There are a lot of fantasy MMO games avaible, there are only a few that include mecha and even less are free. Time to have a look at Exteel.

Exteel is a MMOFPS, or rather third-person shooter, as you can't switch into first-person view at all. Brightly coloured and futuristic, it supports up to sixteen players at a time within an overall MMO framework that includes customisable mechanaughts and special skills. Melee, ranged and AoE combat are all effective, but it lacks the twitch-response you find in dedicated FPS games.

Exteel is instant fun to play. After you have created an account, you start with a small tutorial. It explains the basic gameplay of the game. After that you can go start right away. You can costumize your Mechanaught with new parts, weapons, colors and combo strikes. To upgrade your Mechanaught more, you need to earn credits. Credits can be earned by playing (and winning) matches. These include Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Territory Control, Last Stand and a Co-op mode. I personally like the coop-mode the most. In this mode players have to protect several hot-spots on the map from being take by enemy Mechanaughts.

Playing Exteel is fun, a great experience that satisfies our inner craving for mecha-on-mecha fighting action. But without the long-term story arcs and level system of a true MMO, this is more a casual third-person. It is not a sim like the Armored Core series.

So is this game really free to play? Well the answer is Yes and No. The plan to add micro payments to the game, so you can buy extra equipment for your Mechanaught. So that most likely means that the more exotic stuff has a price tag. I don't know how the mix between free and paid content will be. I guess we really know when the game releases. Currently it is in a closed beta test. An open beta test was annouced a few days ago and will start on November 14.