Then there’s the dictionary. Unlike most MMOs that have blacklists for bad language, Wizard 101 uses a dictionary of commonly used words, and only those words will appear in chat. Numbers (even spelled out) aren’t allowed, and neither are typos. Again, I understand it’s to protect child players, but any MMO veteran will tell you that numbers often come up in conversation; it’s irritating to not even be able to say, “I need to kill 3 more trolls”. It also makes it a lot harder for non-English speakers to communicate. Furthermore, filters are easily circumvented. In one fight with a fellow player she said something like, “Take that, you son of a batch!” as she fried a ghoul. Still, with a game that is focused on hooking kids, the idea is that it's better to be safe than sorry in an open environment like this. Just don't be surprised when a seemingly innocent word is blocked by the filter or that something a bit risque made it through.

That said, Wizard 101 is an ideal starter MMO for children, but challenging enough for adults. Kids will love the cute characters, colorful world, and grandiose combat animations (as well as the Potter-like setting) while their parents may be drawn to the Magic: The Gathering inspired combat card mechanic and online safety measures. Both kids and adults will enjoy the mini-games and PvP. Adult players may find the chat system too restrictive and annoying, but then again, they’re not the intended audience. In the end, if you are looking for an MMO to actually play with your child, especially if you have the ability to play in the same room on different desktop PCs or a laptop, Wizard 101 is an ideal place to zap bad guys together.

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