Sci-Fi MMOs of the Past

[Morreion]

The Sci-Fi MMO: The Past (MMORPG.com)

Fantasy has long since dominated the RPG and MMORPG markets, being the standard setting of role-playing games on paper, on consoles, and on PCs for decades now. But that doesn't mean Science Fiction has to be the second fiddle forever. With big name IPs such as Star Trek and Star Wars on the scene (the latter of which is working on MMO number two), and new games like Fallen Earth and Global Agenda making an impact, Science Fiction is becoming just as prominent as its medieval cousin in the gaming scene.

With that in mind, let's take a look back at the history of the Sci-Fi MMO, its current landscape, and the future that lies before it. For the purpose of this article, I'm only going to delve into the subscription based games and those that have left an indelible impression, unless special consideration is warranted. If I leave a game out, whether through ignorance or intention, feel free to call me out on it on the forums...

Anarchy Online can lay claim to a lot of firsts in the MMORPG genre, launching in the summer of 2001. Not only was Funcom's game the first to feature a Sci-Fi setting, but it was also the first to offer free-trials and eventually in-game advertising. Though the game was troubled at launch due to a number of stability and account issues that tarnished the public's perception, Anarchy Online is still alive and kicking today and has since maintained a very active subscriber-base. AO paved the way for future Sci-Fi, despite its early troubles, with several gameplay innovations such as mission terminals that offered players dynamically created missions. An additional bit of trivia for Anarchy Online? It was one of the first MMOs offered via digital distribution as well as having a retail box on store shelves.

Sci-Fi MMOs have largely been a second-class subgenre, but that is now changing. That is a good thing, because fantasy has been overdone.

The only fairly major game I can think of that he missed was Neocron.

[Regolyth]

I'm all for some sci-fi MMOs. The thing is though, doing them right. There have been some great licenses out there with real potential, but they've been handled very poorly (e.g. The Matrix Online). Other, new ideas, just tank (e.g. Tabula Rasa). Of course, there are plenty of fantasy licenses that have been handled poorly, or have tanked, but there's a lot that have done very well too. There hasn't really been a good sci-fi MMO that has done well, besides Anarchy Online. Star Wars: Galaxies came close, but they dogged that.

[Loendal]

Neocron was pretty cool for the short while I played it. I think they did the hacker-type class the best of any I've seen so far. You actually had to DO something to crack things, that jacob's ladder puzzle was pretty cool for the locked items.

I never got very far into it, as I soon discovered that I don't have the twitch reflexes to deal with FPS PVP in an MMO (That's alot of acronyms!). It had one of the most immersive environments I've seen in a long time. The game was ripe with Roleplay possibilities, but when the primary player-base is both a) foreign and b) FPS gamers you could pretty much guarantee that you'd never find it. I never did anyway.

If Neocron would go F2P, I'd be seriously tempted to give it another go!