Free-to-play games
As we continue down the chain of games snubbed by MMO elitists, we reach the lowliest of the low, the bottom-feeder free-to-play MMOs that don’t even bother asking you for money. Some are glorified web-browser games with a micro-transaction business model tacked on for good measure. Some are painfully generic titles with awkwardly mangled English translations telling you to “Try for clicking to here for extra damage.” All of them tend to suck and there are so many, we wouldn’t be able to fit them all on this chart even if we tried.

Games that gave up on fees
Like the kid who dreams of becoming president but winds up working the nightshift at your local fast food restaurant instead, these MMOs thought they had a shot at raking in massive profits with monthly fees before they realized that no one would pay for the stale and repetitive experience they served up. RF Online and ArchLord are good examples of MMOs that started off like the school bully who demands you fork over your milk money, but winded up like the town beggar, hoping that someone will take pity on him with a micro-transaction purchase for a smelly new coat.

Above: Winner for the best/worst example of an MMO gone free last year goes to RF Online

Above: Ancient free games like Runescape may look horrendous. But why pay a monthly fee for prettier pooh when there’s someone giving it away for free right over there?

Above: Part three of our MMO hierarchy. Click here to enlarge

As you can see, games like Runescape sit at the bottom of the MMO hierarchy. However, these free-to-play patrons still consider themselves superior to WoW players. All the torturous gameplay elements that keep you obsessed with the acquisition of items and making the numbers on your character sheet rise are all present in free-to-play games too. Only the free-to-play games are, well, free. To MMO players addicted to not paying monthly fees, playing World of Warcraft is like paying for bottled water when there’s a perfectly good cesspool to sip from right around the corner. Yum.

Above: The final and complete picture of the MMO hierarchy surprisingly reveals that WoW is both the best and worst MMO in the grand scheme of things. Click here to enlarge

Want more GamesRadar goodness? Check out our picks for the Top 10 Worst Consoles Ever and Top 7 Death Rattle Games.

Mar 13, 2008