Gunshine.net

Gunshine.net is a free to play social roleplaying game that I've just stumbled upon. This game can be played by using your Facebook or Twitter account to log in and thus removes the hassle of having to create a new game account.

Upon logging in, you will be immediately shown the character creation screen.

There are only three character classes to choose from, Bodyguard, Hunter and Doctor. And there aren't a lot of customization options for your character either. However, it isn't too badly done considering that its flash based and loads quickly.

• Bodyguard (Melee)
  Bodyguards are extremely durable and fierce melee fighters. The bodyguard taunts all enemies to attack him, allowing the rest of the group to work in peace.
  
• Hunter (Range)
  Hunters prefer to stay back and deal massive damage with all firearms. They can also knock down and slow enemies, making them useful in all situations.
  
• Doctor (Healer)
  Everyone loves a doctor for his ability to heal all wounds. The doctor keeps the rest of the group going, and because of this, he will always find a lot of friends.
  

After going through character creation, you will be shown a short clip about Dawnbreak city (the place you are heading to) and then you will find yourself at a dock.

You as the character is at a sort of immigration checkpoint and is in the process of entering Dawnbreak city. This marks the start of the tutorial and you will be asked to perform some basic tasks such as moving about, talking to NPCs, using items and attacking.
Talking to the NPCs seems fairly simple and intuitive - A bright green '!' on top of the head and some clicks will do the trick. The missions are also delivered in an easy to read format too. Plus there is a brief description of the mission given and is also listed in point form as tasks for those who aren't bothered about reading. And then mission rewards are specified at the bottom.

The attacks and using of items is also like other mmo games that you may have come across. You just need to double click the target to use regular attacks, hotkey an item or skill to a particular slot and then press the corresponding key to use the item or skill.

Surprisingly though, after passing through the tutorial, you are asked to enter a dubious looking van and end up finding yourself in prison instead (for reasons unknown). However, it appears that lady luck isn't about to abandon you just yet. A quick talk to the nearby prisoner informs you that they are about to start a jailbreak and you are invited!

Following the directions along the way, you will eventually end up in Pirate Bay. Once you've reached this area, you are free to roam about Dawnbreak city as you please...that is if you can survive the hostile mobs out there.
In pirate bay, one of the NPCs will give you a mission to fight a boss as a means of introducing you to the 'Boss Finder'. It appears to be a nifty tool that's implemented to help you find a party to tackle those hard to handle boss fights. The map of Dawnbreak city looks huge enough to satisfy the explorer that's inside. What's more, traveling is made easy via the 'Travel There' button for missions that you have accepted. In addition, once you have been to an area, you can easily travel between them via the map (by clicking on the area you wish to go).
Pressing 'C' will bring up the crafting screen. Coincidentally, this screen is also where you will find the tab to learn new skills for your character. The ingredients for crafting of items are looted off the mobs you defeat and as you level your character, you will be given access to craft better items. Once you have the ingredients needed, just press the 'Start' button beside the item you wish to craft. It will immediately be queued for processing in the production line. After it is completed, just click the 'Collect' button to receive the item.

The learning of skills works in the same way as crafting. Once you have the necessary amount of cash, just click on the corresponding button to start the learning process. After it is completed, just collect the skill the same way you did with crafting items. It will automatically be placed above your item hotkeys at the center of your screen. What sucks though is that you only have one slot in the production line, therefore you can only either craft an item OR learn a skill at a time (for they occupy and use the same slot).

When killing mobs, there is a small chance that it will drop a treasure box. From the description, it is said to contain special plans, ingredients or even unique items, but unfortunately, opening these treasure boxes requires diamonds (which costs real life money). So they're mostly worthless to people who don't plan on buying diamonds to play the game.

There's an option for you to hire your friends as mercenaries to help fight along your side. But it is only for about ten to fifteen minutes and for the price you have to pay, its not really worth it in my opinion. You will be better off saving the money to upgrade your skills or buy crafting plans from the shop.

After going through the game up until this point, my impression is that this game is mostly made up of missions given by the NPCs. Nothing in the game is particularly eye-catching and can't be found in other games that you can play. What's good about it is that it requires no software installations apart from Adobe Flash and could therefore be played anywhere as long as you have a connection and an OS that runs flash.

In my opinion, this game is far from entertaining, but should be a good time filler for your occasional breaks in between work or lessons.

Gunshine.net Video Clips

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