2008 Reader's Choice Awards: Most Anticipated Game for 2009
Today, we continue with our nominee announcements for the 2008 MMORPG.com Reader's Choice Awards with our Most Anticipated Game category. Here, readers will vote for their most eagerly anticipated game with an expected 2009 release date.
The Most Anticipated Game category is always one of the most popular in our Reader’s Choice Awards because it gives players a chance to think about what’s coming down the line, especially when they are disappointed with the crop from the year before.
This category, above all of the others, often makes it difficult for the editorial staff to come up with just six nominees, especially this year where the field of soon-to-be-released games is so thick with different kinds of games. So, in the end, we’ve decided to provide you with a slightly larger group of eight nominees.
In order to qualify for a nomination this time around, the game has to have an expected launch date in 2009. We don’t do this out of malice, because we know that anything can happen within a game’s development cycle and while we’re just as excited about some of the recently announced MMOs are you are, we had to somehow limit the field.
AION: The Tower of Eternity
This upcoming high-fantasy MMO from NCsoft has some of the most hype surrounding its inevitable launch. On top of some very interesting gameplay features and lore, this game boasts spectacular graphics, the Player vs Player vs. Environment system and the ability to fight while airborne.
Champions Online
This super-hero based MMORPG is being seen by many as Cryptic Studios’ follow-up to their first caped do-gooder MMO, City of Heroes (now owned by NCsoft). This game, risen from the ashes of an earlier Marvel Comics based MMO, is based on a pen and paper franchise IP and, along with its interesting list of new gameplay feature and an interesting comic book art style, hopes to set new precedents in the world of character creation and customization.
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The Chronicles of Spellborn
Before we get a pile of emails telling us that The Chronicles of Spellborn has already released in parts of Europe… We know. The decision to include the game in this nomination set was made because the game has yet to launch in the North American market and has launched so recently elsewhere that it would be unfair to put it in the best new game category. The Chronicles of Spellborn is based in a world that has been literally torn apart by powerful forces. Players in the world will be introduced to a brand-new twitch combat system unlike anything that they have seen in other MMOs, engaging PvP, a unique art style and a design concept that relies on the players’ wits rather than “hand-holding” mechanics.
Darkfall
Word of this game’s launch has been eagerly awaited by both fans and detractors of the game alike and may currently have the most player hype surrounding it of all of our nominated titles. This sandbox-style MMORPG promises to let players interact with the game world in a way that many have felt was missing from their experiences with more recent MMORPGs. Some have high hopes that Darkfall with re-revolutionize the way that we think about MMORPG games.
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Earthrise
This upcoming futuristic MMORPG takes place in the aftermath of the Third World War where few humans remain and high technology becomes very important to the survivors. This game will make use of a malleable faction system (you can choose your faction and then later, choose to go another way), offline progression, no class restrictions, twitch combat and more. While we are still learning about this upcoming MMORPG and how it will be put together, many players have the high hopes for this game that lands it a spot in our nominations for Most Anticipated game.
Jumpgate Evolution
This upcoming game, from NetDevil, is a follow-up to the company’s original space-based MMO, Jumpgate. This new version promises to engage players with thrilling dog fights, exceptional graphics, massive ship battles, a mission generation system that promises to create “thousands of fresh and immersive missions for players to embark on.”
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Runes of Magic
Runes of Magic is the only representative from the free-to-play (item mall) genre of MMOs to make our Most Anticipated list this year. Impressive support for this game has landed it with an 8.42 anticipation rating from our users. The game itself promises a dual class system, server vs. server PvP, “individually developed sills and spells”, a very nice looking 3D world and more!
Stargate Worlds
Based on the popular Stargate IP that produced a movie and two television shows which ran for 15 years combined, this upcoming MMORPG promises to engage fans with their favourite universe. Stargate Worlds itself is based on a ranged combat system (mostly guns) which makes use of cover, positioning, and enemy AI to create challenges for the players. The game also boasts a mini-game system (meant to replicate non-combat areas of the franchise), the ability for at least one character class to disguise itself, stealth and many more interesting features that have garnered it a place on our nominees list.
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Ganna be a long year for mmo's not one of those titles stand out really , guess i'll be still playing eveonline for years to come.
Sorry, can't vote, since Fallen Earth is not on the list.
Wow, this is just like the best developer "poll"... you really hate SOE, huh?
My most anticipated games for 2009 are as follows:
#1) The Agency (I don't even like shooters, but I LOVE the concept of this game)
#2) Champions Online / DC Universe Online - tied until I learn more about both
At least one of my 3 made your mind-boggling list, but still not good enough to get me to cast a vote.
Aion got my vote, but I'm also very interested in seeing how DF turns out. Lots of scifi games coming too. That'll be great for a change.
I really liked City of Heroes and played it for a couple of years until I burnt out on it. I'm hoping Champions will take the super hero mmo to the next level as well.
Here's hoping 2009 will be better than that last few years in terms of quality MMO releases.
I, too, would have voted for Fallen Earth -- only it's not on the list. :(
The rest, well, meh.
The only MMOs in development that interest me -- STO, SWTOR, and GW2 -- won't be out in 2009, unfortunately.
darkfall then aion
(x) Next LotRO expansion
The Agency - We have no release date on this as of yet and we have no reason to expect it in 2009
DC Universe - Last we heard, it was slated for an early 2010 release and does not qualify for nomination.
No sheep votes please....LOTRO is never "anticipated".
But, I agree with the first poster...nothing here "shines"
Aion has some big buck production quality, Darkfall though has the "ooo, is it gonna be awesome or a big fail"...Darkfall I think is my pick due to the train wreck that I believe will happen on release...(I smell Dark and Light here)
Considering how badly things are going for SOE right now it is a wonder they are still in business. I think you will see changes in the upper management of SOE if the new titles don't achieve the success they anticipate.
