This game is huge. And I mean huge, especially considering it was released in 2008. I first played it way back in its early days, and was an avid player. But I did as I usually do with MMORPGs and became disinterested. I dropped the game and didn't pick it back up until years later after ownership shifted. I started from scratch and reentered the game with more vigor than ever before. Then the cycle repeated itself. I got bored and stopped playing, the game changed hands between companies once again, which encouraged me to play again (once again from scratch).

One thing I can say for certain: every time a different company bought it, Atlantica got worse. But we'll start with what's good.

The world of Atlantica bears first mention. It is enormous, and the work which went into it must have been immense. The incredible number of possible cities you can visit (and travel between) always gave a unique flavor to each area. There were plenty of quests to do, so that even after years of playing the game I doubt I've made much of a dent in it. The steady increase in both the challenge of the game and the visible growth of your mercenaries was great incentive to continue building up the strongest possible teams with the best gear. Hard work was rewarded in Atlantica. The story and side-quests almost always have some historical basis, which is fantastic for history nerds like myself. The turn-based combat was enjoyable, the music was fantastic, (definitely among the best I've heard in an online game) and the designs of characters were very interesting.

Atlantica had a lot going for it, but it suffers from its own share of glaring flaws. The game, though always having an online store, did not initially come off as a pay-to-win type game. However, as the game changed hands and the price of items in the market rose, it became unrealistic to be a free-to-play player and expect to progress by anything faster than a snail's pace (unless you were, like me, graced with a very generous guild. Thanks Mysticmaker and the Moonguardians for the great times!).

The game, though graphically great for its day, has not aged well. It doesn't look terrible but it definitely cannot claim to hold any relevance when it comes to graphics anymore. Another negative aspect of the game which only grew worse as it developed was its over-reliance on the 'sex sells' policy. Games like Atlantica are the reason why MMORPGs are notorious for objectifying women.

Though I never begrudge a game for high content, sometimes Atlantica seemed to have too much. I definitely think it, in its many updates, could have benefited from cutting some extra content.

Atlantica was fantastic when it first came out. It had problems, but they could be overlooked rather easily. However, when the game sold out to other companies, the good qualities diminished and the bad ones grew. In its current state, Atlantica has the shadows of a once-great game, but is plagued with useless content, a crippled economy, and shameless pay-to-win and 'sex sells' policies.

Emotionally, this game is very dear to me. I have a lot of nostalgia for it, and I have very fond memories of both playing this game with my siblings and also participating in its wonderful community. But objectively, Atlantica is not very good, at least, not anymore.

So, painfully but honestly, I give Atlantica Online a 2/5. Its an excellent example of a game which should have quit while it was ahead, and a definite warning against selling out.