Participating in this hobby we call video gaming is not unlike dating: You shell out lots and lots of dough to, hopefully, find something with which you can stay up all night. Gaming is an expensive hobby that features escalating prices that no other popular entertainment medium can match. A new movie ticket will set you back, roughly, $5 to $12 depending on location (even more if you’re taking in 3D or IMAX flicks), and a new CD approximately $10-$13 depending on the retailer. Fresh, retail video games, on the other hand, drain your wallet $40 to $60 at a time. Even if gamers limited themselves to used games (which may not be that grand a bargain depending on the title), or download-only titles such as Limbo or Shank, the hobby can still prove quite pricey. Gaming on the super-cheap, however, is still very possible if you dive into the wondrous world of free-to-play online games.
Free-to-play games can encompass single-player browser-based games (such as Farmville), downloadable MMO titles that you play online with others (such as Champions Online), or squad-based shooters (Team Fortress 2). The developers and publishers procure cash by offering premium accounts that give gamers more functionality, delivering in-game advertising, or selling in-game items. Here are some of the more intriguing free online games.
Champions Online
NCSoft’s superhero MMO, the team’s follow-up to City of Heroes of City of Villains, offers aspiring cape-wearers to fend off evil-doers in one of the first high-profile titles to make the free-to-play jump. Free players can create characters based on any of nine archetypes (ranging from Behemoths to Marksmen), with limited costume customization. Level 25 players can create their own Nemesis, an arch-villain who can send his minions after you during the game.
Drift City
NPLUTP/NHN Corporation/ijji’s open-ended racing MMORPG gives you the freedom to play as you’d like. Drift City has no set path to follow; you can choose to follow the main story, complete side missions, race in the Battle Zone, or just drive around and explore. Unleash Combo Skills to fill your Booster Gauge, a speed boost that will let you bypass opponents. As you’d expect from a MMO, you can play with others–join up with friends, create a crew, and burn up the asphalt together.
Dungeon Fighter Online
Before Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game, and Shank, there was Dungeon Fighter Online. This mash up of the traditional 2D foot-to-face brawler and MMORPG and fantasy elements sees players adopting one of five character archetypes (Gunner, Priest, Mage, Fighter, Slayer), and scour dungeons to slay a large volume of enemies. You can battle other players in the Player vs. Player (PvP arena), even customize your look and gear through item drops and in-game microtransactions. It’s fast, hard, hitting, and easy to pick up and play – - the mark of a well-designed beat ‘em up.
Freestyle Street Basketball
JCE/Game Kiss’ Freestyle Street Basketball brings the free-to-play MMORPG model to a genre that rarely sees its touch–sports. This b-ball game cribs elements from Street Hoops, NBA Jam, and traditional basketball simulation, infuses it with anime-style visuals, to create a fun, fast-moving, video game title. Level up your baller and obtain sneakers, headbands, wristbands, and other athletic gear that lets your created character execute monster dunks, swift steals, and gargantuan blocks.
Team Fortress 2
Valve’s terrific team-based FPS, Team Fortress 2, made the surprising move to the free-to-play model in 2011, making the classic, humor-filled shooter one of the best free-to-play games available today. Similar to other games of its ilk, Team Fortress 2 features an in-game store where users can purchase gear, equipment, and other items.
WonderKing
When the land of Windus is held hostage by the evil Sinistry of Demons, a prophesied WonderKing is the only person capable of defeating the evil demon-king Baalon. WonderKing lets gamers choose between multiple classes (mage, swordsman, thief, scout) and participate in a pet system gives you an AI-controlled sidekick that assists in hunting, item collecting, and more. You can mount vehicles and animals for faster movement (and more powerful attacks), and the economic system includes auctioning, crafting, cooking, and mining.
Founder and Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey L. Wilson’s love of all things shiny/digital has lead to jobs penning gadget- and video game-related nerd-copy for E-Gear, Laptop, LifeStyler, Parenting, PC Magazine, Sync, Wise Bread, and WWE. Besides overseeing the editorial content at 2D-X.com, the Brooklyn College grad hosts New York City’s monthly Bits and Bytes video game media and public relations meetup. You can find him at a bar sampling foreign beers, or on Twitter doing twittery things.
