Ok, so I have played everyone of these games on this list, except one and I for one liked DDO and Allods (even though they had outrageous CS prices and bots out the butt), but even the content of Allods alone couldn't keep me playing.
Free Realms was decent on a very childish kind of level. I couldn't get past the first 10 lvls just because the content was way to easy.
The only game on this list that I haven't played was AO, I have been seeing it reviewed alot lately and have considered playing it just to try it out.
But the downfall to any F2P, is they aren't free to play, you may not have to buy a subscription (which I think would be better off if you are going to gouge the crap out of people in endgame content). I for one will not put more money into a game then I would a sub, if I'm going to pay our $30 a month for a F2P game I would much rather go and spend $30 and get 60-90 days of unlimited ingame content. That is the way I see it.
If you want to be F2P, be F2P and don't nickel and dime us to death, because after all there is a reason we play F2P games, lack of money makes us go to the F2P to satisfy the gaming addiction. I don't mind putting a little money here and there to a good F2P game, but I will not shell out massive amounts of money to play a game that is supposed to be free. So the list of games you listed, none of them are F2P, they are all Item Mall games, therefore F2P shouldn't even be a label.
Anyway, done with my rant, F2P pshhhh.... the only one that comes remotely close is DDO, but in the end you still need to shell out some $$, and it's the only one that is even remotely interesting and fun to play!
I wish people would stop referring to Guild Wars as F2P. Unless of course you consider $20 "free". And then there are the expansions...
a. people call it f2p because beside the box charge there are no other fees. for all i care i could have bought guild wars prophecies since day 1 and pvp for almost 5 years (april 28 people) and not pay a single dime other then the box fee.
for all matter in most of those f2p you will pay more then that within a month.
so yeah...its not f2p as dl the clinet and play until you hit the point that you have to invest cash, but then again its a pvp balanced game, and saying f2p and pvp is an oxymoron.
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I agree with previous posts stating Wizards 101 is far better than Free Realms. Even my 2 kids ( ages 10 and 12 ) agree with me. We all have played both, and Wizards 101 was more fun and kept their attention much longer. After logging in a few times, they were bored with Free Realms. There isn't much at all to do without buying from their shop. And when you play, you are constantly bombarded with messages to buy from their shop. Combine that with boring repetitive mini games and, yeah, it gets old pretty quick.
You pretty much lost me as soon as I saw FreeRealms ranked above it. If there's ever been a more cynical, phony, patronizing game, I never heard of it. On top of that it is restrictive as hell, it's lonely, and every single game in it is mind-numbing fluff. Top this off with sales pitch after sales pitch - right down to taking your pet away after teaching you how to feed and care for it.
DDO is alright, but calling it an MMO is a stretch even if we're using that term here for games like Guild Wars and Global Agenda, because nothing really happens in the lobby areas
QFT.
AO=still a damn fun game, with arguably more content than any MMO on the market. It's a min/maxxer/loot whore's dream. I'd give the poster below me's left nut for a modern, new AO2.
DDO=single player game with multiplayer aspects just tacked on. Ugh.
I wish people would stop referring to Guild Wars as F2P. Unless of course you consider $20 "free". And then there are the expansions...
a. people call it f2p because beside the box charge there are no other fees. for all i care i could have bought guild wars prophecies since day 1 and pvp for almost 5 years (april 28 people) and not pay a single dime other then the box fee.
for all matter in most of those f2p you will pay more then that within a month.
so yeah...its not f2p as dl the clinet and play until you hit the point that you have to invest cash, but then again its a pvp balanced game, and saying f2p and pvp is an oxymoron.
Guild Wars not being a MMO and being considered a "F2P" game implies every other game on the market that offers decent online gameplay is also "F2P", rendering useless whatever meaning this word had.
I wish people would stop referring to Guild Wars as F2P. Unless of course you consider $20 "free". And then there are the expansions...
