src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/79390/preview">
style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Top
Ten
Free-to-Play Games
Week
of Oct 17th - Oct 23rd, 2010
1.The Lord of
the
Rings
Online
2.
style="text-decoration: underline;">
href="http://allods.gpotato.com/" target="_blank">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eq2">EverQuest2
Extended
target="_blank">
href="http://everquest2.station.sony.com/">
style="text-decoration: underline;">
style="text-decoration: underline;">
href="http://allods.gpotato.com/" target="_blank">
style="text-decoration: underline;">3.
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ddo">Dungeons
and Dragons
Online: Eberron Unlimited
4.
target="_blank">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2553"
target="_blank">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2553"
target="_top">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2553"
target="_blank">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2553"
target="_blank">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2553">
style="text-decoration: underline;">
href="http://us.runesofmagic.com/us/index.html">Runes
of Magic
5.
target="_blank">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/856"
target="_top">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2394"
target="_blank">Allods Online
6.
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2553">
style="text-decoration: underline;">Star Wars: Clone Wars
Adventures
7.
target="_blank">FreeRealms
8.
target="_blank">Atlantica Online
9.
target="_top">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/771">Perfect
World International
10.
target="_blank">Aika
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/856"
target="_top">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/581"
target="_top">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2433"
target="_blank">
href="http://heroesofgaia.gpotato.com/" target="_blank">
style="text-decoration: underline;">
href="http://www.gamersfirst.com/swordofthenewworld/"
target="_blank">
style="text-decoration: underline;">
href="http://www.freerealms.com/" target="_blank">
style="text-decoration: underline;">
href="http://atlantica.ndoorsgames.com/center/default.asp"
target="_blank">
href="http://allods.gpotato.com/" target="_blank">
style="text-decoration: underline;">
href="http://us.runesofmagic.com/us/index.html">
style="text-decoration: underline;">
style="text-decoration: underline;">
href="http://allods.gpotato.com/" target="_blank">
style="text-decoration: underline;">
As I sat through the closing ceremonies of last weekends BlizzCon I
kept hoping that they would finally announce their new MMOG, and
announce that it is going to be free-to-play. They did tease us with a
big reveal, but it turned out to be a spoof game called
style="font-style: italic;">World of Jersey Shorecraft. The
Jersey Shore
tie-in was almost too perfect, given that the crap that comes out of
The Situations mouth would fit right in with WoW trade chat. The fact
that everyone on that awful reality show also dresses the same, just
like our tier 10 avatars, is also appropriate. I would hope my intense
dislike for character homogenization is fairly obvious at this point,
but if not let me restate it I hate looking like everyone else.
To the youth Halloween may be all about the candy, but to me its the
costumes that make it among my favorite of holidays. I love the
creativity that goes into so many of the outfits and, of course, I do
particularly enjoy the ladies dressing up in little more than glorified
lingerie, but thats a whole other column altogether. One aspect of
free-to-play games that always struck a fancy with me is the sheer
diversity in how characters look. And while some of those unique looks
may be inherent to the games design, a lot of it was due directly to
the imagination of the players themselves. Join me this week as I take
a look at some of the more interesting and diverse characters
inhabiting some of my favorite games.
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Most free-to-play titles feature lots of character
customization and asthetic variables, mostly due to the ease of
stocking an item shop with those sorts of items. Whatever the reasoning
behind it, having unique characters adds a ton of depth and immersion
to a gaming experience and can help keep players interested in their
toons even when new expansions are looming. Let's take a look at a
couple of my favorites.
EQ2X
Using a dual armor system, one for stats and one for looks, EQ2X allows
a near infinite amount of customization.
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/91281"
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alt="EQ2X">
sexy back.
armor packs no stastical punch, but it strikes fear into hearts of
opponents.
dainty looking fellow is actaully a plate wearing tank.
FreeRealms
Putting fun above all else, FreeRealms
gives players the ability to put their own unique spin on
armor and appearance.
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/91279"
style="border: 0px solid ; width: 640px; height: 360px;"
alt="FreeRealms">
sets you apart like a paper hat.
Team Edward.
Allods
One of the most polished and stylized free-to-play games,
style="font-style: italic;">Allods has more
than one look for players to choose from - even at level cap.
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/91277"
style="border: 0px solid ; width: 640px; height: 341px;"
alt="Allods">
features Gothic and Steampunk among its many styles.
the more traditional looks are compelling.
