1) DarkSpace
2) GuildWars
3) Everquest
4) WarHammer Online
5) Tabula Rasa

Reasons:

DarkSpace
I have been involved with this title for a number of years now, starting out as a newbie like everyone else, and ending up as one of the main developers and senior GM's. Obviously I love the game and the community, even though (like any title) it has it's share of issues.

GuildWars
This game and it's development team deserve a lot of respect. For PvP it is probably one of the most balanced games out there, and has forced WoW to adapt. I loved the storyline for Prophecies, and have great memories of the early beta days, and the adrenaline rush to complete the Krytan missions before the beta's ended. I don't play it any more, mainly because they started pushing grind (titles, heroes, armor) and that offers no fun for me.

Everquest
This is the first MMO that I ever played, and I lost 6 months of my life to it with leading a guild and the general social aspects.

Warhammer Online
I have played this for a couple of months, although it has lost it's attraction to me, mainly because I am stuck on EU servers, and most of my friends are on the US servers. The PvP sieges are quite good and now have some half-decent rewards, although this was not true in the early days. I like how quests give a general area to go to, and not a precise location. The concept and overall design is good, although some of the feature implementations are questionable, to say the least. Scenarios... need I say more?

Tabula Rasa
Plagued with overambitious system requirements on release, a plethora of bugs, and many other problems, I actually liked this title. The combat system was a refreshing change from other MMO's, and I think this was actually very well done. I also liked some of the CP area's and concepts. However, it did lack for content after the first few zones, and the actual character progress felt very limited, with little replay value for creating a new character.

Anyway, that's my two cents (and then some).

P.S. Wizard101 deserves an honorable mention. It is a great game concept that is well designed. It pretty much nails it's target audience. I also know that Kingsisle are working on another project, although what exactly I haven't been able to fathom as yet. It is certainly a company to keep an eye on.

 IMO:

1) Star Wars Pre NGE: Hands down the most in PVP I have had. From guild wars to servers, the pvp was just way more fun than any other game I have played (including wow)  Too bad NGE killed it for me.

2) WOW: The game itself is just addicting, No game I have played even comes close PVE wise to WOW, (this includes EQ2). At least for me, WOW was much more in PVE, the pvp in wow is good, you have fun but after grinding in PVE and PVP, the game becomes a job, so I quit.

3)  Lotro:  The game is beautiful, love it.

4) EQ2: Great classes but the pve never kept me in it for more than 2 months.

5) War: Love the scenarios, hate the PVE

Big Dissapointment:

AOC: Great Concept, BAD, VERY BAD execution of a game.  Leveled to 80 and quit the next day out of boredome, you can only do Kesh so many times.

Wind

(1) City of Heroes/Villians: Nearly four years of paid time.  There has yet to be a game that captures the fun yet fast paced game play.  Tried to leave it for WoW and couldn't get over how much Sloooower everything felt.  Vibrant RP community and flashy powers.  Best character creator bar none.

(2) Shadowbane: Still among the best PvP games out there.  Yeah, it had some glaring faults, but it was hellishly fun to play when you had hundreds in a siege.  When it had a decent population, it was terrific fun.

(3) Asherons Call 2: Creative, fun, and great to explore until you level capped.  Then it got slow dull and grindy, but it was one of my favorite trips up the leveling scale.  More fantasy games need to get away from the elf/dwarf/halfling tolkienesque route.

(4) Guild Wars: They figured out how to balanced PvP.  Skill capping was grindy when I played, but you can't beat the price and the fun.  Good amount of PvE to balance PvP combat.

Sadly I have yet to enjoy another game long term

Honorable mention:

(1) Pirates of the Burning Sea: Best combat system in a game with the worst implementation of a world yet.  They really have the ship to ship thing down pat.  It's engaging and fun.  The economy and econimics of PvP... well not so much.  Is great fun to sail, has some good content to go through once.  Could really use someone to figure out the balance of PvP / Risk as well as putting in something to balance out the inevitable ganking.  Port battles were a lot of fun.