To be perfectly honest, 20$ for the Guild Wars trilogy is a hell of a lot cheaper than what you normally have to pay to be competitive in most every F2P game there is, so its a hell of a lot more F2P than most F2P games are.
To be perfectly honest, 20$ for the Guild Wars trilogy is a hell of a lot cheaper than what you normally have to pay to be competitive in most every F2P game there is, so its a hell of a lot more F2P than most F2P games are.
Sure. But to have conversation, words need to have common meaning.
When discussing MMOs, "F2P" does not mean "you can play for free after you buy the box at EBGames".
It does not mean "not only does the game cost nothing, but there is nothing else in game that you can spend money on".
It does not mean "can play for free, pay for cosmetic items, but the cash shop has nothing that affects gameplay".
It does not mean "can play for free, or can spend money, but never very much money."
It simply means you can install the game for free; you can play for free; and there is some alternative revenue stream funding the whole shebang (generally a cash shop).
I don't understand why so many people say stuff about AO and RoM like you can't play without paying at a certain point. All you people just stfu. I played RoM all the way to 50 and made a Mage / Priest. I never had to pay a single cent, it's very easy to simply get the items in-game by using the auction house. Now, for AO I've only gotten to level 24, but from what I've seen it is the best quality F2P game, it's attracted me the most and the progression is at a pace I like. You can totally play without paying, just use the damn auction house. And even if I don't use the auction house the game seems very good and it may just be the first F2P that I might spend money on.
About Anarchy Online, I've never played it so I won't comment on that. However, I played DDO for a few levels and it didn't interest me like RoM and AO did so I uninstalled it. Freerealms I also uninstalled fairly quickly, the features of it and look didn't suit me well. Now, for all the people saying Atlantica should be on there I have to agree with them that it should be on the list. However, I don't agree that it should be #1. It did peak my interest for about 40 levels, but at some point my mage just wasn't doin' it for me. Although, all this talk of it kind of makes me want to play it again .
Other then that I will end my argument by saying that all the people who say Perfect World should be on there I think are easily entertained. I played until level 32 or so until I realized it was just a grindfest from there.
I don't understand why so many people say stuff about AO ... Now, for AO I've only gotten to level 24, but from what I've seen it is the best quality F2P game, it's attracted me the most and the progression is at a pace I like. You can totally play without paying, just use the damn auction house. And even if I don't use the auction house the game seems very good and it may just be the first F2P that I might spend money on...
Theres no point in talking about atlantica till you start the 95+ grind...not to mention the end lvl grind mania. Thats how Atlantica got its rating so high...ppl reviewing it too early
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. A. Einstein
I don't think Free Realms should be listed as F2P at all. I can understand Anarchy Online since it gives access to full original game for free, but Free Realms just gives 5 levels out of 20. That classification makes WoW (trial to level 20 out of 80 levels) a F2P game.
this fails, DDO is #1? u work for turbine? that game sucks and eats ur money worse than any other f2p mmo. oh well i guess it is what it is. its his list not ours.
I played Atlantica for awhile on and off now and its still #1 i think.. its the only f2p game that u can play at high lvl and compete with out paying a dime.
but other than that.. most of this game isnt f2p.. its just an extended trial
The staff/guest writer rules for reporting about F2P games:
1. Pretend that MMO’s that were built with a triple AAA budget like AO and DDO can be put in the same category as other F2P games.
2. Use DDO as an example of a F2P game. DDO has a subscription only option, a hybrid revenue model, yet still you must stick it in with F2P MMO’s.
3. Pretend that user subscriptions = revenue. In a P2P game active user subs do indicate revenue, but you have to pretend that this is the case for F2P games too.
4. Support the concept that anything F2P is worthy of being called a MMO, even if it is just a collection of mini games like Free Realms.
It appears as though the shaft of DDO is firmly planted in the throats of columnists these days.
It was a crap game before 'f2p', it's still a crap game.
lol yup... It's such a cynical honor isn't it?