Since Smedley is aiming for the console market along with a game store approach for their new titles I think a lot of people that play MMO's are generally not very excited about any of their new titles. Console compatible games tend to be very dumbed down for controller use, developers won't force a console user to use a keyboard/mouse. Many of us don't like games where you can buy your way to the top either.
As to the poll, I thought about Darkfall, but since we really know absolutely nothing about the game other than it exists I had to go with Aion. Tasos's arrogant attitude does not help Darkfall either.
I don't really play MMO's all that much anymore but I do like to visit the forums from time to time. I've heard of darkfall forever so I just want to see what that ones like.
Earthrise, because TCoS already got released in Holland.
If it wasn't.. probally still Earthrise, because I like the concept alot. But absolutly not DF. Piece of vaporware. I am pretty damn sure that the game won't make january 22th. If it will be, you are allowed to PM me, and I will publicly apologize to all the DF fanboi's.
Quote it if you want, what ever.
Did I just steal the thread?
There are actually only two games I am anticipating: Spellborn and the yet to be officitally announced Superstition Studios' Deadlands MMORPG.
Likewise!
I’m not eagerly anticipating any of the games in that line-up. It looks to be a fairly uninspired collection of games and they couldn’t have picked a worse time to launch than now.
Any reason why Huxley isn't in the list? It's hype meter is high and it'll be the first real mmofps.
Aion would be my second vote, but meh not so much into mmo's these days. I feel Ultima Online was the most immersive MMO, but maybe that's just nostalgia. Every other game seems to be a big fail.
I signed up for the Stargate worlds beta, they sent me a link to set up an account and a beta key to activate the account and none of it works properly, can't download the game or read the forums.
If they can't do that right, what hope is there for the game?
Tough choice....DARKFALL!!!
Although others are right there are a few games missing from that list, though the criteria to be on the list does make sense I suppose.
Planetside wasn't the first?
Wheres guild wars 2?
Jumpgate will be the game to play, the rest will be on the Sony station pass withing 4 months.
I didn't vote for any of them. I've been disappointed too many times.STOIC best describes my mmog gaming attitude.I'll just check out the ones that make it to market..when they do...and see what I think when more of the facts are known.
Runes of Magic will not be the WoW clone they are hoping for. Too many problems with it and any game from Asia that screams "FREE TO PLAY, FREE TO DOWNLOAD" is bound to be another item mall scenario where it does not matter what you do in the game but only what you buy from the website to play.
Aion may end up being NCSoft's shining moment. Then again everyone thought Tabula Rasa would be their big thing and it flopped badly. Will see this game take off with a sustained playerbase when it happens.
Champions Online has a chance but if it lacks in actul Super Power type game play and ends up like CoH and just a super power version of every other MMORPG than it wont last except for the kid element.
Chronicles of Spellborn................................................................I was one of the first members of the community there and still peek in when I get time. This game is headed for failure for one very simple reason, the engine it was built on. Can anyone else think back to a highly anticipated game built with Unreal that was an MMO and not a FPS? I can,Vanguard, and the engine did half the work of killing the game off before it ever left beta. The Unreal Engine can not support thousands or even hundreds of players and everything that comes with them and the game itself and remain stable. It just was not built for it.
Darkfall, bah. Someone else said it for me. Dark and Light all over again. Sorry after the French on their little island took people for a ride I do not see the folks in Greece doing it any better.
Earthrise I am interested in seeing. Something out of a country not well known for games, Bulgaria, does have a good feel to it. Only time will tell if its as good as billed.
Jumpgate Evolution is another game I am looking forward to. Right up to the point I find out it is a clone of EVE. I did enjoy the originial Jumpgate and still play it a bit. If they actually combined elements of the old JG with the parts of Earth and Beyond that were good this will be a good game. If all they have done is to remake EVE then they can keep it.
Stargate Worlds might end up doing well. I know some of the folks they brought in when they formed Cheyenne Mountain and it looks as if they have all their ducks in a row. A few of their people are well aware of the fiasco SOE pulled with SWG and I do not see them going down that road so the game should be stable and people should have fun with it.
I really hope someone is able to put together a WoT game that follows the books and lives up to Robert Jordan's work. Would also like to see someone have the ability to build a good Star Trek game and get it out.
Hmm, how is EVE going to win this one? I'm sure they will find a way.
On a more serious note I voted for TCOS.
Ah I stand corrected, didn't know Planetside was FPS. Is it full FPS?
Didnt see Pre-cu SWGemu so didnt vote..
I voted for Earthrise as im tired of fantasy mmo's.
Has anyone heard anthing more on the World of Darkness MMO?
I'm really curious about DF but I was hoping to see GW2. I hope that means its not going to be a 2010 game.
Darkfall & JGE, the rest are vapor to me.
Runes of Magic will not be the WoW clone they are hoping for. Too many problems with it and any game from Asia that screams "FREE TO PLAY, FREE TO DOWNLOAD" is bound to be another item mall scenario where it does not matter what you do in the game but only what you buy from the website to play.
RoM was based off a chinese game they reworked the game to make it better for western players. It will be one of best F2P MMORPG's ever. They even stated almost everything in the item mall you will be able to get in the game it will just be hard. Also they said no EXP boosters etc. How do you know theres to many problems with it are you in CB?
Wow...Just realized I'm not really looking forward to 2009 with regard to MMOs, lol. None of those listed really peak my interest into actively watching thier progress with any real care.
That said, I voted for Dark Fall. I guess Earthrise would follow as second. Both are stepping away from level based progression which is my preference (enjoyed the UO and early SWG systems). I'm not a real fan of the FFA PvP that DF and i believe Earthrise have as playing the role of ganker has become more popular than in the days of UO.
