by Matt Bird

Created on: June 14, 2009

I'm not the kind of guy who can sit around role playing with a group of people for a long time. I did it when I was younger, and as fun as playing pretend may have been, there just wasn't enough structure for me to enjoy it. So when I talk about role playing games, my definition's going to be browser-based and relatively interaction-free, though not to the point of complete isolation.

I have two online games that I play on a regular basis. They're both free, and - so long as you're into the respective themes - they're both quite fun.

Billy vs Snakeman

I've mentioned this one quite a few times in my previous articles, but I really must continuously reiterate that this game is a lot of fun. Fans of anime - Naruto in particular - will love it. You take on the role of a genin, a newcomer ninja at the very bottom of the ninja world, and you must work your way up in strength and influence by completing missions, gaining experience and finding new allies and items. Everything is performed via vast menus filled with buttons.

That in and of itself sounds kinda boring, I'll admit. In practice, though, it works really well, since the menus are bright, attractive and filled to the brim with neat little graphics: all of your allies have their own little portrait, and you can import a picture for yourself that others can see. This is doubly fun since Billy vs Snakeman is basically an enormous parody of Naruto and a flurry of other animes (Bleach, Death Note and Gundam are just a few of the ones you'll come across), and features a slew of satirical and funny missions based on pop culture of all kinds.

More, you'll get a lot more out of this browser-based game than most. Once you get strong enough the average Billy vs Snakeman session will take up to an hour to get through, whereas most similar games will only last you a couple minutes. Considering it's free and can be played anywhere, that's pretty good.

Urban Dead

My other favorite browser-based game, Urban Dead is all about zombies. You're given two options when you begin the game:

- You're a survivor of a pre-determined occupation (civilian, military, doctor and so forth) who's trapped in the suburbs of Malton in the midst of a zombie outbreak. You must fight to survive.

- You didn't survive. You're a zombie. You must hunt down survivors and eat them.

Whichever route you choose, you're placed on a game grid that you can move around on (each action takes up one action point, and you get fifty max) and you must attack the opposing side with everything you've got. Zombies have it a bit easier in this regard: survivors need to hide in buildings and can run out of ammunition fairly easily, whereas zombies will just get back up if you kill them. Whichever side you choose (and you can criss-cross between them) you're sure to have some fun.

Sound good? Then get out there and sign up. Both games are great, and well worth the time every morning.

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