Playing-For-Free posts

Each week we find more and more free games that do not quite fit into the freeware mold. Games that do not require a subscription fee to play, but encourage player usage of money through microtransactions or special subscription services. This is Playing For Free, a column that showcases these games.

Once again, we return to the realm of free-to-play MMO shooters. We've covered Quake Live, Battlefield Heroes, and even Combat Arms, so maybe it's time to tackle something a little more new. CrimeCraft was released in August, and quickly went to the "free unlimited trial" system that boils down to being free-to-play. It's not great, and certainly not better than other free-to-play MMO shooters like Combat Arms (even with insane community), but it's passable and, at least on the surface, unique.

Each week we find more and more free games that do not quite fit into the freeware mold. Games that do not require a subscription fee to play, but encourage player usage of money through microtransactions or special subscription services. This is Playing For Free, a column that showcases these games.

It's interesting to note that sometimes the knock-off can exceed the original, or change things up in ways that make the knock-off more compelling than the original. Runes of Magic did this with World Of Warcraft through a bunch of intriguing changes to the gameplay, but it's not just restricted to knock-offs of mainstream commercial games. La Tale is very similar to Nexon's incredibly popular and enduring Maple Story, but it iadds many great changes to the simple side-scrolling formula. Sure, it has an uncanny resemblance to its inspiration, but it manages to be a great game on its own and hold up to Maple Story when compared side-by-side.

Each week we find more and more free games that do not quite fit into the freeware mold. Games that do not require a subscription fee to play, but encourage player usage of money through microtransactions or special subscription services. This is Playing For Free, a column that showcases these games.

While chances are your average free-to-play MMO will be Asian in origin, there are still a few exceptions to this stereotype. Once of the best is the independent MMO DarkSpace. It may not be all that popular, high-profile, or mind-blowing (in graphics, anyway), but it incorporates a lot of elements that the rest of the MMO world could learn from. It also doesn't follow the normal microtransaction tomfoolery, opting for a subscription-based service instead. It's an outlier for most people, and that's definitely a shame, as it is incredible and rivals most mainstream MMOs in quality. You won't regret giving it a try.

Each week we find more and more free games that do not quite fit into the freeware mold. Games that do not require a subscription fee to play, but encourage player usage of money through microtransactions or special subscription services. This is Playing For Free, a column that showcases these games.

There are not a lot of brawler games available on the PC, and for good reason. Most people prefer control pads while kicking the snot out of random henchman. However, there are a few, and in the case of Dungeon Fighter Online, they are sometimes even MMOs. An excellent side-scrolling brawler packaged into a rather average MMO, it's Nexon's newest release, and easily our favorite. How can Combat Arms or Maple Story compete with classic gameplay, after all?

Each week we find more and more free games that do not quite fit into the freeware mold. Games that do not require a subscription fee to play, but encourage player usage of money through microtransactions or special subscription services. This is Playing For Free, a column that showcases these games.

The week's column is a new thing for Playing for Free. Granted, the column is only a month old, so it's perfectly acceptable to introduce new things! In this case, it's not a stand-alone game, but one of those free browser MMOs that lots of bored office workers play on their idle time. It's called Ikariam, and it surprisingly good given the rather crowded and poorly-realized genre that is the browser MMO. So for those interested in a little game that keeps on chugging while you work or play, here's one of the better browser MMOs to peruse.

Each week we find more and more free games that do not quite fit into the freeware mold. Games that do not require a subscription fee to play, but encourage player usage of money through microtransactions or special subscription services. This is Playing For Free, a column that showcases these games.

There are a lot of free-to-play action games out there. Some of them are great, and some of them are terrible. Then there are those that are great games but suffer from a poor community. Combat Arms falls into this category. It's a good shooter, if relatively rote, but it suffers from stats padding and hacking accusations. If you can find a good group to play with, you'll have an absolute blast. Just don't expect public games with strangers to be all that entertaining, thanks to getting booted all the time.

Each week we find more and more free games that do not quite fit into the freeware mold. Games that do not require a subscription fee to play, but encourage player usage of money through microtransactions or special subscription services. This is Playing For Free, a column that showcases these games.

A popular model of free-to-play games is the action-shooter model. This may be because players do not feel like paying monthly for what they are already playing (see: Call of Duty 4, Unreal Tournament), or it might be because they are easier to do than the traditional MMO model. Regardless of just why developers do this, Exteel is a good entry into this sub-genre of the free-to-play game. Run by NCSoft (the company that runs Guild Wars and City of Heroes, among others), it links directly into their system, much like the rest of their games. You might not give it the attention that a serious MMO might get, but it sure is fun!

Each week we find more and more free games that do not quite fit into the freeware mold. Games that do not require a subscription fee to play, but encourage player usage of money through microtransactions or special subscription services. This is Playing For Free, a column that showcases these games.

World of Warcraft is the most popular MMO on the market for a reason. It combines a healthy dose of action with the standard grind of RPGs to make for a truly addictive experience that almost all other MMOs are judged by. Is this judgement fair? Certainly not. However, it's hard not to judge a game like Runes of Magic by World of Warcraft's standards, given that Runes of Magic is basically the same game, just with a fresh coat of paint and some new features. It's a blast to play, and if you don't want to shill out the money for a World of Warcraft subscription, it might be your bag of tea.

Each week we find more and more free games that do not quite fit into the freeware mold. Games that do not require a subscription fee to play, but encourage player usage of money through microtransactions or special subscription services. This is Playing For Free, a column that showcases these games.

Battlefield is one of those game series that really knows what it is all about. There is no flip-flopping in gameplay here. It is all about the massive, map-rattling conflicts between large groups of people. However, not everybody can afford all of the games, from Battlefield 2 to the new Bad Company 2. For those either unable or unwilling to shill out for a retail version of this beloved franchise, you have one other option: Battlefield Heroes. A free-to-play, cartoony version of the multiplayer series, it tones down the battles, scales up the ridiculousness, and is in general a great game to play.

Welcome to a new regular feature here on Big Download! Each week we find more and more free games that do not quite fit into the freeware mold. Games that do not require a subscription fee to play, but encourage player usage of money through microtransactions or special subscription services. This is Playing For Free, a column that showcases these games.

Quake 3 is a classic of the FPS genre, and is still played today. Everyone deserves a slice of that classic gameplay pie. id knows this, and in their infinite wisdom, created the free browser port Quake Live. You might ask how good can a browser game be, and if you've played Quake Live you know the answer: incredible. There's a lot to Quake Live behind the scenes that sets it apart from the game that it is ported from. So let's take a look at this incredible port of an incredible game and just why it should absorb your time so much.