src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/31549/preview">
By Danny "Ralsu" Gourley
style="font-weight: bold;">About This List
Please refer to the
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/Top10F2P">Top Ten
Free-to-Play Games Portal to find out how to get a game you
make or like on this list.
Week in Review
This week, I played more Fiesta
Online and NeoSteam.
The grind in Fiesta
finally set in, and the game's new #9 ranking reflects how I feel about
that. Meanwhile, NeoSteam
offers a sense of openness I have not really experienced since
style="font-style: italic;">EverQuest,
but I think it works against the game. Players actually need to go
around and talk to NPCs to find quests, but most beta testers will
msitake this for an incomplete game design instead of an intentional
one. Plus, crafting, purchasing skills, and many other things are not
explained very well in-game. This will turn off gamers who crave a
thorough tutorial.
My new game for the week is Requiem:
Bloodymare.
This game from Gravity Interactive combines the post-apocalyptic
setting of Resident Evil
with the questing and lore of EverQuest.
Then it sprinkles a dash of Aeon
Flux (the cartoon, not the movie) for character models.
I really enjoy Requiem,
but I won't be writing a whole lot about it. Ten Ton Hammer's Cody
"Micajah" Bye has covered the game enough to give you a fair idea. Just
check out our
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/769">Requiem
portal. I should make three notes about
style="font-style: italic;">the game
style="font-style: italic;">, though.
Requiem,
which is in Open Beta right now, suffers from some pathing issues
during combat that can cause the player to need to chase enemies back
and forth to land hits with autoattack. The monsters, of course, can
hit you the whole time even if you keep getting the "too far away"
message. On the bright side, towns feel truly alive. The NPCs move
around and engage each other in conversations (limited, so you'll see
them repeat after a while). All the while, the towns perfectly capture
the feel of a civilization pushed to the brink of existence. Finally,
the game is rated M because of liberal use of blood. In fact, I turned
down the setting to minimal so that every combat did not look like a
style="font-style: italic;">Mortal Kombat
fatality. I'm no prude. I just think blood flying all over the screen
in unrealistic amounts looks puerile.
With Requiem
debuting on the list, Shaiya
fall out of the Top Ten.
Finally, I
downloaded and installed Holic,
a relatively new title from NetGame. Sadly, the portal to create new
accounts was down and I could not register to try the game. Of course,
it may have saved me from a bad experience for all I know. Please see
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=28952">our
forums for details.
The List
Coming up, I will be finishing my coverage of
style="font-style: italic;">NeoSteam. The top 6
games on my list now are fun enough that I keep coming back to
them. I'll
look at Rakion
as a suggestion from the forums. I'll continue my search for a legit
download of Perfect World, and I might even give
style="font-style: italic;">Holic a try against
my better judgment.
Here are my Top Ten Free-to-Play Games for this week!
Free-to-Play Games
June 5, 2008
1
1
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/30839/preview">
- ( href="http://www.mythos.com/">www.mythos.com style="font-weight: bold;">) Flagship Studios,
Inc.
The overworld
in Mythos
is just about ready for beta consumption. The sneak peeks I have taken
show it to be no less than full of awesome and win.
2
2
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/31567/preview">
NEXON
Even when the grind sets in with Mabinogi,
the paper-rock-scissors combat gives it enough flair to be fun. Or I
can always perform jobs for the villagers and collect harvestables.
style="font-weight: bold;">
3
3
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/30840/preview">
target="_blank">www.wakfu.com style="font-weight: bold;">)
Ankama
Wakfu
is almost ready for the American beta, and I am getting very excited.
style="font-weight: bold;">
4
4
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/32333/preview">
href="http://domo.aeriagames.com/">http://domo.aeriagames.com style="font-weight: bold;">) Aeria Games &
Entertainment
Dream of Mirror Online continues to provide me with storied quests and
fun character development.
5
N/A
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/34626/preview">
Requiem
is EverQuest
meets Resident Evil.
If the kinks are ironed out during beta, this game could be a major
cult classic.
6
8
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/33602/preview">
( target="_blank">http://www.dungeonrunners.com style="font-weight: bold;">) NCSoft
Dungeon
Runners
still keeps me coming back for episodic solo play. It is massively
multiplayer in that you can run around towns with dozens of other
players, but I wonder how many people solo all the time.
7
7
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/30847/preview">
( href="http://www.neosteam.com/">www.neosteam.com style="font-weight: bold;">)
Hanbitsoft
I wish NeoSteam
had a better translation and were more user-friendly. The game is fun,
but most gamers will not forgive the poor translation and lack of
hand-holding.
8
6
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/30838/preview">
Online
- ( href="http://mwo.enjoymmo.com/" target="_blank">http://mwo.enjoymmo.com style="font-weight: bold;">)
Goldcool Games
I installed Baldur's
Gate II: Throne of Bhaal
on my computer for the first time in over 5 years last weekend. Guess
what? The graphics in that game, which released at the beginning of the
decade, are just as good as those in
style="font-style: italic;">Magic World Online.
Both games rely heavily on story.
9
5
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/32065/preview">
( href="http://fiesta.outspark.com/" target="_blank">http://fiesta.outspark.com style="font-weight: bold;">)
Outspark
Fiesta
is a great beginner's game because it is free and teaches players the
basics of massively-multiplayer online games. After level 12, it starts
to get really boring due to the grind.
10
9
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/30841/preview">
( href="http://warriorepic.com/">http://warriorepic.com style="font-weight: bold;">)
Possibility Space
Warrior Epic
has a lot of promise. When the NDA is lifted, expect Ten Ton Hammer to
bring you the scoop on this title.
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our EverQuest Game Page.