I do hope DF and Earthrise are somewhat successfull, though, as it may give cause to more companies to move away from themepark level-based and I may find an option that interests me in those.
Mortygb 12/08/08 5:57:28 PM
Novice Member
Joined: 5/03/03
Posts: 22
I signed up for the Stargate worlds beta, they sent me a link to set up an account and a beta key to activate the account and none of it works properly, can't download the game or read the forums.
If they can't do that right, what hope is there for the game?
What hope is there when you say you have been accepted to beta publicly?
(this game is not in an active state right now. Perhaps you should view the public forums before rushing to post)
+1 for Fallen Earth
Runner up for me was ER. I had serious vaporware suspicions when they slated a beta to start soon but just said in their last newsletter they just *started* on character models...
But the new screenshots have characters so hey - they must be doing something right.
I was also surprised not to see Global Agenda on this list.
And... why even have this vote? Wouldn't the game on MMORPG.com with the highest hype-rating slated to come out in 2009 pretty much be the winner?
Earthrise or Aion, but voted for Aion because I know more about it.
"Darkfall, bah. Someone else said it for me. Dark and Light all over again. Sorry after the French on their little island took people for a ride I do not see the folks in Greece doing it any better."
Since when is France an island?
As for vote, Darkfall all the way.
Aion, but I really -really- wanted to vote for champions online. I can't vote for TCoS because I don't like the north america publisher. =(
Voted for Aion. 90% of retention after OB over there, and I'm playing it and loving it, so I can't wait for it to be released in English.
I'm certainly trying Darkfall within the first month Champions online is one I may try out of boredom somewhere down the line but you can keep the rest of those games all in all tihs has been a pretty lackluster year for mmo development
None of these games interest me in the least. Looks like it might be another lean year for mmo's.
Where's Star Wars: The Old Republic?
Devs have said it is slated for 4Q 2009
Don't think so.
ummm wha?
never mind i misread what they said. They hope for a 4q 2009 release, my apologies
TCoS...playing on the european servers right now until Acclaim gets things sorted out.
It. is. phenomenal. The combat is genius, never boring, and requires not only twitch skill, but strategizing skill. The art style is brilliant, the story is the best I have ever seen...I will be playing this game for quite some time.
It was full real time FPS when i played it, i quit way before the expansion hit so i have no idea what it is now. Is it still going on? That game had so much potential.
Darkfall ofcourse =)
Definitely Darkfall is the only one that has some possibilities of becoming the next big thing. The rest of the list is the same concept and boredom we have been eating the last years.
No sheep votes please....LOTRO is never "anticipated".
I can vote as I please...and none of the games listed interest me. Aion used to, but I fear it will be another WoW community which turns me off to no end. Stargate Worlds mildly interests me. So, for ME the next LotRO expansion is what I'M anticipating.
I can vote as I please...and none of the games listed interest me. Aion used to, but I fear it will be another WoW community which turns me off to no end. Stargate Worlds mildly interests me. So, for ME the next LotRO expansion is what I'M anticipating.
Oh yeah, the LOTRO community shines like a beacon over WoW's... putz... LOTRO is a slightly modified WoW clone... grind grind grind... BTW people, I was in closed beta for SGW and... I highly doubt that game will have a decent release. They seem to be shoving it out the door with lipstick around it's lips and a soiled set of trousers. Plus, it's still a bit of a WoW clone. Break the formula people, EvE sort of did it and look at their numbers!
RoM was based off a chinese game they reworked the game to make it better for western players. It will be one of best F2P MMORPG's ever. They even stated almost everything in the item mall you will be able to get in the game it will just be hard. Also they said no EXP boosters etc. How do you know theres to many problems with it are you in CB?
Good grief. The items in the item mall are not exactly what is in game. There is a premium to item malls, things in them are better than what can be gotten in game. It is why there is an item mall. Things may be named the same but they are not exactly the same.
BTW an item mall gives a company the excuse to add anything that will bring in more money. If enough of the people buying up things in the mall want something and there is an indication it would do well do not be surprised to see something that boosts experience.
"Darkfall, bah. Someone else said it for me. Dark and Light all over again. Sorry after the French on their little island took people for a ride I do not see the folks in Greece doing it any better."
Since when is France an island?
As for vote, Darkfall all the way.
France is not an island but Reunion Island where Dark and Light was made is a French territory and is an island.
Too bad Global Agenda isn't up there :(
That game looks SICK!
can't vote seeing as the only mmo i want to play is mortal online.
Shocked to see Guild Wars 2 not on the list but I guess they did not get a tenative release date. Oh well the list looks pretty weak. I don't know, maybe Aion or Stargate Worlds might be interesting ?
Darkfall. It's been in development since I was in elementary school - since it's been that long, it's only fair to see how it will end up.
Out of that list, I had to vote for Earthrise simply because it is a change from the fantasy games I've been playing and the independent criminal looks intriguing
. Darkfall is a close second. I will definitely try both of these games and seriously hope they do well since both look like a break from the cookie-cutter MMOs currently available.
The rest of the list just doesn't rock my boat.
Not on the list that I'm looking forward to (not in any particular order)...
this is going to be one crap year....oh well...at least i will have the sims 3 and Empires Total war.
i guess i would vote for Darkfall if anything...
I am afraid it's gonna be another year with lots of MMO's, but a louzy year for MMORPG's.
Nothing really intresting, but keeping my eye on a few, but can not comment on any of them as of yet because there is to little info out at the moment.
