In today’s MMO world there is a bunch of competition. Between pay2play games such as World of Warcraft, and Everquest 2 and free2play games like Archlord, and Dungeon Runners there just doesn’t seem to be much room left for the smaller, more indy, MMO games that get released. In fact most of the time they are so small that you never even knew that they existed. Quite sad really, but no matter, that is why we are here to help enlighten some of you who may be looking for an “off-game” to check out or just like reading about some new games.
Now, before I continue, a couple of these games (and they will be labelled as such) have not yet been released. They are very small indy games, and therefor hold no promise that they actually ever will get released. MMOCrunch is not vouching for them and if you opt into any sort of “pre-order” you are doing so with your own knowledge and caution.
Ok, sorry about that, I had to get the legal mumbo-jumbo out of the way. Onto the games:
- Exteel – Brought to you by NCSoft, Exteel is a new MMORPG-ish game that is based around mechs. “Gundam” type mechs to be more exact. The game is fast, free, and very fun for what it is. In a review by GameDaily, the newsite compared it more to Unreal Tournament than World of Warcraft, which is definitely a good thing for those of you who were looking for a more aggressive and furious game. Definitely something worth looking at.
- Lost Colony – This game looks very much to be a Planetside clone. However, that doesn’t necessarily make it a bad game. The creators are a start-up company called Red Planet who decided, after a few bad decisions in their favorite game (Planetside) to make their own MMOFPS game. The game may seem a bit rough on the egdes right now, but it’s also still in development. Something to keep an eye on for any MMOFPS fan in the crowd. (MMOCrunch does not guarentee this game will every be released)
- Force of Arms – This is another mech-based game, only it’s based on the more traditional mechs from the popular franchise: Mech Warrior. The game is being developed by a company called Wardog Studios. Promising mech customizability, a huge world full of PVP, and faction based combat the game is looking to be quite fun. For an indy developer they seem to have big big plans for their game. Also worth noting is that the game is to be set in a persistent world. Keep an eye on this one. (MMOCrunch does not guarentee this game will ever be released)
- Pirates of the Caribbean Online – Now, I know what you are thinking, “how can a Disney game be included in your list?” Well, to be honest, a lot of people don’t actually know about this game. It launched a couple months ago with very little fanfair and almost no advertising at all. The game is free2play, and just by that makes it worth at least a gander. Aside from being based in a Disney world, the game is actually pretty fun. For those who have no desire to pay for a pirate-based game such as Pirates of the Burning Sea, this game provides you an excellent free option.
So that’s it, well all I could find anyways. I’m sure that there are a multitude of MMORPGs out there that deserve attention but won’t get them. It’s a sad truth, but games that don’t have multi-billion dollar publishers usually don’t get any spotlight no matter how great they are. So, is there any game I left out?
I played eXteel for a while, and it was a pleasant diversion. However I do not see the game as having long-term potential as an MMO because it is difficult to turn a non-persistent-world FPS into a business model that provides consistent, player-generated income over time.
If you find yourself between games somehow, as I did recently, by all means give it a whirl. I predict you will enjoy it, but find it easy to put down. Also, few games have cried out so loudly for native voice support.