Habbo Hotel
2.83
RATE IT:
.: Style
I was not a fan of the graphics. With
programs available like Adobe Flash and even Paint, I didn't understand
why the entire site was what appeared to be 16-bit pixilated artwork. I felt
like I was playing a grey Game Boy from ten years ago. The surroundings are
very colorful, however; with decorations and landscaping in each area.
“My Page” is where you customize your avatar and view your personal room. Your homepage is customizable with stickers and pictures of your decorated room. The furniture varies from Japanese style to plants to music, as long as you are willing to pay. The items are bought with coins, which are purchased from actual currency. .: Plot
What Plot? There was a plot there somewhere?
It’s not what you would call a plot – there’s not even a reward system or common goal. The games require money to play, and the rooms require money to fill them with personal objects. This site is mainly for those who like to chat and buy things. Exploring the virtual public areas would have been a neat plus, and could have given it some depth, but the lobbies and rooms are "virtually" useless. They are only there to provide sitting areas for your avatar, and to move around horizontally. The swimming deck is the only place that your dude can do anything but walk around and sit.
I hated the navigation of the site. You play inside a second tabbed window, and every time you click on a new area or link, you are taken to the new tab. Why? Because there is NO BACK BUTTON. I finally figured out to right click and go “back” to get back to where I was, but it was incredibly annoying. There should be no reason for not having a back or forward button.
.: Safety
Habbo Hotel has what they call “The Habbo Way”, and it is as follows:
“The Habbo Way is like a code of conduct - how Habbos should act in the hotel. Habbos who break the Habbo Way are not welcome in the hotel and may be banned. Our Terms and Conditions contain the full list of rules - please read those if you are unsure about how to act.
You should not:
* Tell your password to a Habbo, friend, staff member or stranger.
* Tell anyone personal information which could be used to locate you or other people in real life.
* Abuse, harass or bully other Habbos.
* Use hate speech or make rude comments about a Habbo's race, religion, gender or sexuality.
* Use any programs to hack, script or edit Habbo in any way.
* Own, sell or run replica Habbo Hotels (retros).
* Steal from or trick Habbos into giving you their passwords, Habbo Credits or furniture.
* Discuss or take part in sexual acts with other Habbos.
* Act out or roleplay violent acts, even as a joke.
* Give away, trade or sell your Habbo account.
* Break the law or talk others into breaking the law.
If you see anyone breaking the rules, please Call for Help so that a Moderator can take action.”
I did not have to read these before signing up, or make a promise to not be a bad Habbo user. The rules are not even displayed during the confirmation process. I had to hunt for it through terms of service, then through a link at the bottom. It is apparent that Habbo Hotel relies on its users to report people breaking rules. There are Moderators that exist in the site, but they are not present or are in other areas of the site.
I experienced in many different areas examples of users not following The Habbo Way. Because of the free use of chat in the site, there was unregulated and offensive dialogue going on in almost every area I ventured in to. Beware of these, and for that matter, all areas within the site where chat is allowed. This is, unfortunately, the entire site. In just fifteen minutes of game play, I experienced homosexual advances, people flaming other users with racial blurbs, and what is the new trend of typing expletives with different letters and numbers to make it past the Habbo chat filter. (Common swear words are displayed as "bobba" in chat).
Habbo Hotel provides a “Call for Help” option, which is explained in the FAQ page of their Terms and Conditions. It is strictly used for Emergencies only, and is very specific about the uses. You may be banned from the site for Calling for Help in a non-emergency situation, which I think is a bit extreme.
Habbo Hotel should be used with caution and callousness for those wanting a community experience. Chat rooms about sexuality and illegal drug usage – among other non-conservative subjects – are common. This is not a site for those of a young age or sensitive values.
.: Gameplay
There are four games: Battleball: Rebound, Snowstorm, Wobble Squabble, and Lido Diving. Diving is the only free game. The others cost from 1-2 tickets. Tickets are purchased with Habbo Coins, 2 tickets for 1 coin, or 20 tickets for 6 coins. Since coins are purchased with actual money, and using the cheapest amount of coins and tickets purchased, (25 coins for $5.00), the games cost about $.10 - $.20 each to play.
Play, that is, if you can get anyone to play with you! I spent the better part of an hour trying to find someone in the game lobbies to play. I couldn’t convince anyone! It was a game in itself to find someone to play! Either no one was a fan of the games ( I don’t really blame them) or they didn’t want to spend the money to play a third rate game. The only game I was able to play was the free diving game. And that was … neat. You have your avatar jump/fall off of a diving board, and using the keys, make them perform different moves as they fall. …Yay?
I found that the site fanbase is people that like to chat while moving their avatar around. Like a 2D myspace page with chat rooms. If that is what you consider a game, then I would maybe have given it a "3", but it's not.
.: Community
After the experience in the virtual areas of Habbo Hotel and the games, I was expecting a lot out of the community areas. I was not disappointed. The Community pages are stocked with site-wide events, competitions, and Celebrity Appearances. Events like a Japanese decorating contest and Prom are a few that stuck out. Celebrities also grace the presence of Habbo, from actresses like Mandy Moore and Rachel Leigh Cook to bands like The Donnas and Tokio Hotel. The appearances feature personal avatars matching their look and user-based interviews.
