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style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Top
Ten
Free-to-Play Games

Week
of Aug 8- Aug 14, 2010


target="_top"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/856"
target="_top"> href="http://www.freerealms.com/" target="_blank"> style="text-decoration: underline;">

1. Dungeons
and Dragons
Online: Eberron Unlimited


2. style="text-decoration: underline;"> href="http://www.freerealms.com/" target="_blank"> style="text-decoration: underline;">FreeRealms href="http://allods.gpotato.com/" 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/taxonomy/term/856"
target="_top"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/581"
target="_top"> href="http://us.runesofmagic.com/us/index.html">Runes
of Magic target="_blank">

4.  href="http://atlantica.ndoorsgames.com/center/default.asp"
target="_blank"> href="http://www.freerealms.com/" target="_blank"> style="text-decoration: underline;"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/856"
target="_top"> href="http://www.freerealms.com/" target="_blank"> style="text-decoration: underline;"> href="http://www.freerealms.com/" target="_blank"> style="text-decoration: underline;"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/856"
target="_top">The
Chronicles of Spellborn


5.  target="_blank">  href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/856"
target="_top"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/856"
target="_top">Requiem: Bloodmayne

6.
Perfect World International


 7.  href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/581"
target="_top"> 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/1303"
target="_blank">Atlantica Online

8. target="_blank">Sword 2

9. target="_blank">Allods Online

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;">



Did you check out last week’s coverage of SOE and our extended look at
FanFaire? If
not, then you’re missing out on a ton of great information. (You are
also denying yourself the pleasure of seeing Ben and Jeff in the pool
party video, which is a spectacle to say the least.) Known as a power
player in the MMOG scene almost as long as the genre has existed, this
former king of the AAA world is quickly establishing itself as one of
the top companies in the emerging free-to-play market. Our team was
able to gather plenty of intel on the upcoming plans for style="font-style: italic;">EverQuest2 Extended
at FanFaire, and they didn’t even need to resort to Wikileaks-style
tactics to glean it.



Will other major developers soon begin to follow in the footsteps of
SOE and Turbine? Given the upside of a larger and more forgiving player
base it seems likely.



Perfect World Entertainment is another up and comer in the free-to-play
segment, with Jade
Dynasty
and Perfect
World International
having established fan bases here in
North America. Their newest entry is style="font-style: italic;">Battle of the Immortals,
which will be the focus of this week’ s review. I tend to be a little
wary of PWE games because their item shops tend to offer unbalanced and
overpowered items that skew gameplay too heavily toward the paying
player, so I entered Battle
of the Immortals
with some trepidation



Perfect World Entertainment, the North American division of
Perfect World Incorporated has localized several popular Chinese MMOGs
to date, but none have been more ambitious than their newest entry – style="font-style: italic;">Battle of the Immortals. Battle
of the Immortals, or BOI for short, is a bit of a
dichotomy. Being a Chinese import, one would expect slower leveling and
the grindy nature that typifies games from our friends in the Far East.
A confusing UI, or at least one with a bit of a learning curve is also
an unfortunate trend. Neither is found in this game, which was a
welcome surprise. This fully featured title centers on mythology of
many different origins, from Chinese to Norse, and has one of the most
amazing pet systems to ever see the light of day. Sadly, the Chinese
free-to-play mold isn’t completely unbroken in BOI; my biggest gripe
with any free-to-play game, an unbalanced item shop, once
again reared its ugly head.


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alt="BOI" src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/88000">

2.5D is the new isometric.

Graphics:



Battle of the Immortals is
officially described as a 2.5D MMOG, which means it’s an isometric view
with highly polished 3D models. While I am not usually a fan of
isometric games, BOI looks great and you will have a hard time
convincing yourself that the greater portion of the environment isn’t
fully rendered. The UI is very reminiscent of WoW in look as well as
function. In addition to intricately detailed character models the
armor and weapons here are a perfect example of how to execute a
stylized look without overdoing it. Rarely have anime inspired avatars
and regalia been done this well.



Textures and spell effects are also well done, which completes a well
appointed package of graphics and makes you feel like you should be
paying for this game (if you stick with it you probably will be, but
more on that later). I did experience a few minor glitches, mostly due
to terrain collision, but nothing game breaking or
persistent. 



Gameplay:
style="font-weight: bold;">


While graphical excellence is nothing new to Asian imports, it’s a much
rarer feat to experience gameplay that doesn’t feel like a grind.
Battle of the Immortals is one of the exceptions to the rule. Not only
does it offer a higher rate of experience for quests than most, but it
even gives you a daily blast of free experience for doing nothing more
than taking an extended AFK at the Tree of Life. Quests will lead you
through the early game in its rather long “tutorial” phase allowing you
to reach level 20 quickly. During the intro period you will become
familiar with most of the core concepts, the three most important being
Soul Gear, the pet system and mounts.



