This game looks like a combination of MS's Allegiance, and Blizzard's Starcraft. The system might be worth more of a look when they've got more defined, but right now, the only game specifics are the two environments in which you will play (Space, or Space Station), and that there will be no rules of conduct. I'd love to see the attrition rate on the No Rules of Conduct idea.

A MM RPG using VRML as their interface. Because the 3D engine is already created through the use of the Blaxxun client, these guys just have to concentrate on the game. Beta test is scheduled for July of 2001.

A very humorous, web-based MMORPG, that has you as the foster parent of a brand-new alient. Your job is to equip him with the proper items, educate him in the proper skills, and hopefully keep him from getting killed by the other little aliens running about.

Space combat sim/RTS/MM game with astounding graphics and some great force-feedback options for those that require that personal touch. The coolest part of the game is playing large scale vehicles, like massive starships, and having multiple people manning the various guns.

A fantastic new world blending science-fiction and fantasy. The best comparison I can make is to FASA's Shadowrun pen and paper RPG, but set on a different planet. The fan-base has grown tremendously since their first announcement, possibly surrounding the extensive resource that this website has become.

Fantasy MM RPG title with Campaign Managers (Dungeon Masters) role playing throughout the world.

An MM title that describes itself as a world, nothing more. Of course, it also happens to have a fantasy setting, magic, and combat. It shares some features with what I call legacy imperative games; which is to say, you can give birth to a child, raise them, and once your character dies, you take control of the child.

An Open Source, MMORPG. Currently in very early stages of development, they have a freely available server that is open to 32 simultaneous players. If you have the time, and the skill-base, you may want to join their development team.

The latest RPG product from the beast, Asheron held me in its grips for about 7 months. A 3rd person, skill-based, RPG universe, Asheron's has a very nice development continuim, allowing developers to revise and add to the product as people continue to play.

A persistant MM based on an alien world. The graphics look phenomenal and the gaming system is NOT TOTALLY BASED ON COMBAT!! This one looks like a real winner, but it has a chance to fail due to the we-can-please-everyone tone to their FAQ. I have high hopes (being the eternal optimist) for this one.

Billed as Based on typical MMORPG game styles, Beasts appears to be another in a long list of Fantasy RPG titles.

A Sci-Fi MM from the land of Oz. This one takes place in a former penal colony, now fueled by hope and adventure. My only question, of course, is: In this far-future Neo-Eden, do they fry shrimp on the barby?

Caeron 3000 is apparently billed as a MMORPG, but I can't really tell. The game doesn't appear to benefit from a professional artist, or from a professional grade writer. From the artwork pictured, you appear to become a member of a Klingon/80s-Heavy-Metal-Hair-band race of individuals who do a lot of shooting...at..things. There are some advertised features, but no apparent reason d'etre for the game. I'll wait to see this one come out only to see how they manage to get funding for it.

A java-based MM RPG title with some outstanding artwork. This is sure to be a visual winner, with it's 60MB client footprint on the hard drive (which is...well, a lot...for a java applet).

A fantastic sounding MMORPG, with inventive systems for NPC companions and PC strongholds, this game is due in 2002. While I have yet to see screens, if it's as good as the website design, we're in for a treat.

The first MM title specifically for the Macintosh platform, this product reminds of a cross between UO and Island of Kesmai. The land is pretty rich with background, and the graphics are pretty good for a low budget title. The game is currently in production (ver 1.65), and costs 35.00 to enter, plus 10.00 a month (USD).

An MM title that is, at its root, a fantasy RPG. That's where the similarity ends, however, as it splinters the basic world into layers of worlds. The physical realm is only one possibility. In the current, open, beta test, you can play in the Dreamworld as well.

A Web based MM game that will be able to handle up to 50,000 simultaneous players, and can be accessed by WAP devices as well.

A fantastic MMORPG who's graphical presentation is more representative of an Anime comic rather than a full 3D world. Don't get me wrong, everything's in isometric view, and it's got dimension -- it's just very stylistic. Worth a look. You can play this today, as there's a free-trail download with a 10 day license.

An MMORPG with a relatively unique concept (only thing I can think of that's similar is Neocron), where you don't have to take a "killing" attitude to become part of the events of the game. Role playing is tantamount here, in this fantasy setting. Impressive graphics and a great storyline make this one a good title to watch.

If you yearn for the days when you played Ultima II on the Apple II, you'll like this MM title. A 2D interface remarkably similar to the tile-based graphics of those early generation games presents an MM title that claims to support hundreds of players at the same time.

An MMORPG from the same people that brought you Command and Conquer. This hit is billed as a combination of space-simulation combat, with role playing game and RTS elements thrown in for good measure.

