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 ?

Away From MMORPGs For a Bit - S4 League 4tw

Yesterday I re-downloaded S4 League again, one of my favorite third person shooter MMOs. In fact, it’s one of the only third person shooters aside from Battlefield Heroes. I used to play the game regularly about a year or so ago, but I sort of got bored of it. After playing a boat load of generic tactical MMOFPS games, I wanted to give the game another try, and I’m glad I did. S4 League is crazy fun and it’s just as fun as I remembered it to be. Since I last played a year ago, Alaplaya did a lot with the game. The most notable change is the elimination of lag. Multiplayer matches have practically zero lag now. Plus, there are a boat load of additional maps. Another neat thing is that unlike games like Soldier Front and Sudden Attack, weapons don’t disappear over time, so even though I didn’t play in a year, all of my weapons were saved, which rocks.

I’ve spent much of last week studying for finals and getting school stuff finished. I still have a few more finals to get through, so I can’t really commit to an MMORPG, though I do want to try the new game by IGG – Tales of Fantasy. For those that haven’t heard of it, it’s a 3D MMORPG with largely realistic graphics. So until my finals are done, I’ll probably stick with S4 League is a bit longer. S4 League is fun because I can play it in short bursts without ever spending too much time at once on it. Kind of like Heroes of Gaia and other browser MMORPGs.

I’ve always been a big fan of GunZ too, as I’ve played that game on and off. I played it even before ijji began publishing it 3+ years ago, back when the developer published it worldwide. I do like that ijji is publishing it now, as there are so many less hackers. I think anyone that likes GunZ will also love S4 League, as they’re very similar games. S4 League is just newer so it looks nicer. If anyone plays S4, leave your IGN below and maybe we can play sometime?