A game that was - even by the the author's say-so - doing less than well (was floundering, actually) as a P2P because no one found it worth the subscription - is now the champion of F2P.
And that final statement.. "It's the rise of F2P".
Good grief... Have they been hanging with Aioshi or something? Also, I'll echo something that was said earlier in the thread... why this push for F2P on this site lately? Not so overtly, as in "every single day", so much, but more in the emphasis of it. I remember another article not long ago that was also pushing F2P. Seems like no F2P article can be posted that's merely *informational* - they've always got some kind of a "F2P is awesome!" tone to them. I feel like rather than merely being informed, that the attempt is to "convince" me of how wonderful F2P is. I've tried numerous F2P MMOs, I know what they're like. Not a single one has been able to keep my interest; not even without a sub fee.
It's also cynical that F2P seems to be held to a lower standard. Again, DDO being the key example here. It was struggling as a P2P MMO because too many people found it just wasn't good enough warrant a sub fee. Yet, remove the mandatory sub fee, and suddenly it's repeatedly hailed as the champion of F2P. I'm sorry... but I don't see that as a boost to the F2P movement. That an arguably failing P2P MMO represents the best F2P has to offer is not something that I would, personally, be shouting from a mountain-top about.
I'd rather not have to lower my standards and expectations of what a good MMO is just because it's "free".
Now... if Allods, or PW or any of the others that were *designed* and existed from the start as F2P MMOs were in that position? Then absolutely... sound the trumpets. At least the "honor" is genuine.
At least the author got something right that poster after poster in these threads seems to miss... that Guild Wars isn't free to play.
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
hmmm it seems to me this really should be called "Bill's Top Five F2P MMORPG's" since this didnt really cover the other generas of MMO's (mmofps, mmorts, and hybrid mmo's). It just covered the clasic set of MMORPG's too.
To be perfectly honest, 20$ for the Guild Wars trilogy is a hell of a lot cheaper than what you normally have to pay to be competitive in most every F2P game there is, so its a hell of a lot more F2P than most F2P games are.
Sure. But to have conversation, words need to have common meaning.
When discussing MMOs, "F2P" does not mean "you can play for free after you buy the box at EBGames".
It does not mean "not only does the game cost nothing, but there is nothing else in game that you can spend money on".
It does not mean "can play for free, pay for cosmetic items, but the cash shop has nothing that affects gameplay".
It does not mean "can play for free, or can spend money, but never very much money."
It simply means you can install the game for free; you can play for free; and there is some alternative revenue stream funding the whole shebang (generally a cash shop).
Yeah... I'm noticing this trend around here and elsewhere... Now some proponents of F2P are attempting to change the meaning of "free" to suit their arguments, just like others do with so many other terms.
As someone else said... if nothing else, Guild Wars is "Buy to Play". You still have to buy the original game and/or expansions, therefor it is not *free*, no matter how low the cost.
I understand the desire to push it as such, though. It's been a popular and arguably pretty successful game and so they want to use it to boost their argument. Sorry but that dog won't hunt.
Spending money to acquire something =/= Free
Of course, people will continue to enthusiastically claim it is anyway... but then, welcome to mmorpg.com where for some, the only facts are those they like.
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
The MT model that DDO uses, more MT games need to look at this. L2MT!
The game itself I've not been able to keep myself interested in, but the MT model is much better than any other I've seen.
srsly!
I know you probably MEANT RMT, because of the topic being f2p games, but MT, to me....means main tank. So your comment confused me for about half a second. Other than that...I somewhat agree. My only real complaint with DDO for the month I dabbled in it...is that the ENTIRE game is like one instance after another. It seemed like every single quest was an instance. For me...that's just such a constant feeling of being jerked out of immersion. It really made me a bit nutty. (Oh...okay....MORE nutty, whatever.)
