The List: Five MMOs That May Surprise You
MMORPG.com's Bill Murphy writes this week's list, taking a look at five current MMOs in development that may just surprise MMO fans.
Column By William Murphy on February 09, 2010
It used to be that we could count ourselves lucky and check for the coming of the End of Days when more than one new offering to the MMO genre released in a single year. These days, we see a handful or more come and go in that same timeframe. But often all the glory is left to the games who can afford a robust advertising budget. In the spirit of rooting for the little guys, here's a list of games that may come up and bite us in the collective rear end this year... should they make their proposed release dates.
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#5 Allods Online
It's not too often in this gaming world that "Free-to-Play" and "Quality" are uttered in the same sentence, and yet that's exactly what the makers of Allods Online are hoping to change. From Astrum Nival, a Russian developer that's been in the business for ages, Allods seeks to combine the quality of a triple-A MMORPG with the value of the F2P market. Based on the cult-favorite Rage of Mages series, Allods Online sports impressive visuals (though they may be reminiscent of a certain game), a blend of Sci-Fi and Fantasy trappings, a unique aerial combat mechanic for warring factions, mini-game based professions, and the no-NDA beta has the blogosphere abuzz with anticipation.
For a game players need never bust the wallet out for, it looks better on paper and in screenshots and video than most games they charge $50 and a monthly fee for. The key will be whether it plays as well as the press-releases might indicate. Luckily, there's not a long time to wait before everyone will know. Runes of Magic has proven that quality doesn't mean paying for a retail box, and Allods Online just might continue that trend.
;)
#4 Mortal Online
From Swedish company Star Vault, Mortal Online is slowly gaining the attention of hardcore gamers for its proposed sandbox-styled gameplay. Many gamers that have been around a while are craving for a game that reminds them of the early days of Ultima Online, and Mortal Online is shaping up to be a likely candidate. Donning a first-person perspective and combat mechanics that are akin to the Elder Scrolls series, Star Vault's game bares more than a passing resemblance to Bethesda's money-maker. And that's certainly not a bad thing. An open-ended skill-system, shared traits across characters on one's account, a wide-open player-controlled world... these are the things that have many a player hoping Star Vault can deliver the goods.
)
#3 The Agency
Okay, so this entry on the list isn't exactly coming from a small development studio. Sony Online Entertainment is no stranger to big MMO releases. Still I think this title deserves mention based simply on the fact that its premise is so unique. Similar to the recently released Global Agenda, The Agency is hoping to seamlessly blend the mechanics of a shooter with some of the more familiar features of an MMORPG with a focus on subterfuge and stealth alongside all the bang-bang and boom-boom.
Players will play the role of a either a James Bond style spy (U.N.I.T.E), or a lethal tool of destruction and unconventional methods (ParaGON). From there the game is reportedly focused on private encounters of several different types, stemming off from a central "hub-like" overworld where players congregate. Add in the ability to switch roles between the different classes in the game at will, a focus on heavily scripted missions and several modes of PvP for the competitive types, and you have the potential makings of a sleeper hit. The big question mark for most will be whether there's a subscription to play or not, given its similarity to another recently released shooter MMO.
;)
#2 Earthrise
One of many in a wave of Sci-Fi games releasing this year, Earthrise is currently on track for a Q2 2010 release. A classless game, Earthrise sets players out to Enterra, an island rife with the friction between several different factions and two major encompassing groups: Continoma and Noir. And while there may be a large focus on the factional PvP, developer Masthead Studios is promising a compelling quest-based PvE portion as well that is perfectly suited to the solo player. Players will also be able to advance their character while offline (especially in the financial department through the game's robust player-driven economy and crafting). In my own opinion, it sounds a lot like what Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa could have been but never was. And we don't have long to wait to find out if that's true.
;)
#1 Copernicus
Probably the only title on this list that won't see light of day before the calendar year is up, Copernicus is the code name for whatever it is 38 Studios is crafting behind their brick walls out in Massachusetts. Who is 38 Studios? Oh, it's just that entertainment company founded by pitching legend Curt Schilling all by his lonesome developing that MMORPG with the story crafted by R.A. Salvatore and the art direction led by Todd McFarlane. While recently there have been whisperings that this title might never see the light of day due to funding concerns, the geek in me has to hold onto hope that all will be well.
