2008 Reader's Choice Awards: Best New Game

It wasn't until I read the options that I realised what a slim year it's been.

Out of that list, only Atlantica has lived up to expectations, and that's depressing.

Oh well, here's to 2009 - the Year of the Indie!

The sad thing is, "None of the above" will probably win, regardless of the fact that the majority of people who will vote that way did not A) play all of the games listed or B) play these games outside of the beta. There's too much whining on the site about MMOs not being creative, yet all of the titles introduce creative aspects to their game, or that it it had problems at launch, regardless of the fact that things have been added and things have been changed. It's like people get stuck in this "once burned, twice as angry" mentality where they're unable to accept that things sometimes do change for the better.

Hey Jon,

Love your polls, but I have to disagree with adding the "none of the above" option.   If you don't have it for your other "best of" polls, it shouldn't be on this one either.  If people didn't like any of the games released this year, they have the option of not voting. 

This will only encourage anyone whose present game isn't on the list or a game they don't like on the list  to vote "none of the above" and make it look like this year's games are less than appealing.

I voted none of the above simply because they are all equally bad.

MMO's have gone to hell in a handbasket.

 The last choice option should be "Other"

Sure, all of these games have some aspect of fun to them, but they certainly may not be the Best New Game of 2008.  The None of the Above option makes it sound like the voter thinks they all suck instead of none of them are the best.  It's not the same thing.

Originally posted by kb4blu

I voted none of the above simply because they are all equally bad.

MMO's have gone to hell in a handbasket.

 

And you played them all, I assume?

Originally posted by JonMichael

Hey Jon,

Love your polls, but I have to disagree with adding the "none of the above" option.   If you don't have it for your other "best of" polls, it shouldn't be on this one either.  If people didn't like any of the games released this year, they have the option of not voting. 

This will only encourage anyone whose present game isn't on the list or a game they don't like on the list  to vote "none of the above" and make it look like this year's games are less than appealing.

 

I'd agree, except that in this case, I've heard and seen so much response on the forums throughout the year that I felt that the "none of the above" category was totally warranted. For example, I didn't read post after post of folks complaining about there being "no good expansions" this year, nor did I see enough of it in terms of company, or even anticipated for next year.

All year long though, we've been hearing people voice that exact opinion about this specific category, that's why we chose to put it in there.

To the person who suggested that we nominate "other" rather than none of the above...

Those are two completely different things. While perhaps "other" is a category we will use in the future, we can't simply replace "none of the above" with "other". Other implies that there was another not-nominated game that people wanted to vote for, but couldn't, not that they were genreally dissatisfied with the crop of new games this year.

The "none of the above" option wasn't given lightly and it was given in this specific category for a very specific reason.

I hope that clears things up for you.

I think it will end up being "none of the above" to win, since it gives an oppurtunity to all those who think the MMOs are on a steep slide downwards to express their feelings and they are in numbers, at least on this site. This might give a signal to the industry that they have to do better, though I think the number of subscribers decides this and that these awards are most importantly are used for marketing purposes by the companies. Let's hope some of the games will be worth nominated for the "most improved game" category next year. 

I have only played Atlantica of the four and has to base my choice on reviews, in game videos,discussions and the development on number of subscribers. At least WAR and AoC has kept the interest of the MMO community, so I guess that leaves PotBS out, people are indifferent to it, it seems. Atlantica is an ok "having-nothing-else-to do-game". I can't imagine it as any serious gamer's major title played. So I think it should be WAR or AoC if any. Since I am a fan of exploring stunning environment and FunCom tried to do something original with their AoC I think I would go for that game. The launch however was so bad so I think it is a bit strange to award it the"Best New Game" title. Has it improved enough since the miserable launch to get the award?   

 i voted aoc because of the 3 games i played from the list (war, aoc, attlantica) i liked conan the best personally

and just to annoy people this is the 5th or so post where im stating that i play chronicles of spellborne atm whitch would have made my no 1 choice if it were on the list 

I couldn't vote for any of those games. A very sad year for MMO fans.

i said warhammer bc thats what ive been having the most fun in this year. and thats what we play videogames for right?

Originally posted by JonMichael

Originally posted by kb4blu

I voted none of the above simply because they are all equally bad.

MMO's have gone to hell in a handbasket.

 

 

And you played them all, I assume?

 

 

I actually did and they all didn't deliver in my eyes.

Seeing the poor quality and scams (AoC) with this year new MMO launches then you can conclude it has been a very very bad year for MMO's.

So I think "None of the Above" is a very very valid option in this poll.

Cheers

None of the above.

In 2008 I started LOTRO and had a lot of fun, which slowly but surely peetered out to boredom.  By the time the expansion had come, I had lost all interest.  My account is still active though, which is more symbolic of a vote of confidence than a desire to play.  They are a good company.  Maybe I will return someday soon.

AOC looked great and that's about it for me.  It ran horribly, launched with many things missing that were promised to be in at launch, and seemed to be more interested in spinning the truth than honesty.  Highly instanced, small zones that make you feel claustraphobic, crappy gear and stats that don't matter.  It was bad, just bad.

Warhammer Online had some great ideas, but then succumbed to game design choices and factional and class imbalance.  Ultimately, in such a game where pvp is paramount, it was too much.  Sub numbers dropped, and atleast on my server it began to feel like a single player game.

POTBS had laggy painful avatar combat, poor performance in towns (for me) and too many design decisions that seemed restrictive and just not fun.

Atlantica Online doesn't appeal to me at all.  I think the art style is just a turn off.  And beyond that I don't know.  Probably being unfair to this game since I haven't played it.

2008 saw me finally return to WOW for the expansion and I ended up starting a new character on a new server and just starting fresh.  New guild, new friends....and I'm having fun again.  Although, getting sucked into the game is kinda scary.  I don't want to get addicted and end up spending all my time there.

I don't like how they describe the "none of the above" in the options.

All of the games have "something" good in them, I mean lots of people worked on those titles and millions of dollars were spent... and spent not for nothing.
However, to be a nice game or "Best New Game" as they phrase it, there has to be more than just "good at this" or "good at that."

(I did vote for none of the above, even though I have not played all of them)

Originally posted by Stradden

Originally posted by JonMichael

Hey Jon,

Love your polls, but I have to disagree with adding the "none of the above" option.   If you don't have it for your other "best of" polls, it shouldn't be on this one either.  If people didn't like any of the games released this year, they have the option of not voting. 

This will only encourage anyone whose present game isn't on the list or a game they don't like on the list  to vote "none of the above" and make it look like this year's games are less than appealing.

