Once again, the best MMORPGs go head-to-head to determine the number one MMORPG of the YearIn the first MMORPG Showdown, Guild Wars managed to topple World of Warcraft in the finalsThe last tournament also featured a bitter match where Maple Story barely slid by RuneScapeThis year there are several new games and several new match-ups due to a stronger free MMORPG genre and a few major releasesA few of the older MMOs are also not showing their age wellIn fact, less than half of the games that were in the tournament last year are back again for this year. With several older games gone from last year, recently launched or soon-to-be launched games such as Fury, Hellgate: London, and Tabula Rasa will have a shot at the crown this yearThese new games will have their matches at the end of the first round in order for players to get a better chance to play them

Missing The Cut

The 16 MMORPGs that made the cut this year are either leaders, are free, in a good niche, or are young with a great deal of potentialThat said, several older MMORPGs are missing from the tournament this year including Dark Age of Camelot, Anarchy Online, and EverQuest 2Of those that missed the cut, EverQuest 2 and Dark Age of Camelot were the closest to come to making itBoth games were beat in the first round last year, but still are very solid MMORPGsUltimately, it came down to the fact that Dark Age of Camelot is showing its age and EverQuest 2 will likely always be in the shadow of World of WarcraftVanguard barely beat out EverQuest 2 because it is newer and has added a nice innovation to the genre with its diplomacy system. Although it was not in last year's tournament, Silkroad Online is another game that narrowly missed being chosen.

Sources : Game Online Land