Dungeons & Dragons Online Free Trial

[Grifter]

I am not sure how long this offer is good or how long it has been around, but Turbine is offering a Free 7 Day Trial for Dungeons & Dragons Online. (http://trial.ddo.com//)

DDO features highly customizable characters built from authentic DUNGEONS & DRAGONS races, abilities, skills and feats; real-time action combat; dangerous dungeons with devious traps; hand-crafted, private adventures; plus monsters and stories from the action-packed and intrigue-laced Eberron® campaign setting.
Considering the gaming drought we are in this couldn't have come at a better time. I'm not a huge fan of MMOs but this should hold some of us over untill Prey and/or Titan Quest come out.

[Deadend]

https://secure.plaync.com/cgi-bin/free_trial.pl?partner=6

and there is a 14 day CoV trial.

[balamoor]

This is one I wanted to be good..God how I wanted that, amazingly the game sucks and blows at the same time.

Help me Bioware you are my only Hope...... No one is sure whether the upcoming Bioware MMO is KOTOR Online or Baldurs Gate Online, but it's the last best chance for MMO games. Till then we are stuck with suckefest like WoW and EQ II.

[gawaintheblind]

there are a lot of mmorpgs that are offering free trials that don't suck so very very bad.

[PixelSamurai]

This game truly does suck. Go with CoV instead.

[balamoor]

This game truly does suck. Go with CoV instead.

Yep COV is a nice diversion, they really need to lighten up on the grind though.

[Deadend]

The grind isn't as bad when your in a group. As CoX seems to be a game that the fun multiplies the more people your with. While WoW almost seems to have the opposite effect, as the more people your doing stuff with in WoW, the less fun it becomes.

[Sternn]

This is one I wanted to be good..God how I wanted that, amazingly the game sucks and blows at the same time.

Help me Bioware you are my only Hope...... No one is sure whether the upcoming Bioware MMO is KOTOR Online or Baldurs Gate Online, but it's the last best chance for MMO games. Till then we are stuck with suckefest like WoW and EQ II.


download this MMO video and tell me what you think ..real time mounted combat, seige engines, guild built cities ...there's a lot going for it

http://bymitra.com/files/aoc_e32006_ign.wmv

[NoName]

download this MMO video and tell me what you think ..real time mounted combat, seige engines, guild built cities ...there's a lot going for it

http://bymitra.com/files/aoc_e32006_ign.wmv
There was once a great MMO called Shadowbane, built off the princibles you listed. It was PvP fun like never seen before. Then it got old, because people on the internet suck. It's sad.

[balamoor]

download this MMO video and tell me what you think ..real time mounted combat, seige engines, guild built cities ...there's a lot going for it

http://bymitra.com/files/aoc_e32006_ign.wmv

Yes Sternn I am a Huge Conan fan..well a Huge Robert E Howard Fan actually. I have a lot of hope for this game, I think it has the potential to come out of nowhere and bitch slap the MMO community, on the other hand it could suck harder than Draft at a Jeff Kaplan love in :rolleyes: Time will tell.

[Steele Johnson]

CoH/V is a 1000x better than DDO. I can't believe how badly Turbine fucked that one up. Dungeons & Dragons is supposed to be a deep and captivating game. DDO is like playing Guild Wars without the fun factor and a little more arcadish. Ugh...

CoH/V on the other hand isn't as deep as Dungeons & Dragons, but the fun factor is up there. If you haven't played COH/V, give that one a try well before even thinking about DDO.

[Savok]

This is one I wanted to be good..God how I wanted that, amazingly the game sucks and blows at the same time.

Help me Bioware you are my only Hope...... No one is sure whether the upcoming Bioware MMO is KOTOR Online or Baldurs Gate Online, but it's the last best chance for MMO games. Till then we are stuck with suckefest like WoW and EQ II.
Warhammer is looking good.

[balamoor]

Warhammer is looking good.

It was until EA Got their filthy hooks in it. Now all bets are on that it will never see retail as EA Loves to buy then shut down MMO's

[Savok]

Wait, Electronic Arts? When the hell did they get it?

[balamoor]

Wait, Electronic Arts? When the hell did they get it?


They purcahsed Mythic dude... sucks but it's true.

[Sternn]

Yes Sternn I am a Huge Conan fan..well a Huge Robert E Howard Fan actually. I have a lot of hope for this game, I think it has the potential to come out of nowhere and bitch slap the MMO community, on the other hand it could suck harder than Draft at a Jeff Kaplan love in :rolleyes: Time will tell.