I am usually not into Superhero games (hated CoH tbh), but what I have seen from CO so far looks pretty good. Couldn't vote for Darkfall since they simply have released to little substantial information, except their project goals. Remains to be seen what actually made it into the game and how well it works. Aion looks OK, but reports from the Korean release sound a lot like been-there-done-that to me. Runes of Magic is free, granted, but just doesn't cut it both gameplay-wise and graphically for me. Same for Spellborn - just not my cup of tea (from what is known so far anyway). Haven't looked too much into Earthrise, so no real opinion on that.
i voted chronicles of spellborne just to annoy you and tell you once again it is released in europe alreaddy and people actually play it (at least here in germany)
my 2nd vote would go to aion but something in the back of my head tells me not to get my expectation to high. it probably will b a good game but nc soft proved to me in the past that they werent able to solve any botting or balancing issues fast enough for my liking.
both darkfall and earthrise are on my list to hopefully be pleasently suprised when they go life.
i dont have a strong eye out for them but they have a good concept and may become my personal sleeperhits for 2009 just like Chronicles of Spellboren was for 2008
Where is Star Wars : The Old Republic on that list?
It could launch in Q4 2009.
Can you restart the poll and put the option of none of them?
Every single one of them mmorpgs is gonna be shit.
you have one or even two good games there, stop complaining.
Actually, Earthrise is as close to a land version of Eve Online as you can get. It basically combines Anarchy Online and Planetside into one game, with team owned bunkers, offline "daytime" job that earns you cash and twitched based combat like Planetside. It also allows for some 3 way faction action kinda like Anarchy Online has.
Darkfall would be my 2nd choice, but unfortunately I can't invest my time in another fantasy MMO. EQ2, WAR, LOTRO and WoW all stole enough of my time. I'm going to be playing Eve and Earthrise come 2009 and I'm pretty sure I'll finally be happy... I hope.
No Guildwars 2 in the vote? I know that some people are sceptical that it will release 2009 since the beta havn't started yet but they still have a year fot that.
The first GW is still the second MMO on X-fire so the sequel should at least be in the vote.
I voted SGW..
But then again, most of those games are in my signature already :p
Darkfall, easy.
GW is not an MMO.
darkfall or i move to console gaming - those are the two options for me in 2009.
Theres only so many years of crap I can take and i'm suprised I lasted this long looking back.
I don't think there are any MMO players not wondering if Darkfall will rise and fall or not.
So, maybe not the most awaited game but certainly the most anticipated one.
Runes of Magic will not be the WoW clone they are hoping for. Too many problems with it and any game from Asia that screams "FREE TO PLAY, FREE TO DOWNLOAD" is bound to be another item mall scenario where it does not matter what you do in the game but only what you buy from the website to play.
Have to agree here. Item Shop games may be "all that and a bag of chips" in the land of their birth (so to speak), but the concept doesn't seem to have caught on here. I'm inclined to think Western players, for a good part, prefer a flat monthly sub that covers everything they want to do in game (botting and gold buying/selling notwithstanding, of course).
I think that many see it for what it is and aren't suckered by the "free to play" gimmick. Sure.. you can *play* for free... But to be at your best, you're gonna have to shell out the cash, and very likely more than a monthly sub would cost. There's not a single one I've checked out that allows you to really play the game to its fullest without having to pull out the credit card. Even Perfect World which is a surprisingly polished game and not so "in your face" with the item shop, has its "gotchas"; just a matter of identifying them.
This is why I'm glad Aion (my personal pick for this poll, incidentally) is going with the monthly sub approach.
Aion may end up being NCSoft's shining moment. Then again everyone thought Tabula Rasa would be their big thing and it flopped badly. Will see this game take off with a sustained playerbase when it happens.
I think the difference here is that Tabula Rasa was, as I understand it, NC's attempt to "break into the Western market" by creating a MMO that, on paper anyway, had everything us "Western Players" seem to want - more real-time combat, not designed around Asian-Grind type gameplay, etc.
It just didn't deliver on it well enough, it seems.
I also think it was over-hyped... something many games are falling victim to. Too damn much hype that sets expectations far too high to ever be met for many people.
I wish companies would learn to just make the best game they can, tell us what they're trying to achieve, and stop telling us how revolutionary and amazing we're going to think it is. Let us, the players, decide for ourselves... We're going to anyway.
Aion, on the other hand, from what I've seen, is more true to the classic Asian style of gameplay, but with some Western elements mixed in. It seems to me to be taking the PvP content of Lineage 2 and blending in more PvE content, a la WoW... It's somewhere in-between the two.
In essence, instead of going "all or nothing" on either style, they seem to be building the foundation of the game on what they know (Asian-style), and tempering it with some Western type elements to help lower that bar of entry.
Lineage 2 had been a pretty successful game here in the West for a time and is still very popular overseas (I believe at one point it had over 14 million subs worldwide). Unfortunately, they didn't take the West's hate of botting/RMT/cheating seriously enough, until it was too late. They let it run rampant for too long, and now it's costing them in the form of declining subs.
Part of the reason for that, too, is the way they implemented some aspects of the game, such as gathering materials for crafting. No sane human wants to spend their time gathering the hundreds, or thousands in some case, of materials required for a single craft that could end up failing. Thus, very few people will even bother to try farming their own mats and that gave the RMT companies a perfect niche to fill... and fill it they did.
They seem to be taking it a *little* more seriously now... but it's too little too late for many who were already one foot out the door.
Let's hope they don't make the same mistakes with Aion.
Chronicles of Spellborn................................................................I was one of the first members of the community there and still peek in when I get time. This game is headed for failure for one very simple reason, the engine it was built on. Can anyone else think back to a highly anticipated game built with Unreal that was an MMO and not a FPS? I can,Vanguard, and the engine did half the work of killing the game off before it ever left beta. The Unreal Engine can not support thousands or even hundreds of players and everything that comes with them and the game itself and remain stable. It just was not built for it.
I don't really agree here. It comes down to the people using the tech, not the tech itself.
