November 16, 2008
Beta 2: December 5, 2008 - December 7, 2008
Beta 3: December 12, 2008 - December 19, 2008
Open Beta: December 27, 2008 - January 11, 2009
Full Release: January 14, 2009
Free to Play: April 19, 2010
Closure Date: August 29, 2013

Development History / Background:

FusionFall was one of the first games to use the Unity Game Engine and and certainly the largest project built on the engine at the time of its release. The game originally launched with two subscription options: $6/month individual plans and a $10/family (4 accounts) plan. Free players could explore only a portion of the game called 'The Future' where only 4 of the original 36 nanos could be unlocked. Despite heavy investment and high production quality, including voice acting from a wide variety of Cartoon Network cast, FusionFall never garnered high player numbers. Part of this was likely due to the clunky web client, browser plugin, and server issues.

Minimum Requirements:
OS: Windows XP / Vista / Mac OS X 10.4 or higher
CPU: Pentium 4 2.0 GHz
RAM: 2 GB
HDD: 2 GB
Graphics Card: GeForce 4 MX 64mb

Recommended Specifications:
OS: Windows XP / Vista or newer
CPU: Pentium 4 2.0 GHz or better
RAM: 2 GB or more
HDD: 2 GB
Graphics Card: GeForce 4 TI or better

FusionFall Private Servers

There are currently two serious private server reboots of FusionFall under active development. FusionFall Retro uses the January 2010 client and is set before the Birthday Bash event. FusionFall Legacy is a fan re-imaged version of FusionFall built on a newer version of the Unity engine and with original content, upgraded grpahics, and so on.

FusionFall Retro - Unofficial reboot aiming to recreate Jan 2010-era FusionFall.

FusionFall Legacy - FusionFall re-imaged with original content & new Unity engine.