I'm hoping for the former ...they seem to be sticking to the ReH sensibility with a Frazetta style art direction


NoName: there's already a few former shadowbane players forming guilds ..seems to be attracting a mix of Conan fans and MMO veterans

[Savok]

They purcahsed Mythic dude... sucks but it's true.
Motherfuckers, god damn it now I have to wait even longer for a decent Warhammer game.

[theguido]

This game truly does suck. Go with CoV instead.

The best part of that game, unfortunately, is the character creation. I had a hell of a lot of fun making my character, but I pretty quickly got tired of the gameplay.

[Blue]

I might have to give that CoV a whirl now that WoW makes me want to jab a hot fork in my eye. Might need to step away from the whole MMO thing for a while, though. Maybe hit up some single-player games I missed while on my year-long addiction.

And that whole EA and Mythic crap is the worst news ever. I was really looking forward to Warhammer, but I don't know if I could pick up anything EA's touched. Worst news of the day.

[niakori]

heh, shadowbane...
Anywho..
I never understood why Mythic was held in such high regard but I never got into DaoC anyway and told myself to steer clear of high fantasy games. I love that funcom is behind AoC though, and rumor has it they are working on something new...

Ontopicnow

Yes this trial had been around long enough for all my ex guildies to put in a resounding no. I didn't much care since I wasn't into DnD at all (there, said it). Still, there's much much worse mmos out there... like um DnL.

[PacoTaco]

DDO is truly one of the worst MMO games i have ever played... I wasted money on it and got robbed, but if you even wasted your time on the free trial you'd be robbed as well.

[Orosco]

Court TV has better trials than this.

[alienchild]

pffft, ho play Anarchy Online, it' free. Not a trial.

THE. GAME. IS. FREE.

[DeadPixel]

Holy cripes! AO is FREE now? I used to love that game. Why did you tell me??? WHY????!?!

[NeuroMan42]

DDO crits you for a D20 of suckage!!!

[bean19]

The grind isn't as bad when your in a group. As CoX seems to be a game that the fun multiplies the more people your with. While WoW almost seems to have the opposite effect, as the more people your doing stuff with in WoW, the less fun it becomes.

Have you gotten past level 25 yet? It really sucks when it starts taking 6 hours to get a level, and they aren't really worth much because they nerfed enhancements so badly in Issue 6 that the enhancement levels feel like a boobie prize half the time.

Btw, on upcoming MMOs. There are a lot of them, and I played many of them at E3. The one that is freaking amazing, but doesn't seem to be getting people's attention yet is Gods & Heroes. Freaking brilliant animations, a clever new minion system, and amazing graphics.

Age of Conan and Tabula Rasa also got my attention, but people seem to know aobu those. Warhammer also looks cool, but - you know- Winter 2007. . . I'll think about that game next year. :)

[Orosco]

About AO, they just upgraded their servers Wednesday with new hardware, to cut down on some of the lag spikes you'd get off and on.

[Savok]

CoX you need as many people as possible to lvl quickly. Luckily the fun of the game really benefits from numbers. When your Warshade double mires then turns squid in a packed mission, you really don't feel the nerf.

[bean19]

CoX you need as many people as possible to lvl quickly. Luckily the fun of the game really benefits from numbers. When your Warshade double mires then turns squid in a packed mission, you really don't feel the nerf.

You are able to find full groups in CoH? My CoH main isn't on the most populous server, but I want to use his influence for alts, so I'm left unable to get groups there.

For CoV. . . well, it doesn't feel villainous to group up. . . I already have so many other things in that game that make me feel not at all like a villain, that I pretty much plan my play around TRYING to feel villainous.

Plus, I disagree that the xp-rate with groups makes it feel like less of a grind. It still takes two play sessions to get a level past level 25 and the enhancement levels still feel like boobie prizes. . .

I recommend this to people who haven't played it before as you can get past the grind once. . . as there is enough new stuff ONCE, but though I have made more alts in this game than any other game EVER, I can't stand them past 25. I think if they raised the xp rate after 25 significantly or removed the enhancement nerfs from Issue 6, they would have less churn because people could get to max level and focus on SG base raids and Items of Power or build alts and get them to max level for variety in these PvP fights. With the current system, I only know a very small handful of people (all of them exploiters) who have multiple level 50's.

[Karmakin]

If you want top-notch combat, play Guild Wars.

If you want player-run econonmics and politics, play EVE

If you want interesting character creation, play CoX

If you want a balance of everything, play WoW.

