Ready to get your game on? Try out one of these five popular Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games (MMORPG's) and immerse yourself in another world.
World of Warcraft
In terms of overall subscribers this MMORPG easily blows away all of the other games. With a subscriber base of well over eleven million monthly players (each paying $15 a month for access) this game is a financial cash cow for parent company Blizzard. At the same time that giant number of subscribers speaks volumes as to just how immersive and flexible the gameplay is. The game is already on its second expansion pack and a third (known as Cataclysm and slated to premiere in 2010 or 2011) promises to shake things up and open doors to even more new subscribers. Take it for a spin in a ten day free trial of World of Warcraft
Aion
For those that love the World of Warcraft style of gameplay Aion is an up and coming contender. With a more popular variation on the character class system and beautiful, eye catching graphics, Aion is occasionally reffered to in the industry as a potential WOW killer. The game is still in its infancy, and no free trial version exists yet, but Aion is quietly biting into some of the WOW subscriber base and appears to be a potential successor over the long term.
Lord of the Rings Online
Based in J.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings Universe, LOTR Online is another highly successful MMORPG of the medieval genre. They also have a free ten day trial, and monthly subscription plans are comparative to other games in this class.
Free Realms
For the younger set of players (and those with no allowance to spend on a monthly basis) Free Realms is exactly what it seems to be, a free, MMORPG that is great for beginners to take a look at and get their feet wet if they are new to the genre. Players complete quests and do other activities to earn virtual cash to upgrade their characters and purchase more land. You can tell from the graphics that this is not a high finance venture, but hey for free it isn't too bad.
Eve Online
The only non-medieval style MMORPG on the list, EVE Online has been around for many years and is set in a spacefaring future where trading, mining, and manufacturing take place in hundreds of systems all across the galaxy. For those that really get into the financial aspects of a game Eve is a definite draw. The majority of criticisms against EVE have to do with having a very complex structure that requires the player to think almost in terms of real world economies of scale. The graphics of EVE are stunning and the leveling system is different than many other MMORPG's. For a change of pace take a look at their free EVE Online 10 day trial
