MMORPG King of the Hill

eToyChest has a look at some current MMOG market leaders, and specifically takes a look at what they're 'good' at. If you've been thinking about playing an online game, this might be a useful tool to help pick the one game you'll enjoy most. From the article: "MMORPGs have evolved rapidly in terms of technology and gameplay, and with the continually growing number of gamers being pulled into these games, more and more titles have been shoveled onto retail shelves in order to keep up with the demand. Despite the fact that there isn't any one clear front-runner in the genre currently, the diversity and variety in MMORPGs today (both in the games available now and in the months to come) give many more options to most any gamer. However, here we will discuss those games that serve as the premier offerings for gamers today, as well as those set to be released in the near future, and we'll identify why these games are the Kings of the Hill."

Comments

That article ain't right

[gregbains]

Dangit, I thought I'd be playing as Hank Hill. Another dream shattered by reading the details

Re:That article ain't right

[Megane]

It could be worse. You could be camping for spawns at Narrow Urethra Passage.

Can I interest you in this propane-powered +5 Sword of Flame? There's nothing like cooking monsters with clean-burning propane, you know.

Boy, this one is shooting fish in a barrel.

[Malor]

1. World of Warcraft.

<end of list>

Everquest, but no Eve...

[Donniedarkness]

Everquest II wins two of the catagories, but I NEVER hear about this game anymore (I hear about City of Villians/Heroes and WoW all the time), but Eve Online won NOTHING? It didn't even get mentioned...

Re:Everquest, but no Eve...

[Knara]

EVE has been steadily, sustainably growing in population. It also isn't very accessable to the PL kiddie. Personally, I like it that way and hope it continues along that path.

Re:Everquest, but no Eve...

[HolyCrapSCOsux]

Abysmally low player population

Though I agree that this is rather subjective, I would say that There is a difference between raw player population and apparent population.

In many MMORPGS, there may be 20-30-100,000 players online at any given time, but many of these players cannot "meet" in the game because they are on a different "shard" or something. Dont know all the fancy-talk, But East Coast folks and West Coast Folks and UK folks generall play on the closest server or the one with the best ping, or whatnot. In Eve, on the other hand, there are 100,000+ subscribers with, during peak hours, 22,000+ all online on the same server interacting and adding to the economy. Cooperating, etc. From ALL over the world.

There is also the fact that some people kinda tire of the sword-armor-dragon RPGs and are really looking for something different.

Statement of bias: I have only played 2 MMORPGs. Ultima Online, and Eve. My brother loves WoW, but after watching him play it for awhile, I can't imagine why. My Ultima Membership lasted about 2 Months (bored to tears). My Eve Membership is at 4 Months, and I see no end in sight.

Re:Everquest, but no Eve...

[Shardis]

I'm sure this'll get blown off as 'corporate spin' too then I guess, and I absolutely hate sounding like a fanboy, but oh well...

I like that I can actually play with some of my buddies from Australia, Europe, and other parts of the world in the same game environment. Not just know what they're talking about. *shrugs* I know that in some MMO's you can pick international servers and such, but transferring servers is generally a pain at the least - and usually costs. I gave EverCra^E^E^EQuest a try not too long ago, and I've still seen some things better done in a few MUDs. Well, except for the obvious graphics...

I think it just turns some people off due to a pace that's not quite as breakneck as, "signing on, turning off brain, kill, KilL, KILL!".

Each to their own I guess. I used to like first person shooters too before I got bored to tears and nearly a coma with them. I'll definitely agree with the GP's statement above of his "statement of bias". I just got sick to death of Elves, Goblins, and the fantasy motif too.

Only a few games has been able to hold my interest for longer periods of time. Two MUD's that I've played and still stop in at after more than a decade or so, and now this one that I've been playing for two years and having a blast (no pun intended).

