MMORPGs and Graphics

New MMORPGs like Vindictus, King of Kings 3 and Forsaken World bring a lot to the table – most notably better visuals. It shouldn’t be any surprise that graphics amongst free to play MMORPGs are improving, as technology keeps getting better. In fact, even older games such as Mabinogi and RuneScape have undergone major graphical overhauls since their original release dates. The thing is though – even though graphics keep getting better, some people are being left behind. A lot of gamers out there don’t have powerful enough PCs to handle the more visually intense games. I guess the reason why older MMORPGs like Fly For Fun, MapleStory and Rappelz are still popular is because more people can actually play them.

Don’t get me wrong – MMORPGs like Vindictus that have top notch graphics are great. Heck, I was just playing Savage 2 the other day and I love the game’s graphics. Graphics most certainly do matter in games, it’s just that games that shoot for ridiculously high quality graphics are sort of screwing themselves over. The most popular MMORPGs today aren’t the best looking. Just look at The Legend of Mir 2, Fists of Fu and Fiesta Online. These games are relatively successful, but the graphics in them are nothing to write home about.

I think the company that found the perfect balance between graphics and gameplay is Perfect World Entertainment. They publish Perfect World, Jade Dynasty, Forsaken World, Heroes of Three Kingdoms and Ether Saga Online. All of their games look great and feel great, but don’t require high end PCs. If you do have a high end PC, you can play these games on 1920×1080 resolution with anti-aliasing, shadows and all that jazz, but if you’re on a lower end PC, you can still play these games, just on a lower setting. Perfect World Entertainment is good at optimizing their games to run well on older machines.

I think ChangYou has the right idea between graphics and gameplay too. Their newest game Zentia looks fine on new PCs, but it’s also designed to run smoothly on much older, weaker computers. The same applies for their two other games – Dragon Oath and Blade Wars. Netmarble made sure their Uncharted Waters Online game runs well on older PCs too, which is good. Runes of Magic on the other hand runes decently on older computers, but the problem with it is the download is way too big. No one wants to sit and wait for a 6+ GB game to download and install. I think that’s the game’s biggest drawback. 4Story and Gates of Andaron on the other hand, aren’t nearly as big, which is why they’re able to grab players from Runes of Magic. RoM is a much better game, but the download just takes too long.

So what game do you really like that strikes a good balance between visuals and gameplay?