 

I'd agree, except that in this case, I've heard and seen so much response on the forums throughout the year that I felt that the "none of the above" category was totally warranted. For example, I didn't read post after post of folks complaining about there being "no good expansions" this year, nor did I see enough of it in terms of company, or even anticipated for next year.

All year long though, we've been hearing people voice that exact opinion about this specific category, that's why we chose to put it in there.

To the person who suggested that we nominate "other" rather than none of the above...

Those are two completely different things. While perhaps "other" is a category we will use in the future, we can't simply replace "none of the above" with "other". Other implies that there was another not-nominated game that people wanted to vote for, but couldn't, not that they were genreally dissatisfied with the crop of new games this year.

The "none of the above" option wasn't given lightly and it was given in this specific category for a very specific reason.

I hope that clears things up for you.

 

Jon,

To think that voters will actually abide by your rules to vote "none of the above" is pretty naive. Do you really think that so many people saw absolutely nothing good about this years games? I mean nothing? What kind of person is so negative that they will see not one good thing about a game? I don't think many of those people exist, especially in this genre full of trash, but people still play them. No, I think people will vote "none of the above" because they hated those games overall, even though they did like one or two things about the game. In fact, I bet a lot of people will vote "none of the above" even though they didn't play them.

I agree with the other poster that said there shouldn't be an option like this. Only people who played those games should be able to vote on which were best. Hell, the people who name games "Game of the Year" for console games may or may not like any of the releases that year, but they still choose the lesser of the evils.

I'm seeing some poor decision making skills with these polls, but that's just my opinion. Last years wasn't too good either. I hope one of these years you all will figure out a good way of creating a Readers Choice Awards while also minimizing the amount of influence trolls, haters, and fanbois have on it. After all, MMORPG companies display the fact they were voted #1  by the readers of this site on their websites and I believe boxes.

I considered "all of the above".

But since there were four games listed, I chose between those games. So WAR got my vote.

But frankly? None of those games offer enough to be "best" of anything.

Originally posted by Guillermo197

Originally posted by JonMichael

Originally posted by kb4blu

I voted none of the above simply because they are all equally bad.

MMO's have gone to hell in a handbasket.

 

 

And you played them all, I assume?

 

 

 

I actually did and they all didn't deliver in my eyes.

Seeing the poor quality and scams (AoC) with this year new MMO launches then you can conclude it has been a very very bad year for MMO's.

So I think "None of the Above" is a very very valid option in this poll.

Cheers

I don't doubt that you played all of the MMO's released this year. It's not hard to believe that people buy and play every new release these days, unlike how it was before WoW came out. However, I seriously doubt you found nothing good in any of this years releases. Are you telling me you didn't like the graphics of AoC, Tortelage, the combat system, the voice overs; what about the public quests in WAR, or being able to que up for scenarios from anywhere and after the scenario putting you back where you were? Or what about being able to earn points to buy RvR gear at all levels of the game and it being relatively accessible to all people?

I find a person who didn't like even one of those things to be a rather pessimistic person. Keep in mind that the "none of the above" option was for people that didn't like not even one feature in any of this years releases. I voted for WAR, because I did like a few of their features, but I play WoTLK. This is because I didn't like any of the games overall this year. I follow and respect the rules though, so I didn't vote "none of the above," since I liked at least 1 feature in one of those games.

It's just that "Best new Game" as an award feels veird to bestow upon a game so flawed at launch as AoC, even though the graphics undoubtedly are great. Best, though not necessarily in every aspect, reflects some kind of overall quality. So you do not need to overly negative, pessimistic or a troll to vote "none of the above", although I think there are quite a few that will grab that chance out of general negativity versus todays MMOs.

My question still is: " has AoC improved sufficiently after tha launch to be worth considering for such a title"?

(I haven't played it myself, never will, too much blood and gore to my taste, but I think that is irrelevant when it comes to the quality of the game. So if someone convinces me it deserves the title, I'll vote for it.)

Originally posted by FTPMMO

It's just that "Best new Game" as an award feels veird to bestow upon a game so flawed at launch as AoC, even though the graphics undoubtedly are great. Best, though not necessarily in every aspect, reflects some kind of overall quality. So you do not need to overly negative, pessimistic or a troll to vote "none of the above", although I think there are quite a few that will grab that chance out of general negativity versus todays MMOs.

My question still is: " has AoC improved sufficiently after tha launch to be worth considering for such a title"?

(I haven't played it myself, never will, too much blood and gore to my taste, but I think that is irrelevant when it comes to the quality of the game. So if someone convinces me it deserves the title, I'll vote for it.)

If you need to have someone else tell you what to vote for, then don't vote.
 

Originally posted by Zorvan

Originally posted by FTPMMO

It's just that "Best new Game" as an award feels veird to bestow upon a game so flawed at launch as AoC, even though the graphics undoubtedly are great. Best, though not necessarily in every aspect, reflects some kind of overall quality. So you do not need to overly negative, pessimistic or a troll to vote "none of the above", although I think there are quite a few that will grab that chance out of general negativity versus todays MMOs.

My question still is: " has AoC improved sufficiently after tha launch to be worth considering for such a title"?

(I haven't played it myself, never will, too much blood and gore to my taste, but I think that is irrelevant when it comes to the quality of the game. So if someone convinces me it deserves the title, I'll vote for it.)

If you need to have someone else tell you what to vote for, then don't vote.
 

Well, I would argue that there is a certain difference between "tell" and "convince".
 

Originally posted by FTPMMO

Originally posted by Zorvan

Originally posted by FTPMMO

It's just that "Best new Game" as an award feels veird to bestow upon a game so flawed at launch as AoC, even though the graphics undoubtedly are great. Best, though not necessarily in every aspect, reflects some kind of overall quality. So you do not need to overly negative, pessimistic or a troll to vote "none of the above", although I think there are quite a few that will grab that chance out of general negativity versus todays MMOs.

My question still is: " has AoC improved sufficiently after tha launch to be worth considering for such a title"?

(I haven't played it myself, never will, too much blood and gore to my taste, but I think that is irrelevant when it comes to the quality of the game. So if someone convinces me it deserves the title, I'll vote for it.)

If you need to have someone else tell you what to vote for, then don't vote.
 

Well, I would argue that there is a certain difference between "tell" and "convince".
 

And your argument would fall flat.

if you played the game, that should convince you one way or the other. If you didn't play the game, you have no right to an opinion of its worthiness for a title.