There's no real reason to play anything else.

[Savok]

Part of CoX's draw is the plot stuff, which really (ignoring Striga which was added post-release) only gets interesting at 30+, Omega Clearance for instance.

Of course, sadly, that stuff only works once. And yes big teams still exist, even on Justice which seems to be one of the smaller servers. Just get into a heavily networked SG and there's a fair few people around. But yeah, things have shrunk since I6. Still, I8 = trenchcoats!

[Steele Johnson]

There are a lot of them, and I played many of them at E3. The one that is freaking amazing, but doesn't seem to be getting people's attention yet is Gods & Heroes.

I have to agree. G&H looks amazing. This is the one mmo I'm really anticipating. That fact that I can have all those npc minions under my control throughout my quests and hunting is truly brilliant.

[niakori]

Perpetual is a company worth watching, a major IP plus Gods and Heroes. I hope they don't bomb.

[bean19]

Perpetual is a company worth watching, a major IP plus Gods and Heroes. I hope they don't bomb.

Well, I met them all at E3 - at least the G&H team. G&H's lead designer, Stieg Hedlund, designed Diablo II and Starcraft (among other games). These games are probably the two best games EVER at keeping their shelf lives. You can still go out and buy either of these titles at most stores and they are both WELL over 5 years old.

So I've got a lot of faith in him, plus I loved what I saw at E3. I'm not sure that G&H will be the next WoW because I don't know whether or not the Roman myth genre will appeal to people (and I'm thinking it won't considering that people just aren't looking at the game that much despite it's insane visuals and amazing press - it was the most awared MMORPG of E3). Still, I think it will be the next MMO that is of WoW's quality (or greater).

[fiercey]

If you want a balance of everything, play WoW.


...including blocky anime-inspired kiddy graphics. Eh, no thanks.

I come from the age of gaming harkening all the way back to 1984 when bad graphics were really bad graphics, even entirely text-based games. I'm not sure what bothers me so much about Warcraft Online, but I can't even give it a chance from every single screenshot I've ever seen. Oh, and the fact that most of their subscriber base is in China [shivers].

But I'm sure Blizzard will get over it. :P

-f

[Karmakin]

...including blocky anime-inspired kiddy graphics. Eh, no thanks.

I come from the age of gaming harkening all the way back to 1984 when bad graphics were really bad graphics, even entirely text-based games. I'm not sure what bothers me so much about Warcraft Online, but I can't even give it a chance from every single screenshot I've ever seen. Oh, and the fact that most of their subscriber base is in China [shivers].

But I'm sure Blizzard will get over it. :P

-f

Actually I didn't mean that as an endorsement of Wow. WoW (just finished playing a 14-day trial), is like the jack of all trades, master of none. There's something that bothers me about the graphics as well...(mind you I'm not really a graphics whore, but I like things to be smooth).

In any case, my choice is Guild Wars for the uber-deep skill and combat system. I know I'm missing out on things, but the things I'm missing don't bother me.

[51|RandoM]

...including blocky anime-inspired kiddy graphics. Eh, no thanks.

-f

anime inspired? are you serious? lol. I've heard lots of things said by people who don't like the art direction of WoW, but seeing it called anime-inspired is a first.

Are there particular anime series you can point to that you feel inspired the artists at blizzard? Remember to pick ones that were around before Warcraft Humans vs. Orcs was written...

[Savok]

WoW's non-expansion art is excellent, about the only aspect of the game that's still worth a shit.

[fiercey]

anime inspired? are you serious? lol. I've heard lots of things said by people who don't like the art direction of WoW, but seeing it called anime-inspired is a first.

Are there particular anime series you can point to that you feel inspired the artists at blizzard? Remember to pick ones that were around before Warcraft Humans vs. Orcs was written...


Oh, puhlease... have you even seen the elf-ears? They are, like, from every Japanese fantasy anime series since 1960. And the pointy, oversized armors are anime all the way, straight out of Pokemon or Yugi-Oh or Lineage... take your pick.

-f

[Vandenh]

>And the pointy, oversized armors are anime all the way

Two words: Games Workshop

[Tricky Thumb]

Oh, puhlease... have you even seen the elf-ears? They are, like, from every Japanese fantasy anime series since 1960. And the pointy, oversized armors are anime all the way, straight out of Pokemon or Yugi-Oh or Lineage... take your pick.

-f

You're such an earacist, fiercey.

Lately nothing that's out MMO-wise interests me in any way, and that sucks because I want to be interested.