Free Games For The Win

The internet is both good and evil.  There are so many things wrong with the world that we can see on the internet, and yet, it truly is an information superhighway.  As one of your resident nerd friends, I have noticed over time how wonderful the internet has been to the gaming community.  It has gotten to the point where the most successful game in our time, World of Warcraft, offers what is essentially a massive free trial of the game, allowing new players to play without paying until they reach level 20 (which, I've never played WoW, but probably doesn't take very long).  I've grown more keenly aware of free games online over time, and there are truly some gems that you can find online.  There are many many more resources than I care to try to fit into one blog post, but here are some of my favorite free games (and game websites) online.

The Lord of the Rings Online - http://www.lotro.com

What was once a pay-to-play game has transitioned over to the world of free-to-play and in my opinion, this is the best free MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) out there today.  Admittedly, the user interface isn't as clean and accessible as other MMORPGs (including one I will mention later), but it's a minimal sacrifice compared to the experience of questing in the Lord of the Rings universe.  This game, like most MMORPGs, is more fun when played with a friend, but it's an enjoyable single-player experience, as well.  The company makes money by selling additions and further areas/quests through microtransactions, but if you really enjoy the experience and want to play more, there's no reason you shouldn't support the team by paying a bit for additional content.

League of Legends - http://leagueoflegends.com

A prototypical MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) game, League of Legends provides what is perhaps the most complete experience of the free games that I've played.  A new rotation of 10 champions out of the dozens available provides those playing for free with a fresh experience each week.  Points can be earned through the game to purchase in-game add-ons; thus, unlike LOTRO, you do not have to pay real money to enhance your experience.  There is a massive community of gamers online at almost all hours, featuring player vs. player matches, as well as player vs. AI matches (for those who just wanna team up and not deal with awful people online).

Team Fortress 2 - http://www.steampowered.com

You will need to acquire the Steam software before getting Team Fortress, but Team Fortress 2 may be the best free-to-play shooter online, so this is a minor inconvenience.  Made by the highly-respected team at Valve software (Half-Life, Portal), Team Fortress 2 was also originally a pay-to-play game that eventually converted to the free-to-play with microtransactions model.  If you want a fast-paced, arcade style first person shooter, you can't go wrong with Team Fortress 2, as it offers about ten different classes of player that you can use in working with teammates to accomplish goals in each round.  Team Fortress 2's foray into the free-to-play world was a big surprise, given the quality and popularity of the game, but we certainly all appreciate Valve for allowing it to be this way.

Scrabble - http://www.pogo.com

For a bit of a different flavor, I really enjoy Pogo's online Scrabble software.  You can either set up a private match with a friend or get into one of the many channels available to play a quick game with someone random.  There are a lot of details you can set about the match, from a time limit on turns to letter balancing, including hints and a dictionary.  It's a very customizable Scrabble experience and though you will deal with occasional ads, the overall experience is polished and certainly worth a spin.

Honorable Mentions:
DC Universe Online - http://www.dcuniverseonline.com (A different and cleaner experience as compared to LOTRO)
Plants vs. Zombies - http://www.pogo.com (just like the real game)
Battlefield Heroes - http://www.battlefieldheroes.com (Battlefield experience with Team Fortress graphics)
Tetris Friends on Facebook
Quake Live - http://www.quakelive.com (just like the old Quake you know and love)

You'll notice that beyond Tetris, I omitted flash games and Facebook games.  I have nothing against those; in fact, some of them are very well done.  I just figured that most of you know about casual games and thus, I would enlighten you on the more fully-featured games out there.

Any suggestions for things I missed?  I might not have played them, so I would love to know about them.  That said, game on!