It

It all comes down to this. Lord of the Rings Online is the new kid on the block and the MMO that knocked World of Warcraft out of this tournament while Guild Wars returns to the finals after beating the aforementioned World of Warcraft last year.

Lord of the Rings Online has quickly established itself as as a top fantasy MMO while Guild Wars continues to be hugely successful without charging a monthly fee. Both games will likely be among the best in the fantasy genre for years to come, but only one can win this tournament and be named MMORPG of the Year for 2007. Without question, this was the closest match that Guild Wars has been in yet.

However, there was not quite a New England Patriots - New York Giants type of ending that happened in the Super Bowl as Guild Wars remains undefeated. Voting was somewhat close for most of the week with Guild Wars in the lead, but Lord of the Rings Online really cranked up the pressure in the final days of voting. In fact, it looked like LotRO might actually win in the final day of voting but it was just not meant to be.

Thus, Guild Wars reclaims its crown as MMORPG champion. Guild Wars' dominance was tested in this match but it will be interesting to see which game, if any, can overcome Guild Wars' lethal combination of high-quality production, millions of players, and no monthly fees. 

Tale of the Tape