Zero Online

Zero Online is a sci-fi free to play MMORPG where you play a pilot in a very high-tech combat suit. The game is 2.5D, and basically this means that you get 3D graphics seen from a 2D perspective.

Although it is mainly played with the mouse, there are some key shortcuts to the keyboard, but most of the gameplay like moving and combat is done only with the mouse.

Like most MMO games it doesn't have a great story. The main plot is that some time ago an anomaly named OTHELLO started reprogramming earths robots to engage in a war against the humans. You play a pilot in the Earth Alliance who doesn't have any special skills on his own. He drives various "units" which are basically like a robotic shell which have many different weapons and skills.

You can choose between 3 classes of units: Melee, Ranged and the Psyche. Each of them have different weapons and skills but the gameplay for everyone is pretty much the same. Once you've chosen a certain unit, you will choose an avatar for the pilot which will not have any effect on the game.

The game offers a great variety of units you can equip, and you even have an ability called "Fusion" where you can combine two units into one, making a special unit. Each unit has a lot of weapons and armor which you can unlock by leveling up. In addition, each unit can transform in a lot of things like a tank or a bug and even a dinosaur.

The gameplay is pretty good with a lot of droids to fight and even player tournaments. The game is very large and the maps are vast and the developers came up with the auto-pilot feature to help you navigate, and find your way to the objective faster. This feature is not uncommon in MMO games but I liked how this one was designed. After clicking the auto-pilot button you can see almost every NPC you can get quests from and also shops where you can buy new gear. Just a simple click on the desired person and your character will go directly to him. The auto-pilot feature also works great with quests. After receiving a quest you can use auto-pilot to go directly to the area of the objective.

The graphics are very good considering the requirements and the sound is pretty good,too. The only drawback of this game is the fact that you cannot move with W,A,S, D buttons and this makes it pretty dull in player versus player combat.

Nevertheless, it is a good game with an original idea.