New MMORPGs on the Horizon (Sept-Dec)

A lot of new MMORPGs have been announced in August 2010 and many other MMORPGs have moved closer to actual release. Vindictus from MapleStory for example began its first closed beta. Uncharted Waters Online from Netmarble did the same. Gpotato announced Iris Online – a new anime MMORPG. Aeria Games announced that Legendary Champions, a fantasy MMORPG with a DotA style PvP component, will be going open beta sometime in September. King of Kings 3 should begin its open beta in the new few months. As you can see, there’s A LOT going on in the free to play space. One of the biggest things to happen recently though is EverQuest II going free to play. I talked a bit about this before, but the game is free to play for everyone right now. That means you can go download EverQuest II and begin playing the free to play beta. The best of the beta is that there won’t be any character wipes. Woot.

Uncharted Waters Online from Netmarble looks really awesome. It’s one of the only sea based MMORPGs out there aside from maybe Captains of DarkTide and Age of Ocean. Age of Ocean being a browser game. Netmarble is a big Korean MMORPG publisher and developer, but as of now the only game they have on their global portal is Mini Fighter Online, which is a fun fighting MMO that plays like Street Fighter. They have a ton of cool games available in Korea including Wego, Koongya Adventure, Ys Online and many other games. So i’d love to see them step it up and release more of their games on their global portal. Uncharted Waters Online is the first step I guess.

Another new MMORPG that was announced recently is Dynasty Warriors Online from Aeria Games. Like Kingdom Heroes, Heroes of Three Kingdoms and Warriors of the Three Kingdoms – Dynasty Warriors Online is set during the period of the Three Kingdoms in Chinese history. I was actually a big fan of the Dynasty Warriors games on the PS2, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy playing Dynasty Warriors Online. Another new game Aeria Games announced recently is Kitsu Saga, which is supposed to be a martial arts themed game which was developed by the same company behind Grand Fantasia – another popular anime MMORPG.

So as you can see, there are a lot of new MMORPGs launching soon. A few games are dying though. But only a handful. Project Torque shut down but relaunched as Heat Online. Exteel is shutting down on September 10. Three Kingdoms: The Battle Begins from Uforia is shutting down August 30. Manga Fighter died on July 30. It’s no big deal though. For every dead MMORPG there are 5 new ones.

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MicroVolts Open Beta Coming Soon! Woot

MicroVolts the free to play MMO third person shooter from Rock Hippo productions is entering open beta soon! I had a chance to play it in the MMO’s closed beta and it’s a lot of fun. It’s an MMO shooter with anime inspired graphics that closely resemble the fighting MMOs Lost Saga and Zone 4: Fight District from OGPlanet. The actual gameplay on the other hand is remarkably fluid and reminds me of Parabellum from GamersFirst. If you haven’t heard of Parabellum, it’s the upcoming MMOFPS from GamersFirst that’s been in closed beta for over a year now. I don’t think it’s ever going to reach final release, haha. MicroVolts is really fun because it’s something different. There are countless “tactical” MMOFPS games like Sudden Attack from GameHi and Cross Fire from Z8Games and they’re all the same! You die in 1 shot if you get hit in the head and they all aim to be modern and realistic. Once you’ve played one you’ve played them all.

MicroVolts on the other hand, is a bit more layed back. It has anime inspired graphics and is a tad goofy, but it never takes away from the enjoyment of the game. It’s actually a lot like Team Fortresss 2 from Valve, and if you’ve played both games, you’ll probably see the connection. The game is currently in closed beta, and there are some bugs. I’ve had the game crash on me a few times already. One complaint I have is that the game doesn’t have too many maps. Combat Arms – another FPS from Nexon on the other hand has a boat load of maps! One thing I never really understood is why these FPS games have so few maps! S4 League from Alaplaya has like 6 maps, and that’s it. Alliance of Valiant Arms from ijji only has like 8. You’d imagine that the developers would churn out 15-20 maps or something, as it’s a great way to keep users entertained. I remember S4 League for a long time only had 3 maps. Luckily it has more now.

