Taking its story cues from a different cut of MMORPG cloth is the martial arts-based Hero Online. Free to play and layered with a multitude of characters, villains, settings, weapons, and armor, the joy in playing Hero comes from the rich tradition from which it is adapted, combined with some of the best graphics we've ever seen in a free game.

The gameplay is smooth, and the ease with which you can rotate your point of view is necessary, since attacks can come from more than one angle simultaneously. Just like in other MMORPGs, when you upgrade your weapons and armor, your character's appearance changes, and the standard MMORPG conceits of weight and personal rank apply to what you can and can't use. As with similar games, there are system slowdowns and occasional crashes, but they were few and far between for us.

Utilizing Chinese weapons, character design and kung fu moves, the game builds a fantasy fighting world that's equal parts mythology and faux history. Even as tangentially grounded in reality as it is, Hero is nevertheless easier to understand and yet more complex than many free-to-play MMORPGs. You might not be a stronger martial artist by the time you log off, but you'll definitely have much better click-to-fight reflexes.