Free MMORPGs dominate the Most Popular list of games on CNET.com.au Downloads, but which diversions are worth your time and energy?
Even if you don't play, you probably know at least one person who's addicted to World of Warcraft, Star Wars Galaxies, or some other massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).
These games have become so popular that several companies have tried their hand at designing free-to-play MMORPGs. Whereas the pay-for-play games are well-regulated, well-documented, and more or less without bugs, their free cousins are the black sheep of the family. Some producers keep their games running like well-oiled machines; most veer toward chaos. Read reviews of these eight free MMORPGs to learn which are our favourites, and which aren't worth the hassle.
One of the best free MMORPGs we tried, the martial arts-based Hero Online is layered with a multitude of characters, villains, settings, weapons, and armor. Character movement and options are intuitive and easy to learn, and the dynamic combination of rich source material and impressive graphics makes for a rewarding and addictive gaming experience.
This frenetic first-person shooter was another favourite. Five soldier classes and a dozen locations give War Rock depth, as you and your teammates kill the enemy and capture bases. Squads are chosen by the network, but from there it's your game to lose. The game's strength lies in its intense pacing combined with a range of vehicles, scenarios, and weapons to keep the blood spurting freely.
Conquer Online distinguishes itself in some old-school ways that make it seem fresh, if not innovative. Instead of detailed 3D rendering, the anime style is more cartoony, and very well-suited to the pseudo-mystical ancient Chinese milieu in which it's set. The five character classes provide enough room for specialisation to make the game complex, and the smaller install and resource footprint are always appreciated.
Knight Online has a sturdy reputation for offering the most for free. A heavily-populated game, with nearly 300,000 people online when we played, it provides a familiar fight-and-quest medieval milieu that encourages interaction with other players but doesn't demand it. The graphics are great, and all that's keeping this from a five-star rating is the ridiculous installation, which lacks patch documentation.
All the basic medieval quest trappings making this free game familiar even if it's your first MMORPG. Some challenges include having to pay for teleportation from one region to the next, and bad guys who aren't afraid to kick your butt. There's a fair bit of customisation in character design and type, but the lagging server speeds hold this game back.
We wanted to like this free MMORPG, given how much some praise it, but we can't give it a strong recommendation. The game play combines text-based commands and a generic elves-and-orcs MMORPG, which makes for halting graphics, too much typing, and a distinct dearth of action. The six-character species and more than 100 jobs are the game's forte, but it's not enough to make it worth downloading.
Though this additional entry in the medieval fantasy genre performs adequately, it doesn't stand out against the competition. Extremely poor installation patch documentation -- and servers so sluggish that our character was killed -- caused the most trouble. The game play was too generic to make it worthwhile except to the most die-hard fans of the genre.
The most unique aspect in this free MMORPG is that characters can fly. No explanation is given as to why, and that's okay -- fantasy games should have elements of unbelievability, right? Flyff falls down though, in that you can't start flying immediately, or even by the time you reach level 10. The unusual and creative character designs are interesting, but we'd like to see some improvements before giving it another look.
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saeed
20/04/2007 12:24 AM
downloding from your web is very hard
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fritz
14/05/2007 12:26 AM
can i play with out downloading?
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jakey
15/05/2007 02:24 PM
why would you recommend War Rock when you cannot play it in Aus as there are no Aus servers?
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someguy
13/07/2007 02:57 PM
NO SEVERS IN AUS WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY, CRYY:(
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