In the coming months many MMO fans may find themselves at a crossroads. There are many of those who may currently enjoy playing WoW, but could easily be persuaded that Warhammer could be better if Warhammer would have some quality 'X' that WoW currently does not have and is unlikely incorporate in the next expansion pack. There are those who would be interested in Warhammer, but will probably not switch because of all the time invested and social networks formed in the game (add to that a decent amount of new content including a cool looking class: Death Knight, a long time WoW fan would be hard pressed to find good reasons to switch to a game that is of similar game mechanics and so forth). Then there are those who have either quit WoW altogether in anticipation of something better or in anticipation of nothing at all; people who are fed up with the genre altogether.
I fall into the last camp and could be persuaded to either go back to WoW in anticipation of what the new expansion pack has to offer or could be persuaded to give Warhammer a try if it had better ideas implemented into its game. That is, in the current state of all games in the genre, none are appealing to me at all.
Before I get into game mechanics though, let's compare the more superficial aspects of each game. That is, which game seemingly has the edge visually.
WotLK
Warhammer Online: AoR
Technically, it is pretty obvious that Warhammer has the edge. You could probably come to this conclusion without even looking at the screenshots or something, after all, WoW's engine is about four years old now. Artistically however, it gets a bit more subjective. I would argue that WoW is artistically superior. This is completely subjective, but it seems as though Warhammer's character models and landscape designs are not as good as WoW. It seems as though the landscapes in WoW are more detailed; meaning not as plain, and more alive. As far as the character models go, it is a bit of a mixed bag. Certain character models that WoW has look good, some look bad. The same thing can be said for Warhammer as far as I'm concerned. However, on the whole WoW's character models are better and more distinct.
Combat/Spell Animation
Warhammer: AoR
WotLK
I think WoW wins here. Again, purely subjective, but I think this is one of the reasons why Blizzard has been so successful. Blizzard has an uncanny ability of just making things look simple, clean, and crisp. It just looks right.
WoW Arena/Battlegrounds/World PvP/Dueling vs. Warhammer RvR
For those of you who, like me, have already experienced all WoW pvp has to offer will pretty much already know what to expect in the next WoW expansion pack add one more BGs, one more arena map, and a new pvp-focused zone.
WoW Battleground - Strand of Ancients
WoW Arena - Orgrimmar
WoW Arena - Dalaran
WoW PvP Zone - Lake Wintergrasp
Mechanically, the way in which pvp is done WoW will not change much at all save one caveat: the addition of siege weapons and vehicles. Siege Vehicles include: The Demolisher - A three passenger that is capable of both short and long range attacks; The Forsaken Catapult; The Siege Engine - It has one seat for a driver, one for a gunner, and several other for passive passengers; The Flying Machine - A bomber essentially; The Goblin Shredder - The shredder is an anti-air vehicle that shoots out long range homing missiles and sawblades that cuts down opponent in melee range.
This may be enough for those who currently enjoy WoW's pvp, but what about those who quit playing the game and are awaiting a new pvp system. As it stands, WoW's pvp system gives players incentives to focus on arena performance, additionally WoW's battlegrounds are considered repetitive and limited by many. WoW's world pvp can be considered pointless and almost non-existent on most realms as well -- I don't believe one pvp zone will change this; in fact, it will incentivize players to focus world pvp to only one zone.
So, if this does not sound very enticing, very promising at all, is there something different that that might persuade you better to get back into MMO pvp?
Warhammer RvR - Types
Warhammer RvR - Final Explanation
Unfortunately, I have yet to get of taste of Warhammer RvR, but what I've seen and read of it so far it seems very promising. One of the more notable aspects of Warhammer RvR seems to be the ability to engage in RvR combat and gain experience and items from RvR combat starting at level 1. For those of you who prefer to focus on player vs. player combat, Warhammer Online might be more appealing to you. Indeed, Warhammer's focal point seems to be pvp rather than pve.