Sure there is already a reigning king of the fantasy MMO in Blizzard, but who doesn't want to see what Salvatore and McFarlane come up with? Schilling is an avid online gamer himself, and a huge fan of EQ2 and WoW. While this might lead some to believe he's probably funding nothing more than a clone of either or both, I like to hope that a studio with such talent would know better. But the truth is no one knows what the formerly titled "Green Monster Games" people are working on. With a tentative release set for 2011, maybe that will change soon.
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Copernicus looks pretty interesting =O
Though I will play mortal online for a while ;)
I've been following 38 studios since it's inception. I srsly hope they show some kind of build at e3 this year. I'm starving for some concrete game info. This studio is one of the last hopes for the mmo industry.
I am wondering if the author has actually played or followed the current state of the Mortal Online "beta".
I laughed when I saw number 1. I understand the author is looking forward to this game that hasn't even been announced yet, but that's just it...it's not even a game yet. There isn't even a synopsis for what the developers hope the game to be. Why not put the bethesda mmorpg at number one other than personal preference?
I'm not saying that it is or isn't going to be a unique game. I'm saying I don't agree with putting a game in the list that there is no info for other than it's called "copernicus" and who is involved with it. Every unnanounced game, current or unrealized, may surprise you. It's great you are trying to get the word out about some possibly good, under the radar games, but I don't think the list should be mixing games that have information about them, with games that have virtually no info at all.
I don't think the Agency will make it out this year. There hasn't been any major news for a good 6 months and I don't even remember if they have beta sign ups, let alone if they've started beta.
It's wrong to make a list and have one of the items, let alone the #1 item, be something that doesn't yet exist.
I understand people get excited about things to come (which is what causes all the trouble since the games never live up to the hype, ever). But it's going to far when the excitement is literally about a game that doesn't exist. That invalidates the entire list.
I'd love to try Mortal if the goddamned launcher would function. I dunno, maybe it's just me, but every game I've trialed or tested in the past two months I had no problem with the launchers or downloading.
In all honesty, yes I am "Surprised"... the one game I'd like to try and test, is the one that I can't because I'm supposed to play detective and figure out how to get it to download. I hope the game is good for those it works for though.
I also had problems with it. The one I really wanted to try,but no. You have to spend more then 4 hours to start the patch. I felt like I was playing some tpye of sadistic game just trying to get to the patching process. Then have yet, another error during it. Needless to say, I was surprised by this game.
Earthrise might be interesting and I really do hope it surprises me.
The talent behind Copernicus is almost unreal, one can only dream -sigh-
As for Mortal Online, i wish them the best of luck. Putting together a MMO to break the norm is not an easy thing. I am not going to comment on the state of the game as it is today, considering this article isn't about that, but I hope they have better PR then Darkfall.
I hope the mmo community begins to support games such as Darkfall and Mortal Online so we can see a resurgence of new concepts and sandbox play.
As far as I recall they had something where you chose your side (Paragon or U.N.I.T.E.), signed up for the newsletter and were to be kept informed on beta. Given the lack of newsletter, or news, I'd take it that beta is a ways off. Even the twitter feed doesn't seem to have been updated much since E3....
I mostly agree with the list except for 2 games.
Mortal Online: having played the beta, this won't surprise anything, at least not if they're going with their projected launch date.
Copernicus: I don't really see why this game is at nr1, reading this list was the first time ever I heard about it, and the little bit of text under it didn't really say much.
I went and looked up what it was about, but it seems as good as no info is out there on it.
So... first on the list? Well I guess whatever comes out for it, it can't do anything else than surprise us, in a good or bad way.
Allods is the best f2p I ever tried and look forward to playing it casually. MO I am playing currently and its going to be very good although people need to throttle expectations. Earthrise I might be interested in depending on how the combat ends up.
Good #1 choice. Look at the thread title, folks - he's ranking these games based on their potential to surprise us. And what could surprise us more than a game whose core features haven't even been announced yet? Talk about potential. Potential greatness or potential disaster, we'll have to see.
