Is an MMORPG the perfect place to find your soulmate? Join Senior Staff Writer Chris "Pwyff" Tom as he checks out Lucent Heart, a "dating" MMO heavily based on the zodiac system.

In addition to their focus on zodiac themes, Lucent Heart also emphasizes the fact that they are one of the few "dating-based" MMORPGs on the market. For the most part, this focus is achieved through their "cupid matching" service and special "soulmate exclusive" abilities, buffs and even dungeons.

Cupid matching is precisely what you would imagine it to be: three times a day, players can put specific (or un-specific) parameters into the cupid matcher, and they will be put together with a player of the opposite sex who best matches those characteristics. After being matched up as potential "soulmates," the two players can then begin to utilize basic "romantic" partner abilities (like hugging and dancing) that give basic buffs and experience bonuses. As you adventure more with this matched up partner, you will gain access to stronger "soulmate buffs," which can ultimately allow you to get married (and, presumably, gain access to more "soulmate exclusive" things).

In spite of what some may consider unique ideas, however, I honestly cannot think of any possible niche for this MMO to find its unique place within the industry. David Wong, the COO of Gamania, mentioned that Lucent Heart is finally "able to offer an authentic romantic online experience that gamers have been missing in current western MMOs," but I found that there was actually very little to the "dating" component of the game. Just because there are significant advantages and unique abilities that are available to players who partner up with a member of the opposite sex, the level of social interaction that normal dating engenders is just not there.

Don't get me wrong, some players might be content to kill monsters alongside someone who is purportedly of the opposite sex while occasionally throwing out meaningless /hug and /dance emotes to gain special buffs and, in that regard, Lucent Heart is great for that initial point of contact. As a dating and romance game, however, there are no other systems in place to encourage socialization. Even the chat system, which should be one of the most important tools in a social dating MMO, is archaic and painful to use, with its low character limit (I believe 60 characters per "message") and even lower customizability.

Furthermore, as an MMO on its own merit, if you take away its two unique concepts, you end up being left with a clunky UI, even clunkier controls, and not much else. Let's just hope that love is blind to these sorts of problems.