What is your opinion of a good Free to Play game?

[LegoDudeGuy]

Hello Escapist!

During my time on the Internet, I have played many a game, some being F2P (Free to Play)

Most modern F2P games are, quite frankly, designed in a very idiotic manner.

F2P games like Battlefield Play4Free (its older cousin, Heroes) and CrimeCraft: BleedOut (among others) seem to like for you to buy "rentals" of weapons, clothing etc. and it expires after a certain time, then you have to buy them again. I find this a VERY grubby, capitalistic strategy.

So, in your opinion, how would YOU like to see a F2P game go?

In my personal preference, I would like it to go the way of Team Fortress 2, where the game can be played regardless of how much money you invest in it, as everything can be earned through just playing the game, and the kid with their parents credit cards cannot just "buy power".

Thoughts, Gentlemen (and women)?

 

[philip1228]

League of Legends is pretty fair, along with Champions Online.

 

[LegoDudeGuy]

League of Legends is pretty fair, along with Champions Online.

Yes, you are quite right, as I enjoy both of them very much!

 

[AwkwardTurtle]

Most modern F2P games are, quite frankly, designed in a very idiotic manner.

F2P games like Battlefield Play4Free (its older cousin, Heroes) and CrimeCraft: BleedOut (among others) seem to like for you to buy "rentals" of weapons, clothing etc. and it expires after a certain time, then you have to buy them again. I find this a VERY grubby, capitalistic strategy.

Thoughts, Gentlemen (and women)?

First off, lol why is "and women" in parenthesis. Not at all attacking you, just asking from a purely curious point of view. :3

Well you were playing F2P shooters so I can understand how you feel about the stupid system design. I suppose they built it like that to try and force players to constantly play their game to get the most out of the guns they paid for. The other evil thing that comes with the 90 days and gone system is that those who choose to play and gain in game currency to purchase guns would be forced into a cycle of constant play just to keep the guns they have. Pretty evil thing to do.

If you want a F2P game that's smart and doesn't use a stupid expiration system (besides Team Fortress 2) you could check out Alliance of Valiant Arms. They have a system where you simply buy a gun, have it permanently and after a lot of usage the weapon will need to be repaired. Pretty nice alternative to the "After 90 days your guns will magically disappear into another dimension" system.

With F2P games in general it's basically a mixed bag. I've had to wade through all the terrible games in order to get to some fun ones. It's well worth it in my opinion. I love me a good F2P game.

 

[Dandark]

I really like Global Agenda. The whole thing is free but you level up extremely slowly and the best stuff is unavaible to you. However you can pretty much get everything you need for it on the free version.

You can then buy Elite Agent status which is a one time payment that doubles your XP awards and gives you more loot and unlocks stuff, all of that kinda thing.

You then have boosters that triple your XP if you really want them although you don't need them at all, these are limited. I recently bought an 80 day one.
There are also Global agena points you buy which as far as I can tell don't give you anything significant other than aesthetic features.

 

[l3o2828]

Got ninja'd on Global Agenda.

But i would say definetly Team Fortress 2 as of 'recently' you only have to pay like a dollar to become premium so it's basically a full games at the price of a dollar.

 

[Vrach]

I haven't seen a single F2P title that's actually good. Free games like Alien Swarm, yes, though even those have amazingly rare titles among piles and piles of garbage, but the F2P ie. the microtransaction model has not produced a single game worth playing that I've seen to date.

 

[LegoDudeGuy]

I played AVA, I like it quite a bit, but I have not gotten far enough to unlock anything.

But, I agree with everyone's opinions.

To Dandark: I tried Global Agenda, but it did not get me that much, but more power to ya!

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

I really like Global Agenda. The whole thing is free but you level up extremely slowly and the best stuff is unavaible to you. However you can pretty much get everything you need for it on the free version.

You can then buy Elite Agent status which is a one time payment that doubles your XP awards and gives you more loot and unlocks stuff, all of that kinda thing.

You then have boosters that triple your XP if you really want them although you don't need them at all, these are limited. I recently bought an 80 day one.
There are also Global agena points you buy which as far as I can tell don't give you anything significant other than aesthetic features.

Global Agenda used to be good. I played back in beta back when the game was actually balanced. Then they completely mangled the equipment system.

 

[LobsterFeng]

I like it when the game is good, and it's free, and I can play it.

But in all seriousness, I just like it if the game doesn't make fun of you or scold you if you're not a premium member or whatever.

 

[recneps4444]

I actually quite like Spiral Knights, it's free, easy to get used to, & fun for a casual game.
Go check it out on Steam.

 

[Slowpool]

I enjoyed Runes of Magic for about a week of frenzied play. It's a WoW clone in almost every sense of the word, but it's JUST different enough to intrigue. I also enjoyed Champions Online for a much longer time, at least until I started having to redo quests around level 30.

League of Legends can be fun, but it starts off ROUGH. Learning how not to suck can be a vexing experience.