I sometimes feel like the discovery of this web site is what began my downward spiral of MMO gaming. Not only did it open my eyes up to so many new games that I tried them all and felt stale afterwards, but reading all of the stupid critiques about games makes me actually notice and be annoyed by the smallest things in game that I probably never would have noticed before.

While I used to just buy a game if it looked fun and play it, I now spend weeks researching every single game and engraining all of these shitty reviews and first impressions into my brain.

Its a love hate relationship. Ive come too far to stop using the site now. Im pretty much addicted to it haha. But sometimes I just wish I was an innocent gamer again that wasnt subjected to all the garbage I have to read on here (from posters not site admin)

I guess these forums have just made me too serious about games. Hell Id probably still be playing WoW and having a good time if It werent for these forums, which honestly would be better than not being able to enjoy any game at all.

I like this site a lot.

I usually dont read the post I think I'm not going to like. For example most of them about wow or the ones that sounds like trolling.

I read and post on the stuff I like in the forums too.

I tried tons of games here from the list, it was fun, I took tons of betas too.

So for me, mmorpg.com improved my mmorpg hobby. But I understand you. You should not let anyone tell you what to play, and in this forums there are a lot of members who like to tell you what you can or what you cannot play. Just dont read this stuff, they dont have a live and they dont want you to have one.

MMO sites have saved me countless amounts of $$$.

Reviewing and researching before buying goes a long way. :)

I think this site is digging its own grave by letting rabid haters troll the forums. Gaming companies might just not see the need to cooperate after having a few games ripped apart (justly or unjustly) on these forums, and then the site will not have any news to offer.

 I read a lot on these forums and I've been around long enough to know who's opinions to take to heart and who's to dismiss.  Many times I  think of MMORPG.com as kind of a game in itself.. albeit text based... and pointless.... but I've played MMOs with less entertainment value so as far as these forums are concerned I get my moneys worth.

The most important thing to remember is that the only persons opinion that matters when it comes to games is yours (or mine.... .... or perhaps I should have said "your own") .... Play whatever makes you happy and try everything that interests you...   Hello Kitty, here I come!

I like this site though it does sometimes seem slanted toward "old school".

However, I have my own mind and can make my own decisions. I never listen to what others say unless they say it well with solid arguments or explanations. And even then I usually "see for myself".

Originally posted by maskedweasel

The most important thing to remember is that the only persons opinion that matters when it comes to games is yours (or mine.... .... or perhaps I should have said "your own") .... Play whatever makes you happy and try everything that interests you...   Hello Kitty, here I come!

Thats exactly what I think also. Don't belive the hype, make up your own mind.

If I'm going to spend money on a game, I'd like to hear what people think about it. I do that with normal games as well, and to be honest, I care more about the problems people have with a game then the good things. I like to know what's wrong with a game so I'm prepared... the last thing I want is to be oblivious and buy a bad game.

MMORPG's crowd is a mix. Like another poster said, you learn who to listen to and who to ignore.

Ignorance is bliss aye.

Maybe your quest has yet to be rewarded. I doubt  "still playing WOW" would have been very rewarding!

not in mmos...

...but my hope in mankind.

/facepalm

I agree with the OP, it did the same for me. Also when I play a game everyone on here seems to hate but it is still fun for me, it makes me feel guilty for playing it and makes my friends not want to try it out.  Also for the trolling I ignore, but when people just complain about everything about a game or even talk up another game real big which I end up not finding that fun, such as WoW. Nothing against those who love WoW, it isn't for me. This site though also does advertise a lot of F2P games which I find ironic because the people on the forums generally do not like them and say comments like, just another asian grinder.. etc etc etc, which in my eyes every game has grind one way or another. I remember playing EQ back in the day and just sitting and waiting for grimrot or whatever his name to spawn, day after day after day, or better yet in UO sitting at the computer for hours double clicking a training dummy with a war hammer to increase my STR  before they had Macro programs. Which was considered cheating by some. So that was a boring grind lol So anyways I agree with the op, it ruined MMOs for me in one light and also after playing so many they all become the same just with a different theme/skin..

Dustin

 Didnt' ruin MMOs for me but it sure did make me realize how many dumbasses are out there. LOTS

Hum, ok, I was afriad the thread would just be a troll, but there is more to it so... here I am.

