MMONGs on the horizon
Posted: February 21st, 2009, 22:27
There's the potential for a few good MMOs this year, so here's a round up of potential future releases. We can discuss them and compare them all to Warcraft. Note that I've missed much of them out on account of them being generic Korean releases that all look the same to me.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
While still looking like a click-and-hack identikit MMO, setting it in the Star Wars universe puts it ahead of many from the off. Recent screenshots have hinted that the environments will be very diverse, but the character diversity will make or break it in my opinion.
Star Trek Online
As well as the more staple MMO styling of what I imagine the ground missions to be, this also allows the crewing of your own spaceship. This alone sets it apart from the crowd, but customisable alien races promise to add that City of Heroes magic, and a detailed trade mechanic is also expected. If these are well realised it has the potential to be a very good game, but will it be able to please the nerdcore and remain accessible to those who have only a passing interest in the lore?
DC Universe Online
The first of two superhero MMOs in production. DCUO has the advantage of having a wealth of instantly recognisable heroes and the financial backing of Sony, but neither are guarantees of quality by any means.
Champions Online
The spiritual successor to City of Heroes, Champions has taken the novel step of using cel-shaded graphics this time. It has excellent pedigree in CoX, but it will need to improve on a lot to make a competitive game in today's market.
The Agency
A little known spy based action MMO from SOE. There are many interesting concepts flounted here, not least of which is a PS3 release. Add to this NPCs who work for your character and will email and IM you even when you're not in-game, and there's the start of something unique.
The Secret World
This modern day horror MMO has been shrouded in secrecy and consipracy since it's conception, and deliberately so. A whole cult following has grown around the puzzles which lead to snippets of information, but what seems clear is that the game will be set among several major cities and will involve a demonic underworld coexisting with our own. More details are difficult to come by, and this could be hiding a multitude of sins or a truly amazing game. Only time will tell.
Guild Wars 2
The original proved highly succesful by managing to produce a rich MMO with no subscription fee. GW2 promises the same, but gone are the instanced quest areas to be replaced with persistent worlds, and the ability to fire straight into PvP without ever having to grind PvE will undoubtedly appeal to some.
Darkfall Online
I don't know a lot about this but it's in the beta stage and there seems to be some anticipation. How much can another fantasy MMO offer us though?
Jumpgate: Evolution
Based on an ancient MMO, this space sim expands upon games like Freelancer to create persistent space combat. Unlike Eve, players take direct control of their ship in order to engage in dogfights with NPCs or other players. Now in the beta phase, this could see release this year although the developers are insisting on perfecting the game first.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
While still looking like a click-and-hack identikit MMO, setting it in the Star Wars universe puts it ahead of many from the off. Recent screenshots have hinted that the environments will be very diverse, but the character diversity will make or break it in my opinion.
Star Trek Online
As well as the more staple MMO styling of what I imagine the ground missions to be, this also allows the crewing of your own spaceship. This alone sets it apart from the crowd, but customisable alien races promise to add that City of Heroes magic, and a detailed trade mechanic is also expected. If these are well realised it has the potential to be a very good game, but will it be able to please the nerdcore and remain accessible to those who have only a passing interest in the lore?
DC Universe Online
The first of two superhero MMOs in production. DCUO has the advantage of having a wealth of instantly recognisable heroes and the financial backing of Sony, but neither are guarantees of quality by any means.
Champions Online
The spiritual successor to City of Heroes, Champions has taken the novel step of using cel-shaded graphics this time. It has excellent pedigree in CoX, but it will need to improve on a lot to make a competitive game in today's market.
The Agency
A little known spy based action MMO from SOE. There are many interesting concepts flounted here, not least of which is a PS3 release. Add to this NPCs who work for your character and will email and IM you even when you're not in-game, and there's the start of something unique.
The Secret World
This modern day horror MMO has been shrouded in secrecy and consipracy since it's conception, and deliberately so. A whole cult following has grown around the puzzles which lead to snippets of information, but what seems clear is that the game will be set among several major cities and will involve a demonic underworld coexisting with our own. More details are difficult to come by, and this could be hiding a multitude of sins or a truly amazing game. Only time will tell.
Guild Wars 2
The original proved highly succesful by managing to produce a rich MMO with no subscription fee. GW2 promises the same, but gone are the instanced quest areas to be replaced with persistent worlds, and the ability to fire straight into PvP without ever having to grind PvE will undoubtedly appeal to some.
Darkfall Online
I don't know a lot about this but it's in the beta stage and there seems to be some anticipation. How much can another fantasy MMO offer us though?
Jumpgate: Evolution
Based on an ancient MMO, this space sim expands upon games like Freelancer to create persistent space combat. Unlike Eve, players take direct control of their ship in order to engage in dogfights with NPCs or other players. Now in the beta phase, this could see release this year although the developers are insisting on perfecting the game first.
I'm a 50-something black welsh woman as far as the bbc knows