Good #2 choice. Earthrise is looking excellent on paper, so if those Bulgarians can implement their ideas well, we'll have the first good sandbox game in a long time.
The rest of the list I wouldn't dispute, but I'm not sure I'd agree 100%. I do hope Mortal Online surprises, though - right now, a good, solid launch and a complete game would be surprising.
Bill I'd add World of Darkness Online to that list in place of one of the others (2-5) going on the same premise as your number 1 pick. In fact, if you put it at #2 then your top 2 picks represent the only two games in development that I am supremely interested in knowing more about and hoping for a pleasant surprise. Warhammer 40K Online would probably be third on my list only because I worked for GW for a bit and that I was really disappointed with WAR. The interest comes in seeing if GW learned anything from WAR and puts their influence to use in designing WH40K Online very differently.
Very nice enviroment in that games , they look really good and like all your coments,
and very good work Autor !
R.A. Salvatore is making the story for Copernicus?....What?? If that is true then the story will be exceptional. Holly crap, just thinking of it, makes me want to play. I haven't heard of the rest of the list. I may look at Allod Online though; I like Sci-fi Fantasy mix. And I'm just so tired of the plain ol' fantasy mmos.
Thats a clear no he just search for info on net and blind take it over and use it in his own topic ive seen it before in this news section bah:(
Allod's Online is another f2p MMO that seems a WoW clone (do you remember Runes of Magic? Well... i prefear it to AO).
For me the surprise can be Earthrise, and i don't like shi-fi MMORPGs. I really don't know anything about Copernicus, so i cannot write anything about it. The Agensy is by SOE, and the last SOE good MMORPG is very, very,very old: EverQuest II. Mortal Online: i really don't like developers that make free beta test only for preoderers. And if i don't like your game? Or really free beta or nothing.
There is a tone to this article that reminds me of PR copy: everything is gearing up to be just great and wonderful. And then it's released, and you pooh-pooh it to no end, making sure never to remind anyone of what your original position was, and how much you were responsible for hyping it up in the first place.
No matter how often you do it, the beauty of it is that the cycle can be infinite: rinse and repeat. This site, funded by advertising from wall to wall, is living proof of it: It lives off hype, feeds off it. Then, when it's safe, when knowledge of your original position is being dissolved in the mists of time, you dismiss it. Hype and dismiss, hype and dismiss; and never ever revisit your own hyping. I know the pattern: that's what gaming magazines are doing all the time, and now they have zero credibility with me.
If by "may surprise you", you mean, "you have expectations so low that you can't be disappointed, no matter how bad it is", then it fits perfectly with at least two titles on this list, The Agency and Mortal Online. True, I don't have intimate knowledge of either game, but whatever beta reports we get from Mortal all say the game is nowhere near shipping form, and that The Agency will just be another shooter with aspirations of MMO-hood.
The nadir of this blind, drooling fan's list (what else could it be?) is its first place being given to a game about which nothing is known. But hey, that's the old lesson: Just make it *secret* and you get the fanboys drooling. Just ask Blizzard, who have been doing this for years.
I just wish MMO players in general to wisen up, and grow more sceptical of games they haven't seen or played, instead of rushing in all the time as soon as "pre-order" goes up. A list like this one contributes nothing towards this. Drool all you want, but don't drool on me.
I agree with Allod's Online and Copernicus. The others, not so much. I would swap out MO with a very little known Russian game(those Ruskies are really making some interesting games) called Craft of gods. Also, would take out the Agency since it seems more of an action MMO than an MMORPG. Would rather see Black Prophecy in the spot of Earthrise, and maybe throw Heroes of Telara into this list.
5. Allod's Online
4. Craft of gods
3. Heroes of Telara
2. Black Prophecy
1. Copernicus
That's just my OP and how I would have listed this idea.
I agree. It seems to be dead-in-the-water since $OE has focused its devs and resources into DCUO over the last several months. I think I would be more 'surprised' seeing the Agency go live anytime this year.
