EVERYONE LOVES FREEBIES!!!! HERE, TAKE SOME FREEBIES!!!

Freebies are some of the best things to come to gamers (except in the form of free MMO's, minus a few notable exceptions.) In the last few months however, some absolute CLASSICS have finally become completely FREE.
Heres some of those freebies:

Grand Theft Auto (one AND two)
While the GTA franchise is known today as a brutal third person shooter franchise, there once was a time where it was a brutal top down shooter with many arcade elements. The current GTA games are more realistic than the first two, but in the current ones, you can't do awesome things like outfit your KICKASS sports car with KICKASS  machine guns. Get one of those bad boys, and get ready to see all those pretty points flying across your screen. This game is a riot when you're taking turns and sharing it with your friends. Toss it on a netbook, bring it to school or your place of work, and see which one of your friends can cause the most absolute carnage in Liberty City, Vice City, or San Andreas.

Ahh... nothing like the smell of dead Yakuza in the morning...

Command and Conquer (Everything before Red Alert 2)

Yep, you heard me, EVERY COMMAND AND CONQUER GAME BEFORE RED ALERT 2 (but not including RA2) IS NOW FREE!!! This includes: Command and Conquer, Command and Conquer Tiberian Sun (and Firestorm,) and Red Alert 1. These games, in my opinion, are some of the best multiplayer RTS's ever to be released. The fast pace and the concentration on military rather than economy makes this game very easy to pick up to even the most novice of RTS gamers. Now, the only decisions you have to make with regards to this game are: GDI or Nod? and Allies or Soviets? You decide.

The Global Defense Initiative's coffers are now so full that you may become a commander FOR FREE!!!

Dungeons and Dragons Online (that exception I was talking about)

This is probably the only game to successfully pull off the F2P + Item Store business model and not ruin the game in the process. With this change, DDO now has a little more than ONE MILLION ACTIVE accounts, and apparently revenues have gone up more than 500% to the developers, meaning that this game will probably not die out like many MMOs that changed their business model mid-life (Anyone remember Rising Force Online? No? See what I mean?) Anyway, this MMO is a very fast paced MMO, sporting Diablo-like dungeon combat. This is one free MMO that is surely not going to die out (and isn't Runescape.)

You might not be able to tell from this picture, but he is VERY happy that DDO went F2P. Just look at those eyes, they're GLOWING!

Questions? Know of anymore good freebies? Comment!!!

Cross Platform MMOFPS? Great Idea! (why isn't it out though...)

I was thinking recently about the MMOFPS genre, and I was trying to think of reasons of why the genre is dying. I reflected on a few big problems that surrounded the MMOFPS genre in the past, and how the games could be improved.

1. Logistical issues: Having hundreds of people battling it out for life and limb in a small area of a game world creates a LAG SHITSTORM. Improvements have been made over the years to server stability in all MMO's across the board, so a new MMOFPS should do pretty well if released now.

2. Shallow content: Probably the only successful MMOFPS, Planetside, was truly a grab bag of awesome battles to behold. Battles were always changing with the myriad of different strategies that were enabled through the use of vehicles like ATV's, bombers, and flying troop transports. However, there was no epic lewts to be found. There was nothing, except from your weapon and vehicle certifications, that made you different from any other soldier on the battlefield. If the MMOFPS is ever going to be successful, there need to be things like unlockable weapons, armor, and modifications. CoD Modern Warfare 1 & 2 both have something akin to this in their multiplayer modes. Perhaps there could also be a massive alien boss raid battle?

Planetside: EPIC WIN

3. The Audience: Traditionally, people that play MMO's play MMORPG's on PC's. The majority of the gaming population, however, are console gamers playing FPS games. So, the two audiences should be merged. Sure, some people will think that there would be balance issues over those playing with a mouse and keyboard and a game pad. However, the difference is really so minute, from my experience, that people would stop complaining once they realize how good the experience is, and how BIG the population of the game would be.

I don't know. I'm just spitballing here, but I think its gold. Agree? Disagree? Got a better idea? Comment!

MARCH 3rd: Request a Rant Day!!!

I have decided that I want to hear about what YOU, my readers, want ME to rant about (or praise, if I deem the topic so worthy.) What I feel would be the most worthy (and the most popular) topic will have a post dedicated to it on March 3rd (or next Wednesday, for those people too lazy to look at a calendar.)

PLEASE TWEET REPLY, COMMENT, OR EMAIL YOUR CHOICE OF TOPIC!!!

Why the Microtransaction MMO Business Model???

So, many MMO's (a genre that I am currently at odds with on the whole,) use a microtransaction business model in order to fund their games. MMO's like Mabinogi and Allods Online follow this business model, and honestly, I think it's a horrendous idea. You're basically watering down your game by allowing players to buy top tier items, though they didn't even work to get the item. It brings down the entire point of running a dungeon and killing some bosses, which, in turn, makes the game stale and shortens its longevity. I would think that it would just be a smart idea to charge a monthly fee, even if it's a cheap fee. You'd be able to collect a lot more money from your fanbase, and you would also be able to keep your players enthralled for a lot longer if you rewarded actually playing the game, rather than having a fat wallet.
There is, in my opinion, a great way to include microtransactions without making the game a lazy romp. Cosmetic items, like mounts, pets, and capes usually will sell, and make developers a little more money.

Agree? Disagree? Comment!