So, the basic premise of Hello Kitty Online is that something has happened in the Sanrio world and many of its denizens have fallen into a mysterious slumber. At the same time people from our world sudden find themselves in Sanrio Town. Of course, it's up to us to help Hello Kitty and her friends wake up and figure out what's going on. Currently there are 5 areas for people to explore of which are London, Paris and Bejing, all with a Hello Kitty look to them. While exploring these areas players can do quests, tame monsters, gather materials, and craft items. They can also communicate and socialize with all the players around them.

Now when I say "tame monsters" I basically mean beat them to death; however, in the Hello Kitty world, you don't kill things, you are merely taming them and they then fall asleep. Taming creatures can be done to collect resources, but there is also a chance that you will actually tame the creature as a pet, that you can then take care of, Tamagotchi style. You feed it, pet it, and even pick up its poo. Funny thing is, the poo is actually a resource you can use to fertilize your garden; everything is recycled in the Hello Kitty World!

As far as socializing goes, your Hello Kitty Online account is directly connected to Sanrio Town website, which gives you an online email address and blog. The game is integrated with the Sanrio Town website in such a way that you can read emails, look at photos, and send messages all from inside the game. As stated earlier, doing these activities gives you points that you can then spend in game to get items and increase your skills. On top of all of these cool social tools, the game features a robust map system, that easily allows you to see who else is playing on your server in your area on the map, to help facilitate questing and socializing. Also, your character can easily migrate to any server available, so finding friends playing on other servers is as easy as logging into the same server as them.

Speaking of socializing, I'm sure many people are wondering what's going to be done to keep the Hello Kitty world from becoming Hello Trashy with 4chan kiddies polluting the chat channels. Well Aeria Games, and Sanrio assured me that they will be launching with plenty of GMs that will be actively playing in the world and have a variety of tools to help ban and censor foul users; however, the GMs aren't just there for cracking down on bad layers, they are also there for fun. Aeria plans to have plenty of GM run activities that will promote a dynamic environment for players, since they will be running unique games and prizes on their respective servers.

The only complaint I had with the game is that the currently character creation system seemed to have a small set of customization options. Granted, you still get to change your hair and eyes and a few other parameters, but don't be surprised if you quickly see a few other faces similar to yours once entering the world. Luckily, much of the clothing in the game is there for purely cosmetic reasons, so you can make sure that your clothes still make you stand out in a crowd.

Overall I have to admit that I was impressed by Hello Kitty Online, especially since it seems like a lot of work has gone into making this game unique and fitting to the audience it is trying to attract. They didn't make an MMO with a Hello Kitty face, but instead made a social Hello Kitty game that is also an MMO. The game is currently in closed beta, and plans on heading to open beta soon. The end goal is to have the game open to all before the holidays. So be sure to get Hello Kitty Online as a stocking suffer this year so that you can wake Hello Kitty and her friends with YOUR friends!