WarMage Battlegrounds Added: 5/14/12 WarMage Battlegrounds is a turn-based strategy MMO, played in the browser. The battle aspect of the game features gameplay similar to that of Heroes of Might and Magic or Fallout 2. There isn't much to the story at all, and the fantasy setting is standard. WarMage is PvP-centric, meaning that other players, not the computer, have to be outsmarted for acquiring items and unlocking new unit types. Before joining a game, players configure their battle force and arrange their items and spells to gain every possible advantage over the enemy. Although WarMage Battlegrounds is graphically appealing and not bad in terms of strategy, battles tend to take a while, and so does the process of acquiring items, and this makes the game not especially rewarding for the amount of time invested. Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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Ministry of War Added: 5/14/12 Ministry of War is a strategy MMO, set in ancient history. Players start either as Persians, Egyptians, Romans, or the Chinese, and expand their lead by building their city and conquering enemies. The ancient civilizations are well-detailed, and each playable nation has its own ‘feel’. That’s not to say the nations are different in terms of troops or buildings, though. The combat system is unusual among strategy MMOs, as combat is real-time if you opt for manual fights. The game is time-intensive, but has the player progress through four ages, thus justifying the time spent in-game. Again on the flip side, the player base doesn’t seem very large, and the translation is rough at times. That being said, however, those who like similar games should at least give Ministry of War a try – the game is fun, even with its slow pace and linguistic peculiarities. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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Sim Raceway Added: 5/14/12 Sim Raceway is an MMO racing simulator, focused on providing a rich, realistic driving experience both for hardcore sim fans and casual gamers. Featuring numerous real-life models -- and more are on the way -- and a driving experience crafted with the help of real drivers, Sim Raceway aspires to be nothing short of the number one choice when it comes to racing simulators. The graphics are nice with highly-detailed and smart looking cars (the landscapes are sometimes lacking in detail, though), and the driving itself is surprisingly realistic with bumps, road irregularities, and even simulated air turbulence at higher speeds. While this reviewer cannot comment on whether the driving experience is car-specific, it might as well be such, as the game has a pleasant sense of professionalism, which is not that common for games like these – or MMOs altogether. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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Clash of the Dragons Added: 5/14/12 Clash of the Dragons is a fantasy-themed MMO collectible card game. There are four classes, each giving bonuses to certain types of cards – that’s why players have to tailor their card decks to fit their class. The battle system is unique among this type of game; in Clash of the Dragons the cards act as a player’s hitpoints. The game sports some RPG elements, like the ability to level up and move around the game world in search for foes. Visually, the game is somewhat lacking in terms of card design, especially in comparison with real-life collectible card games. The gameplay is fun, however, and if you like the genre there’s a good chance you’ll like Clash of the Dragons for its unique spin on the meaning of the card deck. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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TDP4 Team Battle Added: 5/14/12 TDP4: Team Battle is a 2D MMO shooter that’s played in the browser. The game is Flash-powered with gameplay that’s engrossing and alive, but requires skill at the same time. Played much like a 2D version of Counter-Strike, TDP4: Team Battle sports classic game modes – team death match (TDM), capture the flag (CTF) and death match (DM) – and important extra features like clans and rewards. Although the skill cap is rather high, players are matched by level of play, which make it easy to find opponents at your skill level. Paid features should be less emphasized, though. The game is well-detailed for a Flash production, and offers enough variety to make it fun for more than an evening or two. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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Need for Speed World Added: 5/1/12 Need For Speed World (NFS:W) is an MMO racing game, and part of the popular Need For Speed series. Real-life car models, power-ups, and a thrilling atmosphere with exciting game modes make NSF:W a truly rich experience for any racing fan. The graphics are stellar with fancy-looking reflections, detailed car models and shiny colors all over the place; there are some glitches, though, mainly connected with flickering car models. The game boasts an abundant player base as well as a sizable and detailed game world. As with all racing games, don’t expect the gameplay to be thrilling at all times — it can get repetitive, but that’s perhaps a pitfall of the genre itself. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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Glitch Added: 4/30/12 Glitch is an innovative MMORPG, played in a single, ever-changing world. The game world, we are told, is what happens inside the minds of eleven imaginative giants. After some character customization (player characters are aptly called ‘glitches’), the player sets out to explore the game world. Gameplay mainly involves completing quests, learning new skills, exploring the drastically different landscapes, interacting with others, and simply messing around with the environment. Glitch is much like a Disney cartoon – on the surface it’s for children, but adults will find much more inside the beautiful, fun, and, yes, at times random game world. See Videos >> Free to play indefinitely.

