I’ve been playing my favorite MMORPG for a good portion of a year now and things are not as interesting as they were before. I’ve pretty much maxed out in my character level and the few remaining levels don’t offer anything new. The good thing about MMORPG’s is that we don’t have a shortage of them, what we do have is a huge chunk of them which makes choosing the next MMORPG a difficult one.

Developers spew out MMORPG titles almost in a daily fashion only to find out that the changes in their games are mostly cosmetic. With the market flooded with MMORPG’s the question is “do any of them offer any new innovation in terms of gameplay or do they represent the next level in gaming experience?”

I’ve been playing RAN Online for almost a year now and was putting a couple of hours a day into the game. The game started out great with the gaming taking almost half of my waking hours during the first months until I reached a respectable number. The last few months was spent hunting and farming for rare items which I needed to squeeze out a few more points out of my character.

A quick look at what the other players were playing showed me that once a player started playing a particular MMORPG most of his friends would follow. This only shows the one quality that MMORPG’s possess multi-player gameplay. Sometimes you could throw out all the reviews and technical aspects of the game and leave it to games which you and you’re friends enjoy.

But before jumping into the bandwagon let’s just take a look at some guidelines which I think could help in choosing your next MMORPG:

Check the latest buzz

Grab a magazine or visit their sites to see what the latest games available in the market are. Get a good mix of reviews and check the comments about these games. Take note of the game’s strong points but also more importantly what people who disagree with the game have to say. Make a list of what you would like to see in a MMORPG and compare it with what people have to say about them.

Graphics

Playing MMORPG’s requires countless hours of gametime with your eyes glued to the monitor. The best game should make this experience almost like watching your favorite TV show or movie. It has to grab your senses and keep you glued to your chair. Good graphics usually mean a well-developed game. A game with spectacular graphics does not only mean countless hours spent in developing the story but also huge downtimes in game programming.

Sounds

If a games soundtrack or background music keeps playing in your head even long after you’ve left your computer, chances are the games sound effects are damn good. A well developed sound system could certainly perk your gaming experience and remove the boredom countless hours of grinding.

Unique Gameplay Modes

A game which offers something different in terms of gameplay could certainly be difficult to find. Given the huge numbers of MMORPG’s in the market everybody seems to offer the same thing. The trick here is not finding a game which offers something different but one which offers a game with a good mix of nice features and gameplay.

Customization

Things have certainly evolved when personalizing your characters meant changing your hair color and gender. Games should be able to provide each gamer the option of choosing the widest range of choices in terms of looks and character development.