Lineage 2 uses the Unreal 2 engine and does a wonderful job with it. Despite the fact that the tech was designed for isolated, finite maps and not seamless open worlds, they've managed to take the tech and make it work... and well.
Vanguard was a mess because of the way the development was handled; not the tech they were using.
I think it boils down to the ability of the developers using the tech; not necessarily the tech itself.
Darkfall, bah. Someone else said it for me. Dark and Light all over again. Sorry after the French on their little island took people for a ride I do not see the folks in Greece doing it any better.
I think DF is offering up a *lot* of interesting concepts. How well they work in execution is another thing altogether. I'll reserve judgement about that for after it's released. According to one fo their folks, the game is and has been ready for release and is in better shape than other MMOs at this stage. Those are some pretty big words... will probably hurt if they have to eat them.
The thing that's keeping me at arm's distance from DF more than anything is its community - or at least a significant portion of it. There's a significantly sized... or at least quite loud... portion of that game's following that reminds me too much of the worst element from Shadowbane.
I've got a personal prediction that if those types are allowed to run as rampant in DF as they are in SB or were for a time in Lineage 2, before long DF will be another MMO with a small but fiercely loyal following; maybe enough for a couple servers. Just enough to keep the game afloat.
I say this with *some* confidence because I've seen it happen too many times in several games to discount it.
For example...
In Lineage 2's early days, a level 43 character could grief you as soon as you stepped out of the starting area at level 2; repeatedly if they wanted. GMs wouldn't do anything about it. "It's an open PvP game", they would say. "You have to fend for yourself". Great in concept. Unfortunately, it doesn't account for those who are going to use that freedom to harass as many new players as they can right out of the game - arguably their only reason for even logging in. And that's exactly what they did.
Even L2's karma system didn't slow them down. They took pride in being "perma-red" and racking up as many PK's as they could. They had no worries of dropping gear from dying because, well.. what level 2 player is going to drop a level 30+?
After a while, in L2, even the long-time players who enjoyed and avidly defended NC's "hands-off" approach acknowledged that the griefers were chasing away too many new players, causing the game to become top heavy. They asked the griefers to knock it off.. give new players a chance to get their footing; the game needed more new blood. The griefers ignored them and kept at it.
So the high level players took matters into their own hands and went "red hunting", or griefer hunting basically. Quite predictably, the griefers - who will rarely ever enter anything resembling a fair fight - would either run away squealing, or log out at the sight of anyone who might actually be a challenge. Then they'd log in and continue on when the coast was clear. Sometimes, at the height of irony, they'd smack talk about "needing a higher level character to beat them" as they ran away.
NC eventually realized the problem with such an open system as well, and made changes. It's noble to adhere to a true "wide-open PvP system". But nothing speaks louder than decreasing subs and a shrinking bottom line.
I'm waiting for the day that true PvP'ers (ie. those looking for the rush of an actual challenge.. not the mindless ease of shooting fish in a barrel) will start to distinguish between a "lowbie ganker" and a "PvP'er" and stop defending them both as the same thing. They aren't.
Point is... if DF delivers on the open PvP it promises - even with whatever penalties they have in place for griefing or ganking - those same idiots whose only goal is to ruin others' experience will be at it.. doing their best to drive as many from the game as they can; gloating over each one like a badge of bravery.
Overall, out of that list, the one I'm most looking forward to is Aion.
No sheep votes please....LOTRO is never "anticipated".
But, I agree with the first poster...nothing here "shines"
Aion has some big buck production quality, Darkfall though has the "ooo, is it gonna be awesome or a big fail"...Darkfall I think is my pick due to the train wreck that I believe will happen on release...(I smell Dark and Light here)
nope i can garrentee yout hat granted it may not be perfect who knows yet
where is Guild Wars 2??????????????????
Somewhere in 2010.
I voted for Champions Online.
I"m also interested in Aion as it looks very interesting, but it lost out for two reasons. 1) Korean MMO tend to be more about grind. Those kind of games only work if you devote your life to them. 2) I've played GW, WoW, and LoTRO I'm ready for a new genre.
That being said there ae two other titles I'm really looking forward too. The Agency is first. SOE track record is kind of weak but I'm hoping they can pull off all the bells and whistles the devs hae promised. I'm a little concerned that it's being made for console though. That could mean dumbed down
The game that will assuredly get my attention when released though is Guildwars 2. Take your time Arena Net and get this one right!
Cheers
Unless SQUARE ENIX announced a new Final Fantasy MMO i would have ZERO anticipation of an MMO.
I am interested in a few games like Darkfall/TCOS/Huxley and a few others,but none have me on the edge of my seat ,frantically waiting.Runes of Magic had a few great ideas like stealing the sub class system off of FFXI,however there game just bored me to death,it really is done on a low end scale.
If someone could make a game like that MU online 3rd season video ,then yes i would be drooling,however i do not see it happening.
Instead i see this site everyday posting up tons of trash games.These are games that are barely fit for Nintendo 64 and they are trying to pan them off as good new games lol.
I believe the next wave of good games will be 2010,there could however be a sleeper out there,i just never heard of it ,if there is one.
Wow.....what a lousy crop of games. With AoC and War breaking my heart, I'm just not pumped about these at all......
You guys seem to judge Runes of Magic only because it is an Asian F2P Item Mall game, huh? RoM should have never been a WoW Clone, it is a new game..sure, there are some of WoW's feature in it, like raids etc., but which game doesn't include those? :X
I'm playing the CB of RoM since the beginning of it, and, after all, i can say that it is first definitely NOT a grindgame like the most games from Asia, but a Questgame.
In addition, the Item Mall won't make a hugh difference. Players who use this Cash Shop System won't have somehing like a Bonus ingame, there won't be any "Exp-Increase Tickets" or stupig things like that in this game.The Item Mall will just be an additional feature, nothing special which makes you "imba" or something like that. It is close like Perfect World, and even a thin way better.
