AFK: The Webseries

Kind of terrible, but pretty much awesome.

If you have been an MMORPG player, AFK has the pop-culture moments and jokes to enjoy while you fall I'm love with the characters. If you haven't, AFK has characters you will fall in love with, while you experience a pop-culture that millions of gamers love.

In the first series, the actors and crew are still finding their feet, but the small production is beautiful, when compared with similar-scale shows like Pure Pwnage and The Guild. And is filmed in the same setting as middle earth, and the four lands. Season 2 takes it to a whole new level.

The relatively unknown cast have a depth of character, and many talents that are put on full display. They become fierce, nuanced and beautiful leading women; complex, loveable villains; sympathetic, growing protagonists, and a diverse and self-aware set of players - all achieved within the confines of a mini series.

Each creative contributor to the show deserves acclaim.

Story-overview: What happens if real people find themselves 'alive' in their favorite MMORPG fantasy-game without a clue how they end up here or how they could leave? This is essentially the plot of AFK. It's a thought-provoking background story well worth exploring.

Genre: As a web-series production AFK is typically 'fast paced' with rather short episodes and frequent use of cliff-hangers. Luckily, at least season-one has a "season's cut" complete video released as well by now. Other than many other fantasy-web-series, AFK does not focus that hard on being "funny". While a certain amount of comedy is included, there is a more sinister and dramatic thread winding through the whole series.

Production: The series is very professional. Actors, costumes, CGI are all excellent and better than many TV productions.

Faszit: A web-series well worth watching and supporting! At least give it a try - it is free after all!

"AFK" doesn't make much sense, but it is entertaining nonetheless, elevated by the characters' arcs and relationships, which give the show its heart.

The story is simple as follows: real people wake up in an online game, their minds in the bodies of their characters. We don't get much in way of explanation, characters' motives, world building or anything. Basically we are thrown with the characters into the world, and the first episodes suffer a little bit from this, because the viewer won't really understand much of what is going on (not that much is going on, but it makes no sense whatsoever).

Funnily enough, with the episodes going by, even if the story is flimsy as they come (non-existent), we get to know the characters and enjoy their company. And that is what makes "AFK" worth checking: the characters. The acting won't get them any awards soon, but the actors embody their roles in an engaging and caring manner.

That helps overcome all the shortcomings: plot, direction, action moments that barely cut the mustard... Put in some nice homages to role-playing games (NPC, the music that comes out of nowhere when you enter a tavern...) and you have a really fun show.

If you've ever played an mmo game you will really love this. It seems like it's mostly based off of Warcraft, but not. It follows a bunch of mismatched people who are suddenly their character in the game world.

The acting is good as is the story. It's not the best quality or special effects or anything like that, but it has everything else that matters. It's definitely got a lot of heart.

AFK is great for those who like "The Guild," ".// hack," or even the lamestream anime, "Sword Art Online."

The acting is kind of hokey and the cinematography looks more like the series was shot on a handheld DVR than an actual quality camera. However, the set pieces are actually quite good and evoke a sort of low-budget Game of Thrones charm, and the editing itself isn't horrible. Most of the characters are likable with some notable exceptions, like Brendon the Wizard who always sounds like a quivering, shivering nagging banshee. The plots are also interesting, with each episode revolving itself around the various slanguage MMO gamers use (ie. mob, phat lewtz, inc, ganker, etc.); I was pleasantly surprised at how decent the actual writing was, despite the spattering of cliche dialogue throughout. The show itself has heart and I think could have honestly been a series contender if only it had a bigger production/distribution company behind it. AFK on a Netflix-type budget would kick some serious booty (think Legend of the Seeker).

The show itself is pretty short, spanning 16 episodes in totality with each episode running at a mere 20ish minutes. Short and sweet would probably be the best way to describe AFK.

Anyway, like I said, if you enjoyed the webseries "The Guild," it's almost a given certainty that you'll enjoy "AFK" too.