And since you state you never played AoC, you are asking for someone to tell you something to convince you of its worthiness. In other words, someone else gets to decide yourt vote for a game you never played.

Did you play any of the games on the list? If so, then pick the best from the ones you played. If you played none of them, then don't vote, as you have no valid opinion in this subject.

Originally posted by Zorvan

Originally posted by FTPMMO

Originally posted by Zorvan

Originally posted by FTPMMO

It's just that "Best new Game" as an award feels veird to bestow upon a game so flawed at launch as AoC, even though the graphics undoubtedly are great. Best, though not necessarily in every aspect, reflects some kind of overall quality. So you do not need to overly negative, pessimistic or a troll to vote "none of the above", although I think there are quite a few that will grab that chance out of general negativity versus todays MMOs.

My question still is: " has AoC improved sufficiently after tha launch to be worth considering for such a title"?

(I haven't played it myself, never will, too much blood and gore to my taste, but I think that is irrelevant when it comes to the quality of the game. So if someone convinces me it deserves the title, I'll vote for it.)

If you need to have someone else tell you what to vote for, then don't vote.
 

Well, I would argue that there is a certain difference between "tell" and "convince".
 

 

And your argument would fall flat.

if you played the game, that should convince you one way or the other. If you didn't play the game, you have no right to an opinion of its worthiness for a title.

And since you state you never played AoC, you are asking for someone to tell you something to convince you of its worthiness. In other words, someone else gets to decide yourt vote for a game you never played.

Did you play any of the games on the list? If so, then pick the best from the ones you played. If you played none of them, then don't vote, as you have no valid opinion in this subject.

If you think through what you just wrote you realize how akward it would be to apply the rule of first hand experience as a necessity to be able to have an opinion. Most of what you get through the media you have no first experince of yourself. I guess you have a lot of opinions about stuff you've just read about in papers or watched on TV. None of us would be able to vote in a general election if it was required first hand experience with all the issues. And noone gets to decide my vote. If I am not convinced by the arguments in favor of AoC as it is p.t. I will vote "none of the above".  
 

You brought this thread far away from the topic. I wanted arguments in favor of AoC as it is right now, since the launch left me with many doubts. So if you have nothing to say about the quality of the game. I'll leave this dicussion here.

This one was easy... None of the above

Now I beg to differ, if you are going to include Atlantica, why in the world did you exclude f2p games like Perfect World?

In my opinion, Perfect World is so much better than Atlantica, there is just no comparison.  Atlantica has that ancient turn based combat, which to many of us is just plain lame and it is a huge lagfest.  I had a couple hundred people on screen the other day in Perfect World and only experienced mild lag.

Seriously if you are going to include the f2p games, then include them all.  You can't justify excluding any when you include one of them.

Im sorry but 2008 was a horrible year for MMORPG's.... lets hope 2009 will be better with games like AION and Star Trek and Star Wars (if they come out in 2009 but unlikely) ect..

I voted for AoC because even with the failed launch the game is a thousand times better now and actually pretty damn fun.  I left after a while and have not been back until recently and holy crap did they clean a lot up and flesh out the stories for quests and the dungeons are seriously a blast to do.  Even solo dungeon quests are awesome with almost raid like game play of finding a weakness or some kind of trick to help you that requires planning and practice to get right.  It's just fun to do them now.  The PvP revamp has been great it's actually great to pvp now.  And they have adjusted the gear... still needs some tweaking but it's so much better than it used to be.  That fact alone got my vote for it.  It's actually going in the right direction compared to war which is still a long way from being fun.

The other titles I played and got bored too quickly never got passed 20 for most of them.  Anyways that's my opinion.

Originally posted by Ozmodan

Now I beg to differ, if you are going to include Atlantica, why in the world did you exclude f2p games like Perfect World?

In my opinion, Perfect World is so much better than Atlantica, there is just no comparison.  Atlantica has that ancient turn based combat, which to many of us is just plain lame and it is a huge lagfest.  I had a couple hundred people on screen the other day in Perfect World and only experienced mild lag.

Seriously if you are going to include the f2p games, then include them all.  You can't justify excluding any when you include one of them.

I think with Perfect world its still considered as unreleased.  Oddly they just put out an expansion.  Then there's the question of  which perfect world, because Its Malay PW has been out since 2007, and although they gave a beta in Sept for PW international, they never really had an actual "launch" if you will.

Originally posted by beauxaj

Originally posted by Ozmodan

Now I beg to differ, if you are going to include Atlantica, why in the world did you exclude f2p games like Perfect World?

In my opinion, Perfect World is so much better than Atlantica, there is just no comparison.  Atlantica has that ancient turn based combat, which to many of us is just plain lame and it is a huge lagfest.  I had a couple hundred people on screen the other day in Perfect World and only experienced mild lag.

Seriously if you are going to include the f2p games, then include them all.  You can't justify excluding any when you include one of them.

 

I think with Perfect world its still considered as unreleased.  Oddly they just put out an expansion.  Then there's the question of  which perfect world, because Its Malay PW has been out since 2007, and although they gave a beta in Sept for PW international, they never really had an actual "launch" if you will.

tru.dat

Personally, I think Atlantica is a way more structured game and gives you more stuff to do. I managed to play to level 51 without burning out (no time to play atm) while in PW I couldn't play past 20 or so if I remember right...

At least the strategic element in Atlantica keeps you playing a bit longer, it's not just endless skill-button mashing.

I voted for warhammer online because it is a lot of fun when I have time to play

p.s.: for the guys saying that if u didnt try play the stated games u cant comment... oh come on it's a poll , on a forum , on the internetz...here it's like in politics...even trolls can comment...and they will...

btw I played none of the stated games except WAR..AoC appealed me but I didnt buy it

Originally posted by Stradden

Every year, the lit of current MMORPGs grows. Every year, we hope to find the launch of the "next big thing" in our genre or maybe just the next big thing" for our tastes. Sometimes we're happy with the results and sometimes we're not.

This year, we decided to include a "none of the above" nomination in this category. This decision was reached after reading numerous comments on the forums that seemed to indicate that people were unhappy with the products released in 2008.

The Best New Game category was created in order to determine our readers' favourite game that has yet to celebrate its one year anniversary. In order to qualify for this category, a game had to be released in 2008. As always, the nominations were chosen by the MMORPG.com editorial staff.

• Age of Conan
• Atlantica Online
• Pirates of the Burning Sea
• Warhammer Online
• None of the Above

Vote for the Best New Game of 2008

It's been a really bad year.

Originally posted by Guillermo197

Originally posted by JonMichael

Originally posted by kb4blu

I voted none of the above simply because they are all equally bad.

