href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/31549"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 250px; height: 160px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/31549/preview">

By Danny "Ralsu" Gourley

About
This List


Please refer to the Top
Ten
Free-to-Play Games Portal
to find out how to get a game you
make or like on this list.

Month in Review

First, let's recap the month of free-to-playing gaming. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1303"> style="font-style: italic;">Atlantica Online
starts and ends the month in the top slot because the game flat out
rocks. It may not suit everyone, but it caters to its audience extremely
well. People who don't like it are people who don't like strategy
games, I'd wager.

Wizard 101
went into Open Beta, allowing me to finally profess my love for it. The
game is aimed at young teens, but I love PvP in this title. The game
play is trading card game meets Harry
Potter
. Just try it.

As the month went by, I removed style="font-style: italic;">Warrior Epic
because I won't rank href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/41117">games that are
not massively-multiplayer on this list. I still recommend
people try it for a fun dungeon romp.

Finally, I moved Cabal
Online
into the Top Ten, if for no other reason, because
of it's rocking soundtrack.

Looking Ahead to
September


The style="font-style: italic;">Runes of Magic
Closed Beta is underway, and I am very excited about this title. Be on
the lookout for beta keys from Ten Ton Hammer soon. My only problem now
is figuring out how to fit in all of the gaming I want to do. I am
sitting on a pile of Cabal
Online
video that I want to edit, and I still want to
share my experiences with the game.

Meanwhile, I owe it to Codemasters to take a look at style="font-style: italic;">Archlord because I
gave my word. I have personal desires to continue playing style="font-style: italic;">Atlantica Online
and Wizard 101.
Finally, I want to try Red
Stone
. Bear with me, faithful free-to-play gamers. I'll
get there.

In the meantime, I'd love to hear about why you choose to play
free games. Is it because you don't have much spare money for gaming?
Are you like me and just want a game you don't feel tied to because you
pay for it? Are free-to-play games something you do during downtime
with a subscription-based game you play regularly? Drop me a line in href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=33483">the
forums.

The List

I am making no changes in the rankings this week, but I will talk a
little about how I come up with my rankings. First, I prefer to have
played a game, but I will rank a game based on information released to
the public. style="font-style: italic;">Wakfu and
Runes of Magic
are great examples. When I started my Top Ten, I ranked games not yet
released (as a playable beta or fully released) a little too high. I
have since cracked down and ranked these games lower. It is important
to remember this as I describe my next consideration.

Next I think about which game I'd rather play. style="font-style: italic;">Atlantica Online
sits at number one because there is no free-to-play game I'd rather
play. Yes, even with Stamina. Even though I am super-excited about style="font-style: italic;">Runes of Magic,
keep in mind what I said above. I haven't played it yet, so I rank it
lower than games I have already played.

Clearly, there is no science at work here. Just a feeling out
of which games I like and which upcoming games get me excited. I'll
leave readers with two thoughts:

  1. Remember that this list is not a review.
  2. Remember that even games ranked #10 by now (the 18th week
    of the list) are very solid games. Being #10 is NOT being a bad game.

Here are my Top Ten Free-to-Play Games for August 2008.

Disclaimer:
The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed are those of the author
and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of
the Ten Ton Hammer network or staff.


cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2">
colspan="4" rowspan="1"> style="color: white; font-weight: bold;">Top Ten
Free-to-Play Games

August 29 2008 style="text-align: center; width: 75px; background-color: rgb(114, 105, 62); font-weight: bold; color: white;">Rank style="text-align: center; width: 75px; background-color: rgb(114, 105, 62); font-weight: bold; color: white;">Previous style="text-align: center; width: 105px; background-color: rgb(114, 105, 62); font-weight: bold; color: white;"> style="width: 334px; background-color: rgb(114, 105, 62); font-weight: bold; color: white;">Game

1

style="text-align: center; width: 75px; color: rgb(188, 188, 188);">

1

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/38580"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 100px; height: 100px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/38580/preview"> style="font-weight: bold;">Atlantica Online - ( href="http://www.playatlantica.com">www.playatlantica.com)

NDOORS
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1303">Atlantica
    Portal

Atlantica
moves into it's third beta stage and offers rewards for referrals. Get
your beta key here
by August 31.