Earthrise is the most promising of the bunch as it is aiming for the same gaming niche that Dark and Light promised, that is, Eve-Online but on earth and without the grind. How well its engine really does remains to be proven but that fact that Interplay (maker of Fallout) signed some sort of licensing deal with Masthead Studios (the Earthrise developers) for their own MMOG would seem to indicate that Masthead has something of value. And Earthrise is due out the second quarter of this year.
It's interesting how many people read "Five MMOs That May Surprise You" as "The Top Five MMOs That Will Surprise You"
Allods looks like a polished and solid entry to the field, offering a lot for a few different subsets of MMO gamers. Earthrise is one of those games that I need to see to believe. The others seem to be building for a specific audience and I'm hoping they are accurately judging their audience's size.
Cool article, again, Bill!
I'm looking into Earthrise for as soon as I can play it and Mortal Online has me stoked for whenever it gets fixed.
elocke, hmm I agree with you again. Even though we don't know much about it at the moment, I would throw Heroes of Telara on the list as for a top five mmo that may surprise us. Lots of studios like to talk a good game about creating a "dynamic, breathing, living world" but Trion seems to be the only people who may actually be able to back it up. So if they do manage to pull it off, then by all means count me as surprised!
Then you might want to add Dawn to that list too...and Atriarch. Both are made by incompetent developers but they are both aiming really frigging high and apparently are both still alive.
Definitely agree about World Of Darkness!
Excellent post Vetarnias.
Can it be repeated infinately though?
I suppose maybe to some extent it can be with regards to the titles alone. But for subscriptions I suspect the business could be shooting itself in the foot. It's my impression that the goldfish attention span thing keeps getting worse. How much of a fad effect can expensive MMO developments afford?
Then of course, there is F2P and facebook.. Could be a bleak future for gaming ahead.
Not a bad list, but I don't think there's going to be much about MO that will surprise me.
And did he say Earthrise releasing in Q2 2010? Nah....not going to happen.
Hmm, well MO has me interested just 'cause of the Oblivion-style combat and the really nice look of the game. That's about the best I've ever seen in a fantasy game, and this is an MMO? Nice. I'm hoping more for cool PvE than I am for the PvP though - I'm an explorer type, there's just so much country out there to discover and monsters to kill - using Oblivion style combat :D
I find The Agency's release plans funny. This is the game for which Smed killed Planetside'd development, pretty much outright saying "those players really want to play The Agency, not Planetside". Wish I could find the quote for it, that's from memory.
Earthrise looks like Fallen Earth 3000AD lol. Could be interesting.
I like Earthrise as it's reminiscent of my now long dead favorite MMO Tabula Rasa
/signed
Agreed with you about World of Darkness and I would have add The Secret world to the list too.Copernicus looks like the game that really can bring something fresh and new.With people like Ryan Shawder and Steve Danuser at the helm.With his team R A Salvatore has written 10,000 years of lore,so we can expect a solid story driven MMO.Anyway we will start hearing more about the game soon.
www.cmpevents.com/GD10/a.asp
and the only animation from "Copernicus" can be found in this video
www.youtube.com/watch
I am going to have to take a better look at Mortal Online. Sadly with all the problems that Shadowbane had and no matter how much it aggrevated me, I miss it now. I enjoyed everything about the pvp of the game. I hope something soon will come out that can compare to that.
Copernicus should be intresting . I want to see tods art.from the horse i seen them rendering in a vid it didnt look like his comic style tho.R.A.Salavador has done years of history for the world.Hes built a whole history that goes back over one thousand years if i recall right.
We do know more about the secret world oddly enuff than Copernicus.An it should be good to.at least the grafic engine shouldnt be as much of a problem as its kinks are being worked out in AoC.
I'm hopeful as well in regards to the Curt Shilling project. I know he is an avid gamer, and mmorpg gamer as well, especially in regards to WoW and his hunter there. My hope's for another great game are with him and the people he has brought in it with him.
Mortal Online really? That game is utter crap after following and playing it for 3 months and watching huge patches break the game then actually make it fun sucks. The crafting system is an utter bore, when they said that the one huge patch they released was going to put out a real crafting system I wasn't expecting them to just move the crafter guy into seperate crafting tables for all the different types of weapons and armor. It's still the same bland ass game as it has been from day one. Hell I'm still waiting for my boxed version I ordered so i can send it back and get a refund.
