As the gaming population grows larger, so it moves closer together. The days of inviting your spotty, smelly neighbour round just to whip his ass on the latest Tekken title before punishing his blind innocence with a dead arm are well and truly behind us. The dawn of online gaming is here and it's beginning to serve up a multitude of ways to interact with players from all round the world, in all manner of various addictive genres.

The latest for me to cast my critical eye over is Dofus, an online fantasy game whose number of subscribers is growing ever stronger by the day. Mainly due to a crack-like addictive game concept that could even cause some Warcraft-style issues before too long. "So what is it all about?" I hear you cry. Well, Dofus combines a chat room style environment with a variety of missions and quests spread over acres of fully explorable environment.

The game has a very cartoony feel, but this is a perfect move to aptly accompany the storyline. There are literally miles of intricately mapped landscapes that have all been beautifully designed and constructed, each with various characters, wildlife and buildings to interact with. As there are so many members and the numbers are constantly growing, each individual area can quickly become a sea of activity. This can be a little confusing at first, but clever colour coding means that a quick scan over interactive elements can easily distinguish in-game features from other busy gamers. The environment is massive and it's separated into squares of mapped areas. Where it would be easy to hastily put together some areas to increase the size of this in-game world, it's clear that the developers of Dofus have gone to great time and effort to keep each screen looking as well constructed as it does.

As beautiful as it looks, I would leave the sound off for this one. The plinky plunky music that sounds like something from an early nineties Robin Hood game becomes unbearably irritating after a few moments. But this isn't really a title where the audio is noticeable, and who wants to be waking the family when you're still playing the game at three in the morning?

The basic aim of the game is to improve your character until you develop into a masterful warrior. There are many plotlines throughout this title, but most users will play it with the ambition to become an unrivalled competitor. This can be achieved by simply challenging other members, or by seeking quests from various CPU characters. Defeating opponents or completing quests add various characteristics that can be put to further use in combat situations. As is the nature of life, your character needs money, and this can be gained by performing tasks for a reward, or by simply developing a marketable skill such as fishing, bow-making or simply pimping (not really, but it would have been a good extra).

The storyline, however, provides a different aim. The Province of Amakna was once a hunting ground for a dragon. This dragon was taught the error of his ways by a young warrior who tamed the beast…or so he thought. Before too long, the dragon slew someone very close to the young warrior's heart, who then chased the dragon down and killed him before dying himself. At the scene of this harrowing tale, six eggs were discovered that possessed an incredible power. They were hidden for centuries by the townspeople, but recently went missing, causing all manner of strange events. As a member of Dofus, it is our job amongst thousands of others to find these magical items. Before all this however, you must choose from a number of amusing characters that will represent you within the Dofus environment. There is an impressive array of progressively ugly folk to choose from, ranging from the graceful elf-like creatures to hairy little troll-like things called John Prescott. Once chosen, you can customise your look by altering hair colour and coordinating your outfit.

It was after these initial stages that the game became really impressive for me. I felt a little like I was being thrown into the wilderness where other members were going to take everything I cared about and effectively take over my life. But as soon as you get involved, the helpful tutorial takes you by the hand and guides you through everything you need to get started. Of course, the major benefit of constantly being surrounded by other members is that they will often offer you advice should you be brave enough to ask. But in the meantime, you're shown the basics by a very weird looking character.

Those old enough to remember the board game Dungeons & Dragons will be familiar with the combat format. When under attack, you and your opponent take it in turns. Each turn allows the use of a number of movement points and a number of attack points (elements that can be increased with progression in the game). The points renew per turn and the winner is the first one to remove all the health points from their opponent. These fights can be performed against any number of small computer-controlled animals that roam the land, or against other members. Within combat, up to seven other characters can join in and as you develop groups and friends, you can often find that help is quickly at hand.

Being a worldwide title, all manner of nationalities are involved in the quest for the Dofus, so don't be surprised if you spend some time before you find another member speaking English as their native language. English being a native language is an issue that continues within the game; the developers have done very well to make this title appealing to a global audience, but there are some very clear translation problems that cause confusion at times. The game also suffers a little lag now and again, but with literally thousands of gamers touring an environment in one go, it is not so bad as to cause any major detriment in the quality of the game.

With MMORPGs in their infancy at present, Dofus is proving a rising star of those developers chancing their arm in this field. At present, Ankama Games are offering free trials for those who register and it's worth taking the time out to at least experience what a MMORPG is all about. Purely as a game, it's one of those titles that takes a little time getting to grips with the controls and the basic plotlines, but it is time well spent that can result in hours of inside-out pant-wearing hilarity.

Reviewed by Rob Byron for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).