Free to play – or waste of time?

Are free to play games worth playing if you can’t pay for the in-game items?

If all you need is a distraction, then yes. By all means free to play is the way to go. But what if you are like most gamers? What if beating your foes and proving your dominance is what gaming is all about for you?

Well, then be prepared to shell out a few dollars after all. It would seem that the makers of free to play games are far from being kind. In fact, it would seem that their cruelty knows no bounds. Free to play seemed like a gift for those of us who love to game but are victims of today’s economy. However, once you log into the game and find that the only weapons that are worth carrying require a financial investment and that without them, you spend the entire time dying, the disappointment sets in.

The truth is that free to play is becoming the norm. The trick now is to learn how to use this to your advantage. First, come to terms with the fact that free to play means exactly that- free to play, not free to enjoy playing. This new model of game delivery is meant to entice you to play the game, and yes, to spend your money. The benefit for us as the end users is that we can play and enjoy the game for a lot less money than paying for the game in its entirety. By paying only for the aspects of the game that we wish, it becomes customized to our own respective playing styles. Another benefit is that you get to try the game without too much hassle, and if you don’t like it, you haven’t wasted $60. In all honesty, it would be a little foolish to expect games to be fully free. The developer spends money producing and maintaining them, and we still live in a capitalist society.

However, there is still the problem of how to play if you simply don’t have to funds to enhance the game. The solution is out there, it just requires a little research. Services like Raptr  often offer rewards or competitions to receive free in-game items for games. Occasionally rewards like this are also offered in-game. Even lightweight games such are the ones offered by Facebook and Zynga will give away in-game cash to purchase items. It should also be mentioned that several game makers have recognized this trend and have made an effort to make the paid items in their games merely cosmetic (Valve, for instance). These publishers are rare though, so be sure to do your homework.  It is possible to game for free, but patience (a quality many gamers have to reach down deep for) is required. For those with no patience left- sorry. Free to play will still cost you, just not as much. 

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