If my memory is correct I think they are using Unreal engine 3 + Morpheim .
Not all surprises are good. A monkey with a straight razor is a surprise*, but not one you'd look forward to.
*Obscure-ish film reference.
1 Allods is heavily pvp based and the item shop has major affect on pvp play. Just another niche game for those that like to play with their wallets.
2. Mortal Online, this game has possibilities except that only having first person will hurt it, people like to look at their avatar and what they are wearing. From what I have heard, this game is a long way from being ready, hope they don't release it too soon.
3. The Agency, not sure what SOE is doing with this game, if as we expect it is an item shop game, it will be another niche game.
4. Earthrise another game with possibilities, hope they don't release it early also.
5. "Unknown" - Schilling seems to be on a roll, hope what he likes in a MMO is what we like.
Allod's Online is a decent game that I play occasionally, but no idea about the others. Perhaps the article should have been titled "Five MMOs That May Surprise You if they make it to launch"?
I expect Allods will make it, but why list a game that isn't even in beta yet? I was hoping for a list of 5 games that I could actually try out now.
I know right lol
A game, which we know absolutely nothing about, like seriously - NOTHING, gets to #1 x)
Did you guys get payed well for putting it there? xD
I know the article is called "That MAY Surprise You", but with such logic literarly anything could get there...
Nothing on that list, does anything for me, unless there is sleeper in there, will keep an eye out, but doubt any of them will take up any space on my hard drive, not saying anything is wrong with them, but just don't fit my play style atm... :)
Allods is heavily pvp based and the item shop has major affect on pvp play. Just another niche game for those that like to play with their wallets.
Agree 101 % Played Allods from CB1 till now (CB4) - lvl 40 char (max). You can play a F2P game first 2 zones, then it slowly grows in a masked P2P, via Item shop.
The marvelous reviews for Allods Online are just pro-active marketing. They don't match at all with reality or players expectations (see RU, NA or EU forums).
Have to agree to some extent. I think the Devs really screwed the pooch with the whole mess revolving around FoD/Flagging/Banners and the infamous OP Perfumes. They have a real chance to change a lot about this game before its too late, but i got a feeling itll just be another "Runes Of Pay To Win."
I will however give them a chance (3-4 months) to address the issue. If they refuse to take it out, or at least compromise then Ill just play for free till the wheels fall off or the mechanic in question aggravates me enough Ill just toss it to the side and wait for the next F2P that will come along in a couple of months.
Have to agree to some extent. I think the Devs really screwed the pooch with the whole mess revolving around FoD/Flagging/Banners and the infamous OP Perfumes. They have a real chance to change a lot about this game before its too late, but i got a feeling itll just be another "Runes Of Pay To Win."
I will however give them a chance (3-4 months) to address the issue. If they refuse to take it out, or at least compromise then Ill just play for free till the wheels fall off or the mechanic in question aggravates me enough Ill just toss it to the side and wait for the next F2P that will come along in a couple of months.
I hear ya Martyr and nice to see you on another forum other than Allods lol
World of Darkness, that is.
Still if you are casual player Allods will rule. It has all the quality and polish of WOW and its free.
Now for all PVP entusiasts. Well PVP & Item shop - that just does not fit together. And it never will.
In any case Allods is on the road to become one of most popular MMOs. You can count on it.
5. Boring WoW clone with the worst donation system among all F2Ps.
4. Buggy, not even half finished game that going to be disaster upon release.
3. SOEs next project? Lol ya, surprise me with this.
2. The only game worth to be on this list.
1. Something nobody even heard of and cares.
Try harder next time, mr William
I just got a funny image of him going "Dammit guys, do you hate the world or just me?!" xD
I just made a post on this game.They are hiring some of the most important jobs ,so imo this game is far from being well on the way,i thought it would be close to Alpha by end of year,now i highly doubt 2011.Judging by the job positions they are hiring,it looks more like a game that has barely begun development.This Copernicus game should not be ready before 2012,you need 5 years to make a good quality game,and this game looks to be in the first 6 month stage.
