So I think I'm going on a free to play kick. It feels... strange...

When I was a kid, I devoured free to play games. Thing is, at the time they were all Korean MMOs, and none of them were that great. Looking back at some of the crap I played I really wish I could get some of that time back. That said, they were fun for me at the time because I didn't have money or a credit card. When I hit high school and got a job I stopped bothering with free to play titles. $15 a month went from prohibitively expensive to seeing one less movie a month. I suddenly became very much opposed to the free to play model, mostly because I thought it could sing the death knell of the traditional, AAA MMO.

Well, free to play looks pretty good now a days. I haven't tried much from the current crop of games, but Vindictus, LOTRO, Rusty Hearts and DDO are all now on my Steam list, and I'm kind of excited to put them through their paces. I also plan on hitting up the PSO 2 beta tomorrow night for TNT, though the entertainment I've gotten out of that game so far is mostly from the knowledge that it isn't technically "for" me (being a person who resides well outside of Japan).

The model that intrigues me the most right now (and I'm sure multiple games fit this) is that of DC Universe Online. The idea that I can play the game for free, but in order to play certain quest lines I have to throw down $10 is great in my opinion. It's a lot like Pocket Legends, a game that I am unashamedly a fan of. I think if MMOs can appropriately leverage this type of F2P model at large that they will be heading for a bright future.

Interesting stuff.

Fuck all of those shitty kids' games.* Get your face into some Team Fortress 2 right the heck meow.

Bonus: A huge update is dropping today so now's a great time to make new friends and shoot them in the face.

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*not to be taken seriously

Hah, I have played many a game of TF 2. I don't really consider it free to play (wasn't for me anyway) since I bought it as part of the Orange Box on launch. Valve is doing some cool stuff with it though. I pop in here and there.

I played a lot of GunBound. Remember that shit? That shit was bananas. Poorly balanced though.

Lord of the Rings Online is my favorite F2P title, with enough time in it you can effectively 'earn' most of the game, including its expansion packs, quest zones and character slots.
Each new character you make can re-earn Deeds and such to gather more Turbine Points.
 
@Brodehouse:  Blast from the fucking past, whoa! Gunbound!

Whoa, GunBound was the shit... I remember fuming over that game, but had a lot of good times with it.

I remember me and my friends all played Silkroad for hours on end, that game was our life ever single summer for 2-3 years. Then we didn't get on the game and our accounts were locked due to inactivity (1 year and your account is gone) and we lost all of our progress. We never went back (Which I think is a good thing, the game had very grindy combat, and bad combat at that). We even had a guild.

Oh GunBound was amazing, unbalanced but fun as hell.

Vindictus is a pretty (graphically) game, the combat is very fun but will get very, very, VERY repetitive, there is a story and it's alright.

Also DDO works the same way as DC Universe online, as you don't have access to a dungeon but you can pay to get that access, or get a guess pass from a friend.

@Ravenlight

As mottos go, "Now's a great time to make new friends and shoot then in the face!" is a pretty awesome one.