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Golden Age Added: 4/30/12 Golden Age is a browser-based strategy MMO developed by Aeria Games. The game has some three factions, and classes are determined by your choice of skills. The setting is medieval fantasy. Golden Age is an interesting crossover between RPG and strategy, featuring elements of both. The strategy part involves your village, which you upgrade to gain resources, populate and nurture in a variety of ways. Relationships with other players are in the form of alliances. Golden Age’s RPG features include quests, leveling up, learning skills, acquiring items, and so on. In the end, though, the most important thing is your army, and that’s why it’s safe to say that Golden Age is at its core a strategy game – and it’s surprisingly fun for such an unconventional genre amalgam. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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Repulse Added: 4/30/12 Repulse is a sci-fi MMOFPS published by Aeria Games. Although visually and thematically Repulse looks a lot like Halo, there are some unique aspects to this game – the trickjumps, for example. The game has a rich variety of game modes, which range from deathmatch to co-op modes like demolition and invasion, and more. Trickjumps add to the already fast-paced gameplay without adding much to the skill cap. There’s also an incentive to play more, as playing awards credit points that can be spent to upgrade equipment. On the flip side, there are ping issues with some servers, and ping isn’t shown in the lobby, which is bad for any FPS. There’s also scarcely any variety in terms of map structure for some game modes, which effectively turns Repulse into an arcade FPS. This isn’t necessarily bad. It simply means that the ‘honeymoon’ with this game is likely to be a short one. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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Call of Thrones Added: 4/19/12 Call of Thrones is a turn-based 3D MMORPG, played in the browser. The story is set in ancient China, in the age of the Three Kingdoms. The player can thus start from three locations and choose from three classes. Call of Thrones follows more of a lazy click-autorun-quest mindset while you get used to the gameplay. The real fun starts when PvP arenas become available at level 20 -- skills are plentiful and strategy isn’t just a word in Call of Thrones’ PvP, which also has guild wars and a ‘siege mode’. The game’s interface is quite cluttered, and so are the graphics -— but they’re bearable for a browser-based game. There are numerous exotic pets and mounts. The game features a well-detailed crafting system; however, that, along with the PvP, are the only things worth mentioning in Call of Thrones. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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Thirst of Night Added: 4/19/12 Thirst of Night (ToN) is a vampire MMO strategy game played in the browser. It’s developed by Kabam, who tend to make games that differ in only minor ways. The story is set in the year 2051 shortly after a magnetic pulse has triggered volcanic eruptions, causing the earth to be covered in a constant twilight and finally allowing vampires to break free from centuries of oppression. The player starts with a vampire city, and it’s all the usual after that: train your gargoyle (the city’s pet), upgrade your army, form alliances, explore, etc. However, ToN, although merely re-working a cliché, stands out with its impeccably designed graphics and manages to hold an atmosphere of its own – an impressive feat for a browser game. Paid features could and should be less emphasized, though. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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KingsAge Added: 4/19/12 KingsAge is a strategy MMO set in medieval times. Players take control of a village, expand, form an army, and gain loyal followers to make a name for themselves in the world. This strategy plays similarly to Ikariam or Tribal Wars, but KingsAge doesn’t seem nearly as populated, and the beginning of the game feels somewhat slow. Just like in the games mentioned, players can hold quite a number of villages -- the management of which can get a little time consuming. To do the game justice, however, it should be noted that KingsAge, with all its weaknesses, is a fun war strategy where collaboration (and other, more violent forms of interaction) with other players becomes more rewarding past the slow start. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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My Lands Added: 4/19/12 My Lands is a fantasy-themed strategy MMO. Players can choose from four races and engage in expanding their empire, conquering other territories, forming alliances, etc. Players earn real money through My Lands, by hunting Black Gems. In order to do that, however, players have to purchase a paid subscription. The game has some innovative features like mentorship, which encourages experienced players to aid newbies; moreover, My Lands promotes social play through social quests and alliances. The developers probably wanted to spark competition (and earn more money) by introducing cash prizes, and rightfully so, as it seems that the cash incentive has made the game fiercely competitive – within the paying community, at least. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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DownWorld Added: 4/19/12 DownWorld is a Flash-powered MMORPG, played in the browser. It features turn-based combat with a bejeweled twist. There are two classes, aptly named ‘caster’ and ‘breaker’. PvE gains experience and loot; PvP gains experience and ratings. What the game world lacks in story it makes up in social features and exploring -- the game world is quite sizable for a Flash game, and sports group combat for enhanced fun. DownWorld is actually quite fun, if you fancy the idea of multiplayer bejeweled. It is worth mentioning that the crafting system is well-developed, too. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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Stronghold Kingdoms Added: 4/15/12 Stronghold Kingdoms is a strategy MMO set in medieval times. The game is a “village/castle” simulator where players compete to become known in the game world. Players construct buildings, fortify their castles, expand their armies, explore the wilderness through various quests, and loot rival player villages for resources. A sizeable game world along with quests ensure that there’s always something to do, and rank and technology advancements add even more variety to this fun, yet complex game. Social elements are plentiful and aspire to hold some degree of realism: for example, players with higher ranks can recruit others to become their vassals, reflecting the feudal system in the Dark Ages. The game is somewhat slow, however, with a rather bold emphasis on playing paid ‘cards’ that speed things up. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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Rusty Hearts Added: 4/15/12 Rusty Hearts is an anime-inspired hack and slash MMORPG. There are four classes, along with avatars, which are mere replicas of the opposite sex. The graphics are stylish and blend nicely with players and their actions. The gameplay is fun at first, but can become repetitive, especially in PvE. The game is instance-based, so dungeons and arenas are plentiful. So are social features like character rooms, group quests and guilds. PvP is a real treat with solo modes such as deathmatch, survivor, and team tag for cooperative PvP. The PvP environment also features a ladder system for the competitive-minded. Although the game can become repetitive, it is playable at the very least, and, if you don’t play Rusty Hearts as a single-player game, it can actually be quite rewarding. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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Star Trek Online Added: 4/15/12 Star Trek Online (STO) is a sci-fi MMORPG game, set in the universe of the Star Trek TV shows. Players can choose from three officer professions – engineer, science, and tactical – and numerous races that pertain to the Star Trek canon. The character customization is greatly detailed. Players are given a starship of their own and, after a brief introduction, they start completing ground missions and space missions (the former are far more interesting) to gain experience and new skills. Visually, the game is beautiful and its story is appealing even to players new to Star Trek. Missions become repetitive as the player levels up, but social features help in overcoming the stale gameplay. Overall, however, STO doesn’t do justice to the original franchise, and even the regular updates haven’t been able to cope with the shortcomings inherent in the game economy and combat, making the game less interesting as you progress. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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Lord of Ultima Added: 4/15/12 Lord of Ultima (LoU) is a surprisingly fun strategy MMO, played in the browser. The story isn’t much, but its fantasy setting does hold some allure. The game starts with you holding a city with a set amount of resources, and using them efficiently is a hard task. LoU isn't especially original, as the basic gameplay isn’t different from similar games – Evony, Ikariam, and others -- at all. However, the game is full of opportunities for clever strategic tricks, for example, with the city layout or the army unit mix. The military strategy is thought-through and adds further depth to this game which can indeed become more than a simple time-sink. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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Tribes: Ascend Added: 1/8/12 Tribes: Ascend is an MMO first-person shooter set on a persistent world of the Tribes universe. Tribes is a very old co-op FPS franchise – a genre classic for some. The newest reincarnation of Tribes uses the praised Unreal 3 engine to create a graphically splendid game which also excels in terms of gameplay. The game mostly focuses on capture the flag, but other modes like Team Death Match are available – and more are expected to be added after the game gets released. Mastering both movement and projectile aiming is key for success in Tribes: Ascend. It’s similar to games like Unreal Tournament (especially later generations of it where vehicles are featured) and Quake, not only in terms of gameplay, but also in the learning curve which can seem to be an overhang for players new to FPS. Note that Tribes: Ascend requires a decent PC to run, especially on higher settings. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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Godfather: Five Families Added: 1/8/12 The Godfather: Five Families is a browser-based, mafia-family-simulator/strategy MMO developed by Kabam. It’s set in the US after World War 2, and focuses on the five families from Mario Puzo’s book – the Tattaglia, Barzini, Corleone, Cuno, and Stracci families. The player gets to assume the role of a single family and build up its mansion and estates, join a crew of other players, raid rival gangs and fight for influence in NYC. The game is stylish -- from the background music to the game’s cutscenes and city visuals, the game looks and feels awesome. There’s always something to do in Godfather, as quests (jobs) and social opportunities are plentiful. If you’re a fan of the movies/books, Godfather will likely be an interesting game to you, due to the backstory and the beautiful depiction of the Godfather universe. For all others, it depends on gaming preferences. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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Eredan Added: 1/8/12 Eredan is an online card playing game set in the Eredan universe. There are two Eredan titles, and Eredan iTCG is discussed here, not Eredan GT. The game’s lore is not only well-detailed, but engrossing, clever, and ridiculous at times. Eredan has its own huge card deck that players use to compete. There are a number of factions, all of which have unique card decks and racial strengths and weaknesses. The skill level is Elo-based, which makes finding matched opponents a lot easier. A fun tutorial takes you through the basics, and sets you right off to explore the world where there’s certainly a lot to explore. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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DragonSoul Added: 1/8/12 DragonSoul is a 3D MMORPG influenced by Asian mythology. There are eight countries and four classes to choose from. Special social features allow players to climb the virtual ladder and, in the end, become DragonSoul champions. Both PvE and PvP are plentiful, combat is fluid and the graphics are nice, especially for the light game client. Class skill trees are more detailed and stand out among those of similar games. There are lots of fun and unique mounts, too. The crafting system is difficult and time-consuming, though. Plus, as the game is still in its beta (which means that many quests, hopefully, aren’t scripted yet), expect grinding, and lots of it. DragonSoul also struggles to introduce anything new to the genre. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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Dragons of Atlantis Added: 12/20/11 Dragons of Atlantis (DoA) is a strategy MMO that offers a fresh retelling of the legend of Atlantis, adding future technology and dragons to it. Players start with a city, construct buildings and recruit troops to conquer the wilderness; players can also form alliances for protection and massive attacks. A special feature is the resident dragon found in each player-controlled city. The game world is sizable and saturated, but the basics are easy to grasp if you've played similar games before. DoA focuses on acquiring and controlling resources, and one of the main means of gaining them is through plunder. Complex battle mechanics will leave you puzzled after losing a battle but happy once you’ve invested the time in understanding them. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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Shadowland Online Added: 12/20/11 Shadowland Online is a strategy MMO with RPG elements. Humankind has been all but annihilated by the undead that have entered through a break in space, and it is up to -- of course -- the player to save humanity. The story is nice actually, and combines real history with fiction: for example, you can win over the Spartan hero Leonidas as a quest reward. Choose from three races and three main unit types; build up your city; form alliances, and, finally, muster up enough strength to get rid of the undead once and for all. Lots of social features and some in-game events also help. Although the game is somewhat complicated once you’re out of the tutorial, it is very rewarding in the later levels, and is surprisingly fun. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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Rise of Immortals Added: 12/20/11 Rise of The Immortals is a Defense of the Ancients/League of Legends style MMO available on Steam. Players pick from a number of heroes (or purchase new ones) and set out to destroy enemy towers together with their team. A solo/co-op PvE mode is also available to quest for cool items and other in-game rewards. The actual heroes are somewhat inconsistent – for example, one would expect a ‘fire elemental’ to have spells connected with fire... but not in this game. Combat-wise, the game plays well though. Players have to level their selected heroes to access new skills and items. The gameplay is highly reminiscent of similar games, and for online play, Rise of Immortals struggles to introduce something new. The dungeon co-op mode is fun, however, and offers a refreshing change from PvP; the social features are also strong, and could be considered better than those of League of Legends. See Videos >> Free, with option to pay for additional features.

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