MMO's have gone to hell in a handbasket.

 

 

And you played them all, I assume?

 

 

 

I actually did and they all didn't deliver in my eyes.

Seeing the poor quality and scams (AoC) with this year new MMO launches then you can conclude it has been a very very bad year for MMO's.

So I think "None of the Above" is a very very valid option in this poll.

Cheers

Ive played them all as well, most of them ive played since alpha, the none of the above option is more then nessessairy.

I've played them all except AoC, and I also voted "none of the above."  It really HASN'T been the BEST year ever for new MMOs, has it?

I played AoC and WAR, but I didn't play the other two. Of the two games I did play, neither them turned out to be what I had anticipated. As for the other two, I only heard marginal positive things about Pirates and almost no vocal action towards Atlantica.

So, I voted none and to be honest, it truely was a crappy game year for MMO's.

NONE for the love of mother and child! And its fully right to add that option, given the many trash and mediocrity we have seen this year. 2007 I said it could only get better, and BOY was I wrong. Lets hope 2009 will be better. =.=

None of them could make me bother to come back to MMORPGs so none of them deserve to be the best of anything.

Played  LoTRO and EQII most of the year. Stil playiong LoTRO and it looks liek that will be my gane for awhile to come since nothing in development excites me at all

tried AoC, War and PoBS voted none of the above

AoC  turned me off with the poor CS/QA early on then it just seemed it seemed too restrictive in movement and the community just wasn't as good as EQII and LoTROs. It does have some good points and I will look at it again next year maybe.

 With Warhammer I wanted DAoC II. Bur that was not the case and after about 6 hours of play I called it quits.

Beta'ed PoBS and of all the games listed I wanted to like this one the most but ended up liking it the least. Never could "identify " with my toon for whatever reason

never did the 4th game choice but just reading up on it decided it was nothing I really wisehed to try so  none of the above was the closest thing to a real choice that I had

Well clearly None of the Above should win but to if I had to choose one of the games listed I would pick PotBS.

I voted "none of the above" because all other games were all fanta-dull. I prefer sci-fi. Fantasy is boring IMHO. I know many people disagree with me and that's fine. To each their own. Why weren't we offered some good non-fantasy games in the list?

I purchased AOC and Warhammer.  How I wish building the cities in AOC could have saved that game :-( . Regardless I picked None of the above since I'm a little upset - I'm out about 100.00 because of those two games.

"And ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner"

(fumbles with the envelope a bit, then reads)

"And the winner for best MMORG of 2008 is... None of the above!"

(CHEERS and APPLAUSE)

"What a fantastic night for None of the above.  Looks like None of the above might have a clean sweep of this years MMORPG award categories!"

Ok so I'll be the first to try to pull something else than teenager sensationalism on this poll.."OMG none of the above"...lol.

I have only tried AoC, so this makes it to an easy vote. AoC has however been the best game I have tried in years, so I choose AoC with very honest intentions.

Originally posted by pencilrick

"And ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner"

(fumbles with the envelope a bit, then reads)

"And the winner for best MMORG of 2008 is... None of the above!"

(CHEERS and APPLAUSE)

"What a fantastic night for None of the above.  Looks like None of the above might have a clean sweep of this years MMORPG award categories!"

Funny, cause I think there have been easier years ever than this year. AoC is by fare the best game. And by the way what year was the options better? Perhaps when WOW came out? Nope, did not think so...

Honestly, according to this rule here : "By voting None of the Above, you are stating that this year's crop of MMOs was not only poor, but to your mind, so completely unplayable that no redeeming factors could be found in the nominated games."

According to that rule, I would have to vote for AoC, because it was the only MMO that I got at least SOME enjoyment out of.  (The combat system was something a little new, and building the guild city was fun for a tiny bit).  But it was still a god awful MMO that I didn't play past the first month, and voting for it makes me feel like I'm telling it that it did a good job.

So fuck all of those.  None of the above.

It is not necessary to play all the games to have an opinion about 2008 new games. If a game was not compelling enough to try then it wasn't good in that person's veiw.

I played three and while sure there has to be one that is least worse - none of them warrant being put up as the best of 2008.

Putting any of these up as best of 2008 would imply that it was a good thing and there was nothing good in 2008 from new games.

Worst of all one took an incredibly rich valuable brand and completely ruined it.

Originally posted by JK-Kanosi

Originally posted by Guillermo197

Originally posted by JonMichael

Originally posted by kb4blu

I voted none of the above simply because they are all equally bad.

MMO's have gone to hell in a handbasket.

 

 

And you played them all, I assume?

 

 

 

I actually did and they all didn't deliver in my eyes.

Seeing the poor quality and scams (AoC) with this year new MMO launches then you can conclude it has been a very very bad year for MMO's.

So I think "None of the Above" is a very very valid option in this poll.

Cheers

 

I don't doubt that you played all of the MMO's released this year. It's not hard to believe that people buy and play every new release these days, unlike how it was before WoW came out. However, I seriously doubt you found nothing good in any of this years releases. Are you telling me you didn't like the graphics of AoC, Tortelage, the combat system, the voice overs; what about the public quests in WAR, or being able to que up for scenarios from anywhere and after the scenario putting you back where you were? Or what about being able to earn points to buy RvR gear at all levels of the game and it being relatively accessible to all people?

I find a person who didn't like even one of those things to be a rather pessimistic person. Keep in mind that the "none of the above" option was for people that didn't like not even one feature in any of this years releases. I voted for WAR, because I did like a few of their features, but I play WoTLK. This is because I didn't like any of the games overall this year. I follow and respect the rules though, so I didn't vote "none of the above," since I liked at least 1 feature in one of those games.

It's not about what was in good in wich game.

Ofcourse Age of Conan had some good stuff in it.

And I am still subbed to Warhammer Online, but that's only because I am guild leader and have great people in my guild I dont want to let down or I would have canceled already.

MMORPG's are suppose to be games you enjoy for the long run. And none of this year's MMO releases have given me that satisfaction.

All of them turned me off within a month.

Be it the lag issues, not working skills / attrtibutes and continues crashes to desktop of Funcom's marvelous patching and utter lack of mid to endlevel content in Age of Conan.

Or be it extreme lag issues, constant Disconnects, extreme lagspikes (since last WAR patch), very wrong and baffling design decisions (everyone hiding in scenarios, no incentive for oRvR, PVE a joke) within Warhammer Online.

And so on....

