Meridian 59 is an online 3D graphical RPG. Originally released in 1996, it was one of the first commercial online games available for sale in retail stores in the US. There have been seven updates to the game since its initial release and each update added new content for players to enjoy. The game has a unique blend of interesting game mechanics, a strong community, and excellent player vs. player (PvP) gameplay. Together, these aspects make for a game that is fun, friendly, and balanced.

Yes, the game is fun! You can build the character you want in the game instead of being limited to a small selection of classes. Your skills and spells become more powerful as you use them. If you wish to become tougher, you must find and fight challenging monsters. If you wish to have more magical energy to cast spells, you will have to hunt down and bond with the mystical mana nodes in the land. Your character is very customizable for what you want to play. From picking your initial statistics to choosing which spell schools you wish to learn, your character has an incredible potential to be what you want him or her to be.

Meridian 59 does not have the boring "treadmill" people find distasteful in other games. With a little bit of work your character can meaningfully participate in a fight, even with more experienced players. Obviously more experienced players will have more options at their disposal, but you do not have to reach the "maximum" level in order to fully enjoy the game. You no longer have to worry about your friends advancing past you and being unable to play with you anymore. In addition, you will not have to "camp" monsters in order to get a single rare item needed to compete with other players. Any rare magic items can be find in almost any area with sufficiently difficult monsters.

Meridian 59 has excellent support for communication which creates a strong community which in turn creates a good playing environment. Meridian 59's game servers are a bit smaller than the servers of other large graphical online RPGs. Because of this, you will enjoy a personable small town feeling instead of the impersonal large city feeling that you get in other games. A polite broadcast (a message that gets sent to every other player in the game) for help during peak times will rarely go unanswered. If you get killed, you can generally find someone willing to help you get your items back or even provide you some newer and better items! Communication with other players in Meridian 59 is an important part of the game. You can broadcast a message to all players in the game, tell messages directly to a single person or even set up chat groups with several people you like to talk to directly. In addition, you will be able to ask questions on the newsglobes of the land and send in-game mail messages to players, even those that may be offline. These communication options make it easier to make friends and stay in touch with other players.

The game is a good mix of old and new players. We have plenty of people that have played during Meridian 59's past and are meeting up with old friends and enemies. Some of them are adjusting to the new content added more recently. We also have other people joining the game that have never played before. They have all enjoyed the game for its unique features and great community.

Meridian 59's strongest point for most players is the strong player vs. player (PvP) gameplay. You cannot find the same experience in other major game. While playing the game you will meet friends that will want to help you as well as enemies that will try to kill you. Don't worry, you'll have a guardian angel that will protect you from other malicious players while you get used to the game as an inexperienced player. Even without your guardian angel, PvP combat in Meridian 59 is balanced and precise since the game has been around for years and the gameplay has been balanced out over time. No situation is inescapable to the prepared adventurer since a large number of combat strategies exist and none are completely unstoppable. Even if you are killed, everyone will be notified of the death. Due to the smaller game servers, random killers will not be able to run off into a less-traveled area and escape justice. Other players will usually hunt down these murderers. Because of the strong community, you'll be able to locate other players that will lend you a hand to protect you from the more malicious players in the lands. When you finally lose your guardian angel you should look to join a group of like-minded people in a guild. These people will help you and support you while you develop your character. Perhaps your guild will even go to war with another guild and you will be called on to fight against your enemies while protecting your friends. The friends and enemies you make will be what sets your Meridian 59 experience above what you find in other online RPGs.

In short, Meridian 59 is a fun game with a better community and excellent PvP. Even though it has been out for many years, no other game has managed to capture the same excitement that people feel while playing Meridian 59. Even years later people laugh and remember the fun times they had fighting against their sworn enemy and helping their friends. New people are discovering this game every day. Come join the fun.