Can Anyone Compete with World of Warcraft?

When I first heard that Blizzard was going to create an mmorpg based on its series of real-time strategy games I thought to myself,"So what?" I had, once upon a time, enjoyed Warcraft and Warcraft 2 but that had been a long time ago. I simply refused to be interested in WoW.

When World of Warcraft (www.worldofwarcraft.com) became such a hit I was annoyed, even more so when I tried the game out and found it didn't interest me at all. I was playing Everquest 2 and I was enjoying it. However, there is no doubt that as things stand now, World of Warcraft is the most popular mmorpg in the United States.

People are getting tired of it though. For the last several months, almost no day would pass without my hearing of yet another person who said,"I'm tired of the game, I want something else." Which, I would like to point out, doesn't mean the game is bad, simply that people are always looking for new experiences.

When people found out that Vanguard: Saga of Heroes (www.joinvanguard.com) would finally be released soon (after quite a long wait) they began to flock to it. They would say Vanguard is going to be the WoW killer. Vanguard would be the home of the refugees from all other mmorpgs.

Sadly, this was not the case. Vanguard has had lukewarm reviews and while it might some day become a pretty good mmorpg, it doesn't seem to be what everyone had hoped it would be: a new home.

On the horizon are three mmorpgs that may have a chance to compete with WoW. They are all planned to be released in 2007. Two are based on popular series of novels and movies. Two also have real-time strategy games in their history. All three have had pencil and paper role-playing games.

Lord Of The Rings Online: Shadows Of Angmar

With the nearest release date, Lord Of The Rings Online is expected to be released on April 24, 2007. It's being created by Turbine, which was responsible for the Asheron's Call mmorpg.

If you don't know what Lord Of The Rings is then you've probably been hiding in a closet for the last several years. It was originally a series of books by J.R.R. Tolkien. More recently, it was recreated for the big screen and because of that has gained a new legion of fans to the mythology.

Lord of the Rings Online is the only game I've had the chance to play. I think it has a lot going for it. The most striking feature for me was the quest system. When you first start the game you are thrown into a series of quests that tells a story and doesn't let up for quite some time. (If I remember correctly, not until about level 20 did I really wonder "what next?") At the same time, there are many other quests which can be done when the mood strikes you. It takes away the grind, something mmorpgs are often hated for. You still must kill 20 of something once in a while but after that you might make a daring raid on a camp of enemies with several friends watching your back.

While I think Lord of the Rings Online will gain a fairly large following, I'm unsure if it has the weight to take down, or even be an equal to, WoW.

Age Of Conan: Hyborian Adventures

Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures is expected to be released on October 30, 2007. It's being created by Funcom which is responsible for The Longest Journey and Anarchy Online.

Age of Conan is based on the universe created by Robert E. Howard. Many people have probably been exposed to Conan through the movies: Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer.

My father, who is almost 60 now, has been a fan of Conan for a very long time. I, however, have never bothered to pick up the books. I've never met anyone else who has either. The movies were made in the 1980s. All of this makes me wonder why now? Does Conan really stand a chance against the more recently popular Lord of the Rings?

Everything I've read makes me believe it does. The universe of Conan is vast and complex. There are a great many novels and comics written about this character's universe. Whatever brought about Conan's popularity in the past must still exist and if Funcom can manage to fill their game with the feeling of that universe, I think Age of Conan will have the best chance of competing with WoW.

One more thing of interest, Age of Conan will be able to be played in both DirectX 9 and DirectX 10. Which should give it an edge up on last generation games.

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning

Warhammer Online has the most vague release date of these three games, simply 2007. It is a game being created by Mythic Entertainment which in the past has made many smaller games and Dark Age of Camelot, an mmorpg which had a large following in its prime.

Warhammer Online is based on the old pencil and paper role-playing game books. There are actually two settings for Warhammer RPG books: one is a fantasy setting, the other more sci-fi. Recently there have been video games set in both and they have done well. Warhammer Online is a part of the fantasy setting.

Considering the rich history that Mythic has to work with and everything they may have learned while creating Dark Age of Camelot, I think this game has a good shot at drawing subscribers away from WoW.

Light At The End Of The Tunnel

2006 seemed a poor year for people looking for a new mmorpg home. I think 2007 is going to make up for that long dark tunnel. These three games have a great chance of really making a splash. One or all might really challenge WoW's domination. Whether or not that happens, there will be plenty of places to find new adventures.