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.

Week in Review
I played more Deco Online than anything else on the list this week. I was able to form a better opinion of it for my efforts.

After about 6 hours of game play in Deco Online, I am now ready to say that I fully expect it to play out like Fiesta Online. It's a newb-friendly "starter" game. It has a fun tutorial, decent controls and interface, and a very nice class system. Sadly, it turned into a pure grindfest the moment I hit the real starting area after completing the tutorial. This is how extreme the grindfest is: a quest sent me to a field of monsters appropriate to my level where I purchased more quests in order to grind toward level 22, the level at which I was invited to return to town to see the non-player character (NPC) who sent me to the field.

Deco did not really attempt to keep the story feeling cohesive. Instead, players are asked to believe that NPCs hire a field marshal who then subcontracts adventurers. Players buy scrolls and read them to get quests. It may say that NPC A wants some fungus in order to make a special potion, but you never deal with NPC A. You get the quests in the field from the merchant and return the collections to him as well. It felt very artificial.

All of that said, the class and skill systems are a lot of fun, so I will probably keep playing Deco. On top of that, the translation is better than average. I'd give it a 4/5 on translation. Even so, Deco plummets to #9 in this list.

Mythos
Another major change this week is Mythos losing its #1 position again. This time, I can't foresee it moving back so soon. In case you missed it, the drama started when rumors have surfaced that Flagship Studios is in real financial jeopardy and the future of Mythos is uncertain. Then Flagship's Taylor Balbi refuted the accuracy of one article that claims he admitted the developer is out of business, but he also carefully stated that he did not deny it. The whole thing ended with an official announcement confirming massive layoffs and the effective death of Hellgate: London.

While the official announcement did not tell me a whole lot about the fate of Mythos, this statement from Travis Baldree did:


And what this means to me is that the Mythos that was being crafted lovingly by Flasgship Studios is dead in the water. Until I know how (if?) the game will progress, I can no longer be so sure that it will continue to be stellar. And if it becomes vaporware, it certainly can't be the best game out there. Welcome to the bottom slot, Mythos.

The List
Next week, I will play 4Story and Atlantica Online. Meanwhile, I keep playing some betas of other games, most of which I can't write about yet. I found the North American client for Cabal Online. That is still on the list for me to try, too.

Here are my Top Ten Free-to-Play Games for this week.

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.

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Top Ten Free-to-Play Games July 17, 2008
Rank	Previous		Game
1	2		Mabinogi - (http://mabinogi.nexon.net) NEXON Mabonogi Portal With the rumors about Mythos circulating and Flagship not denying them, Mabinogi rises to the top again.
2	3		Rohan: Blood Feud - (www.playrohan.com) YNK Interactive Rohan Portal I stand by what I said about Rohan last week; I almost wish it were pay-to-play so it would get better support from gamers and more attention from the media.
3	5		Dream of Mirror Online - (http://domo.aeriagames.com) Aeria Games & Entertainment DOMO Portal Dream of Mirror Online has a fun class system that lets players combine the skills of a couple of classes to make the character they want.
4	7		Dungeon Runners - (http://www.dungeonrunners.com) NCSoft Dungeon Runners Portal Dungeon Runners is pure hack-and-slash fun. I am finding you can solo very well, too.
5	4		Wakfu - (www.wakfu.com) Ankama Wakfu Portal Wakfu closed beta went on for French speakers for a while. Now the English version has been going for quite a while. Does this mean the game has a lot of bugs? Or is Ankama just very thorough?
6	9		Magic World Online - (http://mwo.enjoymmo.com) Goldcool Games Magic World Online Portal Magic World Online is on this list because of the story. Period. People who enjoy a story and don't require cutting-edge graphics should download the game today.
7	7		Warrior Epic - (http://warriorepic.com) Possibility Space Warrior Epic Portal Warrior Epic could be another hack-and-slash game in the style of Dungeon Runners. Hopefully more details will surface soon.
8	10		Runes of Magic - (www.runesofmagic.com) Frogster Runes of Magic Portal Runes of Magic will start beta soon. Expect a preview from me.
9	6		Deco Online - (http://www.joymax.com/deco/) JOYMAX Deco Online Portal Deco Online has a fun skill system that lets players advance their favorite skills and be unique.
10	1		Mythos - (www.mythos.com) Flagship Studios, Inc. Mythos Portal Mythos is better than any other game on this list--if it really comes out. At this point, we can't be sure.

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