( I haven't played ever game out there, so I don't feel qualified to judge them all; however the game in my imagination can be and remain forever perfect in every way so long as I just dream about it and never try to make it a reality )
Full of wonders, great PvP, incredible crafting and resource gathering, alpha-class amazingly difficult to obtain, bounty hunting, no levels, mix-and-match professions, non-combat professions...
Not one MMORPG before or after that could hold its candle.
Even a realistic graphical engine that looks good after 10 years.
WOW was the most successful mmo of all time but I wouldn't say in my opinion it was the best.
The games I loved
1. age of conan
Get past the bugs it was a great game overall but very taxing on low end machines
2. Warhammer online
Pity it was the development decisions that destroyed that game
3. Tabula Rasa
This game had massive potential but too many bugs went unfixed and too many promises not fulfilled.
4. SWTOR
Before this game went F2P it was a great game. Now with f2p its the most restrictive model I have ever seen in an mmo
5. Rift
was good but too much like wow
6. The secret world
Still enjoying this game and funcom has resurrected my faith in them
are you sure you weren't responding to the WORST MMOs of all time? The only game I didnt experience was Tabula Rasa but since it was cancelled so soon it cant be THAT great. All the rest had HUGE developmental flaws from Dev laziness to a direct copy of wow.. but in space >.<
Not many other games even worth a mention except for maybe Eve Online
Now please tell me at least one mmo released that didn't have a flaw in some way??
Close call between DAOC and UO. I still play both on "other" servers. But I'd say DAOC.
But to the OP, SWG would actually sit in third for me. Mainly because of the whole crafting/housing/harvesting system. No game touches it by a long shot, and I'm really disappointed that no one has copied their style of resources being randomly spawned and needing to be sought out through surveying/harvesting in real time. Not to mention, the housing effing rocked. I spent at least a good month of gameplay throughout all my years of playing it just decorating my guild hall.
Of course only I'm choosing from MMO's I have played extensively.
I didn't see GW1 mentioned here but it is a hell of a game, like GW2 its different from the other 99% but awesome.
i was never a guildwars fan but I did give it a fair go before I quit.
GW2 would be, if the 1% of the impossible to solo high level pve content was soloable, just so I could get map completion (not interested in soloing champs). I find it hard to find others to help at times that I am online!
The best in my opinion was Faxion online, for the 3 or so months it ran for until the plug was pulled were the most fun I've had in an mmo, community and devs were great and the game had potential. Still looking for a replacement, hopefully some of the up and coming mmos will do that.
This is a hard question for me to answer. Frankly, I can't rightly say I have ever enjoyed playing an MMO, but I have very much so been enthusiastic about what it could have been.
1. SWG - For all of its faults and weaknesses, I would have to say that this game would be the best of all time thus far (PreCU/PreNGE.) Yeah I know... it crashed and burned very hard. But... the greatness of the design of that game was written all over the wall. It was simply way ahead of its time. I think one day we will actually get a game that takes the base blueprints of SWG, modernizes it where it needs it, and improves on everything it did wrong. When that game comes... then we will have the best MMO of all time.
Personal Favorites:
2. City of Heroes - This game was good fun if you could manage to actually Role Play it with a group of friends. It has a good character build mechanic, outstanding character editor, and fun gameplay. The only thing it really lacked was the idea of the bigger MMO picture. There really wasn't anything to do but to do missions. To me, MMO's need a lot of activities and things to do for one reason or another. This game at the time suffered from being strictly a Themepark in a Sandbox market.
3. APB Reloaded - I might get laughed at for this one, but I don't care. If there was ever a game that had as much potential as SWG to be amazing, it's this one. To this day, it is still the only MMO I have ever stuck with for more than 3 months. It has its faults and problems for sure. But it has some really awesome highpoints if you just stick with it long enough to become proficient. It's kind of a lost cause at the moment as the development budget and team is so small, it's ridiculous. Still, its free to play and its worth the play. Throwing a few bucks into the item shop here and there can go a long way too. I think this game and more like it will see a renaissance once GTA Online goes live. If that game ever comes to the PC... you'll understand why.
For me Mabinogi. I could compose music and share it with the world. Can't get better than that but yet it did. Everyone I knew in real life saw me play so they joined and then their friends joined. Why not, it was free? I think I drug half my city into that silly game before I finally left.
