Hmm...tough question, and one thats open to alot of personal taste.
I would have to say for me.... Ultima Online, during 1998-1999. Back before the days of Trammel. To me, that is still the best time I have ever had in any mmorpg (and I have played most of the major ones). Its still to date the only mmorpg where you could do almost anything you wanted to do.
Kill people whereever you want (near enough), kill people and eat their flesh (at least you could in the early days before the complaints came in) steal from people (still one of the few games to ever implement that), own ships and name them, own pets and name them, own a house that was NOT in a seperate zone on the map, have player vendors, huge variety of non-combat skills, scribing, armoursmithing, weaponsmithing, alchemy, carpentry, masonry, fishing, lumberjacking, mining the list goes on and on. Books in game that you could actually write in and people could read (again...still one of the only games to ever do that), poison (including poisoning food and leaving it around for people to accidently pick up hehe....at least in the early days before the complaints came in), skill based system rather than a level based system...your words appeared over your head instead of in a little chatbox that is stuck in the corner and disrupts the sense of immersion. Oh and not to forget... SIT in a chair...yes !! actually sit IN a chair ! (I know you can do this in SWG too, but you would be amazed at just how many so called next generation mmorpgs dont even let you sit in a chair....you have to sit ON the chair like in Daoc)
Yup...definately early UO for me, to this day I have never seen any other mmorpg have the kinds of options in it that early UO did. Incredible to think that a game from nearly 8 years ago had more options back then than the new games, and even than the games due out. /shrug
The games I enjoyed most and had the most time played in are:
Everquest, Dark Age of Camelot, and Star Wars Galaxies.
They have different things about them that I liked. I guess I can best sum them up like this:
Everquest I liked best for the leveling addiction (although it wore out at lvl 25), the quests, and interesting world of Norrath, and the player base (back 3 or so years ago).
Dark Age of Camelot I liked most for the Realm vs Realm combat and the variety of classes, items, and the graphics were nice.
Star Wars Galaxies I enjoyed because, well, it was Star Wars! I liked the way that the game was made to allow alot of roleplaying. The crafting and player economy is very good, too. The graphics are the best.
In my opinion, all are great games and should be given a try. You may take some heat for playing SWG on these boards, but everyone has their own likes and dislikes, so don't always go by what others say, if you try it out and find that you are having fun, that is all that counts.
Best game I ever played was UO from 97-99. But if you into graphics UO is not for you, I personally liked the graphics but I can see why other would not like them. And like I said the best was old UO, Im not sure what its like now cuz I havnt played in a year and a half.
I have to agree with the previous post about Lineage. It was the first MMORPG I played, and after a while I went on to Everquest, Planetside, Star Wars Galaxies, Anarchy Online, and Dark Age of Camelot. However, for some unknown reason, I had the most fun with Lineage. The graphics aren't the greatest, there aren't alot of classes and races, not a lot of servers, etc. But there was an intangible that made everything interact perfectly and allowed you to have a lot of fun, whether you were playing for an hour a day or 5 hours a day. I hope that Lineage II keeps the "feeling" alive and is as much fun to play!
I have played Legend of Mir since Beta in 2001. This is a superb game and although I have looked at a number of others (perhaps not in enough detail) I would recommend it to anyone who isn't simply a console junkiw with no interest in putting their social/managerial/organisation/trading skills to work alongside their button bashing ones.
In the various reviews I have read on Mir - people who don't enjoy the game fit into the above ctaegory or simply haven't played the game for any considerable period of time. The ridiculously low rating on this site is in no way justified. This game has had (its fair share) of software cheats but these have largerly been erradicated and were NEVER an excuse for any other individual not to enjoy the game.
Sadly I would have to say AC1 for overall best game.
I found a lot of great aspects in EQ, UO, DAoC and AC2 but all of them had some factor or another that caused the one huge problem that a mmorpg must not have, a short lifespan.
What is more important to a mmorpg other than its lifespan. Unlike any other game you never can finish a mmorpg and you don't play matches against other players. So it has to have the ability to interest you for a long time to warrant that monthly cost.
AC1 was the only one that had enough custumization and content to actually keep me involved for more than 6 months time. Even with only one other constant freind playing it was enough to be fun for a long while. EQ would be next in line but simply became too annoying. AC1 is unfortunantly now too old so its a wait to see if any of the new ones will again capture that special mix that makes them worth any long time involvement.
Rather than say what is the best MMORPG ever (since that's a very subjective topic), I'll say my favorite MMORPG has to be Dark Age of Camelot, at least for now.
