Favorite MMORPGs

Everyone has an MMORPG or two that they really love. Most people really like their first MMORPGs, I know I do. The first MMORPG I played was the original EverQuest game from Sony Online Entertainment back in 2000. I absolutely loved that game and felt really immersed in it. It’s actually the only MMORPG that I felt Immersed in. But that’s largely because it’s the first MMORPG I played and have a bias towards it. I think most people love their first MMOs. But there are a few MMORPGs out there that I can always go back to and enjoy.

One of the MMOs I can go back to and enjoy is MapelStory from Nexon. Yeah, I know what some of you are thinking, but MapleStory is easily one of the most popular free MMORPGs for a reason. It has so much content. The reason I can always go back to it and play it is because there are so many playable classes in the game. Since the Evan update, I think the game has 15 or so starting classes. Many more if you count all of the job advancements. So every time I go back to MapleStory, I just roll up a new character and try a new class. Plus the game has transformed itself from a grind based game to a quest based MMORPG over the years. It’s not nearly as “grindy” as it used to be when it launched. Another reason I love MapelStory is that Nexon does an awesome job keeping it up to date. Just look at Combat Arms, Vindictus and Mabinogi too – they’re some of the most in depth and constantly updated MMOs out there. Keeping a game regularly updated keeps users coming back for more.

Another free to play MMO that I really enjoy that I can go back to often is Alliance of Valiant Arms from ijji. Why? Because it offers something different than other tactical MMOs – real progression. Games like Sudden Attack from GameHi and Operation 7 from Netgame are fun for a while, but they get boring after a while because they don’t have any real progression. You can rank up in those games, but ranking up doesn’t really get you anything. Same with Wolfteam and Soldier Front. There’s no point to ranking up. Alliance of Valiant Arms on the other hand has a boat load of unlockable medals, achievements and skills. It’s one of the few MMO Shooters, aside from perhaps Battlefield Heroes, that has a skill system. Plus it’s not an MMORPG, so the game doesn’t take a huge time commitment.

Another free to play MMO that I can go back to for fun is Lost Saga from OGPlanet. In my opinion, it’s the best brawler MMO. It beats both Zone 4: Fight District, Rumble Fighter and GetAmped 2 because it has more variety. The game has some 15+ playable characters, each with their own distinct set of skills and abilities. I mean how awesome is that? Plus the anime inspired graphics are really well made, giving the game a unique look.

Anyway – What’s your favorite free MMORPGs? Perhaps that a poor way of wording it. What MMOs do you regularly go back to?

Nanovor MMO Evolves Thanks to Unity

When Nanovor first launched, it wasn’t a very exciting game. Players had to download the nearly 500 mb client and battle using bug-like creatures in a mostly 2D arena. Worse still, the background was solid black. No color, no flavor, and certainly not much depth. Even at that time I was asking myself, “couldn’t this have been done on a browser?”

Well it looks like the answer was ‘yes!’ Smith and Tinker, the development studio behind Nanovor, has recently launched a brand new version of the game called Nanovor Evolution. The new version has replaced the old one, meaning there’s no going back. This has upset a small pocket of veterans, but it was a logical step in taking the game forward. Nanovor Evolution was designed using Unity, a powerful yet easy to use game development tool. Now, Nanovor only requires a tiny browser plugin rather than a huge client. Better still, the graphics and gameplay have been vastly improved. The character designs, background, and environments are now fully three dimensional. The game can now compete directly with other turn based MMORPGs and pet themed MMORPGs like Bakugan Dimensions.

Nanovor Evolution is only the latest in a series of free to play browser based MMOs and MMORPGs to utilize Unity. Cartoon Network’s FusionFall was perhaps the first major MMORPG to use Unity and it has better visuals and more high quality content than most client based MMORPGs! Games like Nanovor Evolutions have superior graphics than client based MMORPGs like Hero Online from Netgame and Dragon Oath / Zentia from ChangYou. There’s also Tiger Woods Online by Electronic Arts. That’s a major video game publisher throwing its weight behind Unity. The game has beautiful golf courses, and can be played in short bursts thanks to the auto-save feature which remembers player progression through a course. Silverlode Interactive, the studio behind the MMORTS Saga also has a Unity based browser game. It’s called Captains of DarkTide and is set at sea. Players can command a variety of ships, visit distant ports, and fire broadsides against one another.

Unity is not just a browser game tool, it can be used to create large single player games as well. But for a variety of reasons, I believe it will generally be put to use to create browser games that look and play as well as traditional client games. When more and more studios discover the versatility of the tool, they will flock to it. How long till social MMORPGs and facebook games use Unity? The developers of Nanovor Evolution already have several job listing on their site for Unity developers. Expect other companies to follow.

2D Browser Based MMORPGs

There are a ton of browser games out there from 3D titles like FusionFall and Pirate Galaxy to text based strategy MMOs like Urban Rivals and Astro Empires. Unfortunately, there aren’t that many actual 2D MMORPGs with persistent worlds. I believe zOMG! From the same guys that made Gaia Online is one of the only ones. ZOMG! Is actually a surprisingly good game. This is coming from a guy who doesn’t like social games like IMVU or Gaia Online. So aside from perhaps zOMG! There aren’t that many 2D browser based MMORPGs – ones that have persistent worlds. There’s no shortage of games like Evony, The Seventh Dragon, Caesary of Grepolis though. For some reasons companies keep churning out these garbage strategy games. I say garbage, only because most them are just clones of each other. Seriously. Tribal Wars and Travian were the first two browser based strategy MMORPGs – everything else just copied them. Shamelessly too.

How awesome would it be if say MapleStory were browser based? It’s definitely possible. Heck that game COULD run on Flash, as the graphics aren’t too advanced. I’m sure many client based 2D MMORPGs could run perfectly fine on the web browser, especially since the Unity Web Player is incredibly powerful. Unity Web Player powers great looking browser games like FusionFall and Captains of Darktide. So it could definitely power simpler 2D MMORPGs. That is, if the Unity Web Player even supports 2D development. But if all of these epic looking 3D browser games are launching, we should start seeing some good looking 2D games as well.

Neverland Online from HiThere is one example of a persistent world browser based MMORPG that works well. The game is quite fun and has a strong emphasis on pets. It actually plays a lot like Zodiac Online from EnjoyMMO and Monster Forest from AsiaSoft. Graphically, the game looks just as good as many client based 2D MMORPGs. The problem is there are so few games like Neverland Online (graphically). Most browser based games nowadays are either 3D (through the Unity Web Player) or text based with still images. 3D games aren’t bad either, but I’d definitely like to see more companies embracing 2D graphics, as I find them easier on the eyes.