Free Realms video preview focuses on character creation and gameplay

There are so many massively multiplayer online titles on the horizon that it would be hard to pick a staff favorite among the Massively writers, but one game that consistently draws 'oohs' and 'aahs' from us is Free Realms from Sony Online Entertainment. We're not alone in wanting to know more about the game. Adam Sessler from G4's X-Play recently got some screen time with Free Realms associate art director Sebastian Strzalkowski.

Strzalkowski walks the viewer through character creation, which is done via the Free Realms website before the game itself actually launches. As the interview progresses, he mentions that a storyline runs through the game's quests, but players aren't locked into following along with it. A wide variety of mini-games will be on offer, as the accompanying footage shows off. SOE's hope is that the mix of various types of activities in the game (plus pets and social networking) will hold appeal for its younger target audience as well as the parents of those gamers. We've got the video embed of X-Play's Hands On: Free Realms Game Preview after the jump.

(You can hit the source link for the larger version.)