The one game that may be a surprise is the AGENCY.SOE delivers size and content.None of these other games have a chance of being a AAA title,except a longshot on Copernicus,but they seem to be in trouble.I don't like the guy that makes all the decisions,he sounds more like a guy that just wants MONEY and would probably build a WOW clone.
So if it has orcs and elves...it's a WoW clone???
Just curious since that seems to be the norm these days
"ZOMG this game is a WoW clone is haz elves"
"ZOMG THIS game IS JUST LIKE WOW!! IT HAZ Orcs!"
if you dipsticks got around the gaming community a BIT more than just World of Warcrack you might see the similarity Allods has to ANOTHER game that ppl called a "WoW Clone" even though they were the originators of that particular storyline
I love colored comments on top of colored comments.
[Mod Edit]
You better be talking about Tolkien as he is basically the creator of Orcs and Elves.
Pretty sure this is just you and a small amount of others. The majority of us who visit this site knew about this game years ago when it's production was announced as we've been following this company since Schilling started into MMOs in September 2006.
Having a guy who didn't go to business school (admittedly I don't know if he has a degree in anything) but instead grew up a gamer and played professional baseball for a career and kept MMO gaming as a hobby constantly and is now making a game...
...this is about as close to the "little guy" winning the lottery and having been an MMO gamer all his life he now gets the chance to make one. Hopefully he shares some of the concerns of older games (33+) like me and makes sure his game addresses those. The fact that he chose Salvatore as Director of Creative Content (i.e., "story") is a big plus for guys like me.
The guys leading this game (Schilling, Salvatore, McFarlane) have a high probability of knowing what THAC0 is. If that's the case, I'll give their game a shot. I, and many others, are keeping up with any information they give out.
Pretty sure this is just you and a small amount of others. The majority of us who visit this site knew about this game years ago when it's production was announced as we've been following this company since Schilling started into MMOs in September 2006.
Having a guy who didn't go to business school (admittedly I don't know if he has a degree in anything) but instead grew up a gamer and played professional baseball for a career and kept MMO gaming as a hobby constantly and is now making a game...
...this is about as close to the "little guy" winning the lottery and having been an MMO gamer all his life he now gets the chance to make one. Hopefully he shares some of the concerns of older games (33+) like me and makes sure his game addresses those. The fact that he chose Salvatore as Director of Creative Content (i.e., "story") is a big plus for guys like me.
The guys leading this game (Schilling, Salvatore, McFarlane) have a high probability of knowing what THAC0 is. If that's the case, I'll give their game a shot. I, and many others, are keeping up with any information they give out.
Yeah the fact it's got Salvatore and McFarlane behind it is craziness
Expect some very edgy graphics in this game and a very rich compelling storyline
same lol even though I just read all of it
"4. Earthrise another game with possibilities, hope they don't release it early also.I'm most psyched for this one. =D This could be good. I'm hoping it is. I wont hold my breath though. I really hope it is good. It has potential. I do hope it surprises us with said potential and exceeds expectations! I am too. I've been looking for a good sci-fi MMOFPSRPG since Tabula Rasa got shut down, and coupled with what could be an economy rivaling EvE, it sounds amazing. Here's to hoping they get it right! Agreed! I want a good sci-fi mmo that isn't crappy. Anarchy Online was for the most part, pretty good, but one that's much more creative, innovative, and original would do wonders for the market. "
try fallen earth, i was really pleasantly surprised :)
I did, it was too Apocalyptic for my tastes
was kinda like Auto Assault w/o the vehicles
I have trouble with red on near white backgrounds so I'm near blind typing this as my eyes are now watering lol
but it does seem Earthrise will probably be the sleeper hit :D
Secret World would get my #1 if for no reason other than everyone expects it to bomb after aoc.
I am surprised, and disapointed that such an original game as The Chronicles of Spellborn aint on the list, while the copy paste of wow+flying ships, which the Allods are, made... Shame.
Mmmm....you'd likely lose 100 IQ Points lol
oh look, it's all 5 mmos that pay for advertising here.
That's funny because Mercury is the code-name for the single player RPG being co-developed on the Copernicus IP ;-)
Wait! Earthrise advertise! wow they must have ninja ads then!
