High Quality Free to Play Games

Just because a game is “free to play”, doesn’t mean it’s “low quality”. There’s a pretty terrible stereotype out there, mostly amongst forums for pay to play MMOs like World of Warcraft and Warhammer Online, that free to play means “low quality and bad”. What many of these folks bashing F2P don’t realize is that many pay to play games have gone free to play. Dungeons and Dragons Online from Turbine and Archlord from Webzen were both once subscription based pay to play MMORPGs, but are now free to play titles with cash shops.

There are many MANY free to play games out right now that are much “higher quality” than other pay to play games as well. Allods Online from gPotato for example had a 12+ million dollar budget. I’m not saying that Allods Online is “better” than pay to play games, but it’s certainly on the same level in terms of quality. Black Prophecy from Gamigo looks just as “good” as Eve Online from CCP, and it’s completely free. Well, not completely, as it does have a cash shop, but it’s still free to play. Martial Empires from Gamgio has also proven that free to play does not have to be “cheap.”

I do have to admit though, that there are a lot of very cheap free to play Chinese and Korean MMORPGs. Games like Age of Armor from Snail Games and Avalon Heroes from Alaplaya. In fact, there are easily 50+ “terrible” MMORPGs, which no human should play. I think that many pay to play players are turned off from free to play games because they’ve had poor experienced with these cheap games. Pro tip guys, skip games like Azuga: Age of Chaos and Battle of Destiny and stick with the Triple-A titles like Runes of Magic, Dungeons and Dragons Online and Allods Online.

So is free to play better than pay to play? I think so, but I don’t think it’s fair to generalize things. World of Warcraft is still an unmatched title in quality, content and variety. I don’t think any free to play game can come close to it. But there are free to play games that rival, if not surpass other pay to play MMORPGs – Especially the second tier pay to play games like Dark Age of Camelot and Pirates of the Burning Sea. I feel that some of these second tier games should go free to play, as there’s no reason to pay for them when there are better titles available.

MMORPG Balance Doesn't Matter

I feel that a lot of free to play MMORPGs spend too much time worrying about balance. When I play a new MMORPG I care a lot more if the game has lots of playable classes than if they’re balanced. In fact, I could care less if one class is slightly over powered or if one class is slightly under powered. I like games that offer lots of variety. Games like Ragnarok Online and Requiem from Gravity on the free to play front and games like Dark Age of Camelot and Vanguard on the pay to play front. I Feel that if MMO developers spend too much time and energy worrying about balance, they won’t be working on adding new classes and races. World of Warcraft for example is an extremely balanced game, but it has such little variety. I mean, if a game is big into PvP, then balance should be important, but a lot of people play MMOs for the PvE aspect.

Does anyone really care if about balance anyway? I know I don’t. I mean, I do to an extent, but so long as one class isn’t absurdly over powered, balance is not in my top 5 concerns about a game. Just look at the Super Smash Brothers franchise – it has so many characters. Characters like Bowser and Jigglypuff are outright useless. In fact, within the community players have broken down characters into tier 1, 2 and 3. There are usually a few tier 1 characters which the ‘pros’ use and a few tier 2 characters which are also good, but 90% of characters in Super Smash are garbage, thus they’re thrown into tier 3. I think it’s almost universally accepted that Super Smash Brothers is a fun game, which is why I used it as an example. Balance does not equal fun.

Developers should focus on character customization (Think Perfect World), content and features. These are much more important than balance. Sure PvP MMORPGs like Aika Online and Kingdom Heroes would require a bit more attention in the balance department, but I think MMO companies are wasting their efforts worrying about balance when they could actually be improving their games.

I Can’t be the only one who feels this way, but sometimes I do feel this way, as every time I’ve discussed this issue across various forums, people tend to disagree. I’ve noticed though that people who play pay to play MMORPGs seem to care more than those who play free to play games. People who player browser games also preferred variety over balance. Any thoughts? Leave them in the comments below

Point and Clicks MMORPGs Are Lame

If there’s one thing that makes me irrationally angry, it’s MMORPGs that use point and click controls / gameplay. Well, not really ‘angry’, but upset at least. WSAD controls are just so much more fluid and responsive. If you look at all the best free MMORPGs, they all have WSAD controls. Games like World of Warcraft, Allods Online and Runes of Magic all have WSAD controls. I understand that some games, specifically Diablo 2 style action MMORPGs, work better with point and click controls, but there are so many point and click games out there that would be better with WSAD. Games like Tales of Pirates and Ragnarok Online would be awesome if they had a decent WSAD or DPAD movement.