2

style="text-align: center; width: 75px; color: rgb(188, 188, 188);">

2

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/41097"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 100px; height: 100px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/41097/preview"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;">Wizard101 - ( href="https://www.wizard101.com/" target="_blank">www.wizard101.com)

KingsIsle Entertainment, Inc.
  • href="http://tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1186">Magic101
    Portal

style="font-style: italic;">Wizard101 does not
have a publicly announced revenue model that I have seen. Will there be
a cash shop? Or will there be a sub, forcing me to remove a teriffic
game from the list. Somebody tell me if I missed something.

3

style="text-align: center; width: 75px; color: rgb(188, 188, 188);">

3

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/31567"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 100px; height: 100px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/31567/preview"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;">Mabinogi - ( href="http://mabinogi.nexon.net/">http://mabinogi.nexon.net)

NEXON
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/856">Mabonogi
    Portal

style="font-style: italic;">Mabinogi is still
ranekd very high just based on how much there is to do. I really want
to see NEXON do another fantasy-based game for older gamers.

4

style="text-align: center; width: 75px; color: rgb(188, 188, 188);">

4

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/33602"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 100px; height: 100px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/33602/preview"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;">Dungeon Runners -
( target="_blank">http://www.dungeonrunners.com style="font-weight: bold;">) NCSoft
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/110">Dungeon
    Runners Portal

Dungeon
Runners
recently went retail but players can still
download it and play it 100% free. Do so today. It's a wild time.

5

style="text-align: center; width: 75px; color: rgb(188, 188, 188);">

5

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/35119"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 100px; height: 100px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/35119/preview"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;">Rohan: Blood Feud - ( href="http://www.playrohan.com/" target="_blank"> style="font-weight: bold;">www.playrohan.com style="font-weight: bold;">)

YNK Interactive
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/906">Rohan
    Portal

Rohan
gets bashed a lot on several message boards I visit. I wonder if
free-to-play gamers ever really stick with games to the level cap.

6

style="text-align: center; width: 75px; color: rgb(188, 188, 188);">

6

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/32333"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 100px; height: 100px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/32333/preview"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;">Dream of Mirror Online - ( style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank"
href="http://domo.aeriagames.com/">http://domo.aeriagames.com style="font-weight: bold;">)

Aeria Games &
Entertainment
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/997">DOMO
    Portal

Dream of Mirror
Online
is a great example of what can happen when a game
with an Eastern theme gets a solid translation.

7

style="text-align: center; width: 75px; color: rgb(188, 188, 188);">

7

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/36886"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 100px; height: 100px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/36886/preview"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;">Runes of Magic -
( href="http://www.runesofmagic.com/">www.runesofmagic.com style="font-weight: bold;">)

Frogster
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1234">Runes
    of Magic Portal

Runes of Magic
looks quite a bit like WoW. I am holding high hopes that the title is
polished.

8

style="text-align: center; width: 75px; color: rgb(188, 188, 188);">

8

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/30838"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 100px; height: 100px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/30838/preview"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;">Magic World
Online
- ( href="http://mwo.enjoymmo.com/" target="_blank">http://mwo.enjoymmo.com style="font-weight: bold;">)

Goldcool Games
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/983">Magic
    World Online Portal

Magic World Online
proves that games don't have to be 3D to be great. If the story is
solid, you can draw in players.

9

style="text-align: center; width: 75px; color: rgb(188, 188, 188);">

9

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/41572"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 100px; height: 100px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/41572/preview"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;">Cabal Online -
(www.cabalonline.com style="font-weight: bold;">)

ESTsoft
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/853">Cabal
    Online Portal

Cabal Online
makes even mundane combat feel intense early on. That affect wears off
after a few hours, though.

10

style="text-align: center; width: 75px; color: rgb(188, 188, 188);">

10

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/30840"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 100px; height: 100px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/30840/preview"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;">Wakfu - ( style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.wakfu.com/"
target="_blank">www.wakfu.com style="font-weight: bold;">)

Ankama
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1017">Wakfu
    Portal

Wakfu
is not just a project for Ankama; it's a commitment. The game will have
an accompanying anime.



  • Return to the href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/Top10F2P">Top Ten
    Free-to-Play Games Portal

To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Dungeon Runners Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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