The central theme of BOI is much like any other game, to kill monsters
and take their stuff. At higher levels the prized loot is known as Soul
Gear, class-based tiered armor sets that are uber powerful and increase
in power as you gain levels. Even though this is a PvP game, the only
way to get these sets is by completing dungeon runs, making BOI a very
strong PvE title as well. I was impressed by the number and types of
dungeons available, which included both instanced and open world
varieties. There are also some quest-based dungeons throughout the game
that offer sizeable rewards themselves. It is easy to tell that none of
the core gameplay features were an afterthought (a problem that often
plagues free-to-plays and AAA games as well.)



Any of the game’ s five classes can have a combat pet, which is hardly
a new concept on the surface, but digging deeper we find a whole new
level of customization. Instead of taming their pets in a traditional
manner, players obtain them by killing certain mob types until a
version spawns that they may attempt to capture. The method of
acquiring pets initially isn’t all that unique, but the system really
shows its teeth through the methods used to create new ones. Advanced
players can partake in a form of twisted animal husbandry and breed
entirely new species of pets with unique and often very formidable
powers. The latent mad scientist in me really, really likes this. href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml7vT51vUSk&feature=related"
target="_blank">There is a rabbit loose in the castle,
Rudolph. Return him to me, and I shall reward you with a spider
goulash.



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alt="BOI" src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/88002">

Mounts provide faster travel
and persistent buffs in BOI



Mounts in BOI are also fairly unique. Many mounts are communal
and can hold up to 6 players--anything that adds to socialization is a
huge bonus in my book. Speaking of bonuses, mounts not only grant you
the boon of increased movement speed, but can also grant you
statistical buffs that last well after they have been dismissed. Not
that most players need any other reason than going fast and looking
cool, but you definitely will not want to be without a mount in BOI.



Combat in BOI is much like one would initially expect from an isometric
game, such as Diablo
or Torchwood;
movement and attacks are initiated by mouse clicks and, unlike some of
the aforementioned games, there is no need to repeatedly click once
combat is engaged. If you are one of the three MMOG players never to
have dabbled in Diablo
, it may seem a bit awkward at first, but trust me, you will get used
to it.

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alt="BOI" src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/88001">

Combat is reminiscent of some
of the most popular games ever made.



In the original Chinese version there was an in-game bot that could be
used for a set amount of time each day, but thankfully it has been
removed in the North American localization. Players really don’t need
the bot since they are all allotted 300 minutes of double xp per week
that can be toggled on or off at their whim. One bot-like feature that
still exists is the ability to click on a quest and have the player
auto travel there, which may seem odd to us, but is fairly standard in
many Eastern games – Atlantica
Online
players will feel immediately at ease with it, for
example.



Gameplay is probably the strongest element of style="font-style: italic;">Battle of the Immortals
and it really gives it a leg up on a lot of the games in the segment. I
spoke earlier of my fondness for socialization, and here is an area
where BOI takes it to a whole other level. Players friendship is
quantified here: the more time you spend in a party with your friends
the more evolved your damage bonus will be when near each other. If the
friendship is of a romantic nature, there is even an in game mechanic
that allows players to become married – and this isn’t your typical RP
wedding done by players, it is a full blown process accomplished
through various goals that ends with an elaborate ceremony.
Consummation is not included. 



 
style="font-weight: bold;">
Value:



While this version of the game is not as bad as the original, I still
feel that the item shop is too heavily laden with game changing
elements that, when coupled with the engrossing gameplay, create a
must-buy atmosphere. If you play BOI and truly fall in love (hey, you
may even get married after all), then I would endorse it fully to you,
but know that you will spend easily as much as you would on a
subscription game. There is a mechanic in the game that allows players
to trade the item shop currency amongst themselves, creating a whole
new level of economy that could bring a measure of balance to the most
heavily time invested players, but I feel the urge to spend is one that
North American players really struggle with. You have been warned
America, if you find yourself maxed out on the credit cards and taking
out a second on the house, don’t come after me with your lit
torches. 



Overall:


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(3.5 / 5
Hammers)

With strong gameplay, slick graphics, fast leveling and tons of
content, Battle of the
Immortal
s should have had one of the higher scores of any
game I’ve recently reviewed. Unfortunately, the heavily skewed item
shop prevents it from achieving its full potential. style="font-style: italic;">Battle of the Immortals
receives an overall score of 3.5 out of 5 Hammers. It is a well made
and well executed game that’s definitely worth a look; just make sure
you can afford it.





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alt="BOI">

style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Explore
a world of myth and lore - from Chinese to Norse to the fabled city of
Atlantis.






To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Battle of the Immortals Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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