An in-depth look at new online games in the MMO genre

An in-depth look at new online games in the MMO genre

The MMO genre has come under fire lately for what many consider lackluster titles and boring gameplay, with even established giants like WoW taking some major hits to their player base (declining subscriptions). As agen bandarqq players flock back to older, more engaging games like Diablo 3, developers are scrambling to make sure they don’t fall behind. The result of this panic is a wave of new MMO’s that seem to be hitting the market once every few weeks. This article will investigate these games and judge whether or not they’re worth your time or if they’re just trying to cash in on the latest trend.

Ryzom

Probably one of the most successful indie MMOs around, Ryzom is a 3D, free-to-play fantasy MMO with a unique backstory and a small but dedicated player base. The game has been around for over seven years now but it still manages to get attention from developers and players alike. It features open-world PvP, raised dungeons, crafting. the whole nine yards. The controls are fairly standard for an MMORPG, using WASD camera controls and your mouse for skills/targeting – there’s nothing really revolutionary about them though they do feel somewhat sluggish at times. Ryzom does have some great visuals that set it apart from other MMOs. The night skybox in particular is one of the best I’ve seen in any MMO, featuring accurate constellations and a beautifully rendered sun all in glorious high definition. The game offers full voice acting and it’s quite good – the characters feel lively and there’s just something charming about them that you can’t really put your finger on.

As far as gameplay goes, Ryzom is an open-ended MMO with a few linear quests thrown in to keep players occupied between PvE dungeon runs. To me, this seems like it could be interesting or tedious depending on the person playing the game. I personally enjoy this kind of open-world play but many people are turned away by little story content or too much traveling around. PvE dungeons are fairly challenging for smaller groups since all enemies’ spawn simultaneously giving your party very little time to spread out before engaging in combat which can lead to some pretty epic wipeouts. That said, Ryzom features a battle system that’s truly one of a kind and I’ve never seen anything like it before in any other MMO: When you engage an enemy, the game turns into something like a third-person shooter where you aim and fire at your target. This gives battles almost an action-oriented feel to them; even very low-level mobs hit pretty hard and there’s no auto-targeting or typical MMORPG attacking.

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