*The offer is only valid if you sign up a new Anarchy Online account between the 15th of December 2004 and 15th of January 2005. You can play free of charge until 1/1 2006. Should Funcom deem that a too high-increase in server load or other unforeseen events will lessen the experience for existing players the offer will be terminated at our discretion. The free version does not include access to any of the three expansion packs. Should you wish to upgrade to any of the expansion packs monthly subscription and client fees will be added.
Sure, you get a year free, but if you want to upgrade to any of the expansions it'll cost ya. You can download the original version for free of the games site.
So, was this one any good? For free I might take the time to download it.
CeeKay has left the building. See him exclusively at Gaming Trend!
The last time I played Anarchy Online was when it first started, for about three months.
It was, even back then, very very good. Superb atmosphere, great community. Lots and lots of objects, weapons, clothing, accessories etc (with full crafting). Combat was nice, too. I played a fixer (kind of a thief) and always teamed up with some chick from Aussie who played a medic; we made a brilliant team and had a really good time. The team-based missions were cool. If it weren't for Eve Online, AO would be my number one MMORPG.
Of course, all that was ages ago and I have no idea what it's like now, but I always hear good things about it. Man, this is a great offer and I wish I had the time to play.
I've been playing Anarchy Online off and on for a few years now. I just suspended my account about a month ago, only cuz of EQ II and WoW coming out (temporary cash flow prob, needed to prioritize, and wanted to check those two games out). I had intended to start up again soon, as I really enjoy Anarchy Online.
Even though it's land based (no inter-stellar travel and such), the sci-fi/futuristic setting is pretty darn cool. The gameplay itself (outside of theme and setting) is very similar to EQ, and as such, it has similar general strengths and weaknesses of EQ. It's also a bit harder to grasp all the nuances of the game, a steeper learning curve than the original EQ (and obviously more than EQ II and WoW). But if you have the time and patience and want a good sci-fi setting, you can't beat it for free. All you've got to lose is time, and who knows, it may hook you, then, well, you get a online gaming fix for no dollars out of your pocket. The latest expansion is really just for very high end characters, the second expansion is more of a linear experience, so the base game can do you well for awhile. If it tickles your fancy, well, then it'll be worth picking up the expansions later (and you get the first expansion free with a paid account, too, anyway), and the other expansions can usually be found dirt cheap (latest expansion is just $10 at my local EB). The monthly fee of $14.95, if you decide to get the expansions later and go headlong into the game, is still cheaper than the price of two movie tickets and the amount of entertainment hours is going to be much more.
i have a boxed copy of the original game that someone gave me and i never tried...couldn't justify anything that required a monthly fee at the time. now that it's free, i may just have to give it a shot 8)
A while back you could get the Shadowlands box (so base game + 2 expansions for $5 bucks). I did that for a while.
Honestly, there's no way in the world I could go back to playing a game like this. After CoH it is dull as dishwater. Still, if you like games with lots of equipment and "stuff" to buy/get/farm you'll have some fun with this.
Plusses:
There's multiple layers to the equipment....that is, you've got nano crystals (which run programs), implants (which buff your abilities), and more conventional equipment (armor, weapons, etc). There's a game within the game, juggling these three things, swapping in various items to buff your stats so you can equip other items. Like I said, if you like "stuff" you'll enjoy this.
Minuses:
There's lots of item farming and camping in the game, including some open dungeons where you can expect to be trained on a regular basis. The high end items can take literally weeks to obtain.
Combat is dull...really dull, IMO. You usually fight one thing at a time and the pacing is fairly slow.
Some of the class types (I haven't played them all, mind you) get pretty much everything they can do very early. They don't get new stuff, just new versions (many of them) that do one smidge better at the same damned thing you've been doing. There are some exceptions to this. I suggest the adventurer class for those who want to try the game. Flexible and fun for a while. I want new stuff. Getting version 10 of the same power just doesn't rock my world enough.