Another cool thing about MicroVolts is that it’s a third person shooter. Almost every other MMO shooter is first person. There’s nothing wrong with first person shooters, but it’s good to see some variety in the genre. I think S4 League, GunZ and MicroVolts are the only third person MMO shooters out there. Everything else is first person. I’m pretty excited about the entire MMO industry. Lots of awesome new games coming soon. EverQuest II from Sony Online Entertainment is going free to play, The Lord of The Rings Online from Turbine is going free to play… Vindictus is coming out soon! I can’t wait to try all of these games!

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MMORTS Games

Every year we see the release of new free to play MMORPGs like Divine Souls by Games Campus, the folks behind Fiesta Online. MMORTS games are much rarer though. The earliest MMO real time strategy game was Shattered Galaxy, by KRU Interactive. Originally released as a pay to play game, it now offers an unlimited free trial.

Unfortunately, Shattered Galaxy is very old and shows it. It is a two dimensional game with dated graphics. Many newer developers have tried their hand at releasing a free to play, micro transaction supported RTS but have had mixed success. Saga, but Silverlode Interactive is one example. Set in a medieval fantasy universe, Saga makes heavy use of instancing. It allows players to experience single player missions and multiplayer battles. It also has TCG elements as players must purchase booster packs containing new units.

Another fantasy themed MMORTS called Dreamlords was developed by a studio called Lockpick Entertainment and briefly published by Aeria Games. It allowed players to control a demigod-like entity called a Dreamlord and command armies of mortals. The goal was the conquer territory by defeating both AI controlled armies and other players. It didn’t perform well and was quickly closed down by Aeria. The European developer still hosts the game and it is playable.

In 2010 a new MMORTS was released that finally gave the genre the fresh start it was looking for. Company of Heroes Online is developed by Relic Entertainment and published by THQ. THQ first tried its hand in the free to play market with a game called Dragonica Online. It was a 3D side-scroller with action oriented gameplay. The studio that published it was called THQ Ice, but the license for the North American service for Dragonica Online was eventually turned over to Gravity Interactive’s WarpPortal – which also has Rose Online and Ragnarok Online

But Company of Heroes Online is a totally different game. Set in World War 2, it allows players to train small squads and vehicles including tanks to battle for control of strategic points. The gameplay in COHO is very similar to Warhammer 40K Dawn of War. Both games stress fast paced action over resource hording and base turtling. Players still have to construct buildings in Company of Heroes Online, but its not a major part of the game. The game is almost identical to the retail version originally released in 2006. The game garnered enormous praise and is one of the top rated strategy games of all time. The free to play online version includes the full campaign from the original game, some training missions, and an all new commander feature where players earn experience and can purchase special commander skills and items.

Company of Heroes Online will compete directly with Starcraft 2 in the online RTS market. But while Blizzard’s SC2 will probably be more popular, COHO should be able to establish it self. More importantly, it will show other developers that the MMO and RTS genre’s can work well together. Some MMORTS games like Beyond Protocol have more advanced features, but require a monthly subscription. The fast-paced Company of Heroes Online will likely draw a larger audience than previous free to play or subscription based MMORTS games.

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Tera Online Should be Free to Play

Amongst the MMORPG community, one of the upcoming MMORPGs that seems to be attracting a lot of hype is a little game called Tera Online from En Masse entertainment. Now, the game does deserve some of the hype it’s been getting as based on the game’s trailers and sceenshots, it looks awesome. Apparently a lot of industry veterans from companies like Blizzard and NCSoft are joining En Masse Entertainment to work on Tera. The problem with Tera though, at least in my opinion, is that it’s pay to play. I don’t think too many people will drop their World of Warcraft or Eve Online subscriptions to play Tera Online. Games like Warhammer Online from Electronic Arts and Age of Conan from Funcom have tried that and failed. Miserably.

