Five to six years ago, had you told most people that there were many cool and fun freeware games available to be played, they probably would've greeted you with a mixture of disdain and apathy. The reason why was obvious: back then, these types of games were very limited in quality and scope. They tended to run in one of two flavors-- crudely made browser-based games that were limited to just the puzzle, card, and arcade genre, and demos that required an expensive purchase in order to continue playing them.

Today, things have changed-- luckily, for the better. Not only have freeware games improved in quality considerably, they're no longer limited to just a few simple genres. Gamers are no longer stuck with solitaire or word-based games; they can have their pick of role playing, sports, strategy, and action-adventure games. There are even driving games online. It may be tempting to cynically assume that this new generation of freeware are poorly made. On the contrary, many of them actually match the level, quality, and complexity of their more commercial competitors.

Gaming publications are a great source for locating fantasy and sci-fi rpg online games. These games have seen a drastic increase in popularity in recent years. Gaming magazines provide valuable reviews on both store bought games as well as internet games, including freeware and shareware games. Gaming publications mainly focus on retail games but do provide space for online games as well. There are other sources available for locating information on these popular games but gaming magazines are a great place to start.

You can also find quality freeware in a directory, a specialized website that organizes sites based on their subject matter. A gaming directory will likely offer more options than a more general directory, since the gaming directory focuses on guiding visitors specifically to internet games. These games may require a purchase, or they may be shareware or freeware. However, you'll want to look beyond generic gaming directories as well, since there are also directories that specialize in finding freeware.

Try using a search engine like Google to locate freeware games. Using a search engine should be used as a last resort since searches for free stuff tends to bring up many spam and warez sites that are designed to take advantage of these queries.

The bottom line for most people in a discussion of freeware games is whether the games are truly free, or are their catches involved? Yes, they're free, and no, there are no catches. They are one of the few free things in life. All you have to do is sign up with a name and email address. In some cases, high-speed internet connection is required. Once you've taken care of these few technicalities, the games are yours to enjoy. So if you've been skeptically avoiding freeware, worry no more. Today there are games of high-quality and excellent content that are as good as the best commercial games - and they're free!