MapleStory takes another stab at iPhone, iPad in Cave Crawlers

MapleStory creator Nexon has been a bunch of busy bees lately, what with going public and selling more digital pets than some of us will make in dollars in decades. Now, the pioneer of free-to-play gaming is looking to try its hands at mobile again, but in a very not free way. Nexon released MapleStory: Cave Crawlers for the iPhone and iPad for $2.99. That's not free at all.

A far departure from previous effort Cygnus Knights, Cave Crawlers sends players into dungeons in a first-person, retro-themed play experience with many of the familiar tropes and characters from the series. Players can choose to embark on these adventures as either a brawny Fighter or a sneaky, stabby Thief. (What, no flashy magic love?)

The game only offers five randomized dungeons to play kill monsters and collect loot in, but Nexon promises that more content is on the way. Hopefully that means some more characters classes are incoming, too. (Guy's gotta' have his fireballs.) Nexon has yet to replicate the same wild success it's had on the web in the mobile arena. Frankly, we're surprised these games have yet to take on the "freemium" approach to distribution that it's web counterparts popularized.

That's especially considering how widespread free-to-play has already become in iPhone and Android games. At any rate, MapleStory fans will be happy to know that this take on the game is decidedly different from its predecessors, even at first glance.

Click here to download MapleStory: Cave Crawlers Now >

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