What a great read!! Thanks for sharing your experiences, guys :) 

1. World of Warcraft - hands down the best all around experience I've had playing MMORPG's

2.  CoH/V -  Seriously thinking about resubbing to this game until the next super hero game is released.

3.  Everquest 2 - I liked it, just think I got into too far after the release.  I'm sure if I had played earlier I would have enjoyed more.

4. Linksrealm - pretty cool sandbox game in it's beta.  Highly addictive so far so good.

5.  Pirates of the Carribean - Other MMORPG I played with my wife besides WoW.  Sentimental value is the primary reason.

My top 5 MMo's of all time:

1. FFXI - I played this game WAY to much lol, not sure why I enjoyed it so much, Was one the first mmos I played.

2. DAOC: I loved the pvp in this game, played it for a few years.

3.WOW: Last month I left the game because it was an addiction. Been playing since it first came out.

4. Vanguard: I know alot of people hate this game but I get a sense of exploration when playing it. I feel I can play this game at my own pace without being rushed like I was in wow. Still has alot of bugs though.

5: A tie between PlanetSide and COH: Loved Planetside back in the day, and playing as a super hero is fun as well.

To bad I dont really enjoy to many mmo's now though, guess I am getting old  = (

Originally posted by miagisan

#1) Pre-NGE SWG....though long gone, still my favorite.

#2) EVE - harsh, unforgiving universe, TOTAL sandbox, do whatever you want any way you want, beautiful graphics, amazing dev support

#3) LOTRO - Beautiful graphics, amazing storyline and quests, though linear, it is very immersive

#4) Everquest 2 - Great PVE, tons of different classes, never run out of things to do in that game between quests, achievements, exploration, housing, etc

#5) WAR - while lacking in many departments, especially PVE, the pvp is fun and addictive.

 

My top 5 list in order.

eve's not a total sandbox you can never leave your ship or explore the worlds that you travel by.

1. FFXI - if only this game had a quest based leveling system, I would never have left.

2. WoW - if only this game would grow horizontally and not just vertically.

3. EQ2 - if only this game would mirror FFXI and LOTRO when it comes to delivering story.

4. WAR - if only this game would have the "world" feel of the above 3 games.

5. LOTRO - Currently playing this, updates and expansions make this game shine above all others, that and it is like running around in a bunch of top of the line paintings(a good thing).

Hopefully this year will give me 2 to replace EQ2 and WAR, like STO and STOR

1. FFXI - Great game and great community. The best part of the long journey is playing it with your friends and linkshell mates.

2. Guild Wars - Still playing after 3+ years. Missions, dungeons and the lore of the game is one of the best. Guild Wars 2 can't get here fast enough.

3. WOW - Fun game but it isn't for everyone. The problem is that Blizzard totally ignored the original lands after BC, now the old areas are nothing but a ghost town and unfriendly to new players.

4. Warhammer Online - Recently resubbed and enjoying all the fixes and improvements Mythic has made but it still has a ways to go.

5. Lord of the Rings Online - Other than the game having book quests as a storyline I saw this being no different than WOW. The game is a good alternative if you haven't played WOW.

1. Vanguard

2. Conan

3. LOTRO

4. EQ II

5. WoW

Best MMOs for me at the time are/were:

1 UO, to be fair its easy to be the best when you're the only show in town.

2 EQ, held my attention for a good long time.

3 AC2, in many ways ahead of its time and not ready for prime time but still a blast.

4 CoX, another insta hit for me and the first game still on my current best list.

5 WoW, can't bring myself to log in any more but great while it lasted.

Best currently available MMOs:

1 CoX, still my favorite go to game, never a shortage of people or invites.

2 LotRO, pretty much my WoW replacement, different but still fun for many of the same reasons.

3 WAR, not for everyone and still a work in progress but fun none the less

4 EQ2, granted its a game that just can't seem to decide what it wants to be but when its what I like... its great.

5 AoC good for many of the reasons CoX is but fantasy based and more explorish than EQ2/WAR.

There are a few betas I am participating in that will knock some off the Top 5 but for now... that's what it is.  But then again I only sub to my favorite fantasy and superhero MMO at once so not being #1 kind of means being number 5 may as well be #99 ;)

In the last 12 years of playing MMORPG'S I have only played 4 games.

1) SWG pre cu  (I loved the crafting system and actually met the guy who created i at a EA focus group. t gave him a hug)

2) Warhammer Online (The pvp/rvr is fun and this is coming from someone that is a crafter at heart)

3) Ultima Online  (This was my first MMORG and actually Grand Mastered Lumberjack when you had ro cut wood to gain skill points)

4) Wow (I loved playing my twink Gnome Warlock in the 10-19 wsg.  I had a fetish about turning Tauren Warrior flag carriers into Leaper Gnomes.  Also loved the fishing in the game)

If you count Xbox live games as well, Slip Mech Assault 1 between warhammer in UO.  (I loved playing an atlas in Not It.  Knock them down with the autocannons and give them a purple entima.  I actually knocked down 2 mechs one time with 1 shot)

Ragnarok Online.. the game has so much charm. I still sometimed dl it and play for a few hours. besides it was my first mmo.

Lineage II The music, graphics and world design.. I loved this game so much. Never got high lvl thou, The classes felt too boring.

Guild Wars If only L2 had classes and combat like this one. GW is propably my favpourite mmo ever. I love almost everything ahbout it.

FF XI I couldn't get into it but this year I tried it for the 4th time and I'm amazed. It's not a game.. It's world, so big and interesting to explore. besides the community is simply amazing, the best i've ever seen.

Atlantica Online.. I ,like this game. I was surprissed how good it is. It actually doesn't feel for me like an old school ff game. I feels more like HoMM for me and I like it =]

As more people respond you see some simularities and some differnices in what is liked. This is good. Keep it up ya'll.

Originally posted by Frostbite05

Originally posted by miagisan

 Length edit By PAULSCOTT

 

eve's not a total sandbox you can never leave your ship or explore the worlds that you travel by.

No other game is a total sandbox because you can't go into a spaceship and fly to different planets.

Looks like LotRO is the most highly regarded game out at the moment.  Must try it...

Originally posted by Apocamentus

Looks like LotRO is the most highly regarded game out at the moment.  Must try it...

Now what did you think of it? 

1) EQ2

Played at launch and stayed with the game for about 2 years.  I started late on MMO's and this was my first one really.  Loved the graphics, collection, crafting.  Also liked the out of game statistics, got a world first on a quest once

2) Eve

Played for 3 years, not from launch.  Love that the game is on a single server and actions of individuals can affect the game as a whole.  Actual risk of loosing stuff.  Great economy.

That's it.  I haven't played any other MMO's past first 30 days or free trial.

1. SWG - Pre CU was and always be my favorite, I grinded for jedi and got it pre cu, which was so exciting when the slot did  unlock.

2. DAoC - One of my first mmo's. I was an alt junky in this game, so many fun classes to choose from, not to mention the fun RvR.

3. Everquest 2 - Again many fun classes to choose from, lots of lore and exploration to be had.

4. Ragnarok Online - I was in the alpha/beta of this game way back in 1999. Brings back memories and made tons of friends in this game. I revisit it from time to time just because it was my first pc MMO.

5. Phantasy Star Online for the Dreamcast - This is what got me into playing MMO's.

1) EVE Online, only game that keeps me coming back. It is without a doubt the deepest RPG out.

2) LOTRO, a wonderful job of bringing Tolken to life.

3) COH, superheroes are almost as cool as space

no other MMO kept my interest beyond their trial.

Lineage 2 - The first and the only mmorpg that i played very long and that has the best pvp system ever created and so much drama. Unfourtanelly the bot problem is to high and i dont play it anymore

World of Warcaft. Well played it at the release was a pretty cool mmorpg as a warcraft fan, but after 3 or4 months when i got high lv so the endgame and no pvp and like everywhere the instance and the horrible decission to make it a faction game i never ever played it again.

All other mmorpgs i have played count survive the free test month :O

Originally posted by Quizzical

1.  Guild Wars

Take the common problems with typical MMORPGs (PvP dominated by level/gear, too much time running back and forth, large blocks of real-life time required, lengthy downtime between battles, combat where you spam only a few skills, a major pain or even impossible to respec, can't find a good group, patches are a pain, narrow level ranges to do content, subdivided playerbase so you can't play with most people, too long to level alts, heavily grindy endgame, incoherent storyline, mobs respawn on top of you, kill stealing, ninja looting, aggro system, gold farmer harassment, etc.), and fix nearly all of them.  In a single game.  And without creating a bunch of other glaring problems to compensate.  For a game to manage to do that is extremely rare.

2.  Infantry

Far and away the best PvP ever made, at least in its heyday from late 2000 through early 2002.  PvP is won neither by higher levels, better gear, nor superior numbers.  It's also the nearest to being completely bug-free that I've seen in a commercial online game.  Seriously:  it was more polished than WoW.  It's an MMO, but it's not an MMORPG.  I don't care.  It was a great game.

3.  A Tale in the Desert

The gold standard for crafting.  Your character could learn how to be really good at everything, but you can't, because you lack the player skills.  There simply isn't time for one single player to properly learn how to do everything, even if he were to be able to buy a character off Ebay with all skills maxed.  It's that deep.

4.  Puzzle Pirates

It's all player skill, not character skill.  It has a good trading system and a reasonably deep economy.  The various puzzles for crafting and ship operation add a good deal of variety to the game.

5.  Wizard101

Do one thing, and do it well.  That's better than doing a lot of things, and being mediocre at all of them.  The turn-based combat is deeper than you'd expect, and the game tries very hard to avoid grinding.  You know how in some games, when you need to get some particular drop for a quest, and it can take dozens of mobs to get it?  Wizard101 says, well, you've killed 8 and it hasn't dropped for you yet, so we'll just say that the eighth mob did, indeed, drop what you were after.

I love your right up on Guildwars.  It's so true.  I loved the PvP for those reasons.  Shame it just doesn't have the imersion as other MMOs.

Havne't tried it yet.  I have the trial of Vanguard installed right now so I reckon I'll let that run out first.

 1. LOTRO - Currently playing this game and really enjoying it.  Storyline is pretty good, zones are fun.  I enjoying the crafting and the fact that player made things are useful.  Legendary weapon system is fun to mess around with.  Can't wait to get a first or second age weapon.

2. CoX -  Beta tested and played for a couple years before my break.  I like the combat and different archtypes and the way the powers interact.  The character creation is flexible and fun to tinker with.  One of my favorites that I will eventually return to again because I still have a couple characters I want to finish leveling.

3. EQ - My first MMO and one I enjoyed for about 3.5 years.  World is huge and there is a lot to do and at the time I played, almost direction given to the players.   Very much an explorer's game to start with.  However the game was so group dependent that there were only a couple of character classes that could do anything on their own.  Eventually the time sinks and need to find a group made me give it up. 

4. Wizard 101 - Amazingly fun game.  Combat is card based and building the different decks is a blast.  Graphics are really cute and fits the backstory pretty well.

5. EQII - Nice graphics, interesting character classes but even after a year and half of playing I just could not get used to the differences between EQ and EQII classes.

EVE Online - have 2 subs but not really playing anymore.  However the game in scale and complexity can't be matched

AoC - Started off rough but now I am finding myself playing it more than anything else.  The mature content, skill and fatalities make this game gritty and it feels like the first grown up fantasy game I have played.

Jumpgate - By far the worst graphics out of all 3 but the community and the twitch combat make this game my third choice.  I have never played another MMO that gave me such an adrenalin rush.  Flying a space ship manually with zero G's and trying to fire manual missiles at another player sum it up.

Vanguard - So much promise.  I played with mates and we had a great time however the lack of players at the time made me quit.

Earth & Beyond - my first MMO and you always have a soft spot for it.  Never understood animals flying in space but the game had some great elements and its sad it was shut down.