I enjoyed Star Wars Galaxies for a year (till NGE hit), I enjoyed World of Warcraft for over 1 and half year, I enjoyed EverQuest 2 and still do (but now canceled as I cant be subbed and able to play everything), I enjoyed LOTRO and still do (MoM just being the best expension ever).

Just face it! None of this years launced MMO's delivered and all of them felt rushed out of the door, lacking, broken and above all left you with a sour taste full of dissapointment.

Every MMO launches with bugs and has issues around launch (be it unforseen server problems, too many players, etc). But this year we talk about MMO's being launched with missing (while advertised) features, broken game systems, extreme poor performance and not well thought out design decisions wich doesn't seem to work in the live server environment (wich is the case in WAR).

Cheers

I voted for Age of Conan as I'm still playing the game and I think it's a great game now after a very rocky start.

The words "engrossing crafting system" as a description for a feature that's a part of AoC is a complete joke however. It was firstly the most bugged crafting system in an mmo, and then when most of it worked it became the most boring, then the most overpowered with gem stacking and after that it became the most useless when they nerfed all the gems.

It is only now that crafting is becoming a useful part of the game with the addition of new recipes and systems, up until this point it was anything but engrossing .. laughable is closer. Also we are still awaiting the addition of gem balancing due to come in january to bring crafting to the level it should be at.

I voted none of the above because to me if you are voting for best new game it means that the game has had success. I don't think any new game has had that much success if any to warrant any reward given.

Age of Conan because it's most unique. WAR was fun for a bit, but I don't see it offering much innovation.

I can't wait for Darkfall to come out! 

Everyone already knows that this years crop of MMO's didn't pan out the greatest at launch..

Wouldn't a "Which of these new MMO's has the greatest potential" (with the same options) been a better poll this year?

• None of the above.

Those games are all bad.  I played War, what a joke.  All hype, no meat.  It's like a loaf of Wonder bread...it looks good, you buy it, you open it up and find that a piece of paper has more substance to it than the whole loaf.

I vote for Chronicles of Spellborn as the Best Of for this year.  The game is live and playable, so it really shouldn't be in the "most anticipated 2009" listing.

As a vet since UO, EQ1 until now,

i'd say Atlantica Online teaches a lesson to all the devs that have been copy/paste the same mmo recipe for the last few years.

For those who haven't tried it, check it out .

Incredibly, the more innovative, fun, complex, content-full mmorpg of the last 3 years is .... free.

I'm impressed that mmorpg.com included Atlantica Online in the poll, you guys haven't lost touch to whats really happening in the genre.

Just like you started to keep us updated with Darkfall, Mortal online & Earthrise. Great job.

Originally posted by streea

The sad thing is, "None of the above" will probably win, regardless of the fact that the majority of people who will vote that way did not A) play all of the games listed or B) play these games outside of the beta. There's too much whining on the site about MMOs not being creative, yet all of the titles introduce creative aspects to their game, or that it it had problems at launch, regardless of the fact that things have been added and things have been changed. It's like people get stuck in this "once burned, twice as angry" mentality where they're unable to accept that things sometimes do change for the better.

Dittos; people should imo disqualify themselves unless they have played all the games objectively.

The only one I've played on the list is AoC, and I didn't play long enough to judge, quitting mostly for reasons not related to AoC. I will slam them big time for improperly listing the RP server (Cimmeria) as just a plain PvP server, as the population there was NOT RP and so immature as to make the Trade channel in WoW look respectable (For those who don't know, Trade is the closest thing to a channel that can be read by all players on a server in World of Warcraft - it can be read by all players in a capital city - so accumulates the biggest collection of off-topic garbage. and I do mean garbage.). So much for hoping the 'mature' rating would lead to a more mature-acting player base.

Originally posted by kaydinv

Originally posted by JK-Kanosi

Originally posted by Guillermo197

Originally posted by JonMichael

Originally posted by kb4blu

I voted none of the above simply because they are all equally bad.

MMO's have gone to hell in a handbasket.

 

 

And you played them all, I assume?

 

 

 

I actually did and they all didn't deliver in my eyes.

Seeing the poor quality and scams (AoC) with this year new MMO launches then you can conclude it has been a very very bad year for MMO's.

So I think "None of the Above" is a very very valid option in this poll.

Cheers

 

I don't doubt that you played all of the MMO's released this year. It's not hard to believe that people buy and play every new release these days, unlike how it was before WoW came out. However, I seriously doubt you found nothing good in any of this years releases. Are you telling me you didn't like the graphics of AoC, Tortelage, the combat system, the voice overs; what about the public quests in WAR, or being able to que up for scenarios from anywhere and after the scenario putting you back where you were? Or what about being able to earn points to buy RvR gear at all levels of the game and it being relatively accessible to all people?

I find a person who didn't like even one of those things to be a rather pessimistic person. Keep in mind that the "none of the above" option was for people that didn't like not even one feature in any of this years releases. I voted for WAR, because I did like a few of their features, but I play WoTLK. This is because I didn't like any of the games overall this year. I follow and respect the rules though, so I didn't vote "none of the above," since I liked at least 1 feature in one of those games.

 

"I follow and respect the rules though..."

You sound like you're a 5th grader trying to stay out of "trouble." Don't take everything literally, or else you'll end up sounding like a little kid (as you do right now).

Edit: I voted for NOTA, because every one of those games sucked. Especially WAR, that waste of money.

Yes, because kids respect other people and rules.  Anyways, my age is in my profile; there's no need to hide it. I guess I'm a pretty old 5th grader then. At least my son and I are going to the same elementary school...

Voted for Warhammer - having bought and played both WH and PotBS this year.

AoC doesn't make best of the year simply because of it's launch.  It's probably got potential - but of the new releases it simply didn't make it out of the gate strongly enough and generated enough badness to promote a restructure right after launch.

PotBS is unfortunate because I'd love for another independent to get the same success as CCP and EVE have - but the dev team simply didn't know what game they wanted, nor had any idea how real players would play their game once it was released.  Again - lots of restructuring immediately after launch - they're on their 3rd lead dev by my count.

Hadn't heard anything about Atlantica Online - so it's a bit unfair to discount them I suppose, but lack of impact speaks something about the game too I suppose.

Finally, I discounted None of the Above out of hand - as there is a "best game of 2008" even if it's the best of a mediocre crop.  Having the option there simply allows people to vent their spleen and frankly means next to nothing in the category.

Of the lot I find Warhammer entertaining, pretty stable and the dev team has been cranking out fixes and content since launch without any crazy damage control or stop-gap scenarios (yet anyway).

