What We Liked..
Turn-based combat
Family friendly
Good story
Immersive atmosphere
.. and what we didn't
Dated graphics
Arbritrary side quests
F2P restrictions
Wizard101 is a free to play and family friendly MMO that puts players in the shoes of a wizard. In the graphically pleasing world of Spiral, players will use magic that's determined by their school of choice in turn-based combat using a deck of cards which provides for a fun and strategic combat experience.
Questing in Wizard101 feels like a grand adventure that will be familiar to Harry Potter fans, and the game's story is funny and well written with voice acting to boot.
It may be free to play, but the game does have restrictions on the amount of play areas, so players will have to front some money monthly if they want to access to areas and advance the stories.
As a whole, Wizard101 is great MMO that is suitable for kids and adults, providing a lot of magical fun through it's gameplay and story.
What We Liked..
Captivating story-based campaign
Easy going and relaxed game play
No pressure to spend real world money.
.. and what we didn't
Slow going tutorial
No voice acting for character interactions
Quite repetitive after a while.
The fantasy world of Entrath has been ravaged by war for two millennia between the forces of the Underworld and the surface dwelling alliance, known as the Ardent. After no clear victor emerged, and both forces refused to admit defeat, an ongoing stalemate has ensued for the past two hundred years.
This stalemate has been littered with occasional skirmishes and short periods of fighting, but in comparison to the previous conflicts, life on Entrath has been mostly peaceful... Until now!
It is up to you, as a champion of your chosen faction, to collect and develop a powerful army of trading cards, in order to complete quests and accomplish the longer term goals of your alliance.
What We Liked..
Fast playstyle Quests are short and are rich in variety Action-oriented fighting system
.. and what we didn't
The interface is cluttered at times You can buy a lot of booster which gives the game a "pay2win"-feel The in-game-shop is rather expensive
Revelation Online has been one of the most anticipated MMORPGs of 2017 in the Western World. Despite being available for a year or so in the Asian market, it made its debut in Europe & North America only in March 2017, in the form of Open-Beta.
The game makes itself conspicuous especially through its extra fast playstyle. Additionally you get an action-oriented fighting system whereby the player can fight actively instead of just clicking on skills.
The world is huge and has a ton of quests available. Besides the normal PvE modes and the several quests, you can fight against other players in PvP, enter dungeons or buy your own house.
The devs put a great emphasis on flight: the entire open-world can be explored by flying with several kinds of wings and mounts.
Leveling is as fast as the playstyle. After the tutorial you are already level 15 and you can use a variety of skills and other functions in the game.
Furthermore, you get a Mentor and Demon-slayer system in order to make the game even more diversified and always keep you busy.
The in-game-shop mainly consists of cosmetic items, but also offers various sorts of boosters which give the feeling of "pay2win".
The quests offer variety, thanks to coming after one another quickly and never lasting too long.
If you like MMOs like TERA you should definitely check out this game, because it is similar but also brings its own ideas to the table.
What We Liked..
Tactical team-based fun
Great graphics and sound
Good amount of freelancers
Easy to learn
.. and what we didn't
Must pay to unlock all freelancers
No built-in voice chat
Atlas Reactor by Trion Worlds is a refreshing turn-based tactical team PVP game that pits two teams of four players against each other. The game's unique gameplay is its selling point, proving that MOBA isn't the only option when it comes to competitive group play.
The game boasts well designed and balanced heroes called Freelancers, and their ability to influence games is largely down to the skill of the player, the strategy of the team and how well they communicate as a group, rather than the strength of the Freelancer.
Overall, Atlas Reactor is a very fun game to play and offers hours of strategic fun for both hardcore and casuals. The game is easy to learn but hard to master, and considering that it's free to play, it will keep gamers coming back for a long time to come.
What We Liked..
Fluid action based combat
Easy to level
No hidden pay walls
.. and what we didn't
Dated graphics
Player population is moving towards consoles
DC Universe Online is a great superhero MMORPG that's free to play and features many solid systems such as a fluid combat mechanic and deep character customization system to create the perfect superhero.
The world of DC Universe Online is also rich and authentic, which players who've read all the comics and watched the movie adaptations can certainly appreciate. Almost all iconic characters such as Batman, Superman and The Joker make appearances, and in fan-favorite locations such as Gotham City and Metropolis.
Overall, DC Universe Online is a solid MMORPG for a five year old game, and offers hours of fun on the PC or consoles
What We Liked..
