I've been chasing the Roadrunner (the perfect MMORPG) since I started playin UO in 1997.   The perfect MMORPG seems to elude me at every try. 

I know it is impossible for one game to have it all for everyone but I think the perfect game would have a lot for a lot of different elements for many players.  I have played to  more than the beginners stage in a few MMOs; UO, SWG, L2, EQ2, AOC, and Aion.   The ones I've tried and quit before lvl 10 would be just about any MMO that ever offered a free trial or free to play.  So from all of the games I've played here is my review/grade for the 3 I have enjoyed the most.  I would have included SWG but as it is now defunct there is no point.

MY TOP 3:

UO:   (from what I remember of 10 years ago)

Graphics:  C-   Not the best graphics but almost any computer can run it.

PvP:  C-  The interface was ok but after Trammel pvp was pretty non- existent.

PvE:  B+ Easy enough.

Quest:  B-  Ok but no real rewards.

Adventuring:  A+  Tame animals, Ride a horse, mining, sail a boat, build a house, pve, and pvp.

Crafting:  A -   There is a purpose and enough of a challenge to make it fun.

Trade/Selling:  B- You have to search to find what you want to buy as there are no central vendors.  Selling things require setting up a vendor and hoping the right buyer comes along.

Housing:  A+ Customization and variety is only limited to your imagination.

Raiding:  B+  As I remember it was easy to join a raid not hard to complete although I don't remember the rewards as being great.

Leveling:  C+ A real grindfest to level any skill.

Final Grade:  84 (B)

================

AOC:

Graphics:  A+  Only real life looks better.

PvP:  A-  The pvp interface is good but with the current population you are limited to pvp mini games.

PvE:  A+  The AOC Combat system makes PvE a lot of fun.

Quest: B- Ok but no real rewards.

Adventuring: A-  Ride a horse, ride a number of different animals, pve, and pvp.

Crafting: C - There is little purpose and little of a challenge to make it fun.

Trade/Selling: A-   Central vendors make buying and Selling things easy.

Housing: F   Not available.

Raiding: C+  To make it worthwhile you must be the member of a big and organized guild.  Even then be prepared to set aside a specific 2-3 hours of time.  An upper tier raid doesn't take 3 hours but by the time you join and wait for everyone else then a lot of dead time has passed.  Then to get anything of value you need to be either very very lucky or a good buddy of the the raid leader.

Leveling: A-  Fun and easy enough without a lot of grinding.  Leveling is easy itt's the raiding to get good gear in AOC that can become frustrating. 

Final Grade: 78 (C+)

============

Aion:  (newbie)

Graphics: A- Not AOC but I can live with it.

PvP: B+ I haven't actually tried pvp in Aion yet but I'll assume it will be comparable to PvE.

PvE: B+ Easy enough.

Quest: B- Ok but no real rewards.  It seems to be more about a requirement to level.

Adventuring: A- Ride a horse (i think), mining, flying, build a house, pve, and pvp.

Crafting: C- There doesn't seem to be much of a purpose.

Trade/Selling: B- You have to search to find what you want to buy as there are no central vendors. Selling things require setting up a vendor and hoping the right buyer comes along.

Housing: B+  From what I see there is some variety.

Raiding: B+  I haven't tied it yet.  This grade if from what I hear from others.

Leveling: A-   So far it doesn't seem too bad.  It looks like as in AOC the acquiring gear is more of an issue then getting to max level.

Final Grade: 88 (B+)

So there you have my grades for the 3 games I currently see as the top 3 MMORPGs currently available.

Aion - B+

UO - B

AOC - C+

I will continue to chase the elusive Roadrunner and have some high hopes for some of the games on the horizon:

Archage, Repopulation, and Greed Monger.   I can't wait to try them!

Wyli E. Coyote

Get ready for falling anvils...

There is no question here lol

Are you asking if all of us are doing the same - you know we are.

I'm one of those nutzos that are going a step further and making my own game - guarantEEd satisfaction.

To wrap it up, here is a song because this post just looks short for me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k3GTW3ecvo

Everyone get up and dance, boys imitate girls for best effect if someone walks in on you.

I laughed at the mental image of the thread title. I feel just like the coyote, every time I go chasing after my ideal MMORPG, an anvil or safe falls out of the sky and pounds me into the ground.

Originally posted by Kyleran

I laughed at the mental image of the thread title. I feel just like the coyote, every time I go chasing after my ideal MMORPG, an anvil or safe falls out of the sky and pounds me into the ground.

 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQEsbLORkNo

To catch a roadrunner you need to get a faster roadrunner.

This'll do...

I chased this mythical creature for a few years, I eventually came to the conclusion nothing was ever gonna live up to my nostalgia and honeymoon of Asheron's Call.

These days I just look for:

• Good engine
• Good combat
• Good design (dungeons, loot, questing, world etc)
• Regular content updates

Originally posted by SuperNick

I chased this mythical creature for a few years, I eventually came to the conclusion nothing was ever gonna live up to my nostalgia and honeymoon of Asheron's Call.

These days I just look for:

• Good engine
• Good combat
• Good design (dungeons, loot, questing, world etc)
• Regular content updates

Sadly I never seem to get all of these lately, hence why i'm pretty dismayed with the whole genre, as a lot of people are.

 

Sure, TERA has a great engine and combat but its design kinda sucks. The content updates are even worse.

GW2 has a great engine and some OK design but the content, trinityless system and content updates leave a lot to be desired.

SWTOR had cool design and regular content updates but the engine and combat were horrendous.

 

I find myself returning to WoW still because it delivers on all of those points to an average degree.

 

Generally I feel like these companies should start focusing on returning to the fun of MMOs instead of trying to revolutionize the industry somehow.

I personally believe none of that you ask for will please you. It's all about mindset. Yours as well as most people here on this site, have a different mindset than they had 7years ago about MMO, no matter how much free time you have on your hands. 

I have more free time on my hands than I did back in school when I use to play WoW. So why is it that I play MMO's less than back then? For me, it's all about what I look at as filler content, and what I look at as fun content.

mmos have never been designed around fun in the modern age. MMO have got away with it, because it was new to most people.

now days people have enough experience in a MMO to know what's BS and what's not, once they get there hands on it for a good enough time after hype fades off. And people aren't going to stick around coughing up 15$ a month for BS. DDO tried to sell a CORPG for a sub fee on people. Lol. Developers still have a conservative mindset that isn't in touch with players, since most developers are vet players themselves, who are chasing a thing of the past. It's like Nike corps trying to make Jordan's from years and years ago, but instead with consumers that have a mindset change.

You tried very few games in comparison to the average MMORPG cynic.