Comments
In a world of sharp knives, you would be a spoon.
Mine.
( I haven't played ever game out there, so I don't feel qualified to judge them all; however the game in my imagination can be and remain forever perfect in every way so long as I just dream about it and never try to make it a reality )
SWG -Pre-cu- Bloodfin Server. Haven't seen anything close to it since.
Not a case of first MMO either, DAOC was my first.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
"Small minds talk about people, average minds talk about events, great minds talk about ideas."
Since I haven't played anywhere near enough of them to be subjective, I'll pass.
I will say that most of us would probably say our first MMO.
Excluding games I just haven't played enough to know for sure (SWG/UO/DAoC):
Somewhere between EVE and Vanilla WoW for me.
Favorite MMO: Vanilla WoW
Currently playing: GW2, EVE
Excited for: Wildstar, maybe?
SWG pre-CU
Full of wonders, great PvP, incredible crafting and resource gathering, alpha-class amazingly difficult to obtain, bounty hunting, no levels, mix-and-match professions, non-combat professions...
Not one MMORPG before or after that could hold its candle.
Even a realistic graphical engine that looks good after 10 years.
NEW IDEAS that can refresh the STALE state of MMORPGs
Not many other games even worth a mention except for maybe Eve Online
Now please tell me at least one mmo released that didn't have a flaw in some way??
idk about the best but heres a top 4
WOW
GW1
GW2
TSW
Of course only I'm choosing from MMO's I have played extensively.
I didn't see GW1 mentioned here but it is a hell of a game, like GW2 its different from the other 99% but awesome.
i was never a guildwars fan but I did give it a fair go before I quit.
Close call between DAOC and UO. I still play both on "other" servers. But I'd say DAOC.
But to the OP, SWG would actually sit in third for me. Mainly because of the whole crafting/housing/harvesting system. No game touches it by a long shot, and I'm really disappointed that no one has copied their style of resources being randomly spawned and needing to be sought out through surveying/harvesting in real time. Not to mention, the housing effing rocked. I spent at least a good month of gameplay throughout all my years of playing it just decorating my guild hall.
Agreed, but maybe I'm just too dam fussy!
GW2 would be, if the 1% of the impossible to solo high level pve content was soloable, just so I could get map completion (not interested in soloing champs). I find it hard to find others to help at times that I am online!
1) UO was, in my mind.
2) SWG is next, and would have been the best had they not had levels (and power gaps) for gear that was just like every other themepark.
Once upon a time....
The one that was the most broken so the players could exploit it and feel powerful over other players...
SWG.
How else do you judge a game other than by how much you were 'pwning'?
This is a hard question for me to answer. Frankly, I can't rightly say I have ever enjoyed playing an MMO, but I have very much so been enthusiastic about what it could have been.
1. SWG - For all of its faults and weaknesses, I would have to say that this game would be the best of all time thus far (PreCU/PreNGE.) Yeah I know... it crashed and burned very hard. But... the greatness of the design of that game was written all over the wall. It was simply way ahead of its time. I think one day we will actually get a game that takes the base blueprints of SWG, modernizes it where it needs it, and improves on everything it did wrong. When that game comes... then we will have the best MMO of all time.
Personal Favorites:
2. City of Heroes - This game was good fun if you could manage to actually Role Play it with a group of friends. It has a good character build mechanic, outstanding character editor, and fun gameplay. The only thing it really lacked was the idea of the bigger MMO picture. There really wasn't anything to do but to do missions. To me, MMO's need a lot of activities and things to do for one reason or another. This game at the time suffered from being strictly a Themepark in a Sandbox market.
3. APB Reloaded - I might get laughed at for this one, but I don't care. If there was ever a game that had as much potential as SWG to be amazing, it's this one. To this day, it is still the only MMO I have ever stuck with for more than 3 months. It has its faults and problems for sure. But it has some really awesome highpoints if you just stick with it long enough to become proficient. It's kind of a lost cause at the moment as the development budget and team is so small, it's ridiculous. Still, its free to play and its worth the play. Throwing a few bucks into the item shop here and there can go a long way too. I think this game and more like it will see a renaissance once GTA Online goes live. If that game ever comes to the PC... you'll understand why.