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Phantom Brave
After the success of Disgaea and La Pucelle:
Tactics, Nippon Ichi have released yet another
tactics-based SRPG into the market, and it might
make you wonder if they're in danger of flooding
their own niche. Except Phantom Brave might be
their best and most sophisticated game yet.We'll
start with . . .
Future Tactics
Future Tactics: The Uprising is officially a
strategy role playing game, but hard-core strategy
fans who cut their teeth on games like Disgaea
might find that misleading. It's not as complex
as a lot of other SRPGs, which could make it a
nice introduction to that genre, but you could
argue that t. . .
Mega Man X
Capcom might be most famous for its epic arcade
Street Fighter series and deservedly so, but they've
also quietly produced more than 25 Mega Man games
on various platforms over the years. This makes
it one of the oldest and most prolific franchises
around, and it's been through a few forms. Even
. . .
Baldur
Gate Dark Alliance
Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance ended with such an
obvious cliff-hanger that it was clear a sequel
was forthcoming. For fans of the hack 'n' slash
end of the RPG market (more Diablo than Final
Fantasy), it was a long wait. Snowblind went off
to make Champions of Norrath, leaving Interplay
a bit stuck. . .
Final Fantasy XI
Six months after the PC release and nearly three
years after the original Japanese release, Final
Fantasy XI finally appeared for the PS2. It's
very much the same game, to the point where you
can freely transfer characters between the Playstation
and PC versions, but the dynamic is a little diffe.
. .
Reported by: Eric on Friday, March
3th, 2006 at 3:40PM |
Popular Free Online RPG Games
Looking for online RPG games? Experienced internet users
know the Web is a rich source of free things, if you just
know where to look, and this even includes free online RPG
games. Most users are accustomed to paying around US$10-15
per month for their regular on-line fix, and if you're putting
in hundreds of hours, it's pretty good value. If you're
a more casual player, though, or you just don't have the
time or money to sink into one of the big MMORPGs, it's
certainly worth considering free online RPGs. It's just
a matter of knowing where to look, and which ones are worth
bothering with.
Free RPGs cover quite a range of tastes. The three we're
going to deal with here are all very popular, yet completely
different. They're all playable without requiring payment,
and all will run from a relatively small download supplemented
with regular updates.
#1. Adellion - http://www.adellion.com
Adellion is the closest to a traditional fantasy on-line
RPG, but it still has a few unusual factors about it.
Free RPGs can attract players without having to pander
to the 'market', because their biggest selling point is
their price. That makes it easier to take a few risks.
So, while Adellion is classic warring fantasy kingdoms
in the EverQuest mold, there are some distinctive differences.
Aiming for greater realism has meant that all the 'races'
are human, though still with racial characteristics that
make them interesting to play. Most importantly, there's
no magic or divine power in Adellion. It's more aimed
at role-players than hard-core gamers, in that there's
no levelling, so no grinding: you get better at things
by doing them. The game allows for individual combat,
or huge PC and NPC armies, and nothing is a given: kingdoms
can be destroyed. Controversially, Adellion also includes
a 'three strikes you're out' permanent death penalty,
which is going to make you think twice about how you pick
your fights. Griefing is hugely frowned upon and can lead
to players being cursed with a particularly nasty disease,
or just beaten up by the Watch.
#2. Bloodlust - http://www.lasthalfofdarkness.com/bloodlust
If fantasy isn't your thing, though, there's the modern
gothic atmosphere of Bloodlust. This online RPG focuses
on a dark world full of competing vampire bloodlines,
all fighting to be the ones to resurrect the Vampire King,
recruit new members, and raise their own clan above the
others. The clans run a kind of blood-point pyramid scheme,
with every sire benefiting from the kills made by their
childer, but losing points should they be killed. There's
a lot of combat, but a certain amount of politicking and
trickery as well.
#3. Project Entropia - http://www.project-entropia.com
Out of Sweden, rather surprisingly, comes Project Entropia,
a curious mix of cyberpunk, big game hunting, and cut-throat
commerce. PE, in fact, displays an innovative approach
to that old EverQuest problem of people selling virtual
things for real-world money: it actively encourages it.
While you don't have to pay to play the game, you can
choose to turn real money into game money, and back again.
An Australian player recently spent US$26,000 buying his
own island, and expects to make a profit on his investment.
It has to be more fun than investing in art. As well as
more normal skills and weaponry, Project Entropia introduces
mind-force, a mental power available through implants
and chips. Chips vary like more traditional spells, some
attacking, some defensive.
These are some of the most popular free online RPG games
available right now, and show the huge range of options
that are appealing to both players and developers. There's
sure to be something out there you'll enjoy, without needing
to exercise your credit card.
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