WoW PvE vs. Warhammer PvE
It's difficult for me to make a fair comparison between the two games at this point due to the lack of media and information on Warhammer PvE. However, from what I understand Warhammer will be implementing a few interesting concepts into its PvE such as public quests
Warhammer - Public Quests Description
It's an interesting concept no doubt, but I highly doubt Warhammer being able to match the amount of PvE content Blizzard is able to dish out. Also, I don't think Warhammer's PvE will be as addictive; it probably won't implement its incentives and so forth as well as Blizzard is able to.
There is no doubt that Warhammer's focus will be RvR and all future tweaks and content will probably revolve around that aspect of the game. Therefore, I suggest that if you prefer PvE (more specifically, raid progression), then you should probably stick with WoW. However, if you are sick of playing battlegrounds and arena, but still prefer PvP to PvE, then perhaps Warhammer will be able to give you a new way of playing PvP and hopefully give you proper incentives and progression to continue enjoying RvR.
Here is some footage of the Death Knight taken from the WOTLK Alpha/beta. The following videos showcase all three talent trees, pvp action, and the starting point entitled 'Tales of a Death Knight'.
Here are some clips that give a glimpse of what you can expect WOTLK will be like once it is released. The footage was taken from various sources such as worldofwarcraftmovies.com
WotLK Landscape WotLK: Azjol-Nerub Preview
This is a movie made to show the instance Azjol-Nerub. It is the kingdom of the Nerubians, and the leader, Anub'arak, is an ally of the Lich King. The movie features a small cinematic intro followed by the bossfights, shown through the perspective of a rogue.
Utgarde Keep is an instance in the Howling Fjords. It is filled with Vrykuls and undead beings, and it is a very dark and damp place. The movie consists of a small cinematic intro followed by the bossfights, shown through the perspective of a rogue. Utgarde Keep only houses three bossfights, which make it a short instance.
Team Fortress 2 is a very unique FPS in that many different and distinct classes must work together and coordinate with one another to be successful.
The Engineer class is probably the most unique of all the classes in the game. He is known for his ability to make structures to aid in base defense. Since they're a support class, they're not very useful on their own, however, a good engineer can be vital in keeping the enemy team from taking over a key piece of territory or capturing the intelligence. Engineers can also be very useful in pushing the frontier offensively - a well placed sentry, turret, and dispenser combo can really help push your teammates closer to the enemy territory and thus, closer to victory.
Audiosurf is an IGF Award winning puzzle/rhythm hybrid game created by Invisible Handlebar. Its track-like stages visually mimic the music the player chooses, while the player races across several lanes collecting colored blocks that appear in sync with the music. Currently, the full version is only available for purchase through Steam and includes the entire Orange Box soundtrack files to play. Audiosurf is the first game to use Valve's Steamworks technology. The game was released on February 15, 2008 over Steam.
In Audiosurf the player controls a levitating spaceship-like craft similar to those found in Wipeout or F-Zero. The player then maneuvers it down a colorful multi-laned highway, collecting blocks in a manner similar to Klax. The ship is controlled either by a mouse, the arrow keys, the number keys, or a Gamepad. The game also supports the rumble feature of the Xbox 360 controller. I was sorta bored so I thought I'd download Audiosurf and try it out. It's not too bad, especially given the price tag ($10) . The best thing about the game is that you can choose any audio file that you might have on your hard drive and successfully create a playable level based on the tempo of the song. However, after a couple hours I think I've already had my fill of it. It seems to cater to a very specific group of people into this type of music/rhythm gameplay; but if it's your thing, this is one of the better ones on the market.
Here are some clips of me playing some songs (very poorly), notice that the tempo of the song affects the difficulty about as much as the actual difficulty setting does:
Robyn - Bum Like you (Easy Difficulty)
In medium difficulty you get some new abilities: the left click button allows you to collect blocks on all columns and the right click makes the ship jump.
Coheed and Cambria - The Running Free (Medium Difficulty)
R.E.M. - Orange Crush (Hard Difficulty)
There are many other kinds of modes in which you can choose to play with, but the 'mono' ship (where you just have to concentrate on avoiding the gray blocks) was the only one where I seemed to know how to play with intuitively.
