the net raiders

I know that with the Holidays coming some of us have a rather tight grip on our wallets. I know I find myself saying things like, “I could buy that awesome new video game, or I could buy that thing my Mom has been wanting.” (Speaking of which, Red Dead Redemption looks AWESOME!) For this I decided to give you a few names of free online games that are actually enjoyable. Keep in mind that these are MMO’s, however seeing as MMO’s are some of my least favorite games, I hope you’ll find this list helpful.

First on the list is Maple Story. Perhaps you’ve seen some of the cute little chibi avatars on adds inside gaming magazines, or little flash adds on other websites. I like Maple Story because unlike most MMO’s, this is more of a hack’n’slash and the slashing is done on adorable little mushrooms, or trees, goo things, etc. The characters clothing and appearance are customizable (my favorite!) and it’s 2D. This does lead to it’s own problems, like getting cornered by a difficult enemy. The enemies are pretty hard and leveling is slower than I prefer, but over all this game is a lot of fun. Check your compatibility before hand because this is one that you have to download to your computer.

I’ve written about Adventure Quest before. Poor graphics, weird creatures, but lots of fun. This could at least help you kill a couple of hours and you don’t need to be a Guardian to play. Although it is a plus as far as server space goes. On the plus side, it’s a web based adventure, so no downloading or taking up hard drive space!

Flyff (Fly for Fun) is another good one. It is a 3D environment unlike Maple Story or Adventure Quest, and once again, you have to download it to play. But it’s still free! Your character is customizable, like Maple Story (You pay real money for the super cute items). I like Flyff because it’s easier than Maple Story (the monsters are more compatible to your level) but isn’t as confusing as other MMO’s like WoW or EverQuest. It’s also a lot of fun to play with friends. The cool catch to this is eventually your characters get the ability to fly around. Considering it’s free the graphics are pretty decent too.

Finally I’d like to share with you the newly Open Beta version of Grand Fantasia, an online MMO by Aeria Games. I haven’t played it yet but from what I’ve seen the graphics are just as good as Flyff and it’s also free! Players who get to level 50 by the 5th of January get a special trophy and are entered in a raffle to win 1,000,000 AP (I’m assuming that’s money for the world).

I hope that some of these can bring you some Holiday cheer! Who knows, maybe that 20 bucks Grandma sent you will go towards supporting one of these excellent independent games!