I’ll be splitting this into two posts: First one will be opinionated, and the second will be informative. For those who disagree or agree with what I have to say, feel free to post in the comments.

I should admit, I’ve been “brainwashed” by Blizzard in to thinking what an MMOG is, how it should play and which features it should have. However, I overcame this as soon as I fired up Fallen Earth.

In some respects it reminded me of All Points Bulletin in the sense that you are  given the basics of the game, and then there’s little infrastructure about what you should be doing next.

I want to point out what makes me so thrilled with this game: the pure bad-ass it makes you. I mean, look to the photo to the right. You can look like that in-game. You begin to customize your character with low-level items — which arm you want that armband on, and the one with the shoulder cloth.

Customization is furthered by an expanse weapon system.  Players can roll around the wasteland with six weapons on you at the same time; all of which are displayed on your character. The six weapon slots — two primary 2-handed melee/ranged weapons on your back, two one-handed melee/throwing weapons on your belt, then two one-handed guns — grants customization just based on what weapon you have placed where. Continue Reading

Single player RPGs are few and far in between these days. Even those RPGs that do come out, most now have online game play, which it seems is where gamers want to be. So what’s an RPG do? Unfortunately there isn’t much that can be done. The online revolution is in full swing and has been for some time. Gamers not only want an immersive storyline, but they want to be able to interact with real people while playing and single player RPGs just can’t deliver.

Since Microsoft launched Xbox Live on its console, casual non PC gamers have had the opportunity for the first time to game online with friends and more importantly strangers. With its success Sony has followed with online play and even Nintendo is joining in.

Not only does it seem that gamers want real interaction, but there really isn’t much incentive for studios to make a single player RPG. RPG’s are massive undertakings to create, requiring years of work by huge teams, unlike FPS where you can just pump out a sequel ever year. No, RPGs need characters with voices, thousands of quests, a crafting system, training systems, as well has dozens of cities and towns that all must seem to be alive. With all the work to create an RPG, why NOT make it a MMORPG, where you can generate a stream of revenue for years to come? There are still some very succesful single player RPGs out there, but I wonder how long will it be before they too cross over to become MMORPGs.

Before I begin with my list allow me, if you will, to explain that I am basing this entirely off the “cool” factor of the class. Any actual functionality or usability isn’t really taken into account. Not that we wouldn’t want to judge them based on that, but really, with the amount of changes that occurs in any given MMORPG these days, the same class today probably won’t be the same class tomorrow, ya know? So. . . ya. Enjoy!

Coming in at number 5: The Necromancer! As seen in Everquest, Everquest 2, Guild Wars, Diablo 2, etc. The Necromancer has always been one of the coolest classes to be introduced to any game, let alone an MMORPG. The ability to raise the dead and command them to slaughter and maim your enemies has thrilled millions for at least a decade in what can only be dozens of MMORPGs. Given it’s indescribable cool-factor I think it’s safe to say that it deserves our number 5 spot.

Coming in at number 4: The Paladin! As seen in Everquest 1/2, World of Warcraft, etc. Despite being almost the exact opposite of what the Necromancer is, the Paladin still holds it’s weight in “cool”. Being a badass warrior of light has plenty of perks that one can only dream of. Despite all this though, if you take away the magic, the name, and the mystique, they still wear some of the coolest armor ever designed. Seriously. . . what is it about Paladin’s and awesome-ly designed protective wear?

Coming in at number 3: The Rogue/Assassin! As seen in almost every MMORPG out there. The Rogue/Assassin is probably one of the most under-represented classes across the board. Developers usually neglect giving their clothing any sort of “flair” due to them being mostly invisible. Nobody really wants to be seen as a Rogue/Assassin anyways right? Despite being accessory handicapped the Rogue/Assassin makes up for it by having some of the coolest skills in the game. One needs only look as far as the “Backstab” or “Assassinate” skill to know how devilishly cool this class is.

Coming in at number 2: The Druid! As seen in Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, World of Warcraft, etc. The Druid is, by far, one of the coolest classes. Not because of their inherent hippy-like nature (haha I’m punny!) either. The main reason why Druid’s are so f-ing cool is because, most of the time, they can shape-shift into some badass creatures for the sole purpose of mauling their enemies. Who wants to shapeshift into a Were-Bear? That’s right. . . everybody does. Aside from that their easy-on-the-eyes nature motif for clothing doesn’t hurt either.

NUMBER ONE: The Priest/Cleric! Seriously, this class doesn’t get major “cool” points for their style, or their skills. No, no, no. This class gets our number 1 spot for one reason. They keep us the hell alive, and anybody who helps keep me alive is not only my best friend ever, but also very cool. So the next time you are out wandering around the MMO of your choice and you see a random Priest/Cleric happen by remember to stop, and admire how cool that guy must be, afterall, if has hasn’t saved your own ass today he has probably saved somebody elses.