To the OP:
Of all the games mentioned, my biggest "issue" was probably with FR. I played FreeRealms (yeah...so sue me) until I had several level 20s (their max level). Their RMT stuff...not so good. The weapons you can buy (and I'll admit...I bought one) are so superior to anything you can get in game...it's not even funny. I know the game is more directed at children, but...the RMT thing, once I realized how slanted it is...really bothered me and I left and never returned. Also, once you "unsub" now (it's like 5 bucks a month or so) you lose the ability to even use your pretty glowy 5 dollar RMT weapons and play the extra classes that you can play if you're subbed, and you don't get that "right" back....until you start paying them that 5 bucks (or 6) a month, even though you paid for the sword (or whatever). So that 5 dollar sword, actually not only costs you 5 bucks, but 5 bucks a month to have the "right" to USE it, even once you "bought" it. BAD BAD BAD BAD on SoE here. The car racing was the most fun part of the game, btw.
Runes of Magic was the most enduring game, for me, of the ones listed (I never had the opportunity to play AO, though I've considered trying it out many times). RoM seemed to be a very well-rounded and complete game. Nothing really bad to say there (other than player housing SUCKS, but I'm used to EQ2 housing, so...not a lot on the market to satisfy me with housing once you're spoiled by EQ2's housing). Plenty of good stuff without ever paying a dime though. But to be fair...again...I didn't PvP, so I have no idea if the RMT works for the PvP'ers or not.
I agree with the others who have mentioned Wizard 101. It is definitely more of an MMO proper than FreeRealms...without a doubt.
EDIT:
And btw....I totally agree with the comment: Spending money to acquire something =/= Free.
"f2p" is pretty much a psyche. Oh sure...you CAN play these games for free...but for the most part....you won't be satisfied with that experience. Even in RoM....the thing I found myself constantly LONGING (and really almost NEEDING) to buy to be able to function....was more bag space and bank space. You just cannot play that game long without it. Oh sure...you can create alts for mules, but that is so stinkin' inconvenient. Of course it's that way so that you WILL buy inventory and bank space. I never DID....but then....I didn't keep playing either, in part because of that.
I would say that list is reasonable,since it is opinionated anyhow.Myself i found DDO felt extremely linear,and just felt like a F2P game.I would probably vault Free Realms and ROM to top 2,but again this is opinions.I just feel ROM albeit run by a half ass effort developer,does come close to being a good game.Free realms dedicated to a childrens game also does a great job.Allods just did not do it for me,i felt like there was nothing there to keep me interested,but i can see how some would consider it a top 5.
The problem i have with F2p games aside from my own personal opinions on how a game should be made,example the quest>quest argument over camping,is that they are so hit and miss throughout the entire game.I will go through maps that have some horrible design,areas that look unfinished,or i will see graphics that look decent then god awful,ugly models re used over and over ect ect.Basically F2P games just always end up looking like a F2P game,like they were thrown together half ass and very quickly,with no attention to detail.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
"Let me preface this from the very beginning by stating that this particular list is extremely opinion-driven. There are oodles of F2P games on the market these days, and what you’re about to read is one man’s (mine) take on the top five games currently available."
The opening two sentences of Bill's post seem very clear to me.
I have no problem with people posting their own list and saying why it differs to Bill's, but it is most irritating to read the usual "well that is just plain wrong for x reason" type posts.
I have to agree with this to an extent. But unless you have been with the company from the very beginning of open beta, you would have been soured to the game as many people have been. I still like the game I just find it hard to want to be involved in a community where there is so much negativity and devs who really do nothing to make the game better, or they ignore important posts.
I might give it awhile before I decide to play it again, but I have alot of negativity, towards the companies behind it. SO I may never go back. They say first impressions are what stick, well it did with this company, never had anything to do with them before and I have been absolutely soured by the PR behind it!
I would remove Free Realms it's more of a money grabber then anything considerating you were once able to go to level 20 for some jobs brawler etc.. but once they saw they had enough registered users they started smacking membership on all the jobs past level 5. They continue to release things into the marketplace to feed off grown adults inner childhood and young kids.