So why on Earth is Tera online trying to compete with WoW? Why not make the game free to play with mico transactions? According to the developer’s website, they said something like “Along with other Triple-A MMORPGs, Tera Online will have a monthly subscription fee”. That’s a really pretentious statement. It’s basically saying free to play MMORPGs like The Lord of the Rings Online, Runes of Magic, MapleStory and Dungeons and Dragons Online aren’t triple A. Sorry to burst your bubble En Masse, but free to play games like MapleStory and RuneScape are some of the most popular free MMORPGs in the world. Heck, MapleStory is easily one of the most profitable games in the world too – and it’s free to play! Nexon, the company behind MapleStory, Mabinogi, Vindictus and Dungeon Fighter Online, reported 2009 revenues of over $550 million. World of Warcraft makes some $800 million a year, so Nexon hasn’t passed WoW yet, but it’s getting there. And it’s getting there as a free to play game. Heck, MapleStory is much more profitable than 99% of pay to play MMORPGs! I think WoW is the only one that beats it.

Tera Online looks awesome. I want to play it badly. But, I don’t want to pay for it. I can afford it, but I think it’s silly to pay for Tera Online when I could play 150 other MMORPGs for free. And Yes En Masse, many of them ARE triple-a titles. En Masse needs to wake up and embrace free to play, because it’s the future. Electronic Arts realizes that now, as they’ve already released a ton of free games including Battlefield Heroes and FIFA Online. Even Sony Online Entertainment realizes it now as they announced that EverQuest II is going free to play. So with many pay to play games going free to play, why is En Masse releasing Tera as a pay to play game?

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9 Good Browser MMORPGs

I figure since I’ve been making a few top 5 and top 10 lists, I should do one for browser based MMORPGs and MMO games. That’s free browser based games actually, as I generally prefer free to play games over pay to play ones. I’ll likely exclude the obvious super popular games like RuneScape and Neopets – because everyone already knows about these games. The games below are in no particular order. All of them are solid free to play browser games that are worth checking out.

War of Legends

War of Legends is a 2D browser based strategy MMO by Jagex. The game focuses on large scale medieval warfare as well as diplomacy. Players need to forge alliances and build up their armies in order to do well. Those interested in MMO strategy games should find something to like in War of Legends.

Deepolis

Deepolis is one of the few non-strategy browser based games. The game is by BigPoint and has hands on action oriented gameplay. It is one of the only submarine themed MMOs out there. The only real downside to Deepolis is the game’s cash shop is a bit unfair.

Travian

Travian was one of the first free to play MMORTS games ever released. It is by Travian Games LLC and offers a unique gaming experience. I say unique because even though it plays like other MMORTS games, it was one of the first in the genre. So in a way, it is unique. The game offers both regular speed servers and 2x servers for those looking for a faster paced experience.

Dark Orbit

Dark Orbit is a 2D sci-fi themed MMORPG that plays a lot like Deepolis in its core. Though the game is set in outer space rather than the deeper depths of the ocean. The game’s appeal is its open-pvp environments which are bot competitive and fun.

Caesary

Caesary is a new MMO Strategy game that competes with more established games like Evony and The Seventh Dragon. The game has an a simple yet effective interface as well as solid gameplay mechanics. Aeria Games and Lekook both publish Caesary.

Tribal Wars

Tribal Wars, like Travian, is one of the oldest strategy MMOs on the market. The game plays a lot like other strategy games, except with a much older design and interface. The game should still be commended for pushing the genre forward.

Grepolis

Greepolis is another MMO Strategy game from InnoGames. Unlike Tribal Wars and The West, Grepolis offers much better graphics, gameplay and interface. The game is also set during ancient Greece.

Heroes of Kung Fu

Enough strategy MMOs though. Heroes of Kung Fu is a martial arts themed browser game that plays much like a traditional MMORPG – except text based. It’s by WebMMO – the same company behind numerous other browser MMOs.

Adventure Quest Worlds

Adventure Quest Worlds is a premier 2D browser based fantasy MMORPG with a persistent world. It plays a lot like MechQuest and AdventureQuest, except with many more multiplayer aspects. It’s easily one of the best browser based MMORPGs available!

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Top 5 Most Original MMO / MMORPG Games

There are SO many copy cat MMORPG and MMO games out there, so I want to take a moment to highlight the top 5 original free to play MMO games. All of the games I mention will be both A) Original / Creative B) Good. I won’t mention the original, but terrible games.