Edit: If you did not get my sarcasm. Masthead Studios the people that are making Earthrise do not or have not spent any money on advertising. All word of mouth and interviews.
Wait! Earthrise advertise! wow they must have ninja ads then!
Edit: If you did not get my sarcasm. Masthead Studios the people that are making Earthrise do not or have not spent any money on advertising. All word of mouth and interviews.
Yeah game looks great and is reminiscent of Tabula Rasa which entices me to follow it closely :)
As for the rest of em I'm currently engaged with Allods Online (It ain't great people not currently)
Mortal Online doesn't appeal to me and looks more like another Asian grinder snoozefest
As for the other two that other named one which escapes me atm is ok but again not my cup o tea.
For the one that's hired Salvatore and Todd McFarlane...Maybe with Marvel getting an online game and DC Comics following suit perhaps iMage is jumping on the bandwagon too? Spawn Online! lol
Allods is the best. All Balanced Classes, All can Party and are useful, Great Races, great PvE / PvP mechanics. And from what i've seen the owners do not want a Cash shop that Busts their game or Make Players to make Pay to Win Characters. Allods is hard to describe but it has set a new Bar for F2P gaming. Play it and see on the 16th Feb. totally up to you guys but its really good.
On a note of those trolls Above, Saying Allods is like RoM, and as the Cash shop hasn't even been implemented yet and Open Beta isn't till the 16th, i'd love to know how they can say the Cash shop is overpriced when no one even knows whats in the Cash shop let alone Prices of stuff? Nice try Troll.
Please stay on topic and refrain from personal attacks and trolling.
Like the Mod said Chill out dude
And as for "All Balanced Classes, Great PvE/PvP Mechanics" Might I inquire as to how long you'd played Allods Online in the betas? Or are you just trying to raise the Hype bar for the game?
It's a good game yes but All Balanced Classes....ehhh not yet
Great PvE Mechanics - the FoD thing is iffy, all normal mobs are not created equal and a mob 2 lvls above you can smoke you if you aren't careful dude.
Great PvP Mechanics - Such as??
Good list, thanks. Never heard about Copernic yet but information is scarce anyway it seems. No good to hype it now I think even though the peoples names involved are of course sounding nice - from a story teller/art perspective. Nevertheless a MMO is first and foremost about the tech to be developed and I miss a bit support there ... We had this "the peoples names" play too often now with TR and VG and such for people who were on "visions" and art but not the technical side. Either those projects ceased to exist or had to be finished by other people ...
MO ... *sigh* I would love to try that but it crashs for me every time I try to enter my login details. -.- I'd accept happily the risk of being ganked by PKs if only the UO feel in 3D would be in a MMO. SV, get your things together and solve this bug, pleeeeease.
MO is the worst Alpha I have ever tried.. and they want to call it an open beta?? <stunned shock>
Phenom 955 Processor
4GB DDR
1GB Radeon HD 5750
Windows 7 32bit Utlimate
and the graphics are a big joke.. oringal nintendo graphics look better.. they are so blurry, degraded and dark the creation screen itself is totally unuseable.. It was so bad I didn't get past the creation screen a whatever it was suppose to be that looked to be in 256 color blurred mess wasn't even able to be identifed.. needless to say to try to play this game.. it's a damn joke! The creation screen looked exactly like someone took water paints to draw it.. no lie that's how messed up the graphics are.. and I do mean EXACTLY like water paint.
From reading what is out there from 38 Studios, it looks as though their MMO project will have a fantastic story and a well crafted world. That would be great. The only thing that worries me, is I that have the feeling they will go the linear theme park route with the gameplay. Now I'm sure there's still alot of people who love that kind of game, but I'm very tired of it. I'm still waiting for someone to get the MMO sandbox right.
Are all of these 5 level based games? Like char level and mob level +/- 3 to 5 or so? Just wondering if I should keep my eyes on any of them.
For those interested in an old-school, skill based MMO, I'm currently in beta-test on The Craft of Gods. Its being translated from Russian, but they are doing better than the typical oriental translation. The game still needs several months of work, but it has good potential. One of the unusual features is that talents are trained in real-time, even while offline, like skills in Eve.