Edge of Extinction is a futuristic MM title where humanity had become extinct, and lives on only in the form of consciousness encapsulated in machinery. Cool features of the game include: actual topography taken from cartographic representations of the real world, a realistic physics model, and force feedback capabilities.

Elemental Saga, the 3rd known MMORPG (these guys just keep churning them out) from Nexon is set in the 21st century. A persistant world, visually stunning 3d graphics, and the capability to support 16,000 players on one server at one time (3 times as many as EQ, about 8 times as many as AC), make this a title to watch in the upcoming weeks (Note: This game has been running in Korea for some time now, and is just now entering the US shore).

Eve Online is what I affectionately term Tradewars Massively Multiplayer. The space/trading game can support thousands of people at a time, and has what I consider to be the most impressive 3D artistry avaialble for the genre.

A fantastic environment filled to the brim with immediate and unique characters. Unfortunately, they're all sitting around the same spot waiting for a spawn.

From the Fallen Age FAQ:

In our constant struggle to make "a game that pleases everyone," we feel that we've come very close. The game setting is not only a Science Fiction and Fantasy hybrid, but we have also blended several games into one magnificent beast. The colonization system within the actual game provides for a completely new and different element to game play than ever before seen. Our multiple options for consensual PvP (Player versus Player) combat make home for both the PvP fanatic, and those who do not wish to participate. Our equipment system provides for over 10,000 unique items per game world. Our Guild structure (called Nations) has very many unique features such as guild property, national flags, guild wars, guild storage, and more. Overall, we've made a game we're proud of, and hope you'll like it too.

The online version of BattleCruiser 3000AD, this space game will support 1000s of players per server. Currently in Closed Beta.

Graal is a 2D, cartoon based, MMORPG in a fantasy setting. I can't help but be reminded of Pokemon...

Simultronics is promoting their new MM title Hero's Journey through this one page web site. From the 3 screen shots that are up there, HJ looks to be a Diablo II-esque MM game in the typical RPG fantasy setting. The graphics look pretty nice, and it's got some good fan sites so far.

Another fantasy MMORPG. This title looks particularly visually appealing (the screenshots remind me of the first time Unreal screenshots began to leak out of Epic). Release date for this product is sometime in the fall of 2002, with Beta testing beginning approximately 5 months ahead of that time.

A graphical, MM, persistant version of that old classic, Tradewars. The graphics here are fantastic, and the action is fast and furious. A combination of reflexes and tactis are needed to excel here.

A graphical MUD based in Germany that has a 2d, top-down client, similar to the old Ultima titles. Considering what this game has going for it in graphical presentation, it's a wonder how some of the other titles even get the publicity that they do.

A 3d rendered version of a C&C or TA with 150+ player capability, and some extraordinary graphics.

An action-space MM title that appears to be nicely modeled, with a lot of the detail typically used in an RPG. Like 3rd world and Allegiance (two other titles similar to this), there's playtime available to the user within a space-station. The difference here is that the artists have put their brushes to the spacestation environment as well, making for a very nicely immersive experience.

An isometric MM title in an RPG universe that highly resembles the interface for UO. Currently running commercially, the game costs 10.00 a month to play, and you can get the game CD for free (or a large download). Eventually, the CD will cost 24.99 (USD).

Holding the record for most simultaneous users in a game at one time (110,000), L:tB is an Asian title, so the US Servers are commonly updated only after products have been tested overseas. L:tB is a perspective based game (like UO), set in a fantasy RPG setting.

Another Open Source MMORPG title. This one bears great resemblance to Asheron's Call. Since the development team began work at Taika Technologies, however, there appears not to have been an update to the game.

An MMRTS with a communal persistant world, in a beautiful 3d Rendered environment, Mankind looks poised to challenge titles like Verant's Sovereign for supremacy of the MMRTS universe.

An MMORPG that is beautifully executed, but one that is in sore need of a 3D/interface artist. Mercs is a very in-depth world, with multiple races, skills, and locations. It is free, and is in current production.

If you manage to work through their broken website, you'll find the OGN has produced a decent little ditty here. The game is a fantasy-based MMORPG with a 2d interface. The environment is very much that of a classed LPMUD, with a very familiar town setting (they even mention the church in one of their screen shots).

A 2d MM title with a simplistic client and very shortened command system (Attack, Talk, and Move).

Neocron takes place in a 27th Century Metropolis, where players aren't really asked to do anything special to coexist in the game world. You could be one tough adverturer, or you could just be Bob, the guy that lives down the street...in a 27th Centry Metropolis.

Up to 64 players can play through a world that closely resembles the old AD&D universe in both environment and style of play. You play with a Dungeon Master, who guides and creates and enforces the rules of the world. I, personally, CAN WAIT NO LONGER for this title.

Set in ancient Asia, this game reminds is similar in visual presentation to Phantasy Star Online (or even a high resolution Pokemon). Great effort, however, has been put into the atmosphere, and the role players among you will really appreciate the game.

Billed as A World like no Other, Obsidan must strangely require that you own Ultima Online, and access them via the UO Client. This doesn't immediately strike me as a world like no other... Expect more similarities to the UO engine within the game, as well.

A cool looking space MM title from Sega, this website does a lot to promote the title, but nothing to explain the features in what I would call a consumer friendly manner. It's a lot of fun to play around with, but I really didn't learn anything about the game.

An MM title from the makers of EQ that attempts to put in you in the same sort of high intensity action that you would normally find in a first-person shooter like Quake.

Planetarion is a web-based MM title that is turn based, and a little like the old-style BBS game Tradewars. The difference here is that there's a signifigant technology tree, an allegiance system, and a very nice web-based interface.

A futuristic, 3D game that purports to support up to 100,000 players at one time. Of course, in this market, I'd like to see them find 100,000 players that can all play at the same time. Hey, I personally can support a seven figure salary...but you don't see anyone jumping at it, do you?

An Anime style game set in an interface similar to UO, but with a science fiction environment. Focused on the cool stuff of Anime (Magic and Martial Arts), Redmoon looks like it will stand out among others for a unique experience alone.

A MM title based completely in Java, the complexity and world-size of this game rivals titles like EverQuest and Asheron's Call for RPGs. In a fully 3D rendered world, you are bound in a fantasy adventure along with a ton of your friends...and all for FREE!

Probably one of the better designed websites for a MM title, it features screenshots and news for Shadowbane, a package that looks extremely similar to AC. The defining piece here appears to be an integration between the RPG and the RTS structures (similiarly to how Antiarch does it).

An MM RTS title from the same people that brought you Everquest and Planetside.

The MMORPG set in that favorite Wookie universe we all love. From the makers of Everquest and Sovereign.

A low-budget MM licensed out to various ISPs around the world. The persistant world of any one of these servers maintains the capability to run about 100 characters at the same time, and the licensees maintain the cost for playing it on their servers. They call it a cross between Ultima Online and Diablo...I call it a low-res graphical MUD.

An MMORPG from the same people that made Dragon's Gate, a long-running MUD that's featured on some ISPs. This game looks graphically similar with AC, a similar play model. Its uniqueness appears to spring from the setting.

Here's the game: Sub-Aquatic-Reconnaissance-Acquisition-Crafts (lightweight submarines) in a deep-water environment. Unique enough for you?

Every MM space title I've mentioned always references something like 'Real-time Tradewars, with 3D Graphics'. Well, I guess this game's reference to Tradewars is warranted, as it's a direct license from the original BBS game. From their own words: "Even today, Trade Wars invokes nostalgia among thousands of game players who still play the original version. Keeping the spirit of the original, Trade Wars: Dark Millennium will be a MMPOG real time strategy game (RTS) set in a vast universe composed of thousands of players."

Now in its third age, this top-down skill-based MMORPG was the first of it's kind. It got a bad rap early on for having numerous problems, but the developers have had a good start against their competition that had to wait longer to come out with bug free games.

The amazing new title from Origin. Imagine the world that you caught a glimpse of (albeit between crashes) in Ultima IX populated by thousands of your friends, all enacting combat moves and emotions through carefully and realistically modelled character actions. Think Asheron's on speed, in a world you already love.

A MMORPG in production (19.95 a month). A skill based system, this RPG appears to be very popular and well received. However, my only beef with it is the penchant for women to be dressed (by default, it seems) in mini-skirts and thigh-high stockings.

Unknown, Quest for the Golden Dragon is a MMORPG with influences from Asheron's Call. The difference here appears to be the extreme attention to detail in the graphics, and a real sense of the artistry of the game. The game is in Alpha test mode now, and will soon have an open Beta.

An MM title handling 1000 players per arena. Just imagine running your Panzer down the hill, crushing those Nazis beneath your treads. MUUUUHUUUUhahaha.

A MMORPG aimed at 8 to 14 year olds. As appears to be typical of a WW production, the graphical presentation is phenomenal. WW intends to have new quests and updates every week. To finally come up with some place for the kids to go, and leave us adults alone to play with our toys, is an idea that has been waiting for TOO LONG.

Warzone online is an MM title based on the Mutant Chronicles universe of miniature games produced by Paradox. Active development on this game seems to be progressing further (unlike, at the time of this writing, Warhammer Online), and we should see a Beta sometime this year.