There’s a very easy fix out there for developers trying to decide on a control scheme. I can understand that some people prefer point and click, so it would make sense for developers to just incorporate both control schemes into their game. A lot of games actually do this. Tales of Fantasy and Cloud Nine just being the first two I can think of. The benefit of having both systems is that everyone is pleased. After all, developers and publishers need MMORPG players to succeed.

What do you guys think? Which do you prefer point and click or WSAD controls? Pick a side and defend it!

Action MMORPGs Are The Best

Out of all the free to play MMORPGs out there, my favorite kind of game is an action oriented MMORPG. It’s not that I dislike traditional fantasy MMORPGs like Dragon Oath or Esteria Mythos, but rather I enjoy playing action MMORPGs more. I guess it’s because simply left clicking my opponent and waiting for the battle to end can get boring. I like it when a game keeps me on my toes and has be fully engaged. A few of my favorite action MMORPGs are Dragonica Online, GhostX and Dungeon Fighter Online. Dragonica online is actually one of the few MMORPGs I still play regularly. It's a side scrolling MMORPG well worth checking out.

That new Diablo 2 type game – Battle of the Immortals is also quite fun. I actually find it quite fascinating that there are so many World of Warcraft clones, but so few Diablo clones. Diablo 2, in my opinion, is easily one of the best video games ever. I’ve spent countless hours on that game and have ‘went back’ to it more times than I’d care to admit. As is though, there really aren’t too many Diablo 2 clones. The best one I can think of off the top of my head is Battle of the Immortals, so if you’re looking for something like Diablo, definitely give that game a try.

Another reason why action MMORPGs are fun is that they’re more interactive. I never get ‘bored’ or ’sleepy’, as i’m constantly pushing buttons. Action games also tend to be more skill oriented, which I find interesting. Point and click style MMOs like Secret of the Solstice are fun, but there’s no real skill involved. Just having to move around and attack manually adds a layer of skill to the game.

So, what are YOUR favorite action MMORPGs? Do you like the genre? or do you like point and click more? Post your comments below!

Asian MMORPGs Starting to Copy Western Graphics

One interesting thing that I noticed is that more and more Asian MMORPGs are copying Western art style / graphics. It really shouldn’t come as a surprise, as World of Warcraft is currently the most successful MMORPG of all time, but I found it interesting because for a long time, MMORPGs from Korea and China were anime inspired. Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with anime MMORPGs, and in fact, I prefer ‘anime’ style graphics over realistic, but there are so many WoW clones out there now, it’s pretty ridiculous.

Eastern games like Neo Online, Gates of Andaron and Runes of Magic for example are examples of how Eastern game developers are copying the art style of World of Warcraft. Even Chinese MMORPGs like Perfect World and Battle of the Immortals look a bit like World of Warcraft.

I’m not a big fan of this trend as I prefer sleek anime inspired graphics over ‘Western Style’ cartoony graphics. Brightly themed free MMORPGs like Cloud Nine and Bright Shadow look gorgeous in my opinion and are much more ‘pleasing’ to look at than Realistic games or even Western style cartoony games. Even MMO Shooters like K.O.S. Secret Operations and Alliance of Valiant Arms are starting to look and play like Counter-Strike and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

Anyone else see this trend? Or is it just me?

Anime MMORPGs Look Great

I don’t know about you guys, but for some reason I really like MMORPGs with anime inspired graphics. I’m not wapanese or anything, but I find brightly themed games to be easier on the eyes. Heck, I don’t even watch anime, but I still like the visuals in anime MMORPGs. Games like Cloud Nine and Lunia look absolutely gorgeous. Sure, these games don’t look nearly as ‘impressive’ as 3D MMORPGs with realistic graphics (ie.. Atlantica Online and Karos Online), but they’re just overall more pleasant to look at. Don’t get me wrong, both Atlantica Online and Karos Online are top notch games, but I just prefer the visuals in Cloud Nine over any 3D other 3D game.

