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:
- Remember that this list is not a review.
- 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.
Free-to-Play Games
August 29 2008
1
1
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NDOORS
Atlantica
moves into it's third beta stage and offers rewards for referrals. Get
your beta key here
by August 31.
2
2
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KingsIsle Entertainment, Inc.
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
3
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NEXON
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
4
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( target="_blank">http://www.dungeonrunners.com style="font-weight: bold;">) NCSoft
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
5
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YNK Interactive
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
6
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 is a great example of what can happen when a game
with an Eastern theme gets a solid translation.
7
7
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( href="http://www.runesofmagic.com/">www.runesofmagic.com style="font-weight: bold;">)
Frogster
Runes of Magic
looks quite a bit like WoW. I am holding high hopes that the title is
polished.
8
8
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Online
- ( href="http://mwo.enjoymmo.com/" target="_blank">http://mwo.enjoymmo.com style="font-weight: bold;">)
Goldcool Games
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
9
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(www.cabalonline.com style="font-weight: bold;">)
ESTsoft
Cabal Online
makes even mundane combat feel intense early on. That affect wears off
after a few hours, though.
10
10
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/30840/preview">
target="_blank">www.wakfu.com style="font-weight: bold;">)
Ankama
Wakfu
is not just a project for Ankama; it's a commitment. The game will have
an accompanying anime.
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Dungeon Runners Game Page.