2007 was a monumental year for video games in general, attributable mostly to the addition of the 'next gen' consoles that came onto the market that year. The PC still faired pretty well that year and seems likely to, again, be consistently good this year as well, despite the consoles' attempt to dominate genres the PC is generally known dominate and work well with given the keyboard and mouse interface (FPS, RTS, etc). Keep in mind that we're already 4 months into this year and certain exceptional titles that have already been released this year will not be included on this list (Assassin's Creed, Sins of a Solar Empire).
10. Spore, Empire: Total War (tie) Release Date: Sep 7, 2008 OK, I'm blatantly cheating over here, but I just couldn't bring myself to leave out either game, they're both worth mentioning this year. However, I think Spore's expectations overrate its potential, and I think the game's crazy expectations are going to lead many people to be disappointed. There seems to be a lot of interesting concepts, but I don't think they'll pan out as smoothly as a lot of people are expecting they will. The mmo-like features of the game which, like most MMO's, might also require monthly payments seems to be a potentially shitty feature of the game. It might simply be a matter of taste though, especially if you consider the fact that I thought 'The Sims' was wildly overrated, despite its popularity and critical acclaim. And despite my pessimism, the game could turn out to be one of the most innovative and ambitious games of all time. I personally would not bet on that being the case, however.
Release Date: Q4 2008 The other game I couldn't leave out is Empire: Total War. I wasn't a huge fan of the genre, but found it quite fun after discovering a large array of cheat codes at my disposal, then it was less frustrating and more playable. I find that there many games I normally would never play enjoyable once I start using cheats and manipulate the game, thus, I'm able to play the game however I wish. Another game I enjoy doing this with is Europa Universalis III. I find that any game that has a fairly steep learning curve is much easier to learn and more fun to play when cheat codes are involved. From what I gather Empire: Total War will be very similar to the previous entries (aside from improved graphics and new weaponry) with one significant exception, the inclusion of naval warfare. The inclusion of naval battles doesn't seem all that enticing to me since there isn't a huge variety of ship types from which to choose, it seems like it will simply be cannons vs. cannons. So, I'm not sure how well this will work out, doesn't seem like it could be too much more fun to play than previous entries, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and hope for the best.
9. Age of Conan: Hyborian Release Date: May 20, 2008
As someone who has leveled more than one character to level 70 in World of Warcraft, it should be no surprise that I am looking for the next big MMO, the supposed WoW-killer to come onto the MMO Market. I haven't played World of Warcraft in quite a while, but remain a huge fan of what the MMO genre is capable of. The graphics look pretty impressive which is definitely important to me since WoW's graphics are incredible dated at this point. The thing that seems to be the biggest deterrent is the lack of variety in the classes, after looking through the screenshots it seems as thought the majority of the combat will be melee based. The hype revolving around this game seems to be pretty high, hope it can deliver.
8. Mass Effect Release Date: May 28, 2008 I'm not a huge fan of any of the Star Wars movies, but I am a huge fan of what Bioware did with the franchise when it released Star Wars: Kngihts of the Old Republic. As a huge fan of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old republic games, I was happy to see that the next game in the same vein by Bioware would be released on the PC. I do not own any of the 'next-gen' consoles, so I'm really looking forward to playing this game next month. I should also note that the first batch of downloadble content 'Bring Down the Sky' will be free on the PC version. The game has already received quite a lot critical praise, so I pretty much know what to expect from this title. Looks like it'll be the best single player PC RPG title since Oblivion came out a couple years back.
7. Far Cry 2 Release Date: Q3 2008 In terms of gameplay, it doesn't seem likely to depart too much from Crysis. But, how many times can you re-invent the wheel at this point? The FPS genre hasn't changed too much since Duke Nukem 3D, Quake, and Half-life were released a decade or more ago. So the thing I'm looking forward to most is the graphics and the new environment. I like that the setting seems to be in the open plains of Africa. Should be an interesting experience in that regard. I hope the graphics themselves will immerse me into the game. Even so, my expectations aren't too high for yet another FPS, I never even managed to finish Crysis, despite the incredible graphics.