EverQuest is still very popular and for good reason, but as others have said, it is showing its age. I know people who swear that Asheron's Call was the best ever (and it's still hanging on), but I never played it. People who love PvP, especially unrestricted PvP, speak nostalgically about UO, especially pre-Trammel/Felucca. Anarchy Online has a fanatical following and is a very good game, although I never could fully get into it.
Dark Age, however, is the one I came back to. It has aged gracefully and hasn't "over expanded" the way many say EQ has (from all accounts, Antonica is deserted. That blows me away!) I play on possibly the least populated server (Nimue) and there is still plenty of activity and the game stays fresh. Granted, TOA added some things to the mix that caused gameplay (esp RvR) to suffer, but the new RvR update is designed to rebalance the playing field.
There are several upcoming games I want to try, but if I had to choose a game among the active offerings, I'd probably choose in this order:
Nothing like the first of its kind. I still remember the shock of being able to play a game online with hundreds of other players. This game made me give up single player game overall including FPS.
2. Lineage
Defined by its community rather than by the game itself. First to bring the meaning of massiveness in group War. None of games released earlier were quite like this one. Pushed the limit of scalability of interaction between users in a confined world screen.
3. Ultima Online
First serious attempt to bring RPG to MMOG ?
4. Everquest
First attempt to bring MMORPG into 2.8D say....
5. Legend of Mir
China and its number. First attempt to bring cultural context in MMORPG scene.
I have been playing Legend Of Mir for almost 4 years now (Was one of the first 12 online in the game) I have seen it's up's and down's, yet the game itself could be counted as something of a masterpiece, surrpassed only by it's older brother Legend of mir 3: Evil's Illusion (currently korea only)
The fact is, this game is one of the best, whether or not youve read the reviews by the people who were banned for cheating, or not. The game itself is huge, but you get to know area's as if they are your local town. As with every MMORPG ther are bad eggs, but that accounts for a small percentage of the population. The general feel of the game is good. You have to take your time to understand how to really use your character.
Basically, this game is by far one of the best ever devised, and with a new patch on friday, its looking brighter each month
head to www.legendofmir.net The game's free to download, and you will enjoy it
I've got to say that right now the game that i most like is EVE online. It's definitely not a game for everyone, Some people think that it is too slow, and if you prefer everquest or other action packed camping and killing games, then EVE might seem that way to you too. What I personally like about EVE is that a casual gamer can actually have fun playing it, you never are forced to fight anything in order to advance your character, the player economy is BY FAR the most complex ever implemented, the player community is fantastic, the Devs come up with things that are really fun and compelling to play with (i.e. they aren't so conservative that every new change just seems like a boring rehash of old ideas). EVE really is a game that should appeal to those who want to be part of a community where long range economic planning is appealing. If you like to build toward interesting and complex goals, over a long period of time in small increments, then EVE is the game to play. Eve doesn't force you into any particular set of actions. You can mine, fight pirates, engage in PvP, research new technologies, build new items and ships, run trade routes and more, and you don't actually have to do any of these things. Currently there is a free trial for a few days, and I'd definitely suggest that anyone who has any interest in playing a starship based Sci Fi game shouild check it out.
Legend of Mir requires you have a non-free email account to play. So you have to go buy one if you dont already have. Sorry but I'm not paying for an email account just to play a game for free. Its absurd.
"When you're in prison, dont be no ones bitch, its bad for you..."
I could like to say the best mmorpg ever is "RISK YOUR LIFE ONLINE" but this statement will changed in the future.....[when risk your life online2 is out]
the game itself is not perfect but still the best........ with few final touch it will be the ultimate masterpiece ever created by mankind
I am only 2 years old on the MMORPG world. I have played DAOC, AO and SWG.
DAOC for me is the most fun of the 3. I play a game to have fun, I know lot of people play those game for socialize. But, common if you want o socialize go to a night club.
DAOC is not perfect, it still have the bitter side of xping. Leveling from 1 to 50 can be boring if you dont take your time to enjoy it with quest and exploring different camps and places. Most DAOC players usually stick to some mob camps to level, making is boring. But as soon as you get to 50 the game is 100% fun, ToA Masterlevel trials made the game fun for those that like PvE and RvR is the best PvP system I have seen. The combat system in DAOC is the best of the 3 too, styles and spells are very well planed and each has its only unique effect.
AO, although I did not stick long enough to explore all the aspects of the game it was for the most part fun. The characters were nice and the professions were very cool. PvP was challenging.
