Sci-fi MMORPGs – The Untapped Genre

There are a ton of great fantasy MMORPGs. Games like Allods Online, Aika Online and Twelve Sky 2 just to name a few. There are so many great fantasy MMORPGs out there, both 3D and 2D. The problem is though, there are very few other types of MMORPGs. Fantasy games seem to be the standard amongst free to play MMORPGs. I’d actually love to see more sci-fi themed games, as I’m a huge fan of Sci-fi in general. Some of my favorite television shows include FireFly, Star Trek, Babylon 5 and so on. I know Cyrptic has Star Trek Online, but from what I’ve heard it stinks. I know there are a few other random Sci-fi MMORPGs like RF Online and Megaten, but both games leave me wanting more.

RF Online used to be a pay to play game but it went free to play. After it went free to play, the game sorta went no where. A lot of pay to play games that went free to play became super successful, especially Dungeons and Dragons Online, but other games like Archlord (Webzen) and FusionFall (Cartoon Network) have done decently as well. RF Online is sort of a joke now, because when you first create your character, you start off with some of the best weapons in the game, so you can 1 shot everything and anything near the newbie areas. In fact, I found myself 1 shotting enemies significantly higher level than my character. Starting off with absurdly powerful gear is pretty stupid, because it ruins progression in the game. I remember completing a quest that gave me a new weapon that did 100-120 damage, but my started weapon did 2350-3205. Seriously. What’s the point? The leveling is really fast too, because of your absurdly powerful weapon. It felt a bit like Tantra Online, as that game also has really fast experience.

There are a few decent sci-fi themed MMORPGs like GhostX from GameKiss and Anarchy Online from Funcom, but unfortunately no real triple A titles. There are a bunch of low quality 2D sci-fi MMORPGs as well. Games like 2029 Online and Galaxy Online from IGG. These game’s aren’t terrible, but they’re low quality, and it shows. I don’t think anything is as bad as Age of Armor from Snail Games or Project of Planets. Is there future of MMORPGs really more fantasy games? I really think the sci-fi genre is the most untapped in the MMORPG space. There’s only so much you can do with the fantasy theme (Orcs. Goblins, Warriors, Mages…). With Sci-fi developers can do so much more. You could call Eve Online a triple-A title, but it’s a pay to play game. I’d like to see a triple-A free to play sci-fi MMORPG!

Browser MMORPGs Will Rock in 2011

2009 and 2010 have been great years for browser MMORPG Games. With the incredible growth of free to play gaming, browser games like RuneScape, Earth Eternal, Dark Orbit and Heroes of Gaia have enjoyed incredible growth. These games are all incredibly high quality and offer a gaming experience comparable to traditional downloadable MMORPGs. Earth Eternal for example has graphics that are easily better than most free to play MMOs. For example, the graphics in Earth Eternal are easily better than the visuals in older 3D MMORPGs like Talisman Online and 2Moons. It may not be much, but those visuals on a browser is ridiculously impressive. It opens the door for HUGE possibilities in 2011 and beyond. Who knows, maybe we’ll be playing Eve Online on the browser sometime in the future.

Another aspect of the browser MMO industry that’s really been taking off is strategy MMORPGs. Ever since Tribal Wars and Travian pioneered the genre years ago, the genre has REALLY exploded in popularity. I was surprised to hear that even Electronic Arts made their own free browser strategy MMORPG – Lord of Ultima. A big Western game developer launching a free browser MMO is news to me. This means that more and more western developers will likely enter the arena, raising the bar in terms of quality. I say this because Lord of Ultima is an awesome browser based strategy MMORPG. Maybe even the best. The visuals are top notch and the interface is good too. I’m not too surprised though, as EA’s studio that’s in charge of the free to play department made Battlefield Heroes and Battleforge – and both of those games are amazing.

If it sounds like I’m a bit too optimistic about browser games in 2011 and beyond, it’s because I am. I’ve been a gamer since my father first bought me Super Mario World 2 for the Super Nintendo, and this free to play MMO revolution is intense. So many awesome high quality games coming out, and the entire free to pay space is still niche. What do you guys think? Am I too optimistic ?