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Lasereth · 07-21-2005, 05:41 PM

Most MMORPGs are fundamentally the same. World of Warcraft is probably the best, but the game lacks the atmosphere that others have. WoW has an amazing combat system and great controls and pretty graphics..and a terrible online community. The flametacular community combined with the "I'm a videogame, watch me load levels" atmosphere really turn it off for me. It's also too easy. There are many, many level 60 idiots in the game.

EverQuest had an incredible atmosphere. You felt like you were actually in a fantasy world. In WoW, I'm constantly reminded that I'm playing a videogame. In EQ, it always felt like I was a part of an actual world. EQ was also very hard to level in and strict on the death penalty. In other words, you had to be skilled to gain levels. In WoW, you just right click and rake in the EXP while not learning a damn thing about your class. EQ was a vast, expansive world that is many times the size of WoW. WoW is much more detailed, but sometimes vast, open space that allows you to literally get lost is more fun than a videogame level-type setting.

Ragnarok Online had a really nice economy. I played the Open Beta and I really liked the capitalistic feel the game had. You could make as much money as you want and buy the gear you wanted if you knew how economics works. I hate to compare every MMO to WoW, but WoW is basically the standard now. In WoW, you could make gold easily if you were in-the-know, but there's not much you can do with it. You can't buy gear to make your character stronger...each piece of equipment had a level requirement on it. I realize this makes the game more fair, but there's nothing like saving up a large quantity of gold to buy one piece of uber equipment that set you apart from others. This is absent in WoW and present in Ragnarok Online.

The Realm, one of the pioneers of MMOs had a cool atmosphere as well. I liked how a level 300 player could take down a level 1000 player if they were skilled. Skill means nothing in most MMORPGs. The Realm also allowed low-level players to have a chance at finding magical items that sold for a lot. The strong economy in this game made it addicting.

Lineage 2 I was addicted to for a while but only because it was free. I liked the simplicity of it in the beginning, but I really hated the free-for-all PVP system. Anybody could kill you if they wanted to and you dropped an item everytime. That made the game not fun.

I suppose that's all of the MMORPGs I've played. It's obvious that I prefer MMORPGs that have a very immersive atmosphere, that allow capitalism, and have strong economies. EQ is probably the most addicting MMORPG I've played. WoW is the best even though the atmosphere ruined it for me. It's a tie between EQ and WoW, simply because WoW has 90% of the MMO problems refined to perfection while EQ makes you leave the real world and enter true fantasy.

-Lasereth

07-21-2005, 05:41 PM	#7 (permalink)
Lasereth Knight of the Old Republic Location: Winston-Salem, NC	Most MMORPGs are fundamentally the same. World of Warcraft is probably the best, but the game lacks the atmosphere that others have. WoW has an amazing combat system and great controls and pretty graphics..and a terrible online community. The flametacular community combined with the "I'm a videogame, watch me load levels" atmosphere really turn it off for me. It's also too easy. There are many, many level 60 idiots in the game. EverQuest had an incredible atmosphere. You felt like you were actually in a fantasy world. In WoW, I'm constantly reminded that I'm playing a videogame. In EQ, it always felt like I was a part of an actual world. EQ was also very hard to level in and strict on the death penalty. In other words, you had to be skilled to gain levels. In WoW, you just right click and rake in the EXP while not learning a damn thing about your class. EQ was a vast, expansive world that is many times the size of WoW. WoW is much more detailed, but sometimes vast, open space that allows you to literally get lost is more fun than a videogame level-type setting. Ragnarok Online had a really nice economy. I played the Open Beta and I really liked the capitalistic feel the game had. You could make as much money as you want and buy the gear you wanted if you knew how economics works. I hate to compare every MMO to WoW, but WoW is basically the standard now. In WoW, you could make gold easily if you were in-the-know, but there's not much you can do with it. You can't buy gear to make your character stronger...each piece of equipment had a level requirement on it. I realize this makes the game more fair, but there's nothing like saving up a large quantity of gold to buy one piece of uber equipment that set you apart from others. This is absent in WoW and present in Ragnarok Online. The Realm, one of the pioneers of MMOs had a cool atmosphere as well. I liked how a level 300 player could take down a level 1000 player if they were skilled. Skill means nothing in most MMORPGs. The Realm also allowed low-level players to have a chance at finding magical items that sold for a lot. The strong economy in this game made it addicting. Lineage 2 I was addicted to for a while but only because it was free. I liked the simplicity of it in the beginning, but I really hated the free-for-all PVP system. Anybody could kill you if they wanted to and you dropped an item everytime. That made the game not fun. I suppose that's all of the MMORPGs I've played. It's obvious that I prefer MMORPGs that have a very immersive atmosphere, that allow capitalism, and have strong economies. EQ is probably the most addicting MMORPG I've played. WoW is the best even though the atmosphere ruined it for me. It's a tie between EQ and WoW, simply because WoW has 90% of the MMO problems refined to perfection while EQ makes you leave the real world and enter true fantasy. -Lasereth __________________ "A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert