Game players may be interested in an engine/community called BYOND which allows users to make games in an object oriented engine. It uses sprites as graphics but allows users to use whatever sprites they wish; indeed, some games have great sprites. For example, Cow RP has animated avatars which can face in four different directions.

Here are a number of games which excel in their category. I’ve given them four ratings ranging from 0 (horrible) to 10 (amazing). I have not reviewed games in the Casual category, which is where the retired games are hosted.

Action

Resident Evil Online 1 & 2

Two games which are very similar. The second one has more and more diverse weapons and a slight increase in graphics. They both are based on the idea of a colony of humans against a seemingly endless horde of zombies with only weapons and limited ammo at your disposal.

Graphics: Average (6) Neither bad nor good.

Playability: Average (6) Addictive but repetitive

Community: Good (7) Generally happy to help

Regulation: N/A (-) I cannot see any rules that would cause mods to be called in

Paradise City

Another Zombie game but of much higher quality. The graphics are better than Resident Evil Online but its distinguishing feature is that you can allocate your character abilities, classes and weapon specialities. The classes each have special abilities, like the engineer’s ability to build remote turrets and the commander’s ability to call an NPC soldier to help him.

Graphics: Above Average (7)

Playability: High (8) The abilities and classes allow for more than just button smashing

Community: Good (7) You really need to work as a team to get along in the game and everyone is willing to do so

Regulation: N/A (-) See above

Anime

NOTE: All these games tend to be targetted at people who actually watch these animes.

Naruto: Shinobi Shukumei

A Naruto game which features a huge amount of originality, it has hand signs you do yourself (From the anime to cast Ninja Techniques) and features a great system for levelling and ranking. You can learn techniques from other players, therefore making it easier to want to play with other people.

Graphics: Great (8) The techniques all have their own graphics

Playability: Amazing (10) Truly, I haven’t found a game so good for playability

Community: Good (7) A generally nice crowd with light humour and discussion of the game, although arguments can happen

Regulation: Great (8)There tends to be a Game Master on to deal with any problems

Mitadake High

One of the few games in this category where knowledge of an anime isn’t needed. It is a round-based murder mystery where you are a student who is called according to your hair type or certain accessories (sunglasses, etc.).

Graphics: Average (6)

Playability: Excellent (9) Loads of great things in the game

Community: Great (8) Very good roleplay happens nearly every round

Regulation: N/A (0) I haven’t seen any “admins” except for the hosts of the server but I don’t think that they are required

Naruto: Way of the Shinobi

A bit different from the other games in that it is a lot easier to start a character and see interesting results. NOTE: The source to this game was accidentally leaked and as such a lot of clones popped up, this is the ORIGINAL game from which the source came.

Graphics: Average (5) Nothing too impressive but serves it purpose

Playability: Good (7) Good for people who want immediate results.

Community: Below Average (4) Not the most helpful people

Regulation: Bad (3) I noticed a few people abusing bugs and breaking rules and no admins on.

Roleplaying (RPG)

Cow RP

A great game! Good graphics, round-based semi-medieval RP and a farming system to boot! A definite play if you are into roleplay of any type. There are also specialized jobs which add abilities to the mix, such as the Necromancer who, I believe, requires no explanation.

Graphics: Great (8) A detailed icon for every occasion

Playability: Very Good (7) Lots of features

Community: Quite Good (6) Some very nice people but the occasional griefer (person who randomly kills people for no reason) really can ruin it

Regulation: Could Be Better (5) The admins that exist are good, but they aren’t online nearly enough

Space Station 13

At the other end of the scale is a futuristic space station setting. Plenty of fun features with this one, pretty much every item you come across has some special use.

Graphics: Horrid (1) The graphics are frankly disappointing. For a game that has such strong gameplay, I expect better graphics

Play-Ability: Great (8) Many functional items

Community: Perfect (10) The roleplay that happens on here makes up for all the graphics problem

Regulation: Very Good (7) Almost always an admin on one of the servers.

Dungeon Master

A RTS-style game where you control a community of a chosen race. Your people each have a skill level for a individual task, like woodchopping, which levels up as they chop more and more. It is a fun small game but can be over-complicated.

Graphics: Average (5) Not great but they work

Playability: Good (6) Good and very fun at points

Community: Very Good (8) All nice people

Regulation: Good (6) When someone decides to pick on weak people, he is quickly shown the wrongs of his ways, either by a Admin or a stronger player.

If you would like tips for any of these games, let me know in the comments and I’ll be glad to help.

Posted by Conot on http://mmorpg-info.org.