As for the chat, it is dangerous and unregulated. I have multiple screenshots of users insulting each others’ ethnicity and sexuality and dialogue of illegal drugs, and is very unpleasant. If the users don’t want to hear it, then it is easy to leave the site, but the idea of such garbage being unfiltered is a major deterrent for me. It is definitely a site intended for older teens, and I don’t think Habbo Hotel displays that kind of information in the initial signup pages to make it apparent that younger players are not protected.
3.00
“My Page” is where you customize your avatar and view your personal room. Your homepage is customizable with stickers and pictures of your decorated room. The furniture varies from Japanese style to plants to music, as long as you are willing to pay. The items are bought with coins, which are purchased from actual currency. .: Plot
1.00
It’s not what you would call a plot – there’s not even a reward system or common goal. The games require money to play, and the rooms require money to fill them with personal objects. This site is mainly for those who like to chat and buy things. Exploring the virtual public areas would have been a neat plus, and could have given it some depth, but the lobbies and rooms are "virtually" useless. They are only there to provide sitting areas for your avatar, and to move around horizontally. The swimming deck is the only place that your dude can do anything but walk around and sit.
I hated the navigation of the site. You play inside a second tabbed window, and every time you click on a new area or link, you are taken to the new tab. Why? Because there is NO BACK BUTTON. I finally figured out to right click and go “back” to get back to where I was, but it was incredibly annoying. There should be no reason for not having a back or forward button.
.: Safety
3.00
“The Habbo Way is like a code of conduct - how Habbos should act in the hotel. Habbos who break the Habbo Way are not welcome in the hotel and may be banned. Our Terms and Conditions contain the full list of rules - please read those if you are unsure about how to act.
You should not:
* Tell your password to a Habbo, friend, staff member or stranger.
* Tell anyone personal information which could be used to locate you or other people in real life.
* Abuse, harass or bully other Habbos.
* Use hate speech or make rude comments about a Habbo's race, religion, gender or sexuality.
* Use any programs to hack, script or edit Habbo in any way.
* Own, sell or run replica Habbo Hotels (retros).
* Steal from or trick Habbos into giving you their passwords, Habbo Credits or furniture.
* Discuss or take part in sexual acts with other Habbos.
* Act out or roleplay violent acts, even as a joke.
* Give away, trade or sell your Habbo account.
* Break the law or talk others into breaking the law.
If you see anyone breaking the rules, please Call for Help so that a Moderator can take action.”
I did not have to read these before signing up, or make a promise to not be a bad Habbo user. The rules are not even displayed during the confirmation process. I had to hunt for it through terms of service, then through a link at the bottom. It is apparent that Habbo Hotel relies on its users to report people breaking rules. There are Moderators that exist in the site, but they are not present or are in other areas of the site.
I experienced in many different areas examples of users not following The Habbo Way. Because of the free use of chat in the site, there was unregulated and offensive dialogue going on in almost every area I ventured in to. Beware of these, and for that matter, all areas within the site where chat is allowed. This is, unfortunately, the entire site. In just fifteen minutes of game play, I experienced homosexual advances, people flaming other users with racial blurbs, and what is the new trend of typing expletives with different letters and numbers to make it past the Habbo chat filter. (Common swear words are displayed as "bobba" in chat).
Habbo Hotel provides a “Call for Help” option, which is explained in the FAQ page of their Terms and Conditions. It is strictly used for Emergencies only, and is very specific about the uses. You may be banned from the site for Calling for Help in a non-emergency situation, which I think is a bit extreme.
Habbo Hotel should be used with caution and callousness for those wanting a community experience. Chat rooms about sexuality and illegal drug usage – among other non-conservative subjects – are common. This is not a site for those of a young age or sensitive values.
.: Gameplay
2.00
Play, that is, if you can get anyone to play with you! I spent the better part of an hour trying to find someone in the game lobbies to play. I couldn’t convince anyone! It was a game in itself to find someone to play! Either no one was a fan of the games ( I don’t really blame them) or they didn’t want to spend the money to play a third rate game. The only game I was able to play was the free diving game. And that was … neat. You have your avatar jump/fall off of a diving board, and using the keys, make them perform different moves as they fall. …Yay?
I found that the site fanbase is people that like to chat while moving their avatar around. Like a 2D myspace page with chat rooms. If that is what you consider a game, then I would maybe have given it a "3", but it's not.
.: Community
3.00
As for the chat, it is dangerous and unregulated. I have multiple screenshots of users insulting each others’ ethnicity and sexuality and dialogue of illegal drugs, and is very unpleasant. If the users don’t want to hear it, then it is easy to leave the site, but the idea of such garbage being unfiltered is a major deterrent for me. It is definitely a site intended for older teens, and I don’t think Habbo Hotel displays that kind of information in the initial signup pages to make it apparent that younger players are not protected.
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