#1 Atlantica Online

Atlantica Online from nDoors, the same company behind WonderKing and Luminary: Rise of the Goonzu, is the first mega popular turn based MMORPG. Atlantica Online was such a popular free MMORPG that Nexon actually ended up buying Ndoors earlier this year (2010). If you enjoy playing console RPG style games, give Atlantica Online a try. I added it to this list because I’m tired of playing generic point and click MMORPGs. Atlantica Online offers a fun alternative to the standard MMORPG combat system.

#2 League of Legends

League of Legends from Riot Games is a dota-eque Aeon of Strife game from Riot Games. It’s main competitors include DotA (on Warcraft III), Heroes of Newerth, and Avalon Heroes (Alaplaya). It was the first free to play DotA style MMO and has beautiful in game art, graphics and fun gameplay. Since I learned about League of Legends, I haven’t played DotA or Heroes of Newerth in ages.

#3 Savage 2

Savage is an original 3D MMO that mixes RTS, FPS and RPG elements to form an amazingly original and fun game. It was developed and published by an indy gaming company called S2 Games. Yeah, they’re the same company behind Heroes of Newerth. The game plays a bit like Soul Master from GamesCampus actually. I absolutely love Savage 2 though. You have to give it a chance and you’ll see why I included it on this list.

#4 FreeStyle Street Basketball

FreeStyle is a 3D basketball themed MMO published by GameKiss, the wonderful company behind GhostX and Valkyrie Sky. It’s one of the few sports MMO that I actually enjoy. I added it to this list because it’s the ONLY basketball themed MMO out there. Oh. And it’s incredibly fun.

#5 Fantasy Earth Zero

Fantasy Earth Zero, also called FEZ, is a unique free MMORPG from GamePot USA which was originally published by Square Enix back in Japan. The game features unique MMO/RTS elements mixed with standard RPG ones and epic 100 vs 100 PvP battles. The game’s main attraction is its fun hands on action oriented gameplay.

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Best 2D MMORPGs

I‘ve been playing MMORPG games for a long while. I figured I’d throw up a random list of my favorite free to play 2D MMORPGs. Why you ask? Because It’s 12:30 AM, I’m awake, and somewhat bored. So. Without further adu. My top 10 favorite free to play 2D MMORPGs.

#10 Heroes of Might and Magic Online

Heroes of Might and Magic online from TQ Digital is the first game on this list. It was developed by a Chinese company but still has some of the fun strategy aspects that we’ve all grown to love in the Heroes of Might and Magic games.

#9 Digimon Battle

Digimon Battle is a 2D pet catching and training MMORPG from WeMade Entertainment. The game is about 7 years old, but only recently launched in North America and Europe. It’s been available in Korea for many years now. Even though it’s an oldie, it’s still a goodie!

#8 NosTale

NosTale is a 2.5D fantasy MMORPG from Uforia which has a player housing system, a great pet system and simple yet fun gameplay.

#7 Trickster Online

One of the game’s strongest points is its gorgeous anime inspired graphics. The vibrant graphics and fun gameplay make Trickster Online well worth playing. It also has a lot of classes and customization options.

#6 LaTale

A 2D side scrolling fantasy MMORPG published by OGPlanet. LaTale was one of the first side scrolling MMORPGs with PvP. Even though its a cute MMORPG, the game has some insanely fun PvP.

#5 Grand Chase

Grand Chase is probably one of the most origial games on this list. It’s a cooperative MMORPG which is a bit linear, but still fun. It has cutesy anime inspired graphics and is published by Ntreev. One of its strongest aspects is its huge variety of playable characters.

#4 Dungeon Fighter Online

Dungeon Fighter Online is a 2D action MMORPG from Nexon which plays a lot like classical arcade brawlers like Streets of Rage and Gauntlet Legends. It also reminds me of Golden Axe – which I used to play a lot in the arcades. It’s a side scrolling MMORPG with genuinely fun gameplay and a good variety of classes / job advancements.

#3 Lunia

Some of you may disagree with this pick, but I feel that Lunia is easily one of the best 2D MMORPGs out. Why you ask? Because the gameplay is fun, the story is comedic and the graphics are easy on the eyes. Lunia from ijji is a fun brawler MMORPG who’s only downside is its linearity. The cooperative levels are also a lot of fun if you’re playing with friends.

