The year is over and more importantly a decade is gone. Yes, it’s been 10 years since the Playstation 1 came out. Why of all things should I mention a gaming console as a landmark for the previous 10 years? Since were on the topic of gaming and I seriously believe that anyone who’s been reading our articles are gamers themselves, I would like to mark everything with respect to what has happened to us gamers for the past year.

For me, the Playstation 1 was where I got my gaming legs so to speak. The Japanese console maker came out with so many titles and gaming genres that have come to define the world of gaming itself. Most notable was the Final Fantasy series of games which introduced me to the world of RPGs.

RPGs have evolved from games being played by a single player on a console or PC, to the massive and multiplayer worlds we see today. RPG’s have moved astronomically in terms of technology from the 2D graphics and side sliding games of yester years. What we have now are worlds filled by thousands of players from all over the world trying to carve a space in this brave new world.

Sadly, with all the developments in term of graphics and game engines, most of these MMORPGs have failed miserably in both categories. Some games have excelled technically but have fell down the road in terms of their storyline and playability.

Below are a list of games which I personally think have failed badly to deliver in terms of technicality and overall playability. Games which have failed to capture our attention after a few hours of gameplay or those who have just been too long in the tooth that they forgot that being great meant working on the game day in and day out.

Hello Kitty

The mere mention of this game title makes you want to shout “Goodbye.” Seriously, with all the creative talent and brains available in the world, why would a company pay a team of developer’s top dollars to create an RPG game based on a cute Japanese Character? Japanese companies have long been known to create innovative and modern concepts which some could only describe as futuristic.

Cute…… Would you allow yourself to be seen playing this game? Would you invite your friends to join you on an adventure on a land filled with Japanese cartoon characters like Hello Kitty, My Melody and Pochacacco in the wonderful world of Sanrio? I don’t have anything personal against the game, but I’d rather kill monsters wearing a wizards robe than be caught dead in a cute cat suit.

Oz

Some may call me a war monger when I say that a decent RPG should have some sort of blood or fighting out in the mix. Oz online gameplay centers more on creating social ties and fishing to gain experience points and currency. No fighting in Oz is allowed, period. Players go about the world knowing people and eventually get married. Unless you live as a monk in a distant mountain or you need a serious lesson in the basic realities of life, getting married, fishing and building a home could be done in the real world.

MMORPGs offer players an escape from reality and getting a game that promises an experience that is similar to what could be found in real life isn’t much of an escape at all. If you’re an avid MMORPG player you should try understanding what the world is all about. Moving thru the ranks require fishing, a lot of fishing. Leveling up generally means getting better equipment for fishing which means for quicker leveling up. Unless you want to spend countless hours fishing then this game is most likely not your thing. If you want to make friends then this is definitely the game for you, if you want to reach out and deal some major pain try looking somewhere else.

Maple Story

One of the intangible things that make a great game is an even better community. This is one aspect that I believe seriously lacks. Longevity is also one thing that Maple Story lacks. I played the game for a couple of days but after I found myself logging less and less hours after a couple of days. The gameplay just got to monotonous that I just decided to leave the game. For a game that has “Story” in its tile, I find it ironic that the game didn’t have a decent story which came with it.

The graphics are good for a 2D game and it certainly can put some 3D games into shame. The graphics are also fairly good but there seems to be very little in terms of variety. Travelling and visiting a few towns would give you the feeling of being there before.

Fiesta Online

The graphics and sounds were great. Starting out the game was simple but Fiesta Online came short on some important aspects. Freeze frames, this is how I would described gameplay experience. It got so annoying that I had to check my computer if it was at fault. Chatting with the other players I found out that this was not isolated but was the norm. Lagging and bugs were evident during the entire game and certainly dampened an otherwise cool game. Developers also seemed to have forgotten how to help new players with simple instructions such as getting from point A to point B. Overall, I would describe the experience as frustrating and after a couple of hours on the game I decided to just leave the game altogether.

MU Online

This tile has been one of the most successful imports in a long line of MMORPGs from Korea. The past years have seen an influx of MMORPGs from Asian giants Korea and China. I know that I might be raising more than a few eyebrows when I included MU into the lineup. The game has been on the gaming scene for almost forever and patches have been introduced to make it even better.

But that’s just the problem, patches. We all know what patches are made for, fixing broken things. I’m not saying that there’s something wrong with the game but a little upgrade could go a long way in wetting the appetite of the thousands of players hooked to the game. For once, the graphics could use an upgrade. It would be refreshing if you could grind in a place for hours which looked interesting. The landscape is plainly dull and that’s an understatement.