Ok, if you hate Adventure Quest, don't play it. I played it for over a year and reached level 100 (I had two other characters, too), but I eventually quit.
A couple weeks after I started I upgraded to Gaurdian. Back then I only paided 15 dollars (and there were no Z-tokens, and X-Gaurdians had just been released), so it wasn't too bad. The game gets repetitive after a while, but it does get updates every week. Basically, you either like it or you don't.
Now, I have to admit, with the release of Z-Tokens, AQ became a money-hungry beast. Z-Tokens became the new gold and gold became obsolete. And since Z-Tokens cost real money, if you don't pay you have very little currency in the game.
They advertise that AQ is a "free" game and it is true. However if you don't pay to play, gameplay is VERY limited. So you have to either buck up and pay for it or make the best with a third-rate FREE game.
What it boils down to is that Adventure Quest is a game like any other. You are not compelled to play so if you don't like it, don't play it.