#2 WonderKing

Bam! #2 is WonderKing from Ndoors – the same company that brought you the turn based MMORPG Atlantica Online. WonderKing is a side scrolling MMORPG with very cutesy graphics. The game is fairly new and has simple yet fun gameplay.

#1 MapleStory

Is this a surprise? It shouldn’t be. MapleStory is easily one of the most successful free to play MMORPGs out there. The game is published by Nexon (The same company that bought GameHi recently who developed Sudden Attack) and has over 100 million accounts world-wide. That’s accounts. Not active accounts, but that’s still one heck of a large number. MapleStory is an awesome 2D side scrolling MMORPG with anime inspired graphics. The graphics are a bit cartoony but it’s still a great game. With over 15+ playable classes and plenty of job advancements it’s hard to put this one down.

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Free to Play is the Future. EQ2 Free to Play

I’ve been raving about various free to play MMORPGs and MMO Games for at least 5 months now. I want to highlight in this post how far free to play has gone in the last 6 months. One of the biggest announcements came from Turbine when they announced The Lord of the Rings Online will go free to play in Fall 2010. This wasn’t that big of a surprise, as their other title Dungeons and Dragons Online had been a huge success as a free to play game. Seeing Turbine announce that Lord of the Rings Online will go free to play though is a MAJOR vote of confidence in the free to play space. Turbine is basically say, Free to Play is a VERY viable business model for high quality Western developed MMORPGs. The announcement that Lord of the Rings Online will be free to play actually shook the entire Western MMORPG world. Even the folks at Blizzard made an announcement saying they haven’t ruled out free to play for their World of Warcraft game. I suspect World of Warcraft won’t go free to play for a long time, if ever though.

A few weeks after the The Lord of the Rings Online announcement, Sony Online Entertainment dropped SHOOK the entire gaming scene by announcing that their major game EverQuest II Would go free to play. Like Dungeons and Dragons Online and a few other pay to play MMORPGs gone free to play, EverQuest II would have some restrictions, but it’s still fully free to play. This is a DOUBLE WHAMMY for the industry. It’s such a vote of confident for free to play that it is unbelievable. With two major pay to play games going free to play, I wouldn’t be surprised if Funcom announces that Age of Conan will go free to play or NCSoft announces Lineage 2 would go free to play. Heck. I’d love to see Aion go free to play too, but I don’t think that’s likely, yet.

In the last 6 months or so, free to play has gone A LONG way. Allods Online launched from gPotato and became really popular, really fast. Heck gPotato has been on a roll. Their other title Aika Online is quite awesome too. Many smaller game companies like OGPlanet have been expanding aggressively as well with games like Lost Saga, Zone 4: Fight District and NEO Online. The fact is, free to play is here to stay and it’s expanding very fast. Every time a free to play MMORPG shuts down, 5 more are launched to take its place. Aeria Games shut down Project Torque recently, but since then so many other games have launched. Gamigo actually has the game published in Europe as Level-R which will hopefully let North American players in when the servers do close for Project Torque.

Since EQ2 is free to play. How long before Sony makes Vanguard and Pirates of the Burning Sea free to play?

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So Many Free World War 2 MMOs!

For a long time there haven’t been any World War 2 themed free to play MMOs and MMORPGs. In fact, there aren’t any at the moment, but there are a whole bunch of them currently in closed beta and on their way to full release. The first one I heard of was Karma: Operation Barbarossa from ijji which is a World War 2 themed MMOFPS. WW2 themed FPS games super common on consoles and traditional PC games, but in the free to play space Karma was the first WW2 themed MMOFPS. The game actually looks pretty neat, but I can’t judge it until I install it and play it for a few days. Another World War 2 themed free to play MMO is World of Tanks from the unknown Russian MMO developer WarGaming. As the name suggests, World of Tanks is a tank based MMO. It’s set during World War 2 and features over a hundred historically accurate tanks. The game has gorgeous 3D graphics and realistic large scale tank based gameplay. Battles support up to 60 players at once. Sure, it’s no Aika Online with 1000 vs 1000 battles, but it’s quite massive for an MMO.

