I’ve been trying to get myself to play a lot of Free MMOGs
lately, note that I did say ‘MMO’ and not ‘MMORPG'. For those that
don’t know the difference – an MMORPG is a massively multiplayer online
role playing game while an MMOG is a massively multiplayer online game.
The key distinction is that an MMOG does not have to be an RPG. For
example, a shooting game like Battlefield Heroes
is an MMO rather than an MMORPG – because even though it’s multiplayer
it doesn’t have the core RPG of elements that games like World of Warcraft and Runes of Magic have.

The first free to play MMOG I played was BattleForge – a fun 3D
fantasy themed real time strategy MMO where players use cards to summon
units. I know – the whole card thing may sound like a ‘turn off’ for a
lot of people – but I strongly urge everyone to give BattleForge a try
– as it’s an extremely good game. I don’t really like ‘card’ games very
much – but I ended up loving BattleForge. I guess it’s because the game
is faster paced than most other ‘card games’ I’ve played before.
Anyway, BattleForge is completely free to play and it’s published by
Electronic Arts. I guess EA is really putting a lot of effort into the
free to play industry as BattleForge was released shortly after
Battlefield Heroes. Players can either play through the game’s ’story
mode’ campaign or fight against others online. The game does have a
co-op feature as well – so players can work together with friends
online in completing the campaigns.

Another interesting MMOG I played recently was Tales Runner. It’s a 3D racing MMO by Gpotato – the folks behind Luna Online, Fly For Fun and Rappelz.
What made Tales Runner so interesting is that the game is a ‘track’
racing game – meaning there are no vehicles. Players actually sprint
across the level on foot. It’s a pretty novel concept as 99% of racing
MMOs involve either cartoony ‘karts’ or fast ’sporty’ cars. Being an
‘anime inspired’ game though – Tales Runner has some very interesting
courses and game modes making the game. Racing across icy mountains and
fire pits is pretty interesting and unique to boot. The actual core
gameplay itself isn’t that great but it’s a game well worth checking
out simply because of the novelty – and it’s not a bad game.

Lastly, I played a neat little fighting game called Rumble Fighter. It’s a 3D anime inspired fighting MMO by OG Planet (Folks who made Cabal Online / Lost Saga).
The game plays a lot like Super Smash Brothers – but MMO style with
some RPG elements. The goal is to basically beat up the other team
through multiple game modes. Personally, I felt the controls and
overall gameplay to feel a bit too slow paced for me – but it’s
definitely an interesting game – as it’s pretty unique. The only other
game like it is Splash Fighters.