This upcoming MMORPG from Simutronics was nearly lost in the console hype, despite great visuals, dynamic environments, and an apparent willingness to experiment with gameplay. I expect Hero's Journey to make liberal use of instancing to provide linear, mission-based content, much like Guild Wars, but it sounds like there will also be some persistent hunting areas. Interactive worlds with believable physics are the next big thing and this game is definitely moving in that direction. Character creation is also said to be top notch. Given that Simutronics has ample experience with RPGs, Hero's Journey is going to be one to watch this year.
Hero's Journey Preview - MMORPG.com
Pirates of the Burning Sea
Shiver me timbers, who doesn't love a good pirate game! I've had my eye on this game for a while now and still have high hopes for it. How do you bring all the goodness that is plundering ports, blowing down scallywags, and just generally being a scourge of the seven seas to a MMORPG? Damned if I know, but that's gotta be some of the best looking water I've seen in a game yet, and the ships don't look bad either. It will be a mixture of PvE and PvP battles that culminate in one faction conquering the world, at which point a victor is declared and the contest starts over.
Pirates of the Burning Sea Preview - MMORPG.com
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures
Given my limited familiarity with the Conan franchise, which amounts to little more than having seen the 1982 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, it wouldn't be my first choice for an online RPG. Yet, the more I read about this game's features, the more appealing it sounds. Of course, whenever people talk massively multiplayer siege operations, catapults, fortifications, and battle formations, I start to drool. Funcom seems prepared to experiment with RPG conventions and try something different with combat. If they can pull this thing off it might take MMORPGs in a whole new direction.
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures Preview - GameSpy
Something for Everyone From NCSoft
NCSoft is a very high profile Korean game company that specializes in massively multiplayer titles. Their Lineage games are easily the most successful games in the genre, but they are primarily an Asian phenomenon. NCSoft has, however, been penetrating the North American market with innovative games like City of Heroes and Guild Wars. No doubt, they can afford to take a few risks, and that appears to be exactly what they're doing with Tabula Rasa. City of Villians is likely to go over well with City of Heroes fans, although it is a stand-alone game, not an expansion pack. The two games will have overlapping PvP zones. They are also currently beta testing Auto Assault, which should be something akin to a Mad Max style online destruction derby.
Tabula Rasa Preview - GameSpot
Spore
Will Wright is the game designer responsible for some of the most successfull "sandbox" style games ever made, notably SimCity and The Sims. His latest project is Spore, and it takes the sandbox concept even further, allowing you to create and evolve a species of your own design from micro-organism to galactic domination. What's more, this time they intend to integrate easy ways for you to interact with other people's inventions over the Net. Although it may end up being more of a toy than a game, it's shaping up to be one of the most unique titles we've seen since, well, SimCity.
Spore Preview - GameSpy