Another upcoming World War 2 themed game is Heroes in the Sky from GamesCampus. Unlike World of Tanks which focuses on Tanks, Heroes in the Sky focuses on epic dog fights and large scale battles in the sky. The game has countless cooperative missions as well as straight up faction based PvP. Like World of Tanks, Heroes in the Sky is historically accurate with its large variety of airplanes. GamesCampus has another World War 2 themed MMO as well – Tank Ace. Tank Ace is a lot like World of Tanks, as its another tank based MMO set during WW2. Both games are still in closed beta, so there’s not that much information available about each.

Company of Heroes Online is yet another upcoming World War 2 based free to play MMO. It’s awesome that a big western game developer like Relic is embracing free to play, much like Sony Online Entertainment and Electronic Arts have already begun to, but I’m getting a bit sick of all of these WW2 themed games! I’m getting sick of them even before any has officially released! Well, that’s not entirely true, as NavyField and Blitz 1941 are currently available, but they’re both relatively small games that each have a very small playerbase. I’m surprised though by the sudden interest MMO Developers in World War 2 themed games? For a long time, most free to play games were fantasy MMORPGs and MMOs were either sports MMOs or tactical MMO shooters.

I have no problem with WW2 themes games, so long as they’re good. I suspect Company of Heroes Online will be fun, but I don’t know about the others.

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More MMORPG WoW Clones

So many free to play MMORPGs are copying World of Warcraft these days. A lot of Korean MMORPGs do it in a subtle way while others are more obvious. The obvious ones being Allods Online from gPotato and Runes of Magic from Frogster. Both are great WoW Clones by the way. I’d rather play either of these two games than paying for WoW, but that’s a discussion for another game. 4Story (called Gates of Andaron also) is another obvious WoW clone as well. I’m not going to talk about the obvious WoW clones here, but instead going to point out the games that copy little things from WoW.

Talisman Online from Miracle Castle copies tons of little things from WoW. Things like spell icons and interface. Low level mages have a spell that has the exact same icon as “frost bolt” from Warcrcraft! The interface as well is without a doubt WoW inspired, as everything from its look to its feel will feel familiar to any WoW player. Another game that was inspired by WoW is Cloud Nine from Netgame. This one may raise a few eyebrows, as it’s an anime MMORPG and me calling it a WoW clone may sound a bit unfair, and it is. Because Cloud Nine is not a WoW clone, but rather a game that borrows a few nifty features from Blizzard’s game. These include item linking, talent trees and quest buttons.

Other WoW clones include Earth Eternal and NEO Online from PlayOMG. Earth Eternal is neat because it plays entirely on the browser. So it’s a fully 3D WoW Clone that launches right on FireFox / Internet Explorer. How awesome is that? You’d imagine a 3D game on the browser would look ugly, but Earth Eternal is gorgeous! Not nearly as pretty as Fusion Fall from Cartoon Network, but much better than Quake Live (two other 3D games on the browser). Surprisingly, both of these WoW clones are quite good. I guess copying a great game leads to the development of a good game. It seems like there are more and more games coming out which borrow features from WoW.

I actually don’t mind when games copy each other, but I’m getting a bit tired of all these WoW clones. I want some more innovation in my games, and as long as people keep copying WoW, I’m not going to see any. For that reason, I want to point out that there are a few new interesting games on the horizon. Soul Master from GamesCampus for one, is a unique MMO that blends RTS and action RPG elements. There’s nothing else like it at the moment. Vindictus, as many of you already know, offers realistic 3D graphics with hard core bloody action. MicroVolts is a third person MMO Shooter. With most MMO shooters being first person, I feel I should mention MicroVolts for its camera angle. Legendary Champions from Aeria Games looks awesome and aims to compete with League of Legends.

Anyway, that’s my rant about WoW clones. I sort of wish game developers released more turn based MMORPGs, as there really aren’t enough good ones out there (Atlantica Online from Ndoors is the only good one imho). I’m getting a bit tired of them, but I suspect there will be many more of them released in the coming years

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