The word Free is to bring you in. They are like the Avon lady at your door sucking you in to get your money. Pirate's Plunder MEMBERS ONLY.
The environment is the least challenging environment you will ever face because of so many young kids playing it. If you find Free Realms a challenge in any way you probably didn't pass pre school without a tutor did yeah?
The game is fun if you like winning because you will experience enough of it. With people hey you wanna duel and then they have no idea on what they are doing because there like 5.
The Card game is basically all luck and their is only really three good players out of the hundreds who play it who actually know how to build a deck.
Free Realms is overall for the mmorpgs beginners who need their screen filled up with pointers and very simple to use game mechanics that make you feel like you are being spoon fed the whole entire time.
But what would I know I have been playing it since it was beta and I was king of the leaderboards with one hand and a pizza in another. Yes it feels good to be better then young kids and adults who have high iqs but can't play games worth the shit.
Comments
Ok, so I have played everyone of these games on this list, except one and I for one liked DDO and Allods (even though they had outrageous CS prices and bots out the butt), but even the content of Allods alone couldn't keep me playing.
Free Realms was decent on a very childish kind of level. I couldn't get past the first 10 lvls just because the content was way to easy.
The only game on this list that I haven't played was AO, I have been seeing it reviewed alot lately and have considered playing it just to try it out.
But the downfall to any F2P, is they aren't free to play, you may not have to buy a subscription (which I think would be better off if you are going to gouge the crap out of people in endgame content). I for one will not put more money into a game then I would a sub, if I'm going to pay our $30 a month for a F2P game I would much rather go and spend $30 and get 60-90 days of unlimited ingame content. That is the way I see it.
If you want to be F2P, be F2P and don't nickel and dime us to death, because after all there is a reason we play F2P games, lack of money makes us go to the F2P to satisfy the gaming addiction. I don't mind putting a little money here and there to a good F2P game, but I will not shell out massive amounts of money to play a game that is supposed to be free. So the list of games you listed, none of them are F2P, they are all Item Mall games, therefore F2P shouldn't even be a label.
Anyway, done with my rant, F2P pshhhh.... the only one that comes remotely close is DDO, but in the end you still need to shell out some $$, and it's the only one that is even remotely interesting and fun to play!
^Amen
Uhh... what?
I wish people would stop referring to Guild Wars as F2P. Unless of course you consider $20 "free". And then there are the expansions...
Everytime I go to try and get that game I have nothing but issues... is the new 2.o version out yet or is it still the old one?
a. people call it f2p because beside the box charge there are no other fees. for all i care i could have bought guild wars prophecies since day 1 and pvp for almost 5 years (april 28 people) and not pay a single dime other then the box fee.
for all matter in most of those f2p you will pay more then that within a month.
b. http://www.massively.com/2009/12/17/best-buy-offers-guild-wars-trilogy-for-14-99-why-you-need-to/
so yeah...its not f2p as dl the clinet and play until you hit the point that you have to invest cash, but then again its a pvp balanced game, and saying f2p and pvp is an oxymoron.
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I agree with previous posts stating Wizards 101 is far better than Free Realms. Even my 2 kids ( ages 10 and 12 ) agree with me. We all have played both, and Wizards 101 was more fun and kept their attention much longer. After logging in a few times, they were bored with Free Realms. There isn't much at all to do without buying from their shop. And when you play, you are constantly bombarded with messages to buy from their shop. Combine that with boring repetitive mini games and, yeah, it gets old pretty quick.
QFT.
AO=still a damn fun game, with arguably more content than any MMO on the market. It's a min/maxxer/loot whore's dream. I'd give the poster below me's left nut for a modern, new AO2.
DDO=single player game with multiplayer aspects just tacked on. Ugh.
Guild Wars not being a MMO and being considered a "F2P" game implies every other game on the market that offers decent online gameplay is also "F2P", rendering useless whatever meaning this word had.
