Ricky Di and Chris Sapp
Sep 27 2006 12:00AM
The world of video gaming is no longer a solitary one. Sure, the “multiplayer” function’s been around for a while, but the MMORPG takes it so much further.
Massive multiplayer online role playing games, or MMOs, allow you to interact and play alongside gamers from all across the globe. Games like World of Warcraft, Star Wars Galaxies, and Dungeons and Dragons attract thousands of gamers a day.
But, let’s face it, we’re in college, and no one can afford a $15-a-month subscription fee on a student’s salary. So we offer you a cost effective solution: the Free MMO.
Ricky Di’s uber-awesome pick:
Dofus (www1.dofus.com)
The turn-based action MMO “Dofus” was created by Ankama Studios, a French game manufacturer. The game was made entirely in Macromedia Flash and hosts more than half-a-million players worldwide.
“Dofus” offers something very rare in an MMO: intelligent conversation with other players. Gone is the onslaught of repetitive verbal spamming. No longer must one hear such dribble as “heal plz,” or “d00d, j00 s0 ju5 g0t pWn3d.”
Not only that, but the graphics and gameplay are surprisingly well done for a free game. Instead of copping out with cheap polygonal character maps, typical of most Flash-based MMOs, Dofus uses a 2D art style in a multidirectional landscape module that puts a fan of such gaming gems as “Legend of Zelda,” “Paper Mario,” and “Secret of Mana” right at home.
Players have the option of starting as one of 11 different classes in the free version. Whether you prefer summoning up a few monsters to do your bidding, blasting through the opposition with a few spells, or hacking through enemies “Xena style,” there’s a class for you.
“Dofus'” battle system is set up in a grid format. You must move your character on the battle map to get in range to launch your attacks, or run away when a level 20 gobbald decides it wants to have a snack.
The grid format makes battling less about randomly hacking and slashing through endless hordes and more about strategically planning your next move to both hit your target and stay alive.
What really sets this game apart from the others is that veteran gamers are more than willing to lend a hand to a hapless newbie in need of a little “beginner’s assistance.” I also found that it helps to play as a female character, as some of the more desperate males will give you free items. Definitely a plus.
I recommend this one to anyone looking for a good MMO to play during those longer lectures.
Chris Sapp’s not-as-cool-or-exciting-as-Ricky’s-uber-awesome-choice pick:
Urban Dead (www.urbandead.com)
“Urban Dead” is a massive multiplayer text-based role playing game.
Established in July 2005 by Kevan Davis, this simple point-and-click zombie adventure has achieved more than 400,000 players.
When you first sign up for your free account, you have the choice of starting off as a scientist, a civilian, or a soldier, all with their respective strengths and weaknesses. (Scientists get easy XP, but soldiers get to actually fight the zombies right off the bat with their supplied starter pistol.) On the flip side, let’s say that you don’t enjoy playing as the weak, pathetic human. Upon character creation, you also have the option to become a zombie, which gives you a bonus of a better chance of attacking any survivors that you might come across.
The graphics are simplistic – a reason it’s called a “text-based adventure” – but colorful and diverse enough that you can easily learn which building is most likely to contain zombies before you enter.
The best part about this game? There’s no strict story-line. You create your own adventure and rarely do you get out of it unscathed. Zombie hordes are constantly roaming the city in search of sweet, juicy brains… yours to be exact.
You want to fight the zombie horde? Head to the local police department and search around for ammo. Notice that player that’s been infected and is low on health? Go to the nearest hospital and grab a med-kit to use on him. Who knows? Maybe he’ll join forces with you and raid the nearby Army base that was just overrun by a massive zombie horde.
Zombies vs. Human populations in the game are about equal, leaning a little more to the zombie side of the equation. That means at any one time there are more than 200,000 zombies for you to take a crack at – let’s see “Resident Evil” give you those kinds of numbers.