WoW, this list got busy over the weekend. My daughter played the FFXI beta
and got tired of it rather quickly. Her problem with it was the same
linear story for everyone and just an enormous amount of tedious level
grinding to get to the next story advance.

Played both EQ and DAoC as well as UO. Camelot was by far the best but
ultimately unbalanced and incomplete. I gave up on it after nine months
which I considered more than reasonable to pay for what was essentially a
beta and still not have it right. But it did keep my interest longer than
the others simply by holding out a carrot they never delivered on. I don't
go back to games like these ever, simply because they sucked plenty of
money out of the players to get it right and didn't. Typically, these
companies downsize quickly after the title ships, leaving a small staff to
work out bugs and actually complete the game.

DAoC is promising a new expansion and wonders upon wonders while they are
sweating out losing their player base to World of Warcraft. This in my
opinion is the one to watch and wait for. Regardless of what I think of
Blizzard politically, they do an excellent job of releasing something only
when it's ready and after they've done everything they can to make it
fun. I believe the beta is months away, and I've already heard comments
that their alpha is better than anyone's release. I won't be investing
time in another MMOG until this at least reaches release.

Oh yeah, and anyone that read the beta boards knew to avoid Star Wars
Galaxies like the plague, or a Devourer with the munchies.

DanP
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