If you look at all the MMORPGs out there, the most successful ones seem to be either ‘western cartoony’ or anime inspired. Games that try to have realistic graphics (ie.. Age of Conan and EverQuest 2) aren’t doing so hot. To be fair though, there are boatloads of free to play games with anime inspired graphics that are also doing rather poorly, but my point is some of the most successful games have brightly themed cartoony graphics. A few examples off the top of my head are MapleStory, Runes of Magic, Allods Online and even World of Warcraft. MapleStory is easily one of the most successful free to play MMORPGs on the entire market. Its a very simple 2D MMORPG with side scrolling gameplay.

One reason why ‘cartoony’ games tend to do well is that they age better than realistic games. EverQuest for example looked great when it was originally released back in ~2000, but the game looks terrible today. MapleStory on the other hand, looked fine when it was released in 2003 and still looks fine even today. Since release the game’s graphics haven’t changed one bit. Heck, they don’t need to change because ‘cartoony’ graphics, especially 2D graphics don’t seem to age as fast as realistic 3D MMORPGs.

What do you guys think? Which do you prefer Anime / Cartoony graphics or realistic 3D graphics?

Where are all the Sci-fi MMORPGs?

As a big fan of Scifi I’m a bit disappointed that there are so few free to play scifi MMORPGs out there. With well over 120+ fantasy MMORPGs, you’d think that one or two game developers would decide to put out a sci-fi game, but nope. That never seems to happen. MMORPG Devs seem to think fantasy is the way to go. As of now (March 13, 2010), the only free to play scifi themed MMORPGs are Megaten, RF Online, Zero Online, Project of Planets, GhostX, Anarchy Online and 2029 Online. Unfortunately every single one of these games are at least 2+ years old. There hasn’t been any new scifi themed MMORPGs in ages. Luckily, Black Prophecy may change that. For those of ya that haven’t heard of Black Prophecy, it’s a 3D Sci-fi MMORPG that aims to compete with Eve Online.

You’d think with the enormous popularity of Star Wars and Star Trek, there would be more similarly themed MMORPGs out there, but that isn’t the case. I guess you could argue that there are a few pay to play scifi themed MMORPGs, but I’m not a fan of paying for the MMORPGs I play =). Besides, I hear Star Trek Online is a total flop anyway. And that’s sad to hear. Atari and Cryptic could have done so much more with Star Trek Online.

One of the main reasons why I’m shocked to see so few scifi MMORPGs is that with so many fantasy games out there, you’d imagine game developers would try something new. I mean, what’s the point in competing with 100+ GOOD fantasy MMORPGs, when you could release a scifi game and only compete with 10 or so mediocre MMORPGs. I guess we Scifi fans have to wait until Black Prophecy to have our day.

Interface in MMORPG Games

Without a doubt, one of the most ‘overlooked’ features in any MMORPG is its interface. Even an MMO with solid gameplay and graphics can be ruined if it has terrible interface. Nowadays, there a few features which I expect from any new free to play MMORPG. One example of a must have feature in any MMO these days is a map that clearly marks every quest location as well as quest NPC. Having to run around just to find new quests can get terribly annoying. Plus finding where certain quest monsters are can be equally tedious. Luckily, games like Grand Fantasia and Perfect World address these issues quite well, as they both have great maps. Runes of Magic as well as Gates of Andaron do a swell job in this regard.

The actual hotkey bars and interface ‘look’ also has to look ‘modern’. The interface in games like Eudemons Online and Magic World Online are just so dull and old. They remind me of games like Diablo and Baldurs Gate. Both of which are great games, but they’re old. Luckily though, all newer MMORPGs are starting to put more detail in their interface. Cloud Nine and Karos Online, which just came out recently have solid interfaces. Hopefully this trend will continue and even browser games will keep upping the aesthetics of their interface.