[SPOILER="Old Stuff"]The story revolves around robots trying to take over the joyful world of Toontown by turning it into an industrial dump. Since the toons are rebels, they found out that fighting the cogs involves using the jokes and gags they use to amuse each other. Which boils down to a mechanically sound yet simple turn-based battle system that encourages cooperation and teamwork in battles through the use of different gags to fight cogs. Gags types are used down across a turn order, and as people use more of the same gag to the same Cog, it will do bonus damage based on the amount of people hitting that Cog with the same Gag type and the amount of damage piled up in the gags. Some Gag types don't work unless used in conjunction with other gags, and gag conservation is also important as you can only hold a limited stock based on your Gag type level.
You start off as a dutiful citizen ready to defend the town from cogs by visitng the different neighboorhoods/districts of the Toontown region, doing Toontasks(quests) assigned to you to unlock Laff Points(HP), and new Gag types. You train your gag types by using them on Cogs, and as you earn more EXP, you unlock higher leveled Gags that have more accuracy and do more damage. Battles normally take place on the open streets and ANYONE can join in on a battle(Even Cogs). There isn't much penalty to helping out other than not gaining EXP if you were just killing something by yourself. When you're out of gags or ammunition to fight with, you can spend time at the playground(the central hub) playing mini-games to get Jellybeans which you can use to restock your gags and fight again.
That's the general formula of the game; Fighting Cogs, completing quests, going back to the playground to get more gags to fight more cogs. The formula is simple yet somehow entrancing, and that only touches upon the basic progression of the game. Cog invasions, cogs taking over buildings(Creating an area of a sequence of battles that get tougher and tougher as you go up), doing raids by taking on the Cogs' HQs; there's a lot more content available.[/SPOILER]
After about an 11 hour wait(was studying for finals anyway), I managed to get in and on to the game. The queue time is just an estimate and thus, isn't at all accurate. More often than not people drop out of the queue so the wait time is just a fraction of your beginning wait time. The basic plot of the game revolves around defending Toontown from becoming a corporate downtown by the robotic infestation of Cogs by fighting with jokes and gags from old cartoon shows to beat them.
The game while under a Toony style plays very much like a turn-based JRPG. You can touch Cogs wandering about the streets to start a battle with them. You're then directed to this screen where you can pick your Gags to use against your opponent(s):
[Image: http://puu.sh/9lwc6/2ba1f3b9bb.jpg]
There are 7 gag types, 2 of which are unlocked at the start of the game. The rest are unlocked as your Toon progress through the story-line and quests. The gag types act on the order they're listed, and some have some synergies with one another. Barring a few exceptions, most of the gag types a Toon uses will do more damage if another Toon in the fight is also using that gag type. So if two Toons use a Throwing Gag against a cog, it will do extra damage based on the amount of Toons and overall damage of the gag, as well as increasing the likelihood the gags will hit their target. The Cogs have their own tricks up their sleeves, and use one-liners and attacks influenced by the business scene to weaken Toons into sadness. Cogs usually attack at random, and there is no influence as to whether their attacks hit or miss. While they don't have an exact indication of their hitpoints, you can tell if a Cog is going to explode by the light in the center of their suit, which shows how healthy the Cog is(From Green->Yellow->Orange->Red->Flashing Red).
[Image: http://puu.sh/9lxXx/91ead6bbb4.jpg]
Here's a brief run-down on the Gag types:
-Toon-Up: The method of in-battle healing in this game. Toon-Up can only be used on others, and not yourself. Toon-Up can heal single targets, or focus on the group.
-Trap: Sets up a trap that Cogs can be lured into for damage. Has the highest damage potential but the longest set-up potential. Lure Gags get an accuracy boost when a Trap is set.
-Lure: Lure drags a cog in closer to the Toons, distracting them and setting off any Trap gags if there are any. Lured Cogs will NOT attack on their turn, and will take extra damage from the closer impact of some gags(Throw and Squirt).
-Sound: Sound Gags attack ALL Cogs on the battlefield. Sound Gags have the least damage potential but when paired up with a group, can ORKO an entire group of Cogs.
-Throw: The middle ground of the gag types. Does moderate damage with moderate accuracy, and benefits from extra damage if a Cog is lured.
-Squirt: The safer alternative to Throw. Does less damage but is more likely to hit a target. Also benefits from extra damage if a Cog is lured.
-Drop: The most incompatible gag type, but powerful in it's own right. Drops a gag on top of a Cog with low accuracy, promising heavy single-target damage onto a Cog when used. Inconsistent with gag types as a Drop Gag will miss on a Lured Cog, and one Drop Gag can be used per Cog per round.
Throughout the story, Toons will only have access to 6 out of the 7 gag types, so a Toon can't master everything. Usually, the choice comes between choosing and dropping Trap or Drop as both are situational and don't provide as much utility as the other Gag types. Battles are open, so Toons can join an ongoing battle, up to 4 in a fight. Likewise, Cogs can also join in on the opposing side, and the likelihood of this happening is higher if there are more Toons in a fight, and if the Toons are fighting in a deeper neighborhood.
Cogs range in levels which affect their hitpoints and attacks, as well as affecting which level of gags will grant experience when used. Each gag type has their own progression tree in where if you use more of that gag type, you'll gain access to higher-leveled gags which do more damage, have higher accuracy, or have a larger effect than previous gag levels in their gag track. Gags go up to Level 8 and this is where the grinding component comes in. Gags take a LONG time to level, with gag experience rising exponentially as you unlock the trees(400 -> 2000 from Level 4 to Level 5 for Throw/Squirt), and each gag type starts at Level 1 when you first unlock it.
Occasionally, a Cog can enter a building(You can even see this in action), calling for a check-in at an office and summoning a giant Cog skyscraper from the sky to take over the shop. These buildings are like a Gauntlet; up to 4 toons may enter the building to clear out the Cogs in a cooperative mini-dungeon. Cog buildings range based on floors indicated by the lights on the elevator, and Gag experience is increased as Toons progress through the stages. The final floor is usually a boss fight, with a high leveled Cog and some reinforcements. If the party's successful, then they'll clear out the Cogs from the building and restore it back to it's Toony state, with plaques inside the building to indicate their rescuers.
[Image: http://puu.sh/9lwPt/63a5556eae.jpg]
Just talking about general battle mechanics since I'm sure people will be interested about that. My own motivation from playing this game came from watching Saturday Morning Cartoons like the Animaniacs and Tom and Jerry. When I eventually heard about Toontown, I would play endlessly by re-creating characters under a 3-Day Free Trial to enjoy the game. Eventually I convinced my parents to get me a subscription and I got all the way to end-game, mastering all the gags and visiting all the neighborhoods. It was one of the few MMORPGs I clung onto all the way until the end-game, perhaps because of my youth or I was simply enthralled by the game given how grindy it is.
The graphics aren't top-notch as it is a very dated game, and there are memory leaks everywhere as the engine used on the game is years old and the Rewritten team is still in beta fixing bugs, but I'm glad I got to experience a slice of my childhood days during the time I played.