SWG was a big disappointment the game is too complex and not effective. Ever task you take is so full of stuff that takes all the fun out of it. The combat system is a joke, press 1 1 1 1 1 11 until the mob is dead. PvP is a joke and very hard to find, you can walk with your faction declared but that is just plain stupid, there is no place to find and form rebels and imperial groups and from there fight for a goal. PvP is for the most part senseless. Great graphic tho. But that is it for that game great graphic and nothing more. Nothing is fun in SWG.
Comments
Best MMORPG ever?
Hmm...tough question, and one thats open to alot of personal taste.
I would have to say for me.... Ultima Online, during 1998-1999. Back before the days of Trammel. To me, that is still the best time I have ever had in any mmorpg (and I have played most of the major ones). Its still to date the only mmorpg where you could do almost anything you wanted to do.
Kill people whereever you want (near enough), kill people and eat their flesh (at least you could in the early days before the complaints came in) steal from people (still one of the few games to ever implement that), own ships and name them, own pets and name them, own a house that was NOT in a seperate zone on the map, have player vendors, huge variety of non-combat skills, scribing, armoursmithing, weaponsmithing, alchemy, carpentry, masonry, fishing, lumberjacking, mining the list goes on and on. Books in game that you could actually write in and people could read (again...still one of the only games to ever do that), poison (including poisoning food and leaving it around for people to accidently pick up hehe....at least in the early days before the complaints came in), skill based system rather than a level based system...your words appeared over your head instead of in a little chatbox that is stuck in the corner and disrupts the sense of immersion. Oh and not to forget... SIT in a chair...yes !! actually sit IN a chair ! (I know you can do this in SWG too, but you would be amazed at just how many so called next generation mmorpgs dont even let you sit in a chair....you have to sit ON the chair like in Daoc)
Yup...definately early UO for me, to this day I have never seen any other mmorpg have the kinds of options in it that early UO did. Incredible to think that a game from nearly 8 years ago had more options back then than the new games, and even than the games due out. /shrug
The games I enjoyed most and had the most time played in are:
Everquest, Dark Age of Camelot, and Star Wars Galaxies.
They have different things about them that I liked. I guess I can best sum them up like this:
Everquest I liked best for the leveling addiction (although it wore out at lvl 25), the quests, and interesting world of Norrath, and the player base (back 3 or so years ago).
Dark Age of Camelot I liked most for the Realm vs Realm combat and the variety of classes, items, and the graphics were nice.
Star Wars Galaxies I enjoyed because, well, it was Star Wars! I liked the way that the game was made to allow alot of roleplaying. The crafting and player economy is very good, too. The graphics are the best.
In my opinion, all are great games and should be given a try. You may take some heat for playing SWG on these boards, but everyone has their own likes and dislikes, so don't always go by what others say, if you try it out and find that you are having fun, that is all that counts.
I have played Legend of Mir since Beta in 2001. This is a superb game and although I have looked at a number of others (perhaps not in enough detail) I would recommend it to anyone who isn't simply a console junkiw with no interest in putting their social/managerial/organisation/trading skills to work alongside their button bashing ones.
In the various reviews I have read on Mir - people who don't enjoy the game fit into the above ctaegory or simply haven't played the game for any considerable period of time. The ridiculously low rating on this site is in no way justified. This game has had (its fair share) of software cheats but these have largerly been erradicated and were NEVER an excuse for any other individual not to enjoy the game.
Richard Ogden
Caveat Emptor
Sadly I would have to say AC1 for overall best game.
I found a lot of great aspects in EQ, UO, DAoC and AC2 but all of them had some factor or another that caused the one huge problem that a mmorpg must not have, a short lifespan.
What is more important to a mmorpg other than its lifespan. Unlike any other game you never can finish a mmorpg and you don't play matches against other players. So it has to have the ability to interest you for a long time to warrant that monthly cost.
AC1 was the only one that had enough custumization and content to actually keep me involved for more than 6 months time. Even with only one other constant freind playing it was enough to be fun for a long while. EQ would be next in line but simply became too annoying. AC1 is unfortunantly now too old so its a wait to see if any of the new ones will again capture that special mix that makes them worth any long time involvement.
EverQuest, hands down, best MMORPG ever... Tried AO, AC2, FFXI, DaoC, and Horizons. They all sucked comparitively.
PS. What the hell is Legends of Mir? And if its so good why dont more people play it?
"When you're in prison, dont be no ones bitch, its bad for you..."
