I’ve never played a MMORPG (unless you count morrowind) and I’m looking for opinions. I know they’re in short supply here but if you could provide one please let me hear it.
I’ve narrowed it down to:
Everquest evolution, everquest with all the expansion packs I probably will play. 19.95 at my local gamestop so if I played for a month and then decided that mmorpgs suck then I’m not that bad off moneywise. My concern here is that there are SO many players here that there isn’t anything new to see or do and never will be since EQ 2 will be out the door soon.
City of heroes, sounds kind of fun and original. Downside is that it’s selling at about $50 and it seems like it’s about fighting, fighting and more fighting. I’m wondering if this would get old really fast and if it does then well I’m out a pile of dough.
Planetside. FPS games aren’t really my cup of tea but I’ve liked the role playing ones like Deus Ex. Sounds like it may be like that but I’m wondering how many people are playing this and if it would be worth the time commitment. Also as far as I can tell the expansion is sold seperately so that’s another 20 bucks if I want all the bells and whistles.
Final fantasy XI for PC. Fairly new world, premium price. I played final fantasy 7 but haven’t made it through a whole FF game since. Seeing the little kid looking people riding around on chokobos looks kind of stupid so this one my be out just on principal.
Any thoughts on which one would be the best for a beginner?
Go for CoH yurislave. There are plenty here who disagree with LE’s review of CoH. You can fly in CoH. You cannot fly in EQ. It is as simple as that! :D
What a bizarre thing to say. It’s not that surprising that no one walks away from Everquest liking it… if they liked it, they wouldn’t be walking away from it.
Don’t listen to him. We spent about four pages arguing with him about this. The conclusion was that he either played it for all of fifteen minutes, or didn’t quite make it through the installer.
A large chunk depends on what type of gamer you are, really. If you’re an explorer, well, there’s lots to explore in EQ, but it can be a bit problematic to get there these days since lower levels tend to be a bit barren and the game is really oriented for group play. If you’re an achiever, and have the time to play, EQ could be the game for you. If you don’t have the time to devote to it, however, it will likely frustrate you really quickly.
I wasn’t impressed with Planetside. I think if I want to play an FPS I’d probably lean more toward unreal tournament; and if I want to play an MMO I’d lean more toward CoH, which has a nice, action-y feel, but seemed to have more character “depth” than the impression I got (albeit very briefly) from Planetside.
My personal suggestion for more casual play would be CoH, because it’s not all that hard to get in and do things and have fun right up front. However, others have pointed out that the levelling/acquiring new powers gets slow later on, and since there is literally nothing in the game other than fighting, unlike EQ (which also has slow levelling) or DAoC (ditto), there’s no steam valves to remain in game and do something else that feels like progress/fun if the level grind gets oppressive. So if you’re the type person who feels compelled to start a character and play it all the way through to the end, CoH might frustrate you.
I think even with CoH being the most expensive and such, however, just about any of them (at the $50 price point, nonetheless) you’ll likely get your money’s worth. I don’t think even the most hardcore anti-MMO folks around here (Ebonstone excluded) have indicated that the well-built MMOs suck so hideously in terms of grinding and disincentives that they didn’t get the standard 20-40 hours worth of play one would get for a similarly priced single player title.
If you truly want to get your money’s worth, get a one of the free options out there :) - DAoC, SWG, EQ, AO, all have free clients with limited playtime available.
I’m looking forward to WoW too, but fuck waiting. That’s some lameass fanboy bullshit. If someone wants to jump into MMORPG’s and check out what they are all about, why should they wait for an unproven product to come onto the market?
Anyway, so what exactly are you looking for in your MMORPG? Are you looking for actual RolePlaying? Have you played D&D? MUDs? Do you play FPSs online? Do you want competition or cooperation? Are you looking for a social scene or do you just want to kill stuff with other people? How much time do you plan to spend playing?
EQ is mostly what you might expect of a fantasy RPG online as far as building a character and adventuring in an epic sword and sorcery world. There is a steep advancement curve, and as you get to later levels you mostly have to group with other people to advance. There is tons of content with a wide variety of locations and monsters and quests etc. The penalty for death is steep though so you need to be high enough level to see all the cool stuff. You really have to invest alot of time into it to get the most out of it. Lots of people playing but it’s an old playerbase and hard to break in as a noob, still there are lots of friendly players who will help you out if you are a social type. You might want to think about checking out DAoC also, less content but it is more noob friendly and also has PvP in the endgame if you want to fight against other people. AC was a good game but it’s over.
CoH is much more light-hearted and noob friendly…if you just want to jump in and goof off and have some fun without having to get too deep. Very light on content right now, but it just came out. MMORPGs are all about adding content as you go along. That’s why you pay monthly. EQ has been out for many years so it has lots of time to add up content. CoH sold well so hopefully they come quick and consistant with the updates. No PvP until a major update next year.
PlanetSide is what you want if you are into FPSs…which you say you aren’t. Unlike most RPGs you actually have to aim and shoot. And it is strictly against other people…no monsters to kill. You build up a character very quickly and it’s more like playing different classes in BF1942 than a normal single player RPG. Fun game but you need to be into the competitive online shooter scene.
No.
So I guess count my vote for CoH…if you are a noob you won’t really notice the lack of content. You will get your moneys worth with the first free month before you have to start paying monthly fees.
That’s exactly the worst approach possible. You should see what mmorpgs offer to you, as a new or different experience.
If I like DAoC and then I try Anarchy Online I won’t search for the same gameplay, I search for what special the other game has to offer me. And if I’ll like it depends on the personality of the mmorpg itself.
The time available, perhaps, is the only element that is worth the consideration.
That’s exactly the worst approach possible. You should see what mmorpgs offer to you, as a new or different experience.[/quote]
That might be the worst approach if you know the genre already, but how is a newbie supposed to know how to compare what the various MMORPGs offer? It makes sense to ask a newcomer to a genre what they’re looking for when they ask for recommendations.
If someone asked me about what driving game to get, I’d ask what they were looking for. If they just want to drive around, I’d point them to Midtown Madness, if they want street racing, Project Gotham, light racing, Mario Kart, simulation racing, Gran Turismo. But if I tell them to look at what each offers, they’re going to be lost. I assume, since you’re such a big MMO guy, that you might not be big into driving games, so play this little thought experiment out. Pretend you want to try a driving game to see what all the fuss is about. One game offers more courses, the other more customization options/performance tweaks. Which offers you the experience you want?
I’d just like to mention that City of Heroes is probably the most fun of the bunch that yo mentioned, IMO. Also, all three games are fighting-centric as you cannot progress in levels without fighting (and so any game with other “activities” is essentially to aid you in fighting). I’ve also found that crafting systems are essentially just time-wasting game-money sinks, and only give you marginal benefits over just spending that time fighting (the part that is generally more involved for the player, and less watch the progress bar over and over as you craft).
Opinions need time and dedication to be useful. At this point it’s better what Walt suggested. You need to try by yourself and read a lot. Without that you’ll never be able to have a decent idea of what you could like.
The best way, and still largely uneffective, is to read deep reviews about these games.
Pretend you want to try a driving game to see what all the fuss is about. One game offers more courses, the other more customization options/performance tweaks. Which offers you the experience you want?
I have played racing games, from MicroMachines to Gran Turismo. Again it’s the single game to stand out, not what it offers.
