Guild Wars 2 – PC – Official site

Release Date – When it’s done (should be some time in 2011)

ArenaNet

Monthly Fee – NOTHING, NADA, ZIP!

Guild Wars is enormously popular for good reason. Having no monthly subscription while still maintaining quality content, Guild Wars really stood out. Guild Wars offered ease of access to players, putting them on an equal footing with veterans chop-chop. Guild Wars 2 is set to share a similar ethos, while innovating to keep it fresh.

Taking place roughly 250 years after the events in the Guild Wars Eye of the North expansion, Tyria has significantly changed. Five ancient dragons have arisen laying waste to the land. The humans have suffered a significant decline, and now the remaining races must rise and unite against the threat.

The level cap is being upped to 80 in Guild Wars 2, and five races will now be playable. Humans start the lineup of races, and then there are the Asura and the Norn introduced in Eye of the North. Filling up the roster are the war-loving Charr and the innocent plant-like Sylvari, a newly awakened race.

There will be eight professions (classes). Only four have been announced – the Elementalist, Warrior, Ranger and the Necromancer; all making a return from the original game. Some new professions will be announced at a later date.

Characters now have ten skill slots and each race will have access to unique skills and items that they alone can use. There are also traits which can be obtained by fulfilling certain criteria and challenges subsequently granting bonuses to a character. 

Guild Wars 2 will have an open world, dropping the heavy instancing in the original. Some degree of instancing will, however, remain but it will primarily be used for storytelling and dungeons.

A dynamic quest system is also introduced where events will happen regardless of a player’s interaction. However if you do stumble across one you can then affect its outcome in drastic ways. Another change is the side-kick system introduced to help both in Player vs. Player and Player vs. Environment. How it works is that a player can side-kick another player, ultimately raising or lowering their power level. 

With no monthly fee and quality on par or even better than many pay-to-play MMO’s, Guild Wars 2 is shaping up to be a must-have for any fans of this genre, and a great starting point for new players!

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm – PC – Official site

Release Date – Late 2010

Blizzard Entertainment

Monthly Fee – R145 (roughly)

Every gamer worth their salt knows of Blizzard and what they have achieved. In short, they create pure distilled digital brilliance. Not to buck their own trend, their foray into the MMO market brought MMORPG-ing to the masses.

Set for release very soon, Cataclysm is utterly world shaping. Deathwing has made a return to Azeroth to inflict his fiery vengeance, and in his wake Azeroth can never be the same again.

Azeroth is getting a well deserved make-over thanks to Deathwing. To start there will be a slew of newly redesigned quests making leveling another character a fresh experience. To support this change, two new playable races are introduced. First there are the Goblins, aligning themselves with the Horde. Then we have the fierce Worgen (think wolfman) brought into the Alliance by the Night Elves. To accompany these new races many new race / class combinations are introduced. New starter areas for the Trolls and Gnomes have also been made.

The level cap is being upped to 85, and a new profession, Archaeology, has been brought in. Talents, stats and item bonuses are being totally re-worked supposedly harking back to Vanilla World of Warcraft. New dungeons and raids are obviously going to make an appearance, but what is interesting is that Deadmines and Shadowfang Keep are getting Heroic modes for level 85’s. Perhaps this means that more vintage instances will get this treatment at a later stage? Finally, the ability to use one’s flying mount(s) in Azeroth is happening!

The Secret World – PC, Xbox – Official site

Release Date – 2011 / 2012

Funcom

Monthly Fee – Yes

As a counterbalance for the traditional sword and sorcery MMO’s often seen, I decided to include The Secret World for a change of pace. The Secret World is different in that it is set in the modern world, albeit with a contemporary twist. In The Secret World many myths and conspiracies collide – a world where modern day weaponry meets magic. 

Players will assume the role of a hero who has gained supernatural powers working for one of three secret societies. These societies are the Illuminati, the Templar and the Dragon. Each society will herald from a real world locale – being New York, London and Seoul, respectively. 

The Secret World will have no classes or character levels, bucking the trend of recent MMO design. The game will revolve around skills which define the player’s role; so basically you are what you use, which is a breath of fresh air.

A large degree of character customization is also going to be a key element. The game will feature numerous clothing and weapon options which can then be further augmented and upgraded. It seems Player vs. Environment will be the large focus, but Player vs. Player also makes a strong showing, where players will fight for a resource known as anima.

Look out for this one if you feel like a little something different from the usual fantasy settings seen in this genre of gaming.

These are the three MMOs which I am most anticipating, but there loads more to look forward to, including:

Final Fantasy XIV Online – PC, PS3 – Official site

Release Date – 30th September

Square-Enix

Monthly Fee – Yes

T.E.R.A – The Exiled Realm of Arborea – PC – Official site

Release Date – 2011 

Bluehole Studio

Monthly Fee – Yes

Star Wars:  The Old Republic – PC – Official site

Release Date – Early 2011

BioWare

Monthly Fee – Yes

Rift: Planes of Telara – PC – Official site

Release Date – 2011

Trion World Network

Monthly Fee – TBA 

DC Universe Online – PC, PS3 – Official site

Release Date – 2nd November

Sony Online Entertainment

Monthly Fee – Yes