May 12th, 2009

Best Free Online MMORPG – Part III

A few days passed since we talked about the best free online MMORPG, but I am sure you haven't forgotten our little quest here. After all, we're not trying to push any game forward as a winner, as it usually happens in "best of" rankings you get to see here and there all over the online realm. The only winner is you, the one reading these lines, because discovering a whole bunch of games that are also free to play will make you a wiser gamer. True or not true?

Good, so we got through the first part of the alphabet, and now we are facing the candidates starting with the letter "G," but this doesn't mean we can't turn back, if needed. It all depends on what pops up until we get to the end of the story... and what I may remember. After all, we're all humans, and forgetting stuff is a human thing.

To be honest, I have no idea how many games we'll manage to point out today, but let's stop talking and start walking, shall we? The realm of the best free online MMORPG is waiting for us to step in once again!

1. Guild Wars is one of the best choices for MMORPG freaks on a budget. Its major advantage is that you only need to buy the stand alone episodes as they come out, and you'll be able to play the game for free. Compared to games like WoW or Eve Online, this is clearly better... at least to your budget, of course.

So far, Guild Wars got three stand-alone episodes and one expansion pack, and Guild Wars 2 is on the way. Last month, NCSoft announced that over 6 million units have been sold, and while Guild Wars 2 has been in the works for over 2 years now, there's nothing sure about its release date/features.

One last thing to say about this game - it may not have a free trial version available, but it's surely worth a try!

2. Hello Kitty Online is a game that's still in Beta stage, but I am sure it will get a lot of followers once it goes public. Why? Heh, the name should say it all! If it doesn't, then move to the next item in the list, all right?

Anyway, the idea behind Hello Kitty Online is to provide gamers with a chance to help Hello Kitty and friends to wake up and defeat some dark evil force. Nothing out of ordinary, but it is worth mentioning that HKO will focus more on interaction and resource gathering, while being completely free to play.

3. Lunia is one of those games that seem stuck in Beta stage, but please don't get me wrong - they only seem to be stuck, because they get regular updates, and - in most cases - are better than various "final" releases.

This time, we're talking about a special MMORPG, one that gives you the freedom to move around using the arrow keys or a gamepad, instead of your mouse. Even attacks are being launched using various key combinations, and I am sure thousands of pointing devices are thankful for that.

PvP arenas allow 1 on 1 up to 8 on 8 combat, but this is not all of it - you can enjoy RPG and action elements alone, or side by side with your friends. There are 99 levels to go for each character, so... I guess this should be enough to make it worth a try, don't you think?

4. Monster Farm Online is(was, actually) only available in Japanese, currently being closed, but will reopen in November, according to the official site. What will become available then is surely a Beta version, so enjoying it for free won't hurt anyone. Maybe not quite a worthy candidate for the best free online MMORPG crown, but a quick one to try... if you can handle Japanese language! ;)

5. MU Online is one of the most notorious games amongst those waiting for Diablo 3 to come out, or at least that's how I see it. The game looks good, and it's quite entertaining, but I hate it. Don't ask me why, I just hate it after watching countless hours others play it, and not playing at least a minute by myself.

Released back in 2003, it still has a solid fan base, and since it's completely free to download and play, you should definitely give it a try!

6. RuneScape is the current king of the hill, with over 8.5 million active accounts and holding a Guinness World Record - most popular free MMORPG. That's it, any other words are pointless at this time!

These being said, I conclude third episode of our quest, but get ready for the fourth and, probably, last one. When? In a few days... just be sure not to miss it! ;)