Not long ago we took a quick look at Sony's mysterious upcoming MMORPG for both PC and PS3, Free Realms. With a strong cartoon influence in the graphics and a focus on family-friendly interaction, it seems uncertain just where this odd title will fit in amongst gamers. Is it World of Warcraft for kids and concerned parents? Is it a solid RPG with a bunch of social networking bells and whistles? Nobody seems to be certain, least of all Sony's marketing, and they're not being very forthcoming, either. At least we can look at this locations trailer and new screens, right?
Free Realms 'Locations' Trailer

It's nice to get a bit of a look at some of the scenery, although I suspect we must be looking at areas within one particular realm here. Despite the variety of names scrolling past the bottom corner, you may notice that most of the places we've just toured have a lot in common, from the strange violet twilight to the emphasis on purple-tinged vegetation. Older screens and trailers show off a wider variety of locations which I would have expected Sony to be keen to show off; hopefully this doesn't mean the game will be restricted to one of the developed "worlds" on release.



These screens are from the Briarwood location shown in the trailer.
A glance over Free Realms proposed parental control scheme reveals an impressive set of features sure to appeal to concerned guardians; however, these strictures only apply to under 13 year olds, with large amounts of content locked away from children. Will the rest of the game be of interest to more mature gamers? We'll have to wait for the PC and PS3 release over the next few months.