6. Starcraft 2 Release Date: TBA Like the FPS genre, I feel that what can be done with the RTS genre has been nearly exhausted. There hasn't been a better RTS game on the market since the first Starcraft and I'm hoping Starcraft 2 will trump the original in many ways. There have been many RTS's since Starcraft that have garnered quite a lot of attention and praise, but I found them to be quite boring. For example, despite all the accolades the game, World in Conflict, was given I found it to pale in comparison to old classics like Command and Conquer and Starcraft. Looks like Starcraft 2 will simply be Starcraft one with some new units and better graphics, it won't be terribly innovative, but it'll have the best formula and gameplay of any RTS since the original came out about a decade ago.
5. Fallout 3 Release Date: Q4 2008 I'm not a "hard-core" gamer by any means, so unlike most serious gamers I have not really played the original Fallout games. I hear they are much like the pen-and-paper RPG games of old. I tried playing them a few years back and quickly lost patience with the game, it just seemed too old fashioned for me. I feel the same way about some of the older Final Fantasy titles released in the early 90's. Games have come a long way, and I have quite a bit of faith in Bethesda Softworks, since Oblivion was one of the most ambitious games that actually lived up to its expectations. Nevertheless, they have been consistently exceptional, and this is not the franchise to fuck around with. I'm expecting big things from this title, that is, if it manages to make it out this year.
4. Mafia 2 Release Date: TBA
Along with Shenmue, I think the original Mafia (PC version only) was one of the most underrated games of all time. I think it got sort of a bad rap due to its similarities with the now famous Grand Theft Auto series, but I think in many ways it was the superior game. The thing that set it apart from the grand theft auto series was how god-damn immersive the game was. Instead of feeling like your roaming around a miniature, toy-like world, Mafia really felt like a whole city had been re-created for you, circa 1940whatever. The story was much more involving as well, I hope the next Mafia will live up to its predecessor. It looks as though 2k has taken over the franchise, hope they don't pull out something shitty like Scarface. I should also note that the release date is set as TBA, so there's a good chance it might not make it out this year.
3. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Release Date: TBA
I'm not sure I'm ready to get back into WoW once this is released, I haven't played the game in months, and I'm kind of reluctant to get back into it due to its addictive nature. The only reason why I might is because I'll be back on an even playing field with everyone and might compete fairly well in the Arena. Also, I'm not a big fan of end-game raiding, so I might just get back into it for a few months. Though, I'm not looking forward to the subscription fees and lost hours I'll never have back again, but it definitely passes the time, especially if you don't have many friends in RL.
2. Alan Wake Release Date: TBA
Some games I like because the gameplay is addictive, but the games that really get to me are games that make me feel as though I've been transported to another life and have actually experienced some crazy adventure ala Shenmue. I hope Alan Wake can do what few games have been capable of doing, and that is, set me on an adventure, make me feel like as though I've read a really great book or watched a really great movie, but better, more immersive, more exciting. This could be one of the few games that potentially proves that the video game medium is the best medium in which to be entertained. Hopefully this game does what Shenmue did for me several years ago. This is another game that might not make it out this year, I'll be pretty pissed if it doesn't manage to make it out. I'll be extra-pissed if it's exclusive to Windows Vista as well, I don't want that P-O-S.
1. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Release Date: Q4 2008 Da-da-da-DAA, Warhammer Online is my MOST anticipated game of the year simply because I'm sick of playing WoW but still am a big fan of the genre. In other words, I'm looking for the next WoW-killer. Looks like this is the only title coming out this year that stands a chance. RvR Sounds very fun, and is already a proven gameplay mechanic introduced in DAOC. Additionally, the graphics are a welcome improvement to WoW's dated graphics. The huge downside is of course the fact that the source material and style is too much like so many games of the genre, including WoW. I'm kinda sick of swords and magic or futuristic guns and plasma-things or whatever, I wish someone would invest a LOT of money in something new and innovative in the MMO genre, but that would involve quite a bit of risk, so there's almost no chance of that happening. Nevertheless, this may be the game I will end up dedicating most of my free playing over the coming months.