The Offspring
-----------------Censored------------------
Rather than say what is the best MMORPG ever (since that's a very subjective topic), I'll say my favorite MMORPG has to be Dark Age of Camelot, at least for now.
EverQuest is still very popular and for good reason, but as others have said, it is showing its age. I know people who swear that Asheron's Call was the best ever (and it's still hanging on), but I never played it. People who love PvP, especially unrestricted PvP, speak nostalgically about UO, especially pre-Trammel/Felucca. Anarchy Online has a fanatical following and is a very good game, although I never could fully get into it.
Dark Age, however, is the one I came back to. It has aged gracefully and hasn't "over expanded" the way many say EQ has (from all accounts, Antonica is deserted. That blows me away!) I play on possibly the least populated server (Nimue) and there is still plenty of activity and the game stays fresh. Granted, TOA added some things to the mix that caused gameplay (esp RvR) to suffer, but the new RvR update is designed to rebalance the playing field.
There are several upcoming games I want to try, but if I had to choose a game among the active offerings, I'd probably choose in this order:
Again, strictly my opinion here
-----
Old timer.
1. Meridian 59
Nothing like the first of its kind. I still remember the shock of being able to play a game online with hundreds of other players. This game made me give up single player game overall including FPS.
2. Lineage
Defined by its community rather than by the game itself. First to bring the meaning of massiveness in group War. None of games released earlier were quite like this one. Pushed the limit of scalability of interaction between users in a confined world screen.
3. Ultima Online
First serious attempt to bring RPG to MMOG ?
4. Everquest
First attempt to bring MMORPG into 2.8D say....
5. Legend of Mir
China and its number. First attempt to bring cultural context in MMORPG scene.
I have been playing Legend Of Mir for almost 4 years now (Was one of the first 12 online in the game) I have seen it's up's and down's, yet the game itself could be counted as something of a masterpiece, surrpassed only by it's older brother Legend of mir 3: Evil's Illusion (currently korea only)
The fact is, this game is one of the best, whether or not youve read the reviews by the people who were banned for cheating, or not. The game itself is huge, but you get to know area's as if they are your local town. As with every MMORPG ther are bad eggs, but that accounts for a small percentage of the population. The general feel of the game is good. You have to take your time to understand how to really use your character.
Basically, this game is by far one of the best ever devised, and with a new patch on friday, its looking brighter each month
head to www.legendofmir.net The game's free to download, and you will enjoy it
RoB.
Downloading the 4 hour .exe file now, better be worth it.
"When you're in prison, dont be no ones bitch, its bad for you..."
The Offspring
-----------------Censored------------------
people do play legendo of mir
www.legendofmir.net
It is excellent and free to level 21
Richard Ogden
Caveat Emptor
Legend of Mir requires you have a non-free email account to play. So you have to go buy one if you dont already have. Sorry but I'm not paying for an email account just to play a game for free. Its absurd.
"When you're in prison, dont be no ones bitch, its bad for you..."
The Offspring
-----------------Censored------------------
I could like to say the best mmorpg ever is "RISK YOUR LIFE ONLINE" but this statement will changed in the future.....[when risk your life online2 is out]
the game itself is not perfect but still the best........ with few final touch it will be the ultimate masterpiece ever created by mankind
I am only 2 years old on the MMORPG world. I have played DAOC, AO and SWG.
DAOC for me is the most fun of the 3. I play a game to have fun, I know lot of people play those game for socialize. But, common if you want o socialize go to a night club.
DAOC is not perfect, it still have the bitter side of xping. Leveling from 1 to 50 can be boring if you dont take your time to enjoy it with quest and exploring different camps and places. Most DAOC players usually stick to some mob camps to level, making is boring. But as soon as you get to 50 the game is 100% fun, ToA Masterlevel trials made the game fun for those that like PvE and RvR is the best PvP system I have seen. The combat system in DAOC is the best of the 3 too, styles and spells are very well planed and each has its only unique effect.
AO, although I did not stick long enough to explore all the aspects of the game it was for the most part fun. The characters were nice and the professions were very cool. PvP was challenging.
SWG was a big disappointment the game is too complex and not effective. Ever task you take is so full of stuff that takes all the fun out of it. The combat system is a joke, press 1 1 1 1 1 11 until the mob is dead. PvP is a joke and very hard to find, you can walk with your faction declared but that is just plain stupid, there is no place to find and form rebels and imperial groups and from there fight for a goal. PvP is for the most part senseless. Great graphic tho. But that is it for that game great graphic and nothing more. Nothing is fun in SWG.