So, my vote goes to RoM, and if you would be wise, you would read something about the game before judging it so failed.
Nevertheless, Aion is the 2nd for me, cause it has nearly as many features as RoM have and indeed a nice looking GUI, but this year, because of Runes of Magic, we can say that F2P has owned P2P!
Over and out <:
Darkfall
Not yet announced mmorpg from http://www.carbinestudios.com/ would get my vote :p
Ummm...where's the selection for Fallen Earth??? That's the only one I'm looking forward to. Earthrise "sounds" good but there isn't much to be seen for all the hype...until then, I'm focused on Fallen Earth for my post-apocalyptic needs. ;)
I am in absolute shock right now from all the comments saying "These games are all gonna suck" and "Looks like another crappy year for MMOs"... I seriously can't believe what I am reading, after the last 4 years of the same old steaming piles being dumped on us over and over again, we finally have a year where games with originality and new ideas are scheduled to release and this is the response people are giving? We finally have some decent sci-fi titles coming out, along with a few sandboxes, and people are calling them "the same old crap"? Wow...
Anyways, I voted for Jumpgate Evolution personally as this is the game I am MOST anticipating, but I am very excited about Earthrise, SGW, and Darkfall, along with Fallen Earth even though it wasn't on there. 2009 looks like the best year for MMORPGs in about 5 years, lets just hope they can deliver what they promise!
Without a doubt Jumpgate Evolution.
Whilst the other games show promise (with the exception of Stargate Worlds), they are for most realistic perposes, revivals of exactly the same control systems with the same interface structures and the same focus... but differant settings.
Whilst that isn't neccisarily a bad thing, it certainly doesn't get my pulse pumping to hear that another 3rd person fantasy game is in development... whilst if you tell me that a game that is heavily twitch based, is set in a Sci-fi setting and is being developed by a development team take the time to make the minimum specs appealing to any conceivable MMO player out there, and work hard to keep the client size under 1gb.. then I get interested
Poor pick of games to vote.No vote.... anyway good idea, maybe next pool
QFE
had the same reaction and i think this year is going to beat out the last 2-3 years we've had. Because those were highly anticipated and ended up sucking. I think this year is not going to be anticipated but its going to be awesome. Every year ends up being the opposite of whats expected.
and personally i voted for earthrise
Earthrise and Darkfall are pretty much equal in my book, but I'm giving Earthrise my vote because it's the underdog.
I dunno how anyone can seriously think about Darkfail cause we've seen this loads of times in the past where this small unknown developer is making a mmorpg that takes forever to come out and claims it'll be doing all this stuff that people want. Then it's released and it turns out to be complete crap and everyone acts suprised that it was bad..... Not to mention Darkfall looks like crap and is sooo generic I don't want to explore it's world and the animations, charactr models and armour all look really bad so I wouldn't care about my character. Then you put the bad lore that feels like it was written by a 8 year old with no imagination and that makes it even less interesting.
I really can't wait for the game to come out and everyone will finally see how bad it is like the whole Dark n Light thing.
My vote goes to JG:E since it best combines the elements I got to like in games, with Earthrise and Darkfall tagging close behing.
In any case, maybe its finally time for a brighter future. Of 8 nominations, half of them are sci-fi, 3 of them are sandbox and 4 or 5 have twitch based gameplay. Please let the year 2009 be a compensation for 2008 in which we got just 2 overhyped clones and expansions of the same old.
No SWTOR on the list???
I have been talking away on the DF boards since january 06, so it would be blasphemy to vote for anything else at this point. Even so...
Who can really argue absolute freedom? Some of the others look entertaining, but I don't see them keeping my interest for more than a few months. If you start by producing a grind based game, that's all there will be to it. Once you hit the cap, things slow down. Even if you want to enjoy the endgame, you know you can't, because inevitably they will implement more grind to keep your subscription.
Grind is an infinite for loop. Hopefully DF will be the key to removing that aspect of MMOs.
Freak out...this sums me up 100%
Grabbing DF at launch but JG-E is definitely my no 1 for 09. Played the original and loved it so I know this will deliver. DF very close behind but Earthrise is my fall guy if both these fail. After that I am playing FPS's
None of the above. I'm personally waiting for Star Wars: The Old Republic, DC Universe Online, and Star Trek Online. Other than those three, nothing else seems worth while.
So you voted for Darkfall?
Looking forward to Aion the most. Chronicles of Spellborn, Darkfall(but I have doubts about it) and Earthrise are all my dark horse picks.
Where is All Points Bulletin (APB) on this list? It's easily one of the most anticipated games!!
DArkfall
Im 100% sure they will make january 22, you haven't been following the game too long or are just plain trolling to think otherwise.
In all its friggin decade long development the game NEVER, I'll say this again NEVER EVER EVER, had a release date, and the devs said the reason for this, during the incredibly long dev time, is that they don't want people to go out and buy hardware/plan things around a launch for it to get pushed back, and clearly said they will not push back a launch date.
Its been confirmed there IS a closed beta btw, its just that there's very few people in it (like a ridiculously low amount, as in the 100s). I'm just worried about how they handle Americans going on to the Eu servers, when it launches in the US it will literally kill the Eu servers, and thus I hope they open the Gni servers in california for the Eu launch.
Im 100% sure they will make january 22, you haven't been following the game too long or are just plain trolling to think otherwise.
In all its friggin decade long development the game NEVER, I'll say this again NEVER EVER EVER, had a release date, and the devs said the reason for this, during the incredibly long dev time, is that they don't want people to go out and buy hardware/plan things around a launch for it to get pushed back, and clearly said they will not push back a launch date.