Ok, first you have to understand something about peer reviews.

It has become the ultimate advice. With the web 2.0, everyone can express their opinion, even poorly argumented. And because "they" are users and customers like us, we believe them more than ads, press releases, and articles by journalists who may after have been "bought" to write on that subject.

But like with "official" reviews, you have to keep some critical distance and not just believe everything at face value. So peer reviewers can be biased too. They can be can be bought by companies. They can even be emplyoees of a company in a "peer" disguise, so as to add cred to their enthusiasm aboutt he product.

We come back to what previous posters have said: you still need to use your own judgement, if only in who to believe and trust, and whose opinion to dismiss. Peer reviews can help get the feelings of like-minded people, it won't do te choosing for you in the end.

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Originally posted by maskedweasel
The most important thing to remember is that the only persons opinion that matters when it comes to games is yours (or mine.... .... or perhaps I should have said "your own") .... Play whatever makes you happy and try everything that interests you...   Hello Kitty, here I come!

---

This is what I think too. In the end, this site is a collection of people's opinions on various games. Some opinions are more thought out than others. Some are more logical than others. In the end, it's still just one person's opinion. If a game looks interesting to you and has a free trial, try it out! Don't let others decide for you which game you should play.

MMORPG.com has helped me more easily research and weed out some games. It's also introduced me to some games I had never heard of before. Forums always attract trolls, haters, fanboys and more, but the extra information available here outweighs the junk. For now at least.

 If I wasn't able to think for myself it might ruin my gaming experience.  However I possess the ability to form my own opinion based on personal experience rather then heresay from third parties.  Unfortunately that seems to be the minority as the large majority of people are like sheep who lazily feed on whatever garbage they get fed and take it as the truth.

Originally I came here as part of a Darkfall plot to raise their hype-meter. I've stayed long past my interest in Darkfall.

I like the site because it helps me to keep up with what is up and coming. It gives me a sort of Rotten Tomatoes/Metacritic overview of current and upcoming titles. Sure I may not agree with most of the reviews, opinions, whatever...but I can usually see where they are coming from.

I think the downfall of this site is that people keep hope that there will be something better around the corner. This sort of ruins the picture for that which has come before.

Ultimately, no one mmo will have every single one of your desired features.  You will always have some features that are turnoffs.  It comes down to you if you can live with the mechanics you dislike. 

That being said, most mmos today are mostly copies of each other with subtle differences.  When is the last time a real mmo (and no I do not see wow or its clones as a real mmo) launched?  You know, not one where everyone is max level in two months raiding the same two instances for two months until the next raid is released? (yes I'm exaggerating but you get my drift).  IMO, it's easy to find flaws in mmos right now because the *are* flawed in so many ways, not least of which is the striking lack of competition in the industry.  It's like choosing between vanilla ice cream cones with different toppings.  If you don't like vanilla much, then the toppings aren't really going to make you like one cone over the other.

OK, when I"m coming up with analogies about vanilla ice cream cones, I know it's time to take a break...

This site has introduced me to other MMOs that I may not have found on my own and personally I don't put much stock in the opinions of most posters on here. People who are enjoying a game have more reasons to not post than their counterpart so of course you will find more unhappy posts/threads. It's unfortunate that every disgruntled gamer feels like sharing their angst filled opinion, but you learn to ignore it if you know what's good for you. If you don't then you will never be happy playing a game or much in life if you let other people's opinions bother you that much.

I'm currently playing Wizard101, which is thought to be a kids game, and having a ball. Death school ftw!

 No not really but I do think I am over critical now which sucks to be honest. But I also have played some good stuff I wouldnt have otherwise because of this site as well.

 In short yes. 

To the OP:

Here's a perspective which may help.

It isn't mmorpg.com, it isn't mmo's, instead it is the forum posters at mmorpg.com

After spending less time reading and posting on forums, and using mmorpg mostly as a reference for its news, articles and links;  I realized that what I truly disliked were the type of gamers attracted to posting on this site - it has nothing to do with the site, nothing to do with the articles - its all about the idiot posters, who unfortunately dominate the forums. Some of those idiots are teens (explaining their self-centered inability to think oustide the box), some of them are anti-social RL failures who can become kings for a day by posting here, some of them are just plain assholes purposely trying to push peoples buttons. Occasionally, there is a decent poster, but unfortunately, there is very little mods can do to keep the discussion at an intelligent level - the price of democracy in action.