Other games worth mentioning (and why they failed to make the list):
Brothers in Arms Hell's Highway - I wasn't a huge fan of Road to Hill 30 because it seemed to be too much like the Call of Duty games except not as good. Also, I'm not looking forward to yet another historic shooter. Release Date: August 2008
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky - I recently attempted to play S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and it has some similarities in terms of gameplay mechanics with Deus Ex. For whatever reason, it just seemed too difficult to get into to. A lot of people disagree, especially experienced PC gamers on this point, however, as the title of this blog suggests, I'm not a genuine game fan in many ways. Many times, I'm very impatient and spoiled when it comes to games and want to be entertained immediately. I don't want to sit there and read through text after text and learn jargon about technical information pertaining only to this fictitious world all day. Unless it's presented in a very cinematic way, I probably won't have the patience to stick with it for more than a few minutes. That being said, the prequel looks pretty interesting, and I'll definitely give the game a chance when it's released. Release Date: Q2 2008
Half-Life 2: Episode 3 - With the exception of a World of Warcraft expansion pack, it's very difficult for me to get very excited about expansion packs in general, I more or less know what to expect from an expansion pack. Release Date: TBA
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - I was a huge fan of the original C&C back in 95', it was one of the most innovative games for it's time, however, I wasn't very pleased by subsequent releases by Westwood Studios and don't expect too much from Red Alert 3. I feel the same way about Quake as well, I've played the first two to death, there seems to be less and less to get excited about as new games from the franchise are being released. Release Date: TBA
Deus Ex 3 - I tried playing through the original Dues Ex on several occasions but never managed to get myself to stick with it, perhaps because by the time I decided to play it the game was somewhat dated. Even though the first entry did not hook me in I decided to give the second entry in the series a try, it turned out to be one of the most unplayable games I've ever tried playing. In any case, the first one was highly-praised enough to look forward to the third entry. My expectations aren't very high, but I could be in for a pleasant surprise. Release Date: TBA
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction - Along with the Theif series, Splinter Cell has been the innovator in the stealth sub-genre and has done the best job of focusing on the stealth aspect of video games. This game won't blow me away like when I was first introduced to this style of FPS gameplay, but I think it's going to add enough new innvations into it to make me come back for more. With the addition of crowd blending, most likely borrowed from last years hit, Assassin's Creed, this could easily be #12 on my list. Release Date: Q4 2008
Project ORIGIN - This sequel to FEAR should get a lot of people excited, but not me. It will most likely be just another shooter, a well done shooter granted, but a shooter that will most likely lack enough new shit to get me hooked. Having the remarkable ability to move quickly and effectively slow time around you is not as fun as it used to be. Maybe I'm just too jaded at this point. Release Date: Q4 2008
Games worth mentioning that I don't know enough about to comment on: Rage, Left 4 Dead, Dragon Age, Demigod, Borderlands, The Agency, Tiberium, Rise of the Argonauts, Jagged Alliance 3, Shattered Suns, White Gold: War in Paradise, Divine Divinity 2, Sacred 2: Fallen Angels, Tomb Raider: Underworld, Alone in the Dark, Prototype, Mythos, Aion, Codename Panzers: Cold War, Machinarium, The Path, Mirror's Edge, The Swarm, LotRO: Mines of Moria, Stargate Worlds, Huxley, Darkfall, Turok, This is Vegas, GRID
Results
1. Empire: Total War (13%)
2. AOC: Hyborian (12%)
3. Deus Ex 3 (9%)
4. Spore; Mass Effect; Starcraft 2; Warhammer Online: AOR (6%)
In the coming months many MMO fans may find themselves at a crossroads. There are many of those who may currently enjoy playing WoW, but could easily be persuaded that Warhammer could be better if Warhammer would have some quality 'X' that WoW currently does not have and is unlikely incorporate in the next expansion pack. There are those who would be interested in Warhammer, but will probably not switch because of all the time invested and social networks formed in the game (add to that a decent amount of new content including a cool looking class: Death Knight, a long time WoW fan would be hard pressed to find good reasons to switch to a game that is of similar game mechanics and so forth). Then there are those who have either quit WoW altogether in anticipation of something better or in anticipation of nothing at all; people who are fed up with the genre altogether. 