Simple but incredibly rewarding gameplay
Beautifully modelled aircraft
.. and what we didn't
Graphically good but not great
Loses out to War Thunder
World of Warplanes is an MMO developed by Wargaming and joins the ranks of older title, World of Tanks. The game puts vehicles and land aside to focus on what happens in the skies, putting the player in the cockpit of numerous aircraft.
The game is extremely accessible and you will find yourself making air manoeuvres like a pro in a matter of minutes. The driving mechanics are very intuitive and allow easy and complete control over your craft with just a handful of keystrokes.
Graphically the title is well done, even if it falls short of true excellence. As players who have played World of Tanks might already expect, aircraft are highly detailed and modelled to a level of accuracy that, in some instances, approaches photorealism.
World of Warplanes is a great title and an important addition to Wargaming’s trilogy, soon to be completed with the upcoming World of Warships.
What We Liked..
Well-defined character classes
interesting set of items
.. and what we didn't
Huge performance gap between higher and lower levels
PvE combat not challenging
Watch the trailer:
Echo of Soul is a fantasy/ role-playing game which has been released by Aeria on Microsoft Windows. The game revolves around players' characters called 'Soulkeepers' whose main mission is to overcome evil and ensure peace. Players can collect the Souls of the enemies they overpower and then refine them to use for getting upgrades.
The map of the world in Echo of Soul, although relatively small, is pretty well-defined and features a number of battles raging all around it. The players can compete against each other and face Artificial Intelligence as well over a range of interesting game modes.
What We Liked..
Low requirements
Short battles ideal for playing a few quick games
Around 50 units to choose from for each faction
gives players lots of options
Great fun for casual players
.. and what we didn't
Recycled assets and forgettable music
Long endgame grind
Balancing and cash shop issues
Slow matchmaking
After being in closed alpha for several years, Total War: Arena has finally opened up to the public. A collaboration between The Creative Assembly and Wargaming, Total War: Arena is based on the famed franchise of the same name but with a twist.
Instead of focusing on a single-player campaign, the game focuses entirely on player versus player combat, with massive 10 versus 10 battles taking place with thousands of units on the field at once.
The Total War series has always had issues with PVP game modes, specifically balance, or lack thereof, and although Total War: Arena is an entirely PVP game, these issues have not been fixed. Be prepared for lengthy queue times and bad matchmaking a lot in higher tiers in particular.
The game's cash shop is relatively mild. Players can have plenty of fun in the lower and mid tiers, however, in the higher tiers, players who spend money will have a significant advantage, and players who don't will be at a significant disadvantage. Balance wise, premium units aren't a big deal compared to non-premium units, but they do offer up increased XP and silver gains. The endgame is almost completely inaccessible to non-spending players, and it is nigh-impossible to reach and stay in the highest tiers unless you spend money in this game.
Total War: Arena is a flawed game with a pretty harsh ceiling for F2P players, but offers up a lot of fun for fans of the genre.
What We Liked..
Easy to jump into
Free to play without pay to win
Plenty of content
Promotes player creativity
.. and what we didn't
Bland main story quests
Must pay to use world chat
MapleStory 2 is a free to play hack and slash MMORPG featuring cute anime cartoon graphics and art style. The game offers an incredible amount of PvE and PvP content from questing to intuitive Mini Games and even a Battle Royale mode without a content paywall. While there is an in-game cash shop, it sells mostly cosmetics and convenience, although one great thing about it is you can sell your own custom designs on there as well using the User Generated Workshop.
What We Liked..
Fast matchmaking
In-depth level and gear progressions for long term gameplay
Loads of maps and game mode variety for PvE and PvP
Decent balancing
.. and what we didn't
Occasional cheating and hacking
Real money transactions offer very good permanent benefits
Warface is a free to play MMOFPS that's developed by the same studio responsible for popular game franchises such as Far Cry and Crisis. In Warface, the gameplay revolves around the game's four unique classes, which introduces interesting gameplay mechanics including special movement and most importantly team work through dynamic class skills in order to dominate matches.
The game has a plethora of PvE Co-op missions and PvP modes and maps which is great for replayability. This also helps Warface's deep progression systems, as players require experience and currency gains in order to unlock classes, weapons and gear to perform better in matches.
Boosts and permanent weapon unlocks are available in the cash shop which may turn off players, but Warface still offers a ton of fun for casual FPS enthusiasts who enjoys modern day graphics and gameplay in their shooters.