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MMORPG: Your Broadband Home Away from Home

What is MMORPG?

The term MMORPG stands for a dominant genre of online gaming, Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game.  Instead of merely playing a game over the Internet with others, you live and grow in an alternate world open for you to explore.  While MMORPGs have been around for many years - the earliest ones predating Windows - they have just recently emerged into their Golden Age.  Recent powerhouse titles such as Blizzard’s “World of Warcraft” and Sony Online’s “Everquest 2” have brought this exciting style of game to the masses.

When you first start playing, you typically choose a “server” to create your character on.  Each server is separate and identical to each other, so if you have friends who already play, or have friends who start after you, you will want to make sure to choose the same server.  Once your character is created, there are a wealth of things you can do, from participating in a player-driven economy, to questing and doing good or ill, the choice is up to you.  

Some games also have significant Player versus Player (or PvP) elements, where strategic and fast-paced battles take place with other people just like you.  The depth and focus in each of these areas varies from game to game, as does the setting.  Whether flying spaceships or medieval battles are your style, you can find your niche in one of these games.

So what do you need in order to get connected and start playing? 

 Most titles require a Windows PC, although “World of Warcraft” is a very notable exception that runs on Mac platforms. 

The second requirement is an Internet connection.  While most will run on a dial-up connection, the game is severely hampered by the low transfer speed. For the true MMORPG experience, broadband Internet is virtually a requirement, not a suggestion.  Lastly, you will of course, need to purchase the game itself, which usually runs around $50.  The first month is almost always free, and after this you will be charged on average a $15 fee on a monthly basis to continue your subscription. 

While at first you may not think this is worth it, you should realize that the level of entertainment these games bring is far more then your typical $50 game, and for less than the price of dinner and a movie, you can play as much as you want for the whole month!