I must say, I'm impressed with this game. This comes from a long-time D&D (red and blue books in the 70's), AD&D (in the 80's and 90's), and then D&D player (3.0-). In short, I've got some experience with the franchise.

The D&D line of games have produced some of the best fantasy titles built for the PC, with a few clunkers throw in for good measure. I've had a few bad experiences with MMORPG's in the past, and nothing disappoints like a crap game, so I held back from trying it until an old friend finally became insistent. Again, I was impressed. The graphics are cool enough, the gameplay is good (simple to learn, difficult to master). The price is right as well: Free.

Free may be too strong a word, actually. While there is a lot of free content available, there is more content available for just a few dollars more. Commit to a monthly bill of $14.99 and you have access to everything, and then some (all content, plus additional monthly Turbine Points to spend buffing up your character).

Player Versus Player (PvP) combat is limited to zones where such activity can occur. This is fantastic, in my opinion, because one of the things I hate about most online gaming is that "bigger" players, who tend to have gotten that way by spending money out-of-game, tend to wreak havoc online, robbing and killing lower level characters with no more reason than to do so, in many cases. In other instances, success comes through buying hardware or software to obliterate your opponents. Success on DDO missions comes through teamwork and task specialization. Tanks (fighters, barbarians, paladins, etc.) lead the charge, Healers (clerics and favored souls) heal, Arcane spellcasters (Wizards and Sorcerers) rain magical fury on opponents, Rogues take out traps while performing wicked sneak attacks, etc. Without the Tank to draw fire, everyone else gets cut to shreds. Without the Rogue, murderous traps do just that. Healers extend the life of all involved. Without strong magics, some quests are virtually impossible. This need to work together lends itself to an "all for one" atmosphere over the "keep what you kill" so prevalent in some games.

The way the world is set up, you earn prestige (in the form of favor points) with the various political factions within the game (the four Great Houses, The Silver Flame, Coin Lords, Free Agents, etc.) through the quests you complete. As you gain their respect, they offer you additional in-game rewards (you unlock special items that only your character can use) and out of game rewards (like new races and classes, etc. to build new characters). Some are rather trivial, in my opinion, but some are vital for an more enjoyable gaming experience. Herein lies the relevant conundrum; in order to achieve high levels of in-game prestige among certain factions, you must purchase quests which bring favor from that particular group. To make the parting of cash from your wallet a little easier, the first time you spend money to buy Turbine Points (Turbine being the company that runs the game online) you permanently upgrade to a Premium Account. This gives you access to unlimited in-game auctions (the Free level is one at a time) and give the player two additional character slots.

The point seems to be to let everyone who wants to play the game, play it for free (which gives the subscribers a lot of online friends to adventure with), but the lure of spending money is high. I've done it simply to gain access to a Premium Account (and I had the $6.95 burning a hole in my Paypal account anyway). It's odd, a new game might cost thirty-fifty dollars, but I expect to spend more time on this game that cost me $6.95 than any other. I also plan to buy some of the Adventure Packs to get those ever-important prestige points.

I like the upgradable gaming experience. I like not having to pay for things that I don't want or need. I'll never play a Warforged character, for instance, it's just not my thing. I like having access to an ever-changing amount of content (though I may have to pay for it). Finally, I like the effort put in by Turbine to ensure game balance.

I also like the fact that if I didn't like the game, I would never have to waste a dime on it. The fact that I do may not help my wallet, or my time-management, for that matter, but I would certainly recommend the game to anyone who wants a high-fantasy, high-intensity gaming experience.