Online strategy game Evony has already made a reputation for itself with its wildly inappropriate and inaccurate banner ads.
I played Evony once, for about ten minutes… not long, however I played enough to be sure it’s not a Leisure Suit Larry-style game set in Middle Earth (although maybe there’s some mileage in that concept).
Previously the blatant cleavage shot of a buxom stock photo model was a favourite Evony ad, but I think this new one takes the cake. What does this haute couture model have to do with a medieval strategy game? Sex sells I guess.
Some more on the wonderful Evony banner ads at Tokyito and Coding Horror.
Just wanted to say I played this game when it “was released”.
It was originally called Civony. Lawsuit by Civilization (whoever it’s owned by now).
The graphics the game uses were pirated from Age of Empires. I’m sure Microsoft has filed legal suit for THAT as well, though I quit the game before that happened. But the building graphics *now* in the game have been changed.
The game was interesting to play, but unlike “good” banner/web games, it HEAVILY rewarded players who were willing to play the game 24/7. I worked with my roommate to do such a feat, but joined a smaller guild to have fun chatting.
4-5 weeks into the game, and our entire guild got steamrolled by one guy who had started (or had friends start) over 50 accounts to “feed” him, and then he began obliterating other players with several “cheap tricks”.
Within 2 days my empire had been reduced from top 50 (out of over 20,000) to rubble.
I vehemently do NOT recommend this game to anyone seeing the banner ads – as the graphics ingame don’t even have hot alluring women. Only the banners.
I only played it for a while, to be honest it just didn’t entice me to put much effort in. And I also suspected that no matter how much skill or strategy I had, anyone who paid into the game would always have the upperhand. And from what you’ve said, I was right. I think there’s a balance between free to play and buying extra items, but Evony is obviously geared towards getting people to buy as much as possible.