| Everquest | By far the most popular MMORPG in the US. Its getting a bit dated looking and the game play is not quite as fun as it used to be...12 minutes of meditation between each fight at higher levels is just boring. But the game world is huge and new players are still getting hooked. Its the closest to a crack addiction some of us will ever know.Everquest screen shots. |
| Ultima Online | One of the first MMORPG. It just celebrated its 5th year and is still going strong. It will be release an other expansion in 2-2003. Graphically its extreamly dated, but it probably has the best crafting system of all the big MMORPGs. |
| Dark Age Of Camelot | Plays a lot like Everquest but with out the long med times. I found it got a bit boring though after about 6-8 months of playing. The new expansion add a little to the graphics, which are much better than Everquest's. They have added in spellcrafting and alchemy as well as player owned housing and yet another expansion pack. Dark Age Of Camelot screen shots. |
| Anarchy Online | I played this for about 2 months right when it was released. Well, I should say I tried to play it. Bugs, Bugs and more Bugs...the game was total crap. I did try it again about 9 months after its release. Still a little buggy, but it was playable. Just played this again for about a month. Very playable now, no lag and very few bugs. The expansion pack was pretty good and had some interesting quests, but lost interest after a while. Sci-fi is just not my cup of tea for these games. Crafting was very frustrating and kind of boring as well. |
| Ahseron's Call 2 | Well I played the beta of this one. To sum up what I think of the game.... watered down and boring. Graphics are the best of all of the MMORPGs I have played or seen. I think they spent 90% of their time on the graphics and about 10% on the game play. Characters are basically the same, they just look differnt...although everyone of the same race look pretty much the same. The skill trees are pretty much mirrors of eachother with only a few differences, so playing different races is kind of pointless. The crafting system becomes extreamly frustrating very early on with the need for trophy items. I was really looking forward to this game, but didn't bother buying when it was released. |
| EverQuest 2 | Well, the big beast of the MMORPGs is now working on a sequel. The graphics look excellent and hopefully they create some addictive game play to match what the original one had. They are saying a first quarter 2004 release but I think it will get pushed back until the fall at leaset. We shall see.... |
| Star Wars Galaxies | Played this for about 3 months. Got bored and very frustrated with it after about 1 month. Had some good ideas they never bothered to even implement into the game when it was lunched. Sure you could become a bio engineer, but you couldn't do anything with it. This game was released way too early. $15 monthly fee to beta test a game for them. Inexcusable!!!!! Canceled my account after the first month. Then just tried to see how much money I could make selling off all the minerals I harvested until my 3 month pre paid account ran out. |
| Final Fantasy XI | Great graphics! Horrible interface! If you are used to playing games on a console then you might not mind the controls in this game. Once you get used to them it seems like a pretty good game. Just released in the US (10/28/03), but has been out in Japan for over a year now. Very stable with little lag. Lots of quests. I have only been playing for a few days so its hard to say if it will keep my interest, but so far I am liking it for the most part. Now if they will just give us strafe in first person mode and camera lock in thrid. |
| Horizons | Horizons is now out and after a month of playing I am totally hooked. The game is well done. The graphics are good as well as the gameplay. The user interface is the best of any MMORPG I have played. The spell effects on many of the spells are over the top. Crafting is pretty cool. The only big complant I have is the lack of good documentation on skills/stats and crafting techniques. Overall though, Horizons is a really good MMORPG. |
| Dragon Empires | This one looks pretty promising too. Graphics look outstanding! Seems like its going to focus more on PvP which for some reason bores me....or frustrates the hell out of me. Funny, I love Battle Field 1942, Team Fortress, Savage, etc... but hate PvP in MMORPG games. This is scheduled for spring 2004. |
| World of Warcraft | This one looks to throw us into a more action oriented world than the rest. From the guys that made Diablo hack and slash and the real time strategy games Warcraft. The graphics look cartoony but very detailed. From what I have read the designers want to get us off the leveling treadmill..... kudos to them if they can do it. Im sick of the treadmill!!!!! |