Mocofun – Gamers Review

There has been a new influx of online role-playing games for the PC. There are now many free MMORPGs available, as well as pay-to-play MMORPGs. The pay-to-play model allows companies to put massive manpower and resources behind creating some of the best games ever. Here is a list of some of the top MMORPGs out right now.

World of Warcraft – Definitely the top dog when it comes to MMORPGs. World of Warcraft has well over ten million subscribers and continues to grow everyday. This fantasy-based MMORPG broke the mold and has pushed the standard ahead for online role-playing games.

Lord of the Rings Online – Primarily a PvE-based game, Lord of the Rings Online has incredible mainstream appeal and is doing very well in the industry. It has garned very high reviews from many professional gaming reviewers. The game is targeted to the more casual gamer market.

Eve Online – One of the longest running MMORPGs available today. Eve Online is a sci-fi online roleplaying game. It is well known for its almost true to life corporate and industrial espionage stories. The game is known to be one of the biggest time sinks in the industry, but has garnered a cult following amongst its fans.

Final Fantasy XI – Currently, FFXI is the lone representation in the MMORPG market for the massively successful Final Fantasy series. The game is hugely popular in both Asia and North America. It has released multiple successful expansion packs and still maintains a current and steady player-base, even after being out on the market for several years.

Warhammer Online – The most PvP-focused game to make this list. Warhammer Online was billed as the “WoW killer” when it was released. Although it didn’t quite live up to this moniker, Warhammer Online still has a solid following and is enjoying a large amount of success in the game world.

City of Heroes / City of Villains – The original superhero MMORPG. City of Heroes was first released years ago and followed up by City of Villains. The two games exist as separate, yet the same games. It has allowed players to play both the hero and villain side in one distinct game. A follow-up game called Champions is looking to be released soon to compete with this series.

There are many other great pay-to-play MMORPGs available online. Some of these additional games include, Everquest 1, Everquest 2, Dark Age of Camelot, Age of Conan, Lineage 2, Anarchy Online, Asheron’s Call, and many more. Some of these are older games, and some are quite new. But many more great MMORPGs are on the horizon. Especially look for Star Wars: The Old Republic coming in 2010.

Eric McCormick writes about the Best RPG Games For PC and Free RPG Games.

At GenCon Indy 2009, Wizards of the Coast had a big announcement regarding their flagship roleplaying game, Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition. They announced that in 2010 the next campaign setting would be Dark Sun, the desert world of Athas. This was a very fan-pleasing decision as many gamers hoped that this, would in fact, be the next setting for D&D 4e to be released.

The world of Athas is different than the fantasy settings you typically see in Dungeons & Dragons, like Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, and Dragonlance. In the world of Athas you have a bleak desert that is more like a ‘Dying Earth’ setting than a fantasy setting.

Magic is much less common in the world of Athas. The world has negatively altered by the destructive forces of magic. Due to this, magic is much less common among the regular population. The replacement for magic in society is psionics. Psionics are more common and accepted among the populace of Athas.

There are many unique races in Dark Sun that are playable character races. Muls are half dwarf and half human hybrids. Thri-Kreen are mantis like creatures with multiple limbs. Half-Giants are considered a playable character race as well. In addition, there are also the ’standard’ races such as Human, Elf, Dwarf, Half-Elf, and Halfling.

The classes in Dark Sun are very different than other settings. Priests don’t worship deities in the traditional sense; they derive their powers from other sources. Spell casters are altered due to the fact that magic is less common in the world. Most spell casters are divided up between either Defilers or Preservers. And, there isn’t any true equivalent to Sorcerers, Monks, or Paladins in the game.

If you are looking to learn about Dark Sun lore, there are three book series that are great reads. The Prism Pentad is a five book series by Troy Denning. The Tribe of One is a three book series by Simon Hawke. And the Chronicles of Athas is a five book series by multiple authors. Each series will give you more information about the world of Athas.

Many of the Dark Sun resources available on the internet are free for fans to use. There is the Unofficial Dark Sun Wiki, a Dark Sun interactive Atlas for the World of Athas, the Official Dark Sun Discussion Forum at Wizards of the Coast, and many other product releases that are available if you know where to look.

I, and many other fans, am ecstatic about the choice of Dark Sun as the next setting for Dungeon & Dragons 4e. It is a fan pleasing choice that gives more variety to the D&D 4e settings. Look for the Dark Sun Campaign Guide in 2010 from Wizards of the Coast.