** It amazes me constantly that people who supposedly have played many MMOs are constantly comparing newly released games to ones that have been out for years.  In an iterative field, the longer a game survives the better it gets.  I fail to see how anyone can seriously compare current-day WoW (for instance) to a brand new game in terms of scope or content or stability and think it's at all relevant.  Compare apples to apples at the very least.

Originally posted by Smokeysong

Dittos; people should imo disqualify themselves unless they have played all the games objectively.

Why? Do I have to get kicked in the groin to be able to say I don't like it? All these games were fantasy. Some of us don't like fantasy. That means we're not going to like it so why should we play it, hence voting NOTA.

Voted Atlantica Online , by far the most innovative game of this year, nothing really compers amongst the generic gender.

My vote is for "None of the Above".

I don't think unprecedented is a good word for Age of Conan's character development / customization.  I mean I guess if you mean just appearance thast one thing but when I think of development & customization I think skills etc etc.    As far as class / level systems go DDO blows Age of Conan out of water.  i'm not crapping on the game Age of Conan but its mechanics were only unique in their combination but singled out everything's been done before.

btw if you judge Age of Conan by 1 - 20 I'd say its the best...but since I look at the over all I'm voting Warhammer.

I am going to abstain from this vote as I feel that all of the MMOs above did have some redeeming features but overall should not receive a vote as "Best of 2008".

This year's list can't be as bad as last year's:

Lord of the Rings
Tabula Rasa
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes
Hellgate: London
Fury

Three of those games are dead (or soon to be) and one had a launch so bad that the company was shut down and the game traded shortly afterward.   Now LotRO seems to be doing okay and there are efforts to keep Vanguard going but let's face it  '07 was a pretty wreteched year.    I think this year offered a somewhat better selection if only by the somewhat larger percent of games that won't die.

It is eerie seeing the similarity of the failed games between this and last year's selection.   McQuaid ousted from Vangaurd & Garriott 'leaves' TR.   Gaute tossed from AoC from this year.    There are lessons to be learned that could be applied to the 'Most Anticipated' catergory if only the community remembers the history of MMORPGs and not get caught up in developer hype that ignores it. 

someone made a comment about.. mmo's going to hell in a handbasket, kinda getting this about the site now. . becoming way to bias. . an to much crying...

2008 was definately the most crappy year for new MMO releases in ages. None of the titles were good or innovative. Most of the titles released set in my junk pile of games. Not one game i bought this year saw more then a 1 month sub payment.  I spent more time playing old faithful games then i did new games this year. Yeah my vote * None of the above*.

Originally posted by Stradden

Originally posted by JonMichael

Hey Jon,

Love your polls, but I have to disagree with adding the "none of the above" option.   If you don't have it for your other "best of" polls, it shouldn't be on this one either.  If people didn't like any of the games released this year, they have the option of not voting. 

This will only encourage anyone whose present game isn't on the list or a game they don't like on the list  to vote "none of the above" and make it look like this year's games are less than appealing.

 

I'd agree, except that in this case, I've heard and seen so much response on the forums throughout the year that I felt that the "none of the above" category was totally warranted. For example, I didn't read post after post of folks complaining about there being "no good expansions" this year, nor did I see enough of it in terms of company, or even anticipated for next year.

All year long though, we've been hearing people voice that exact opinion about this specific category, that's why we chose to put it in there.

To the person who suggested that we nominate "other" rather than none of the above...

Those are two completely different things. While perhaps "other" is a category we will use in the future, we can't simply replace "none of the above" with "other". Other implies that there was another not-nominated game that people wanted to vote for, but couldn't, not that they were genreally dissatisfied with the crop of new games this year.

The "none of the above" option wasn't given lightly and it was given in this specific category for a very specific reason.

I hope that clears things up for you.

 

I think this makes perfect sense as far as this year's poll is concerned because there has been a lot of discontent voiced (not only here but on other forums and websites as well) with this year's crop of games, but I would really like to see both of those options - 'Other' & 'None of the Above' - added to every future poll.  It would add balance as well as giving you, the MMORPG.com editorial staff, a litmus test showing not only whether or not the category truly does have a few real winners but  also showing how well you made your decision as to who and what to include in your polls and whether or not your criteria for inclusion needs to be re-examined.
 

That said, I am not going to vote in this category simply because I have not played a single one of them, yet.  All of the blurbs added in the descriptions as well as the other media I've seen and the research I've done into each of them makes all of them look & sound good, and I may actually end up trying a few (if not all of them when I complete the building of my new system ) over the course of the next year.  But I have also heard a lot of bad opinions (as well as some good) from those who have played the nominees.  So rather than go on hype or second-hand opinions, I will withhold my vote not even voting for the most recently launched (I chuckled at the launch info ) nominee - None of the Above - because I didn't think that that would be a fair vote either, in my case at least.

WAR gets my vote, hands down.

Played AoC since launch to one month ago , a game of such contrast between awesome and awful design.

Played WAR ea , didnt get into the lore , the ambience wasnt  imensive at all for me ,no need to waste more time for me on that game.

Followed  PoTbS for some time but didnt bother to try it as i read what was it major flaws.

Atlancita online - turn based combat isnt for me in a mmo.

My previous exprience with mmo is mostly EQ2 and some months of  VG and GW.

The reason i wont wote for AoC or WAR is that with all the hype and promises the devs delivered (especially AoC ) , and the budget and time they had availible,  im dissapointed they didnt make more immnesive and fun games  compared to the ones i mentioned.

I it was on the list i would vote for The Cronicles Of Spellborn , been playing it for a week and so far it seems inovative , creative and genuine by base design  . I think it has much more vision and orginality  than the 4 on the list.

"If you are one of those folks who honestly and truly has not found even a small amount of fun in any of the four games mentioned above, then this category is for you. By voting None of the Above, you are stating that this year's crop of MMOs was not only poor, but to your mind, so completely unplayable that no redeeming factors could be found in the nominated games."

There are a few admirable features within this lot but each still fell short as a complete package. I was extremely underwhelmed by them. 

"POOR" and "completely unplayable" is a ridiculously extreme definition for the "none of the above" option.

"Best"  infers a positive. Unplayable is waaaay on the end of the spectrum. Mediocre doesn't deserve a "best"...unless you are the kind of person who asks others "what is the best kind of cancer?"

I haven't been happy with the genre for a long time. People with lessor expectations might try to convince me that there are some new MMO's with innovative gameplay. I don't buy it.  MMO's have scaled back or dumbed down almost every possible feature, including the game worlds themselves (instanced zones). 