Its been confirmed there IS a closed beta btw, its just that there's very few people in it (like a ridiculously low amount, as in the 100s). I'm just worried about how they handle Americans going on to the Eu servers, when it launches in the US it will literally kill the Eu servers, and thus I hope they open the Gni servers in california for the Eu launch.
Ha you can almost see the frustration in Thatim's post regarding him being wrong about Darkfall being vaporware, im sure he has done his fair share of lol vaporz posting. It must crush him to know that by definition Darkfall is no longer vaporware. Yet he calls it "piece of vaporware" oh man i love what this game does to people.
If only all choices in life were this easy...
DARKFALL!
Most definitely JGE (Jumpgate Evolution).
I'm ready for a game that can combine the complexity of a MMO with the twitch skill that keeps me constantly immersed. I love to play games where I start out awful and have lots of room to improve. Games in which there is little room for skillful improvement from the beginning to end (IE: Most MMORPG's) are not truely a game. If you want something easy and mindless to do, go watch TV. Lets keep videogames interactive.
Fallen Earth!
Definitely TCOS. Awaiting for it, still. Im looking forward to try out Aion, Blade and Soul as well.
Darkfall, with a mild interest in Earthrise.
After falling for the Warhammer hype this year i'm skeptical about running out and getting any game really. The RvR in War is fun but the game was so bugged out i let my subscription expire after 2 months. I might pick it up after i hear they iron out the classes some more, idk.
I really like the concept of Darkfall and I hope it does well. Many have talked about this sandbox being a 'niche' game and I would have to agree.
This 'niche' of skill based leveling sounds interesting to me. I won't run out and pre order the game like I did with War this year. I'll wait and hear reports back from the EU servers before I get it myself.
Although a little skeptical, I greatly anticipate the launching of Darkfall in January. Darkfall has my vote :-)
Darkfall, easy. 5 years of waiting...Darkfall is the best hope to escape the quest/level grindfest and staged PVP that has ruined MMORPGs. How can you call yourself a fan of the genre and root against a game like this?
Jumpgate Evolution baby!
Can't wait for this one.
Now I can leave EvE....
Jumpgate Evolution all the way. Played the JGC for many years. This new one will be a big hit. Its not for everyone, but if yopu played the original and played EnB, this games for you.
Spellborn is already released, so it shouldn't be on this list. Just because the release was botched and it didn't make it everywhere at once doesn't make it an unreleased game this year. It's out, it's playable. I'd be happy to vote for it as a best of 2008 though.
I'm also a bit surprised that CO is on the list. Jack Emmert is on board that one, and he's an absolute nightmare who seems to have a sadistic joy in his treatment of the players. Nothing more certain to drop subs than him being involved with a project. Anybody who played CoX before and after he left can attest to that. Personally, I'll *never* play a game that he's had any involvement in again, no matter how otherwise attractive the game might be,and I do take the time to look before I buy.
Edit: Originally posted by Aramanu: "Darkfall & JGE, the rest are vapor to me."
Funny how an already released game is vapor.
PS. The quoting system on mmorpg doesn't seem to work quite right.
Darkfall of course.
i dont know,why they not make a Baldurs gate or NWN Online game
thiss would be a dream for all MMORPG-Fans,i think?
Darkfall, though jumpgate seems nice, and maybe stargate.
This last year has been one of the most disappointing years for MMOs ever. It had two big bling-bling name games WAR and AoC, and they completely fell flat. Its time to go back to new innovative games and stop repackaging a brand and sticking online at the end.
I don't know what ppl are talking about, this year has me very excited. Jumpgate evolution looks very cool. Earthrise and Fallen Earth (<--lol) are peeking my interest. Hell even Chronicles of Spellbound looks better and better and will probably by itself beat out everything in 2008.
But of course we have Darkfall, everything else is just details.
Considering how badly things are going for SOE right now it is a wonder they are still in business. I think you will see changes in the upper management of SOE if the new titles don't achieve the success they anticipate.
Since Smedley is aiming for the console market along with a game store approach for their new titles I think a lot of people that play MMO's are generally not very excited about any of their new titles. Console compatible games tend to be very dumbed down for controller use, developers won't force a console user to use a keyboard/mouse. Many of us don't like games where you can buy your way to the top either.
As to the poll, I thought about Darkfall, but since we really know absolutely nothing about the game other than it exists I had to go with Aion. Tasos's arrogant attitude does not help Darkfall either.
The console is a strange beast for MMO's. The one thing I don't understand about console criticism, is that a keyboard can be purchased and used (at least with the Playstation 3), so why not develop these games for that platform? People pay for fake guitars, and drum sets for a few of the worst games on the planet (my opinion, not a fact), so why would they not purchase a keyboard equally for a good game? Consoles do not have to be a hiderance to game developement, well, unless you are Microsoft, and demand compliance to that horrible controller.
Note: Aside from the controller, the Xbox 360 is a good appliance.
Imbant. He can have his opinion. If he is not interested in any of the above, simply pointing out that Darkfall will release in 2009 will not change his mind. Darkfall was on the above list, so what makes you think John.A.Zoid missed it?
I disagree with him too...Not about Darkfall, but I do see a title there I am looking forward to playing.
Just not with the same hootspa with which you keep hammering Darkfall.
It will not release in 09.
I vote for Earthrise all the way :)
Easy: Jumpgate Evolution
None of them.......they are all doomed !!! mu ha ha !!!!
Seriously, I think i'll pass on 2009. None of those games would take me away from Warhammer Online. If I had more time, maybe I'd try one.
None of the above. If SW: TOR were on there that would win the vote.
Jon, what about the option NONE OF THE ABOVE? Just a thought and my view on 2009.