In humble opinion there's a fairly good reason why it won MMORPG's Reader's Choice Best Game award though despite, how do you put it, it's (comparative) lack of player base. 100,000 registered active players is nothing to sneeze at, but it seems to have something, and getting bigger all the time. *shrugs*

PS: My only corporate affiliations are with the internet dept in a food company, and my Eve Online player corp. :P

Wish the article was more in-depth

[jchenx]

With all the MMORPGs that are out, we definately do need a nice article that sums up the pro's and con's to all the games out there. This article is a nice start, but it's much too short, and misses several games (EVE Online and Guild Wars, to name a few).

It'd also be nice to have an MMO history article of sorts. Quite often I see people (mainly WoW players) complaining why feature X isn't in the game. For example, a few hardcore PvP gamers wonder why we don't have a real PvP world where you can kill someone and loot their actual belongings. I'd love to point them to an article that shows that Ultima Online tried this years ago and it didn't turn out well for the casual player ("Corp Por" anyone?). Or that anybody who complains about long flight times between Auberdine and Theramore (currently clocking at 11 mins) needs to go back to the original Everquest and try doing some travelling in that game.

From the Article:

[tengennewseditor]

Not long after AO came Star Wars Galaxies. Sadly the Star Wars part of the title was really the only great thing about the game, though it has since improved beyond its lackluster beginnings.

Looks like somebody finally liked the NGE!

When playing King of the Hill as a MMORPG

[WillAffleckUW]

don't forget to bring your GPS device and cellphone.

It can get kind of busy with 50,000 players all trying to run up a hill randomly selected around the world.

Plus, make sure your credit cards have enough left on them to buy a round trip ticket.

Re:better howto:

[Anonymous Coward]

Next on Slashdot: How to post to the correct topic

Not one clear frontrunner?

[zerocool^]

There's not one clear front-runner in the genre?!?

I'd say the fact that 5 MILLION WoW accounts exist would say otherwise. 1 in 100 Americans have a WoW account. That's statistically significant.

~W

Re:Not one clear frontrunner?

[SB5]

Sure, WoW is at the forefront of selling its game... but does that mean its the best? Checkers is a fun game, but most would say Chess is a better game compared to Checkers. And I hear of many people that get bored with WoW and the lvl 60 grind.

Sure WoW is the frontrunner on sales and subs, but its also one of the few games that is sold in pretty much every continent. Its a game that has players Worldwide. Lots of other games don't get that.

Blizzard is also a well liked company by the players of their other games.

Take EVE online, I think they should be a clear frontrunner of MMORPG's, because they trully make the game MMO, 22k+ people on one server. No other server has matched that capability yet for an MMORPG.

Re:Not one clear frontrunner?

[ClamIAm]

Blizzard is also a well liked company by the players of their other games.

It's also a well-hated company by the players of their other games.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

What I want

[ShawnDoc]

What I want is a MMORPG that lets me solo and play for short periods of time. I normally drop out of an MMORPG about the time I *have* to start teaming to gain any experience. Don't get me wrong, I love to interact with others and enjoy team gameplay. But in all honesty I have a very busy life and more often than not I don't have several hours at a time to sit down, try and find a good group, wait while everyone stocks up on regeants or whatever, debates where to hunt, and then goes there to do their thing. It just takes too long. Its fun on the weekend when I've got more time, but I want something I can just log into for 30-45 minutes and actually make some progress/have some fun every night before bed.

WOW isn't a pvp game...

[Hubbell]

It's pvp is fucking SHITTY. It's class/level/gearbased, and like .3% of it is based on skill. The #1 pvp game is/was Asheron's Call, the one skill (player and character skill) based game out there pvp wise. Since Throne of Destiny and the year or 2 leading up to it the game has become shittier and shittier, but it will always be the #1 pvp game to have come out so far. AC:Darktide was the pinnacle of MMORPG Persistant PVP Worlds, and the most dramatic and amazing fights/politics in the genre occurred on that server.

You know what's really sad?

[Some Random Username]

That you care more about the MM than you do about the G.