I saw the video of that lady calling the gay jew Barney Frank a Nazi and said to my wife "that reminds me of mmorpg's forums" ; when everyone has a voice, you realize most of the voices drown out the few that should be heard.

Now, when I read forums, it is mostly so my wife and I can laugh at how far from intelligent discourse most people really are; and I rarely respod and only if I'm feeling frisky.

I check the articles. And go days without even looking at the forums. I go a week or more between responses to posts - and guess what I'm enjoying my gaming as much as I did before discovering this site. And sometimes, I still click the 'x' to close the browser in disgust - but now its because I'm mad at myself for going to the forums instead being mad at mmo's.

Nah, I mainly use it to check out upcoming MMOs.  The people that post on these boards are the last people I'd take seriously when it comes to deciding if I'm going to purchase something or decide on an issue.  I think it's a great place to see what's coming up in the future though.

Originally posted by Aercus

I think this site is digging its own grave by letting rabid haters troll the forums. Gaming companies might just not see the need to cooperate after having a few games ripped apart (justly or unjustly) on these forums, and then the site will not have any news to offer.

So you would rather companies keep putting out crap just to make a quick buck and people ignorant to it because site's like MMORPG.com don't exist?

Mabye if enough games get trashed because of reviews developers will understand that they no longer can put out a rushed product and skate by to gross profitability.

I wan't  mediocre games to fail, and fail miserably. All this sifting through riff raff to find a diamond in the rough that dosen't exist is crazy. 

Originally posted by Ozreth

I sometimes feel like the discovery of this web site is what began my downward spiral of MMO gaming. Not only did it open my eyes up to so many new games that I tried them all and felt stale afterwards, but reading all of the stupid critiques about games makes me actually notice and be annoyed by the smallest things in game that I probably never would have noticed before.

While I used to just buy a game if it looked fun and play it, I now spend weeks researching every single game and engraining all of these shitty reviews and first impressions into my brain.

Its a love hate relationship. Ive come too far to stop using the site now. Im pretty much addicted to it haha. But sometimes I just wish I was an innocent gamer again that wasnt subjected to all the garbage I have to read on here (from posters not site admin)

I guess these forums have just made me too serious about games. Hell Id probably still be playing WoW and having a good time if It werent for these forums, which honestly would be better than not being able to enjoy any game at all.

This means you are improving in the game development field as an expert on MMORPGs when you begin to form strong opinions on games based on knowledge and experience of them.

Basically what this means is you are smarter.

If you have no intention to enter the field of game development then you can use your knowledge in other ways like to find the best games and play them. Don't just focus on MMORPGs try all games to figure out what type of games are the best and find out what type of gamer you are.

You might need to stop playing games if you have become so intelligent that every game bothers you. It's like being around your best friends in life for too long sometimes you just need a break from them because people aren't perfect either lol.

Otherwise keep it up and you will eventually set a new standards bar for the MMORPGs world to a new height.

This sight didn't ruin MMO's for me. It actually sparked my interest in the MMO I have been playing since Jan 07.

I had kind of given up on MMO's. I played AC1 for 4 yrs and loved it. I then tried WoW and got so bored within 3 months! Tried Vangaurd beta and my machine couldn't run it well. I tried WoW again and lasted 3 months again. Tried some free games and didn't like them.

I thought my online games days were over and that I must have outgrown this kind of thing. But, I kept coming to this site and checking out the beta news.

Then I saw a screenshot from the LOTRO beta on the MMORPG.com's front page. It was the prettiest freaking lil house in the Shire. I wasn't planning on trying that game because I REALLY hated the Tolkien books but when I saw the screen shot, I wanted to see the rest of that enchanting world. I applied for the beta in Dec of 2006 and have been playing in that beautiful world since.

So this site helped me to find the MMO that I currently love. When the day comes when I need to move on, I'll come back here again to find my next one:)

This site is very useful! I'm thankful it's here!