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.
Week in Review
I owe a big thanks to Ten Ton Hammer reader
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/member.php?u=19810">RipperMcGee
for reminding me that
style="font-style: italic;">Wizard101 is now in
Open Beta. Faithful readers may recall how I have frequently
noted that I am in some betas that I can't talk about--at all.
style="font-style: italic;">Wizard101 from
KingsIsle Entertainment, Inc. was one of those betas.
In Wizard101,
the player is a young wizard attending the Ravenwood School of Wizardry
(a dash of Harry Potter).
Players choose a school of magic (Fire, Ice, Storms, Myth, Balance,
Life, and Death) and learn to summon creatures to fight for them via
spell cards (a dash of Yu-Gi-Oh).
The combat take place in a circular grid that allows for 4 on 4
battles, so players get to see full graphical effects of their summoned
warriors (a little Pokemon
Stadium). I won't say much more because a full preview
belongs on Ten Ton
Hamster.
Why does Wizard101
belong on the Hamster? Because the game is designed for and marketed to
children. KingsIsle has taken great steps to make the chat "kid safe,"
including required persons under 18 to use set of pre-programed chat
messages. Never mind all of that. The combat is fun, and the
player-vs-player action requires some thought. I have had a blast with
this title. Since anyone can get in Open Beta now, check it out.
The List
I have two changes again this week. First,
style="font-style: italic;">Warrior Epic
drops off the list. The
non-disclosure agreement (NDA) has stopped me from telling anybody what
the game is like, but the
href="http://www.warriorepic.com/movies.aspx" target="_blank">recent
trailer released by Possibility Space shows something very
key to the public for the first time. At 2:37 in the video,
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/41117">viewers can
see the game lobby and the player in the video asking someone
to play with him. This part of the video shows that
style="font-style: italic;">Warrior Epic has no
real persistent online space, and it drop from the list for that
reason. That new video is pretty cool and gives the best peek at the
game yet. When the NDA is lifted, I will say more. Just understand that
no game with a lobby in lieu of a graphical world as the hub will make
this list until Cody allows me to cover
style="font-style: italic;">Diablo III.
The other change is that Wizard101
comes onto the list at #2. Yes, that is pretty high praise for a
children's game, but it's very fun. And I would rather play it than any
other game on the list aside from Atlantica
Online.
Next week, I am starting a new super-secret beta that will eat
much of my time. Still, I will continue to look at
style="font-style: italic;">Cabal Online and
try to start my exploration of ArchLord.
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.
Free-to-Play Games
August 14, 2008
1
1
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NDOORS
Atlantica
has introduced two
major points of focus for this session of the beta: challenges (PvP)
and stamina. The former is very fun. The latter forces you to group or
PvP until you get enough stamina to solo again. Boo.
2
N/A
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/41097/preview">
KingsIsle Entertainment, Inc.
Sure,
Wizard101
is a kid's game. But I like it. Think
style="font-style: italic;">Yu-Gi-Oh meets
style="font-style: italic;">Harry Potter with a
persistent online world. It's close to that.
3
2
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NEXON
style="font-style: italic;">Mabinogi feels like
the grand adventure it is supposed to. It encourages exploration and
taking chances.
4
3
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/33602/preview">
( target="_blank">http://www.dungeonrunners.com style="font-weight: bold;">) NCSoft
I am hearing rumors that Dungeon
Runners is in trouble. I hope not because it is a great
game.
5
4
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Rohan
seems to need a few more "evil" races to balance out the PvP, but the
game is gorgeous.
6
5
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 takes
the player through a rich tradition of Eastern mythology. Perhaps a
Western-themed game would be more appealing to Ten Ton Hammer readers,
but DOMO is really good.
7
7
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/36886/preview">
( href="http://www.runesofmagic.com/">www.runesofmagic.com style="font-weight: bold;">)
Frogster
Runes of Magic
is getting me excited. The graphics in the public videos remind me of
style="font-style: italic;">World of Warcraft,
but the class mechanics described on the website remind me of DDO.
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
Magic World Online
has massive PvP battles if you play long enough to see them.
9
8
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/37572/preview">
( href="http://www.joymax.com/deco/" target="_blank">http://www.joymax.com/deco/ style="font-weight: bold;">) JOYMAX
Deco Online
gets lucky and
stays on the list another week. It's not a bad game, but I know it's
not true Top Ten material. Give it a try and tell me if I am wrong.
10
9
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/30840/preview">
target="_blank">www.wakfu.com style="font-weight: bold;">)
Ankama
Wakfu
has fallen a long way over time on my charts due to the lack of
information coming out of Ankama and the
href="http://tentonhamster.com/node/2102">big changes
proposed by the development team. When it goes into Open Beta, I'll be
able to share my assessment of the game itself.
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Dungeon Runners Game Page.