Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Allods Online enters open beta

Free Russian WOW-alike with flying ships.

Allods Online, an unusual free-to-play MMO from Russia, has entered open beta testing in Europe, its publisher Gala Networks has announced.

You can download it straight from the official site. You'll just need to create a login for the gPotato.eu portal, which you might already have if you tried last year's cutesy Korean side-scroller, Dragonica.

Breaking with the Asian tradition of free-to-play MMOs, Allods has more of a Western flavour, and boasts striking artwork and flying ship battles as well as owing a clear debt to genre titan World of Warcraft.

Check out our closed beta impressions if you want a little more information before you start to play.