Free to play Sci-Fi and Fantasy MMORPGs

The guys over at Sylien software have recently released Tradewars Rising v1.1. At first glance, I can see that this newer version is much more polished. The only downside I saw was that the built-in macro system has been temporarily removed. I’m not sure exactly why this was done, but it will be returning later in a more streamlined form. There are several “BIG” games started by the developers to spark interest in the new version, but I find myself without the time to use up all of my turns by hand.  If you’ve never heard of or tried this game, please follow my link and join me! For a little bit more information, please check out my initial post about the 1.0 version.

Ha, so I’m addicted now 🙂

I’m not sure how many of you remember the good old days playing online games through a BBS (Bulletin Board System). In 1994-1995 I ran a small one line BBS called The Black Lodge back when I lived in Phoenix. Among other door games I hosted a small TradeWars 2002 game on my BBS and played quite a few other games on other boards. About 1996 or so I migrated to mainly using this new thing called “The Internet” and rarely dialed into a BBS anymore. Sometime around 2001-2002 I ended up discovering several telnet boards that were hosting Tradewars 2002 tournaments. I got back into my groove and actually competed in the 2001 Battle of the Elite (BOTE). The gameplay through telnet was quite a bit different for me than back in the BBS days. Much of the work I did in my corp was through REXX scripting. I had a 2nd computer that was logged in 24/7 defending our bases ready to photon torpedo any attackers and destroy them in less than a second (if possible).  I lost interest for a few years and started playing again around 2005 or so, then didn’t really have the time to dedicate to the game to compete well.

Sometime after that I learned about a new browser based game now known as TradeWars: Rising. I’ve been following this game since developement was announced and am impressed with how much it has progressed. Version 1.0 has been released and 1.1 looks like it is just around the corner. The games are split into two categories: Turn Based and RTS. The turn based games are closer to the classic TradeWars gameplay. The RTS games are a little different and last only an hour or so. There are free basic accounts, but you can get more option for paid premium accounts.

If you want more information, please check out the forums.

It seems kind of odd that I post a review of a Humble Bundle game, then just a few days later, a new one comes out. I’ll keep it short and sweet this time. The Humble Indie Bundle #3 is out with 5 games, name your price. You get a key instantly redeemable on Steam or you can download them directly. I already have Crayon Physics Deluxe from a while back and highly recommend it if you like physics based games. The levels get pretty damn hard, and to be honest I’ve never finished all of them. The other 4 games look pretty cool, so check them out! Proceeds go to any combination you want of the developers, Child’s Play Charity, Electronic Frontier Foundation, or the Bundlers.

One thing I like about the Bundle sales is that all of the games are DRM free and work on PC, Mac, and Linux. Another thing I’d like to add is that if you plan on just donating a penny, Santa is watching!

–Update–

They just added 2 new games and also you get Humble Bundle #2 if you donate above the current average price!