Wizard101 . is a card based MMO.. So if you like the stratagy of building your deck, organizing your creatures then it is a very fun game.  PVP is pretty fun.. can be quiet competitive and pretty fun if your trying to get that certain card.. flaw in the game is.. what happens when you don't get the cards you need.. or setting your deck too small to get the cards you want, and fight takes too long.

I really enjoy the stratagy of deck building

They also have a great housing system, and lots of options for it. 

The only downside for me is there is no raiding... not sure how you could set that up.. but that would be fun.  The game is a good break from other MMO's.. and realitivly free.. I say that, because you can get crowns and just buy zones as you need them.. then never have to spend more money.. but to get all the zones it would be fairly expensive

Once you get to about level 10, you'll be locked into the "free" zones. I looked at unlocking all the zones and it looked like unlocking the entire game would cost about $60 dollars. You wouldn't have to do it all at once, and there is plenty of free time to decide if you like the game.

It does have some familiar things, like traveling around requires some thought so you don't aggro everything around you. Building your character's skills takes a little bit of planning later on too. You get to decide how you want your character built, so it felt pretty free.

The combat is turned based, using the cards that you pickup. I don't remember exactly how your skills figured into this, but the cards and the skills worked together, or your skills gave you access to cards or something. It's been awhile.

The content is very dense, so there is very little wasted space. The physical area isn't as large as other MMOs, but there is still an element of exploration and travel involved.

I think the game is well worth the time to download and play. Even if you don't decide to spend some money and unlock later zones, the free time will not be wasted.

Wizard101 is a great game, easy to play and lots of things to enjoy! 

one of very few games I have played since they started, company usually ruin the game after a few years but wizard still going strong.

The only real bad thing is the pvp, a high level 1vs1 can take up to 2-3 hours / game.

Sorry for my english and try this game out, you will not regret it.

Edit "how can I be a noob member when I have been member since -04" :)(

I'm still in debate about recommending this game. currently a lot of players are reporting they are lagging on the game. the customer support is trying to help.

as far as buying those hoard packs. not recommended unless you want some of the more common items in it.as this comes up a lot in discussions.

the answer is simple : yes, try it, it's worth it

because there is no trouble to install the game : unlike many other games, you don't have to download it all at once during hours before playing ;+P

the game will only download  what you need and wait for you to explore it to download more

now, knowing if you'll like it or not, it depends on you but the first free areas will be enough to understand how it is and if you want to go further or not

in my case, i only play this game now, i never find any game like this :

classic :

you can find all we see in other MMO (PvP, PvE, questing, gears, mounts, pets, houses to design, crafting, mini-games, etc)

original :

- the graphics aren't like all other games, sometimes you look at it like a cartoon, lol

- there is lots of references and sense of humor

- the fight system is clear, easy and let you focus on your strategy and the discussion with your team

- the questing helps you with an arrow, you're never lost

- you can have 6 characters on one account, letting you experience different kind of magic schools

- you can play as you want : just PvP, just PvE, just collecting pets, objects, etc, just design your houses, just meet your friends (the community is really fun, there is always many parties, contests, etc) or do it all, you can't be bored unless you want to ;+P

improving : there is always new worlds but also many updates all year long to get better game basics, you really feel at home ;+)

a wide bonus system :

despite the whining you can hear now and then, you don't need the bonus gear and object to play (i finished the main story with several characters before starting to buy anything) so it's really bonus, just to have more fun ;+)

there are many gear, mounts, pets, houses, objects, elixirs to boost or play faster, henchmen when you're in trouble, transformations to look like a mob, etc, etc, and always many new fun things almost every month...

the good thing is :

-there are always many promotions and contests to get what you want if you can't or don't want to usually aford it

- some are even sold in game gold (you don't have to pay to get gold, you win it in game)

- many bonus objects can be dropped in the game

so no one feels outsider (except those who always want more and aren't happy anywhere, lol ;+)

well, then, this game is easy to try, easy to enjoy and it's easy to stay in its world and have fun ;+P

i tried to find some other game like it but never found something that neat, especially the fighting system (but you can find the same kind of design and options on the other KingsIsle game Pirate101)

If you're willing to spend a bit of cash it's a pretty good choice. The free to play section is akin to a demo so you can get a pretty good feel of what's in store for you. 

I enjoyed the hell out of the game but wasn't really willing to spend cash on content unlocking so I dropped it. I recommend this game. Just be ready to buy crowns. Besides the devs deserve a little bit of cash for what they've done.