B2P is a much better term to describe Guild Wars.
To be perfectly honest, 20$ for the Guild Wars trilogy is a hell of a lot cheaper than what you normally have to pay to be competitive in most every F2P game there is, so its a hell of a lot more F2P than most F2P games are.
Sure. But to have conversation, words need to have common meaning.
When discussing MMOs, "F2P" does not mean "you can play for free after you buy the box at EBGames".
It does not mean "not only does the game cost nothing, but there is nothing else in game that you can spend money on".
It does not mean "can play for free, pay for cosmetic items, but the cash shop has nothing that affects gameplay".
It does not mean "can play for free, or can spend money, but never very much money."
It simply means you can install the game for free; you can play for free; and there is some alternative revenue stream funding the whole shebang (generally a cash shop).
I don't understand why so many people say stuff about AO and RoM like you can't play without paying at a certain point. All you people just stfu. I played RoM all the way to 50 and made a Mage / Priest. I never had to pay a single cent, it's very easy to simply get the items in-game by using the auction house. Now, for AO I've only gotten to level 24, but from what I've seen it is the best quality F2P game, it's attracted me the most and the progression is at a pace I like. You can totally play without paying, just use the damn auction house. And even if I don't use the auction house the game seems very good and it may just be the first F2P that I might spend money on.
About Anarchy Online, I've never played it so I won't comment on that. However, I played DDO for a few levels and it didn't interest me like RoM and AO did so I uninstalled it. Freerealms I also uninstalled fairly quickly, the features of it and look didn't suit me well. Now, for all the people saying Atlantica should be on there I have to agree with them that it should be on the list. However, I don't agree that it should be #1. It did peak my interest for about 40 levels, but at some point my mage just wasn't doin' it for me. Although, all this talk of it kind of makes me want to play it again
.
Other then that I will end my argument by saying that all the people who say Perfect World should be on there I think are easily entertained. I played until level 32 or so until I realized it was just a grindfest from there.
Theres no point in talking about atlantica till you start the 95+ grind...not to mention the end lvl grind mania. Thats how Atlantica got its rating so high...ppl reviewing it too early
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. A. Einstein
I don't think Free Realms should be listed as F2P at all. I can understand Anarchy Online since it gives access to full original game for free, but Free Realms just gives 5 levels out of 20. That classification makes WoW (trial to level 20 out of 80 levels) a F2P game.
this fails, DDO is #1? u work for turbine? that game sucks and eats ur money worse than any other f2p mmo. oh well i guess it is what it is. its his list not ours.
I played Atlantica for awhile on and off now and its still #1 i think.. its the only f2p game that u can play at high lvl and compete with out paying a dime.
but other than that.. most of this game isnt f2p.. its just an extended trial
You just got Bootyknocked
The staff/guest writer rules for reporting about F2P games:
1. Pretend that MMO’s that were built with a triple AAA budget like AO and DDO can be put in the same category as other F2P games.
2. Use DDO as an example of a F2P game. DDO has a subscription only option, a hybrid revenue model, yet still you must stick it in with F2P MMO’s.
3. Pretend that user subscriptions = revenue. In a P2P game active user subs do indicate revenue, but you have to pretend that this is the case for F2P games too.
4. Support the concept that anything F2P is worthy of being called a MMO, even if it is just a collection of mini games like Free Realms.
allods online is the best f2p mmo.
lol yup... It's such a cynical honor isn't it?
A game that was - even by the the author's say-so - doing less than well (was floundering, actually) as a P2P because no one found it worth the subscription - is now the champion of F2P.
And that final statement.. "It's the rise of F2P".
Good grief... Have they been hanging with Aioshi or something? Also, I'll echo something that was said earlier in the thread... why this push for F2P on this site lately? Not so overtly, as in "every single day", so much, but more in the emphasis of it. I remember another article not long ago that was also pushing F2P. Seems like no F2P article can be posted that's merely *informational* - they've always got some kind of a "F2P is awesome!" tone to them. I feel like rather than merely being informed, that the attempt is to "convince" me of how wonderful F2P is. I've tried numerous F2P MMOs, I know what they're like. Not a single one has been able to keep my interest; not even without a sub fee.
