Two games that might get you back into MMORPGs
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I've had my fair share of MMORPG's. My first ever online game was actually the Korean MMORPG Ragnarok and from there I've applied to various Asian online game's that created the definition of 'grinding' in MMORPG's. I soon got tired of the grind fest and aimed for the bigger titles.
I picked up Guild Wars and was really sold because of the no monthly fee and had a blast. With only 1 year of Guild Wars, got tempted and went even higher, and finally gave in to the biggest beast of them all, World of Warcraft. When my 10 day trial was up, I quickly bought the game and was set for another 3 months. Before i knew it, I've played World of Warcraft for 2 years. Addiction took over, I was in a guild with 3 raids days every week. It was crazy. Being in college, playing World of Warcraft almost everyday, and having responsibilities to take care of in the house, it was hard to manage. To this day I still wonder why I placed myself in that situation.
But when I hit year 2 in WoW, I also hit my senior year with just two semesters away and my internship nearing its end, I knew I was so close to graduating, but I need to make a choice. In order to absolutely make sure I graduate, I needed to quit WoW in order to have all my focus on my studies. And just like that, I quit. My guild mates were very supportive and respected my decision. I graduated and had no intention of coming back, that is when Cataclysm was released.
Yes, I went back for 3 months. My friends tempted me to go back with them to check things out, But with all our friends from our old guild all gone it was easy for us to say no to it again since paying every month again and trying to get into another unknown guild felt like a chore. We contacted our old guild friends and heard they moved on, good for them. So we decided to just quit for good as well.
WoW is finally dead to me, Cataclysm just made me realize that since I quit, everything felt the same in terms of game play so paying monthly for it didn't seem worth it. My MMO craze is still there though, and I need a game to scratch that urge to play an MMORPG. The current online game's out now won't cut it, They are either WoW rip offs or grindfest MMORPG's that make you mindless zombies. So far, there are only two MMORPG's that seem to be bringing something new to the table. Two game's that I hope will make people forget about WoW for good. it's time to move on guys.
Guild Wars 2
I'm a huge Guild Wars fan. Since it's reveal, I've been keeping myself updated to the latest new about this sequel. Their going all out for the second game. It's now open world and they say the world is huge. Quests is more dynamic and they aim to make the quest feel like an actual quest. Not those collect x flowers or kill 20 wolves to kill your first 2 hours. The whole game is also going to be fully voiced.
There will be five races to pick from in Guild Wars 2; Humans, Charr, Asura, Norn, and the Sylvari a race new to the Guild Wars world. There is also seven professions to pick from. Only six so far has been revealed, so there's still one more proffession for them to reveal. The proffessions announced so far are Engineer, Thief, Guardian, Necromancer, Ranger, Warrior, and Elementalist. Check the official site for more info about the professions.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NI3e7PP_wNU&feature=feedu_more]
The game looks amazing and I love the fact that they kept the same art style and just worked all the improvements around it. It's still going to be free to play which makes it THE MMORPG to buy. Have no idea how ArenaNet is doing it but the first Guild Wars is still around and still going strong. No date yet and when asked about the released of Guild Wars 2 they reply by just saying "When it's finished". The game looks so good already. They want to get everything perfect and ready and I respect the no rush attitude. A must buy indeed.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Now this MMORPG grew on me. When it was first revealed, first thing that popped in my head was WoW. The interface and game play seemed similar. But as more information started pouring in, I see myself getting more excited for this title. The last Star Wars MMORPG was a complete failure and failed to capitalize on this huge franchise. This game on the other hand is a different story. With Bioware working on this, I knew they wanted to bring something different. It will be also fully voiced and will give players choices to shape the narrative. To what degree we will have to see, but the famous conversation wheel seen in most Bioware game's like Dragon Age and Mass Effect is used for the conversations in The Old Republic.
Each faction will have four classes each. The Galactic Republic will have the Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, Trooper, and Scoundrel(a class built around Han Solo) while the Sith Empire will have the Sith Warrior, Sith Inquisitor, Bounty Hunter, and Imperial Agent. But classes on each side will be somewhat mirroring each other in terms of roles(for example, Jedi Knight and Sith Warrior). The cool thing about the classes in this game though is that each class will have two specializations to pick from when you hit level 10, so character customization is looking deep. There is also so far 17 planets confirmed in The Old Republic making it a huge world to explore.
Every player will be assigned their very own Millennium Falcon. Well not the Millennium Falcon but your very own ship to explore the galaxy with. There will also be ship battles and companions that can join you in your adventure. The typical PVP zones, raids etc is said to be there. It looks like it's heavy on content but hopefully it doesn't come out repetitive.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEz8c_qW09E]
Any Star Wars fan will appreciate this game, at the same time, this "Fully Voiced" feature that Bioware is pushing is a great idea. They want story to be a big factor in The Old Republic, and with voices added to the mix, it just makes the experience more compelling compared to reading a wall of text only to find out your tasked to kill 10 rats or escort an NPC. I really want The Old Republic to work. Star Wars is just a perfect world to make into an MMORPG. They failed the last time, so hopefully everything works well for The Old Republic. It's said to have a release somewhere at the end of 2011 but I have my doubts on that and expecting an early 2012 release. I'm definitely picking this up on day one and we'll see if the monthly fee is worth it. check their official site for more info about Star Wars: The Old Republic.
One of these has to be the WoW killer. People have predicted game's like Warhammer Online or Rift to dethrone World of Warcraft but have been proven wrong. What do you guy think? do these game's have a chance at grabbing millions of subscibers or will WoW reign for a couple more years. I think these two are the best bets at going toe to toe against World of Warcraft. if not, then Blizzard might do it themselves with their hidden MMO project that is currently in development.
