By Danny "Ralsu" Gourley

Week in Review
Due to a death in the family, my gaming time was practically non-existent this week. I am working on some video footage of Florensia to accompany the first impressions I published earlier this week. So I won't lie, when I played a game this week, I did it to unwind and have some fun. My game of choice was Atlantica Online of course, which is the best free-to-play game available--and could rival many subscription games for quality.

Speaking of Atlantica, NDOORS has released several bits of news lately worth mentioning. I am first struck by all of the cash and prizes the company is giving away to players who try the game and participate in the player-vs-player (PvP) combat. Prizes include things like a Nintendo Wii. Then the company announced that auto-move will be a permanent part of the game without becoming a cash shop feature. There is a brief discussion in our forums, but the auto-move option allows players to move to a non-player character (NPC) automatically. I used this feature just two nights ago to get some tea from the kitchen while running to turn in a quest. If a player needs to move through a safe area, this is a great feature and removes some of the tedium of questing.

That same thread that talks about auto-move also addresses stamina, as NDOORS has made it so that all characters regain 1 stamina for every ten minutes not engaged in combat. This addresses a chief concern about stamina, which is a system aimed at preventing botters, encouraging community, and preventing deaths at the keyboard. Gamers need stamina to fight, and each fight takes one stamina. Groups gain stamina back depending on whether two or three players are in the group. Players can also regain stamina by mentoring lower-level players or giving gifts. Now everyone can gain stamina while turning in a quest or shopping on the market.

My final Atlantica note is the satisfaction guarantee, which promises to pay gamers $20 cash for their level 50 characters if they decide to quit Atlantica. No other game is that confident. It's a huge statement.

The List
As I apply my metric of long lasting appeal to the games on my list, I find I am very happy with slots one through four. Numbers five through seven are problematic for me. I feel they are good games, but they have their problems. DOMO and Rohan are heavy grinders the longer you play, especially DOMO. Magic World Online has the legal botting system that removes the grind, but...it just feels weird to me.

Regardless of how I feel about botting, I have adjusted the ranks of these three games to reflect how fun they are as I approach level 35. Magic World Online avoids a drag because of the quests and the bot (bleh). Rohan's great early quests thin out a little bit (as does the population), and DOMO practically forces players to find a group or set up their merchant shops in a town and go AFK.

My sights are still set on Cronous. Look for my first impression on that soon.

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.

Top Ten Free-to-Play Games October 16, 2008
Rank	Previous		Game
1	1		Atlantica Online - (http://atlantica.ndoorsgames.com/) NDOORS Atlantica Portal Atlantica has implemented a "satisfaction guarantee" for players who try the game. Those who aren't satisfied with the experience can sell their characters. Somebody get Stephen Colbert on the phone; he's got competition in the arena of gravitas.
2	2		Wizard101 - (www.wizard101.com) KingsIsle Entertainment, Inc. Magic101 Portal Wizard101 does a good job of keeping the magic houses balanced so that any wizard is useful in a group.
3	3		Mabinogi - (http://mabinogi.nexon.net) NEXON Mabonogi Portal Mabinogi has just enough tactical elements to its combat to keep it feeling like the button mashers so many other games turn out to be.
4	4		Dungeon Runners - (http://www.dungeonrunners.com) NCSoft Dungeon Runners Portal Dungeon Runners gives players the "I must finish one more quest" feeling that a good dungeon crawler should.
5	7		Magic World Online - (http://mwo.enjoymmo.com) Goldcool Games Magic World Online Portal Magic World Online feels a bit like a dungeon crawler at times. It crawls (boo) up two spots in the Top Ten this week because of the detailed storyline in the quests.
6	6		Rohan: Blood Feud - (www.playrohan.com) YNK Interactive Rohan Portal Rohan turns into a grind in the 30s because groups get scarce and people just focus on random PvP. If this game had a supportive player base, it could be terrific.
7	5		Dream of Mirror Online - (http://domo.aeriagames.com) Aeria Games & Entertainment DOMO Portal Dream of Mirror Online becomes a grind for solo play by level 15 or so, making it a very group-heavy experience. While interacting with people is the point of massively-multiplayer online games, this trait sometimes makes me choose other games when I am short on time.
8	8		Runes of Magic - (www.runesofmagic.com) Frogster Runes of Magic Portal Runes of Magic promises quest-centered development. The idea is that players will be questing for levels instead of grinding. I like the sound of that.
9	10		Florensia - (http://en.florensia-online.com/) Burda:ic GmbH Florensia Portal Florensia is ver charming with its combination of land and sea adventuring that make it different for most other games on the market.
10	9		Pefect World International - (www.perfectworld.com) Beijing Perfect World Perfect World International Portal Perfect World International may be a tad grindy, but I think it is worth a shot for anyone. In particular, I feel this game could appeal to anyone who wants a very unique avatar because it has a deep character customization system.

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.