It's also cynical that F2P seems to be held to a lower standard. Again, DDO being the key example here. It was struggling as a P2P MMO because too many people found it just wasn't good enough warrant a sub fee. Yet, remove the mandatory sub fee, and suddenly it's repeatedly hailed as the champion of F2P. I'm sorry... but I don't see that as a boost to the F2P movement. That an arguably failing P2P MMO represents the best F2P has to offer is not something that I would, personally, be shouting from a mountain-top about.
I'd rather not have to lower my standards and expectations of what a good MMO is just because it's "free".
Now... if Allods, or PW or any of the others that were *designed* and existed from the start as F2P MMOs were in that position? Then absolutely... sound the trumpets. At least the "honor" is genuine.
At least the author got something right that poster after poster in these threads seems to miss... that Guild Wars isn't free to play.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
hmmm it seems to me this really should be called "Bill's Top Five F2P MMORPG's" since this didnt really cover the other generas of MMO's (mmofps, mmorts, and hybrid mmo's). It just covered the clasic set of MMORPG's too.
Yeah... I'm noticing this trend around here and elsewhere... Now some proponents of F2P are attempting to change the meaning of "free" to suit their arguments, just like others do with so many other terms.
As someone else said... if nothing else, Guild Wars is "Buy to Play". You still have to buy the original game and/or expansions, therefor it is not *free*, no matter how low the cost.
I understand the desire to push it as such, though. It's been a popular and arguably pretty successful game and so they want to use it to boost their argument. Sorry but that dog won't hunt.
Spending money to acquire something =/= Free
Of course, people will continue to enthusiastically claim it is anyway... but then, welcome to mmorpg.com where for some, the only facts are those they like.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
I know you probably MEANT RMT, because of the topic being f2p games, but MT, to me....means main tank. So your comment confused me for about half a second. Other than that...I somewhat agree. My only real complaint with DDO for the month I dabbled in it...is that the ENTIRE game is like one instance after another. It seemed like every single quest was an instance. For me...that's just such a constant feeling of being jerked out of immersion. It really made me a bit nutty. (Oh...okay....MORE nutty, whatever.)
To the OP:
Of all the games mentioned, my biggest "issue" was probably with FR. I played FreeRealms (yeah...so sue me) until I had several level 20s (their max level). Their RMT stuff...not so good. The weapons you can buy (and I'll admit...I bought one) are so superior to anything you can get in game...it's not even funny. I know the game is more directed at children, but...the RMT thing, once I realized how slanted it is...really bothered me and I left and never returned. Also, once you "unsub" now (it's like 5 bucks a month or so) you lose the ability to even use your pretty glowy 5 dollar RMT weapons and play the extra classes that you can play if you're subbed, and you don't get that "right" back....until you start paying them that 5 bucks (or 6) a month, even though you paid for the sword (or whatever). So that 5 dollar sword, actually not only costs you 5 bucks, but 5 bucks a month to have the "right" to USE it, even once you "bought" it. BAD BAD BAD BAD on SoE here. The car racing was the most fun part of the game, btw.
Runes of Magic was the most enduring game, for me, of the ones listed (I never had the opportunity to play AO, though I've considered trying it out many times). RoM seemed to be a very well-rounded and complete game. Nothing really bad to say there (other than player housing SUCKS, but I'm used to EQ2 housing, so...not a lot on the market to satisfy me with housing once you're spoiled by EQ2's housing). Plenty of good stuff without ever paying a dime though. But to be fair...again...I didn't PvP, so I have no idea if the RMT works for the PvP'ers or not.
I agree with the others who have mentioned Wizard 101. It is definitely more of an MMO proper than FreeRealms...without a doubt.