Considering how badly things are going for SOE right now it is a wonder they are still in business. I think you will see changes in the upper management of SOE if the new titles don't achieve the success they anticipate.
Since Smedley is aiming for the console market along with a game store approach for their new titles I think a lot of people that play MMO's are generally not very excited about any of their new titles. Console compatible games tend to be very dumbed down for controller use, developers won't force a console user to use a keyboard/mouse. Many of us don't like games where you can buy your way to the top either.
As a MMoer of over a decade (UO on) who has beta tested over 27 MMO's from big titles through to "small went pop a few months after release" and actually tends to enjoy testing moreso then playing a lot of titles I have to say I'm really excited about the move to consoles and keyboard. New controllers give access to a minimum of 18 buttons (leaving one directional for mouselike activity) and at least another 16 east to reach and use hotkeys (on the 360). That sounds like as many if not more hotkey options as I've needed in most games. Dozens of movement/button combos on the Wii (which I love playing and the new crop of 'mature' games is a huge plus for the system). PS2 and 3 offer the same options as a 360. As someone who owns a current 360, Wii and PS2 I don't see how this is a bad thing at all.
The whole dumbed down thing isn't true at all and since you can pick up a console pretty cheap these days (less then a top of the line gfx card here in Oz) if people are concerned about getting 'pwnt' by console players then go buy a console to play on even ground. Main reason people don't seem to like this concept is evident in your post. It's SoE/Smedley and while I can understand some people not liking what Smedley does he seems to have a job and SoE at least don't abandon titles and have saved a few of them from the scrapheap even if they've made changes to some of those titles. EQ is STILL running and being developed and new content added.
I play a lot of MMO's and I play a lot of console and I'm a registered Atari tester. I'm eagerly awaiting the next step in MMORPG development. Because let's face it the actually MMO thing has been on consoles now for over 18 months. X-box live allowed me to play MMO for a long time in everything from racing games that involves buying and selling cars and even 'paint jobs' for cars, or FPS with leader boards. I get updates to my games, new maps and patches and have voice coms to help with the building of a community.
As for my vote I can't go past Champs Online. Cryptic had the best release ever with CoH and know that there's no point in promising the earth. I still log into CoH to mess about with things like fly and superjump because sometimes stuff like that is simply fun!
Dark Fall - not because it will necessarily prove to be the best, but since it is the most anticipated, i.e a make or break game. It has potential to give the genre a boost or a change of direction it needs or it may come out to be a big flop. "Most anticipated" has something risky aobut it, that I do think fits the next year's launch of DF more than the others.
And the ardent protagonists have been waiting for so long. That is to anticipate for real...
Aion: Tower of Eternity got my vote.
Where is fallen earth???
Jumpgate looks awesome (I really, really liked it at PAX), but I have to vote for Aion. Game is polished to the extreme and ready to release already. I think NCsoft trying to time it, though. Probably release Aion after Darkfall for maximum effect.
Aion got my vote
Since I have onley played Aion (cb and ob)and Stargate Worlds (cb) and Aion was bether by a loth
Aion got my vote also, though RoM has my interest and so does TCoS, even though it's server setup has put a lot of people off...
Chronicles of Spellborn and Aion look like the best 2 bets for 2009.... i guess we will see hopefull in january when it is supposed too come out in NA (TCOS)
My most anticipated game of 2009 is Star Trek Online (due year-end 2009) and it's not on your list, so no vote from me!
Last I heard, over on the Star Trek Online website, STO is supposed to ship this time next year (late 2009). It's not been officially confirmed, but all signs say yes thus far.
Take that as you will,
LL
Eve expansion in March. Best designed MMO. If you don't agree it's because you haven't played it.
(starting a character and playing it for a week is not even gracing the game, in fact I quit after my first month and came back and am here to stay.)
Darkfall... if it is anything like UO, which it sounds like it is, it will be worth a shot.
Aion for me. No NDA, NCSoft not a amature society, very good gameplay and graphism.
Fallen Earth.
I was almost tempted to vote Darkfall, just because im excited to know if the game will deliver or not. The game itself however is not appealing to me so voting for it felt lame.
Jumpgate Evolution seems interresting and I will probably keep my eyes on it.
My vote went to Aion. Simply because almost everything about that game is perfect for me. I already know for a fact that I will like it because of all the feedback/playervideos from the NDAless betas and the Korean release.
Another Fallen earth vote here.
Aion, although JG:E, Chronicles and SG:W look interesting. I'm also curious about how darkfall will turn out, although not enough to vote.
I'm gonna go with Darkfall because it is everything that I ever wanted in an MMO
I want to vote for World of Warcraft..but it's not on the list.
So like those above, i will not vote
I think you should give us more choices...
Mortal Online is not in the list
And another vote for Fallen Earth
Noobie question...
When does poll close and where do we see results?
+1 Mortal Online
Excited for SC2 and Diablo3
i'm so regretful to find my favorite out of the list. they seems like strangers to me...
why wasn't "hello kitty online" listed?
sorry, i can't vote for it , since my favorite isn't on the list
Not really anticipating any of those. Maybe next year.
First off, this is not a vote on what game you think will succeed, it's about the "most anticipated"...
With that in mind, I will have to simply vote for Aion...
It has great vids expressing the details, worlds, realism, fights and charater customizations available...
The gameplay seems a bit more interesting than most and it's reported to be rich in lore which gets players more in depth and involved in a game...
But most of all, it's already been released in Korea and few months later was voted best game by them whereas most mmo's die within the first month they are released...
Not only to mention that the company is expanding and revamping their staff and server locations to bring it to the rest of the world so it's makes you feel a bit warm inside to already know it's doing so well...
This to me makes it the "Most Anticipated" game of 2009...
It may not be the best overall game of 2009, but the quality of hype behind this title has me already working the monthly service fees into my budget...