So that’s it. Those are our top 5 classes. Of course, we have not put in any classes for games that have not yet been released. As much as I wanted to add a couple Age of Conan or Warhammer Online classes I felt that it just wouldn’t be fair to the already released games. Thanks for taking a few minutes to read this! I’d love to hear what your favorite class is!

Typically, when somebody thinks of the coined term MMO it is usually associated with the suffix RPG. It’s really not a huge surprise as the MMO genre is swamped with MMORPGs in a more generalized sense. Just this last year we have had over a dozen MMORPGs get released including Lord of the Rings Online, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, and Tabula Rasa. But what about the other games?

Believe it or not, MMO does not always have to end with RPG. Over the years, and coming within the next couple, are games that are striking beyond the traditional and are reaching for something else. Something that ends with strategy, or RTS, or FPS. Today, I bring you the top 5 MMO-alternatives list. Some of these were made years ago, and others have yet to be made. So, without further ado:

• 1. Planetside (SOE/MMOFPS)

Planetside was originally released in May of 2003 as an MMOFPS. Upon releasing the game was a graphical phenomenon, and most people’s computers ground to an abrubt halt. It suffered much of the same symptoms that Vanguard suffered which was unfortunate because, despite needing a beefy computer to play it, it was actually one of the funnest games I have ever played. Imagine being sent into a persistent world, with 3 factions, a dozen vehicles, and even more weapon/armor combinations. Now imagine that with 200 of your friends going up agianst 300 of the opposing faction and another 100 of the third faction. Sound fun? It was. The game was set in the future on an unknown world. Due to some “discrepencies” with the former government (Earth) the planet was quickly broken up into three factions. You chose one of these factions and fought in a never ending war with the other two. The battles were fast, large, and very explosive. Sometimes it would take upwards of 10 hours to take a single base. The game still exists today, but it has nowhere near the population of when it first launched. Still, if you are curious about this type of gameplay feel free to check it out HERE.

• Shattered Galaxy (KRU Interactive/MMORTS)

Shattered Galaxy may not have been the first MMORTS to appear on the market, but it is definitely the one that has gathered enough steam to make it into the big leagues. It doesn’t hurt that it also happens to be one of the best MMORTS games out there (IGN and GameSpot reviewed it with an 80). In anycase, Shattered Galaxy, as you can imagine, is a scifi RTS game that allows you to wage war with different players or a mysterious alien entity. You start the game out as a character of your choice (choose a nation) and are able to up to own 48 units. You then use these units to pound the smack out of anybody who wants to oppose you. The game stresses tactics above all else and, although there is a resource model to the gameplay, it doesn’t appear to be to strenuous. Anybody looking for an MMORTS should definitely check this one out HERE.

• Huxley (Webzen/MMOFPS)

Being developed by Webzen comes Huxley, the supposed next generation of MMOFPS gaming. There isn’t too much to go off for this game, yet, except for the fact that the world is persistent, will run off the Unreal Engine 3, and will support at least 100-man battles. Sounds kind of neat, but it comes nowhere near the expectations that Planetside has already set. According to the website, the game takes place in a post-apocolyptic future where humans have mutated into two opposing races: the Sapiens, and Alternatives. The game sounds very promising though and is something you’ll probably want to keep track of if fast, furious MMOFPS gaming is your thing. Check it out HERE.

• All Points Bulletin (Realtime Worlds/MMO-GTAish)

So what does the guy who created both the GTA franchise and the hilariously fun Crackdown develop next? An MMO version of the two combined. That’s right, Realtime Worlds is in development of an open world MMOGTA-style game called All Points Bulletin. There isn’t much known about the game yet except that it will grace the Xbox 360. In addition to that, the game is promising awesome cops vs robbers styled gameplay where the player can choose to be a part of either one of those organizations. Can anybody else imagine the awesome car chases? The game is promised to be released next year so if this sort of thing interests you head on over to the website. Check it out HERE.

• Heroes of Might and Magic Kingdoms (Ubisoft/Strategy)

Just announced today, Ubisoft has promised that it’s next foray into the Might and Magic universe will be a bit of a departure from their usual action, and singleplayer strategy games. Coming next year, the company will launch a browser based MMO-strategy Heroes of Might and Magic. Now, anybody who has ever played any of these games will tell you what you can expect: multiple kingdoms (classes), wide variety of troops, and city building. All in all the games were a heck of a lot of fun, and it more than peeks my interest that the next iteration is promised to be an MMO. Not much else is known, but check out the article HERE.

So concludes our list of MMO alternatives. A lot of people may wonder: well what about this game, or that game. Well let us know about em! I assure you if we left out a game then it is either because we didn’t like it as much as the above, or we simply did not know about it. It’s a big big MMO world out there. Thanks for reading.