EDIT:
And btw....I totally agree with the comment: Spending money to acquire something =/= Free.
"f2p" is pretty much a psyche. Oh sure...you CAN play these games for free...but for the most part....you won't be satisfied with that experience. Even in RoM....the thing I found myself constantly LONGING (and really almost NEEDING) to buy to be able to function....was more bag space and bank space. You just cannot play that game long without it. Oh sure...you can create alts for mules, but that is so stinkin' inconvenient. Of course it's that way so that you WILL buy inventory and bank space. I never DID....but then....I didn't keep playing either, in part because of that.
President of The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club
I would say that list is reasonable,since it is opinionated anyhow.Myself i found DDO felt extremely linear,and just felt like a F2P game.I would probably vault Free Realms and ROM to top 2,but again this is opinions.I just feel ROM albeit run by a half ass effort developer,does come close to being a good game.Free realms dedicated to a childrens game also does a great job.Allods just did not do it for me,i felt like there was nothing there to keep me interested,but i can see how some would consider it a top 5.
The problem i have with F2p games aside from my own personal opinions on how a game should be made,example the quest>quest argument over camping,is that they are so hit and miss throughout the entire game.I will go through maps that have some horrible design,areas that look unfinished,or i will see graphics that look decent then god awful,ugly models re used over and over ect ect.Basically F2P games just always end up looking like a F2P game,like they were thrown together half ass and very quickly,with no attention to detail.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
my list (only games that I have played):
Allods Online (lvl 40 pally and I am loving it. Cant wait for the Astral)
Anarchy Online (I have all the expansions, this is the game that introduced MMO's to me)
Runes of Magic (Dual Class system ruins the game)
Atlantica (fun untill higher levels...grind....grind...Zzzz)
Dragonica (it was pretty fun acctually, JUST ADMIT IT!!
DDO is not in the list because I have not tried it yet
"Let me preface this from the very beginning by stating that this particular list is extremely opinion-driven. There are oodles of F2P games on the market these days, and what you’re about to read is one man’s (mine) take on the top five games currently available."
The opening two sentences of Bill's post seem very clear to me.
I have no problem with people posting their own list and saying why it differs to Bill's, but it is most irritating to read the usual "well that is just plain wrong for x reason" type posts.
I have to agree with this to an extent. But unless you have been with the company from the very beginning of open beta, you would have been soured to the game as many people have been. I still like the game I just find it hard to want to be involved in a community where there is so much negativity and devs who really do nothing to make the game better, or they ignore important posts.
I might give it awhile before I decide to play it again, but I have alot of negativity, towards the companies behind it. SO I may never go back. They say first impressions are what stick, well it did with this company, never had anything to do with them before and I have been absolutely soured by the PR behind it!
I would remove Free Realms it's more of a money grabber then anything considerating you were once able to go to level 20 for some jobs brawler etc.. but once they saw they had enough registered users they started smacking membership on all the jobs past level 5. They continue to release things into the marketplace to feed off grown adults inner childhood and young kids.
The word Free is to bring you in. They are like the Avon lady at your door sucking you in to get your money. Pirate's Plunder MEMBERS ONLY.
The environment is the least challenging environment you will ever face because of so many young kids playing it. If you find Free Realms a challenge in any way you probably didn't pass pre school without a tutor did yeah?
The game is fun if you like winning because you will experience enough of it. With people hey you wanna duel and then they have no idea on what they are doing because there like 5.
The Card game is basically all luck and their is only really three good players out of the hundreds who play it who actually know how to build a deck.
Free Realms is overall for the mmorpgs beginners who need their screen filled up with pointers and very simple to use game mechanics that make you feel like you are being spoon fed the whole entire time.
But what would I know I have been playing it since it was beta and I was king of the leaderboards with one hand and a pizza in another. Yes it feels good to be better then young kids and adults who have high iqs but can't play games worth the shit.