None of the above for me.

The only decent game I played the whole year was Lotro, and it's not all that innovative either.

Didn't vote.

I vote AoC. For the reason that it is immense fun. The intense combat and Soeges/PvP alone would make me vote for AoC.

you know alot of folks here have stated these games were crappy but were they? i mean if you had never played a mmo in your life and came upon one of these games  how would they be judged?

i have often wondered of we old hats havent been around the block one too many times and are all a wee bit biased on what would make a mmo fun and not.

as far as buggy releases all games that are mmo have been buggy at release for someone some worse then others but i have to be honest,

When i started EQ! in june of 2k it waqs a year old and extremely buggy yet i could not put the game down,

when anarchy online came out it too was very buggy yet i couldnt put the game down , not as long as eq but it was appealing and i feel i recieved my moneys worth.

when Daoc came outy my son had his first mmo experience and to this day holds a soft spot for doac that i held for Eq.

now adays there is wow and for some reason i dont feel any other fantasy game does it as well and hold my interest nearly as well as Wow. is it a good game ? you decide but it was buggy and laggy when it hit the streets as well, yet it had that strange hook on me that eq used to have.

no game in 2008 had that feeling.

Regardless of what genre of mmo if it dont hook it will die  so hopefully in 2009 they come out with a new hook if not i have a feeling alot of us will be going outside more.

Age of Conan was the best one for me, I only quit it because there was other things which we're more fun then that at that time, but it was a fine game.

Warhammer was a major dissapointment, very boring.

Warhmmer is without a doubt the best game on that list. They all have good aspects, but war is awesome! Just how i feel,

Warhammer got my vote !!

Especially for keeping it clean and actually creating new ways of playing MMO's

good job

Originally posted by Stradden

Originally posted by JonMichael

Hey Jon,

Love your polls, but I have to disagree with adding the "none of the above" option.   If you don't have it for your other "best of" polls, it shouldn't be on this one either.  If people didn't like any of the games released this year, they have the option of not voting. 

This will only encourage anyone whose present game isn't on the list or a game they don't like on the list  to vote "none of the above" and make it look like this year's games are less than appealing.

 

I'd agree, except that in this case, I've heard and seen so much response on the forums throughout the year that I felt that the "none of the above" category was totally warranted. For example, I didn't read post after post of folks complaining about there being "no good expansions" this year, nor did I see enough of it in terms of company, or even anticipated for next year.

All year long though, we've been hearing people voice that exact opinion about this specific category, that's why we chose to put it in there.

To the person who suggested that we nominate "other" rather than none of the above...

Those are two completely different things. While perhaps "other" is a category we will use in the future, we can't simply replace "none of the above" with "other". Other implies that there was another not-nominated game that people wanted to vote for, but couldn't, not that they were genreally dissatisfied with the crop of new games this year.

The "none of the above" option wasn't given lightly and it was given in this specific category for a very specific reason.

I hope that clears things up for you.

 

I read the comments about the article and then read the article. Same as I usually do for stuff on this site. Then I promptly voted for none of the above. Not because I found no redeeming features in any of those games listed. Hell I didn't even play Atlantica Online. But I really hope none of the above gets over the line. Because at a guess, and this is pure speculation, most reasonable people will see that listed and it'll make news on other MMO sites and people will ask just what the hell is going on here at MMORPG.com.

It was a stupid option to include and the way some of the polls have been selected and narrowed down have obviously been editorial decisions. Open them up to every option for the year not the ones you want to promote. Best expansion of the year would've gone to a free Issue given out with CoH imo. Hell again I don't play any of the games but I voted Lotro because it's the only one there I'd consider playing.

voted for Warhammer. love the lore, played the battletop and pen & paper games. very innovative, to the point the mighty WoW is copying its ideas in PvP department (of course after stealing and basing the whole WoW world on Warhamer concept and lore, but who cares...)

War all the way. played conan until level 58 on my awesome HoX. Prior to the awaited pvp adjustments, gear and Turning red system which they promised almost every week. well months went by and pre-launch of WAR started, got the collectors kit played it. Loved the shit out of it especially on my server (pheonix throne) feels like 24/7 theirs scenarios and world pvp going on. Had my main a chosen totally deckedout, did the heavy metal event to get the jump start on the black guard which in my opinion is the COOLEST tank class in any mmorpg to date.

The tank that is tough to bring down, deals huge dps, and all the abilities are anti-magery and anti-tank (reducing crit change, reducing str, reducing toughness, an ability that stacks three times to reduce both int and willpower) all of which dot and do initial damage, the hatred system is awesome (building up hatred to do more damamge and unleash certain abilities that require hatred to use, while other abilities need energy. Badda bing the ability to replenish all your energy as a skill with a 20 second cool down their unstoppable, I'm only level 11 and ofcourse I sent some +16 str and toughness (two each) and one +16 initative gems to my BG to twink him out and it worked. First place in a T2 scenario when I was at level 10. 9 KBs, over 56K damage, 75 overall kills 3 deaths, and 4 solo kills.

WAAAAGHHH

I did not see lotro as a choice. If that ws on the list then i agree lotro is the best  game, but i do not think it was a choice.

When will the voting be closed and results announced BTW? Is it next year?

Disappointed by the MMORPG.com editors for having the "none of the above" option. It's fairly obvious that WoW fanboys will be hammering that option as well as people who frankly haven't played all of the games on the list.

Shocking that site admins would be so narrow minded as to put an option like that into a poll like this, makes a mockery of the entire poll.

my vote goes of course to Atlantica Online. the quallity from amercian (and european) mmorpg´s is just to bad.

i voted for atlantica online.. can you vote for more games than one?? but anyways.. havent tried the other games yet.. still having fun with atlantica..  so far this game is my favorite game..

     I thought Atlantica was the best of the games on the list.....

I looked at the first title and have played it too but it didnt meet the things it said would i was looking forward to AoC been my thing but it had alot of annoying things i personaly dont enjoy in an mmo e.g the profession the mounts the combat was good but after it wears off. i voted none of above because i really dont like them i spent alot of money too upgrade the my pc to get good game result without lags or anything that might make the game look bad or put me off it.

Hoping 2009 will be the birth year of worlds greatest MMORPG!! Darkfall dont let me down

Voted for Atlantica Online. The features of this game never got me bored, exciting as always and there are so many things to do rather than those hack and slash MMORPGs. If I am on a break on quests, I spend my time joining PvP tournaments like Free League and there are also weekly championships so preparation is needed. Somtimes I also spend my time on Arena Betting, Item Crafting and Equipment Box Gambling. There are so many things in the game that takes away the same old boring-grinding in other MMORPGs, that is why i chose to play this game.

