Top Ten Games That Should Be MMOs
MMORPG.com Managing Editor Jon Wood counts down the Top 10 video games that should be made into MMOs.
The game World of Warcraft has become synonymous with the MMORPG genre, and why shouldn't it? The game's subscriptions numbers speak volumes, its boxes dominate shelves in video game stores, TV shows parody it while its commercials run on another channel. The reasons for WoW's dominance in the video game industry are many and varied and could be debated for hours. One thing that can not be argued though is that Warcraft's popularity as a pre existing video game franchise played a role.
With that in mind, MMORPG.com presents a list of the top ten video games that should be made into MMOs:
# 10 Kingdom Hearts Online
In 2002, the company now known as Square Enix launched a game that combined its popular Final Fantasy series with an unlikely partner in Disney. It melded FF characters with classic Disney characters and settings. While the premise might sound absurd at the outset, audiences enjoyed it and the game spawned a number of sequels.
;)
Kingdom Hearts Online would give both Square Enix and Disney Interactive a new and interesting title to add their MMO libraries.
"Rejected Selection" - Tetris Online
Players can choose from up to seven different classes: Straight Line, L Shape, J Shape, Cube, S Shape, Z Shape and T Shape. Each class has its own role, but players must work together to accomplish their goals. The quests may be repetitive, but players will love the fast paced action.
#9 Madden Online / EA Sports Online
Nobody does sports games as well as EA. They have games in every major sport, headlined by the consistently best selling Madden football franchise. With sport-based MMOs gaining momentum within the genre, it may be time for the Sports branch of the mighty Electronic Arts to try their hands at an MMO.
Developers could focus on their flagship Madden franchise and make a football game, or take advantage of their many professional league licenses to let players try to develop multi-sport talents to compete against the best in the sport of their choosing.
#8 Battlefield Online
;)
The Battlefield franchise has always been about online player vs. player action. Soldiers compete against each other on their choice of a number of maps. Over the game's last few incarnations, moves have been made to add an RPG style experience and levelling system so that players can advance their soldiers, giving them access to stronger equipment and abilities. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to take the RPG transformation one step further and meld the maps into a single world, giving the MMO community an updated modern war game with a familiar face.
"Rejected Selection" - WWE Smackdown vs Raw Online
Create your own wrestler and battle other players for the World Heavyweight Championship. Quests include hitting your friend with a steel chair, keeping Hulk Hogan's ego in check, posing for the crowd and passing your steroids test.
# 7 Age of Empires Online
Blizzard started their move into the MMORPG realm by adapting an RTS series, and Microsoft could do the same with their popular franchise (now that Ensemble has been shuttered). Realm vs. Realm action is a perfect fit as some of the greatest civilizations from Earth's history battle for supremacy.
Historical MMOs don't have a fantastic track record, at least when it comes to Ancient Rome (Imperator, Gods & Heroes), but mix together all of the popular empires within a single era of history, add a little bit of war and violence, a crafting and discovery system, a city building (and destroying) system and Microsoft might be looking at a hit MMO.
#6 BioShock
The massive popularity of 2K's submerged first person shooter alone merits BioShock's consideration to be a candidate for an MMO makeover. If you add on the game's retro flavour, its combination of technology and super powers that look a lot like magic and its well crafted storyline, it becomes a no brainer.
;)
The entertainment world is abuzz these days with prequels, so why not make BioShock Online a prequel that dates back to the 1950s as strife began to grow in Rapture leading to the revolt and eventual breakdown of their civilization?
"Rejected Selection" - Pac Man Online
This Player vs. Player MMO allows gamers to choose one of two factions, the Pac Men or the Ghosts. The peace loving Pac Men advance primarily through gather quests, feeding their race's unquenchable hunger for white pellets and are occasionally rewarded with a cherry or strawberry rare drop. The ghosts, on the other hand, are a warlike race, defending their homeland from the insatiable Pac Men. Which side will you choose?
