Bots!!

One of the most interesting things I have found while at work is a small MMO game called BOTS, being developed by the formerly bankrupt company Acclaim. Under new ownership, the company has started distribution of free MMOs for all to play. The company gets their profit from special "Money Items" (super creative, too) that are specifically for people who will pay for them and cannot be sold or traded. Anyway, BOTS is the first game to come into Open Beta, while Acclaim's other game, 9Dragons, is still under development.

Now, BOTS is an Action MMO, based around the four arrow buttons, Z, X, C, and V, as well as the space bar.
V - Attacks
C - Jumps
X - Blocks
Z - Transforms
V+X - Shoots (w/ gun)
C+X - Special Move (must have item equipped)
Anyway, that's the basic formula. It's a 3D game that lets you go in 8 directions, and has a fixed isometric view, similar to Diablo. You start in a lobby and join or create a room, from which you can play Sector (PvE) Maps, PvP Maps, or Base vs. Base maps. The Sector mode is where you primarily level up and gain money as well as items from bosses. Sector games are small levels, each varying in length with a set time limit, where up to 8 people can go through the level, gaining experience and money. Exp. Helps you level up, and money lets you buy new parts (most important purchases) and other stat boosting items. The game has a great, tight-knit and very accepting community, rare in online games today, and allows for a quick getaway for any person, casual or hardcore gamer, or maybe if you just want to chat. Just click the big BOTS button and you're in!

Get Rich Quick, with no strings attached?

No way, is probably what you are thinking, and you might just be right, at least partially right. A few years ago I heard about the game Project Entropia (recently changed names to Entropia Universe). The game is similar to other MMORPGs in that you put in money to play. But here is the first advantage. The account and client are 100% free. You don't even have to enter credit card info for "security purposes," and the only time you ever have to pay is if you want to. Along with the first advantage comes the first catch. If you put no money into the game to begin with, you start out very bored with very little to do. The creators very obviously purposely did this to help encourage you to put in a quick 10 bucks just to speed up the game and make it more fun. Now the second catch. If you don't pay, you start with nothing. Literally all you have is your Avatar (your ingame character), and a bright orange jumpsuit. The game does let you collect sweat, which you can sell for extremely small amounts of ingame money. PEC are cents, and PED are dollars. 10 PED = 1 USD, United States Dollar. Here is the second advantage, and one of the big draws of the game. The cash goes both ways. Yep, you can withdraw the ingame money for real cash, at the 10-1 exchange rate, and deposit money back at the same rate. The obvious choice would seem to be not to put any money in to it, and build up until you have a decent amount of money, withdraw, rinse and repeat. A bottle of sweat sells for around 2 PECs. That's 1/500th of a dollar, if I did my math correctly. You start out only being able to collect sweat. Starting to understand why this game is still is business? You almost have to pay, unless you want to spend hours and hours collecting sweat to sell for 1/500th of a dollar. Not looking so good now, is it. But wait, there might be one last thing to change your mind. You can get a mentor in this game, someone to show you around and tell you what to do, maybe even give you a good weapon or some good armor to start out with. With something as simple as a pistol, the game is completely turned upside down, making the wilderness your playground. Also, having friends in this game is pretty much a requirement, especially if you aren't investing any money to begin with. So, here is the get rich quick scheme of the new millennium, a video game made by some guys in the Netherlands, or somewhere like that.