We’ve talked about good MMORPGs before but what about great MMO games? “Great” meaning that it is on a whole ‘nother level of awesomeness compared to the others in the market today. Since we are talking about greatness, let’s not limit this list to just MMORPGs or just free-to-play. Here are my thoughts:
Great MMO Games 2013 List and Summary
I know that most people don’t really want to read a wall of text so here is the list with the links. If you want to know why these particular titles were chosen then please scroll down and read the post.
Pirate101 – voted the number one MMORPG last year
Everquest
World of Warcraft
Rift (Amazon Download Link)
The Secret World – wonderful story and setting
Uncharted Waters Online – sandbox features and exploration
More games here
Popular games
One measure of greatness is surely how many people are playing your game. We already have a list of the most popular MMORPGs so that will not be discussed in detail in this post.
Addicting games that keep you coming back for more
Everquest
Then there are the MMORPGs that you just can’t seem to stop playing. Back in the day Everquest was called “Evercrack” by its players because it was incredibly addicting. Check out this link Everquest on Amazon
These days there are so many free-to-play (F2P) titles that pay-to-play (P2P) is a tough sell. There is one game though that has never had a problem attracting a huge player base of players who are willing to shell out money every month. That game is World of Warcraft which, IMO, is still the top p2p MMO of 2013 but Rift is a close second.
A surprisingly good game
Then we have some games that seem kinda lame but turn out to be surprisingly good. While many reviewers were drooling over Guild Wars 2, do you know which game actually won most of the online surveys for best MMO of 2012?
It’s Pirate101.
To be honest at first I was flabbergasted but really Pirate101 is one heck of a game that is much better than it sounds. It has flying pirate ships and it’s just amazingly fun. I thought I would hate it but when I played I had a smile on my face the whole time.
Great setting and story
One thing that I like is when a game has a great setting and story. For 2013 there are two MMOs that stand out: Uncharted Waters Online (UWO) and The Secret World (TSW). UWO is free to play while TSW requires a small one-time payment but has no monthly subscription.
Uncharted Waters Online has a great sandbox feel to it that I just love. Set in the historical Age of Exploration (think Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, Sir Francis Drake, etc.) players are swept into a grand adventure in which they set sail for unknown lands. It has has a player-controlled economy based on trading.
The Secret World, on the other hand, is unusual in that it is set in the modern-day world in which myths, legends and conspiracies come alive. Players will encounter vampires in London, werewolves in New York, demons in Seoul and mummies in Egypt. To gain power in this troubled world, the player has to join one of the three ancient societies that date back to the time of Babylon – the Templars, Illuminati and Dragon. I find this sort of secret conspiracy story quite fascinating and the modern, urban setting is a nice change from the usual medieval fantasy world of other MMOs.
MOBA vs MMORPGs
MMORPGs are pretty notorious for being extremely time-consuming but these days there have been several new games that seemingly aims to get rid of grind by making gameplay session-based. Basically, players can play one match and can then theoretically quit playing for the day. I say theoretically because in fact one of the most played games of 2012 is League of Legends (as reported by Forbes). It will probably remain number 1 in 2013. LoL is just that great and addicting.
I mean, okay so you could probably play one match and then log out but what if you lost that match? I wouldn’t wanna be a loser/quitter so, of course, I play another round until I win. On the other hand, what if I win? Then I could be on a hot winning streak so why stop at just one round? This is the type of insidious “logic” that keeps me playing hour after hour.
For those who are not too familiar with the game, League of Legends is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) with gameplay similar to the Defense of the Ancients (DotA) map for Warcraft III. Players forms teams of 3 or 5 and play on a map with the goal of destroying the other team’s main structure called the Nexus.
Each player controls a champion and one of the main best things about LoL is having fun choosing a champion because there are so many different ones that have their own unique character design, abilities and imaginary backstory. After each session players are awarded experience and also points which can be used to unlock champions or buy runes that boosts the champions’ offensive, defensive and magical abilities.
Links to the best MOBAs: League of Legends and Heroes of Newerth
Thank you for reading my thoughts about the great MMORPG games of 2013. Feel free to comment and tell me which games you like.
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