When is Altis Gates going to Release?

When is Altis Gates going to come out? IGG originally promised the game’s release nearly a year ago now. The game was supposed to be a 2D turn based MMORPG which was supposed to play a lot like Myth War 2 Online and Wonderland Online. Too bad the game never made it to release. I’m not ready to completely write the game off yet, as IGG never officially announced that the game would shut down and join the MMO Graveyard. They did announce the game would be delayed indefinitely though, so we could see Altis Gates join the huge list of delayed MMORPGs which may never get released. Come to think of it, IGG has been dropping the ball lately.

The only new game IGG launched lately has been Tales of Fantasy, which is a pretty bleh 3D MMORPG and Tales of Pirates 2, which is basically the same exact game as Tales of Pirates, with minor graphical tweaks. I didn’t really like Tales of Fantasy, because even though it has good graphics, the gameplay just looks and feels bland. It’s a fairly generic Chinese developed MMORPG, which brings nothing new to the table. While IGG has been releasing these substandard games, Perfect World Entertainment has been growing like crazy. They launched the mega successful Battle of the Immortals, a killer fun Diablo 2-esque action MMORPG, and Forsaken World. They also launched a major content update to their enormously popular Jade Dynasty game while announcing the “Genesis” update for Perfect World. They also announced a brand new game – Legend of Martial Arts, which will be entering closed beta testing in late November. So why is IGG dropping the ball so much lately? How come they didn’t have any major new game releases?

Well, I really don’t know. I do think IGG has several really well known and popular MMORPGs though. Games like Godswar Online, Angels Online and Voyage Century for example, are all quite popular. How long Voyage Century will remain popular though is something I can’t quite answer – as Uncharted Waters Online – the new ship based MMORPG from Netmarble is now competing with Voyage Century. Uncharted Waters Online is an incredibly popular Japanese MMORPG. And we all know how crazy some Westeners are for all things Japan. Dynasty Warriors Online from Koei has been midly successful in the West already. So I wouldn’t be surprised if Uncharted Waters Online took away some players from Voyage Century. Many of IGGs games have remained pretty stagnant too. Games like Zu Online and Aurora Blade haven’t really received any major updates in quite some time. Even their browser MMO Lords Online hasn’t gone anyway in some time. While on the topic of IGG dropping the ball, they also never released Dreamland Online, which is another game that seems to be indefinitely delayed.

Ever since I played Atlantica Online from Ndoors and Pet Forest from PlayOMG, I’ve been pretty fascinated with turn based MMORPGs. I’m looking forward to trying Altis Gates if it ever does come out.

Great 2D MMORPGs

What do you think the best 2D MMORPG is? I think it should be clear by now, based on all my other posts, that the best 2D free to play MMORPG is MapleStory from Nexon. Yeah, I’ve praised this game quite a bit, so I’m not going to praise it or WonderKing Online any more, as i’ve done enough of that in the past.. I’ll start talking about some other great 2D MMORPGs.

One of the most awesome 2D MMROPGs out there, that I haven’t really talked too much about in the past, is Trickster Online from Ntreev. I remember I used to play this game all the time back in the day, but ever since I upgraded my PC to Windows 7, I wasn’t able to play it anymore. I think they’re the only MMORPG that doesn’t work on Windows 7. Ntreev makes a lot of awesome anime inspired games. Their other MMORPG – Grand Chase is a lot of fun too. It’s a 2D side scrolling game, but plays nothing like MapleStory or WonderKing. Instead, it plays more like Dungeon Fighter Online. The game is linear and level based, but it’s fun and cooperative. Trickster Online is still one of my favorite games, even if I can’t play it anymore. If you’ve never given the game a chance, do yourself a favor and download it!

Another good 2D MMORPG that deserves some more attention is NosTale from Uforia. I honestly thing Uforia is one of the worst MMORPG publishers out there, but NosTale is a game that deserves some attention. If plays much like any other MMORPG, but it has a great community and a solid progression system. Leveling isn’t too slow and questing feels fun. There’s always enough quests to do, so you’re never out right grinding. If you’ve played Mercenary Wars, Camon Hero or Red War you can use the same account to access NosTale, as they’re all on the Uforia network!

Lastly, I wanted to bring up is Wonderland Online from IGG. Now IGG actually has a lot of 2D MMORPGs, but Wonderland Online is definitely the best game IGG offers. Altis Gates and Dreamland Online might be better, but I can’t say as those games still aren’t released. WonderLand Online is a neat 2D turn based MMORPG with a ginormous playerbase. It’s easily one of their most popular MMORPGs. Tales of Fantasy might be a bit more popular, but I never played it. If you like turn based MMORPGs and 2D games it’s worth checking out.

Did I miss any other excellent 2D games? If so, let me know in the comments!