NDoors' Atlantica Online launched on October 30th, 2008

 That game got my vote. It is a very fun and very big game to play. There is far more to do there then any other game I have played. I am an old 3 year vet of WoW. I toyed with Perfect world int and cabal. I looked over AoC and read up on WAR.   Altantica by far beats those other ones out.

 The one thing I enjoy most about the game is how many different ways there is to get the gold you need to buy your gear and such.  You can bet on arena that is a group of npc fighting their way up a ladder. You can farm the mobs like in most games or you can play the market with buying and selling items you get form boxes and opening them. There is also the pvp coin shards you get that are worth a fair bit of change as well.

They did a great job on pvp to pve balance.  They did it simple. If you cant use the same number of stats for both change how those stats work. You stats change when you go form pve battle to pvp battle.

 Also you still get exp form fighting in pvp so those that are not max level can pvp and not worry about losing out on grind time for leveling. They also made it worth your time to be in a party with others both in person and with you in different areas/ level ranges.

 I really recommend this game to any that might be willing to give turn based games a shot a try. After all it is a Free to play so all you lose out on is download time and the time you play the game for.

Originally posted by Halfmad

Disappointed by the MMORPG.com editors for having the "none of the above" option. It's fairly obvious that WoW fanboys will be hammering that option as well as people who frankly haven't played all of the games on the list.

Shocking that site admins would be so narrow minded as to put an option like that into a poll like this, makes a mockery of the entire poll.

If you have to play all the games to vote none of the above then you should have to play them all to vote for any of them.

If the game doesn't generate enough interest to be played then it obviously can't be the best for that person.

I have never played WOW and I have played only three of the games on the list.

None of them deserve to be praised as best game.

"Atlantica Online could be the best tactical online game you've never heard of..." - Matt Plourde, mmorpg.com

"Atlantica would sit in the top ten of my favorite massively-multiplayer online games..it's the best game that subscription gamers may never try because of the commone biases against free-to-play title." - Danny Gourley, TenTonHammer.com

These statements are only some of which were predicted when the game was still young and at rise. i guess, playing the game would also help you to appreciate and recognize its worth in the gaming industry. personally, i think the game deserves its nomination and even to win the best game awards for 2008. my vote is worth its cost and i hope that you guys should also cast it into the worthy game.

- rivermada

Originally posted by rivermada

"Atlantica Online could be the best tactical online game you've never heard of..." - Matt Plourde, mmorpg.com

"Atlantica would sit in the top ten of my favorite massively-multiplayer online games..it's the best game that subscription gamers may never try because of the commone biases against free-to-play title." - Danny Gourley, TenTonHammer.com

 

These statements are only some of which were predicted when the game was still young and at rise. i guess, playing the game would also help you to appreciate and recognize its worth in the gaming industry. personally, i think the game deserves its nomination and even to win the best game awards for 2008. my vote is worth its cost and i hope that you guys should also cast it into the worthy game.

- rivermada

Sorry, but quoting an inane statement from Matt Plourde is not exactly the best way to start out a post.  The only tactics available in this game is which mercenaries you bring to a fight, after that they just sit there in their rows.  Hence, only someone completely unware of what tactics are could make such a statement.
 

I am glad many of you are enjoying the game, but let's not make it out to be what it is not.  Not one of you happened to mention the lag monster that is very prevalent in this game when multiple players are on screen.   So me, I will stick to subscription games that have decently written clients.

Originally posted by Halfmad

Disappointed by the MMORPG.com editors for having the "none of the above" option. It's fairly obvious that WoW fanboys will be hammering that option as well as people who frankly haven't played all of the games on the list.

Shocking that site admins would be so narrow minded as to put an option like that into a poll like this, makes a mockery of the entire poll.

Agreed, while other big website such as IGN, Gamespy, GAMESPOT, Gamefly, X-play have not only given WAR MMO game of the year, they also rated it extremly high in rankings period, some giving it 5/5 stars. And then you flip over to MMORPG dot com and "non of the above" wins because so many people on this forum will never find a game they will be happy with and will just vent vote out of frustration.

Its not going to do anything to any of the games subsciption base, it just seems like a poll setup to satisfy the people who play MMO's for a few weeks toss them for the next big thing, rense repeat, game after game, year after year, looking for the next big thing not realizing their probably not going to get it. Its kinda sad penting hopes on Darkfall, how can it even compete with the big companies, that is even if it gets released.

Originally posted by Sinent

you know alot of folks here have stated these games were crappy but were they? i mean if you had never played a mmo in your life and came upon one of these games  how would they be judged?

i have often wondered of we old hats havent been around the block one too many times and are all a wee bit biased on what would make a mmo fun and not.

as far as buggy releases all games that are mmo have been buggy at release for someone some worse then others but i have to be honest,

When i started EQ! in june of 2k it waqs a year old and extremely buggy yet i could not put the game down,

when anarchy online came out it too was very buggy yet i couldnt put the game down , not as long as eq but it was appealing and i feel i recieved my moneys worth.

when Daoc came outy my son had his first mmo experience and to this day holds a soft spot for doac that i held for Eq.

now adays there is wow and for some reason i dont feel any other fantasy game does it as well and hold my interest nearly as well as Wow. is it a good game ? you decide but it was buggy and laggy when it hit the streets as well, yet it had that strange hook on me that eq used to have.

no game in 2008 had that feeling.

Regardless of what genre of mmo if it dont hook it will die  so hopefully in 2009 they come out with a new hook if not i have a feeling alot of us will be going outside more.

Wow someone who actually gets it. I to have been around the block way back in early 98 I started playing UO I loved it, played EQ in 99 in the beta, buggy launch like you I couldnt put it down, but I did shortly after the first expansion. etc.......

I took a big break in late 05 after a solid year of WOW and just now recently picked up my first MMORPG in nearly 3 years WAR. I also ended up resubing to WOW. Im having a better time now that I took a break. And I see people in WAR that are new to the genre that are extremly happy. Its the veterans that kind find a game to replace their first game they loved. They want to recapture that high, as I call it that we had when we first started in our first MMORPG. Its just not happening, and there taking it out on every game since.

You really hit the nail on the head

well i voted atlantica online hmm im not sure if i can vote for two game at the same time hehe i dont want to be a flying voter so i decided to vote atlantica for it is really a promising best new game of the year.

Voted WAR as well.

I think it would have been much easier to make a poll for which game was the worst in 2008.