What is the Best MMORPG?

Oh man, I am about to make a lot of people angry.

Well, here I go anyway. “What is the best MMORPG?” is a question that is on a lot of peoples’ lips these days. With a ton of selections out there – and more and more being released each year – the choices are almost limitless. Choosing the best MMORPG can be difficult at best – each one has its own style, for the most part. With that being said, though, I think I can make a good case for the best MMORPGs on the market, as described below.

1. What is the Best MMORPG?: Everquest II

This franchise began in 1991, with the release of Everquest. This event helped spark the modern-day MMORPG movement, which earned the original game Game of the Year honors in 1999 and helped give birth to a slew of MMORPGs that quickly followed. Everquest II, the sequel, was released in 2004 and has earned as much critical acclaim – if not more – than its predecessor.

What makes Everquest II great is what makes every great MMORPG great, to put it lightly. The graphics and gameplay are top notch, and actually inspired World of Warcraft, the world’s most popular MMORPG, to a heavy extent. You have a wide selection of races and classes, offering a level of customization seldom seen elsewhere. You also have a superb, close-knit community that is friendly and engaging – the hallmark of a great MMORPG, in my opinion.

The latest installment, Sentinel’s Fate, is set for release on February 16, 2010, and is sure to ring in a new round of players who flock to the stellar Everquest standard in the world of MMORPG. Everquest II offers almost everything that an MMORPGer could want, and that is why I rank it as the best.

2. What is the Best MMORPG?: World of Warcraft

The pinnacle of MMORPGs in terms of sales, World of Warcraft is an MMORPG behemoth that keeps picking up steam every year. Over 11 million people have subscribed to WoW, and more continue to join every day. This is because World of Warcraft has successfully translated the MMORPG to the everyday gamer, and has helped boost the popularity of the genre.

WoW tops many people’s lists, but I wouldn’t claim it as the best because it borrowed heavily from the Everquest franchise of MMORPGs. In a sense, WoW is Everquest II for a broader audience, which to me diminishes its quality a bit. But, WoW is definitely a superb game, and offers hours and hours of fun for anyone who wants to get into the MMORPG genre.

3. What is the Best MMORPG?: Lord of the Rings Online

Right behind WoW on my list is LotRO, based on the enormously-popular and classic Lord of the Rings trilogy. This MMORPG borrows a lot from the record-breaking LotR movies released from 2001-2003 and features perhaps some of the best graphics of any MMORPG, past or present. Its most appealing aspect, though, is the lore and backstory of the game. Any Lord of the Rings fan will adore this game. It loses points because you are more limited to an extent in this game than you are in other MMORPGs, but the level of involvement, story, and graphics make this game a must-have in anyone’s MMORPG collection.