Game of the Year 2004 Awards: Biggest Disappointment
Myrthos, 2005-02-22

The last couple of weeks you could vote for the best RPGs and MMORPGs that have been released in 2004. Not us but you the player decide who receives the RPGDot 2004 Awards in the various categories. We thank all those who entered their votes and helped us in making it possible to select the best games of 2004.

Biggest Disappointment MMORPG
Somehow you expected a game to be better in more than one way. The game that ends up in the biggest disappointment MMORPG category.

The winner: Everquest 2
Like World of Warcraft. EverQuest II fails to significantly change the basic MMORPG formula. In addition, EQ2 tries to straddle two positions: it offers significant solo content in earlier levels but higher-level content frequently requires grouping and crafting is intentionally reliant on other crafters for resources. While these forced interactions are positive for some, for others it weakens their ability to play they way they would choose. The incredible graphics require very high-end system specifications for reasonable performance and loading times for zones are frustrating. Finally, the lack of PvP is a real issue for some players and raises questions about the end-game.

(Dhruin)

Runner Up: World of Warcraft
For all those captivated by World of Warcraft, there are those that are disappointed. It's likely many of the reasons stem from the same root: for all its success, World of Warcraft is more evolution than revolution. For experienced players, World of Warcraft fails to change the basic formula, is light on crafting and end-game content and has yet to implement the Battlegrounds that will offer more PvP options. For players new to the genre, World of Warcraft still fails to find a way for players to fundamentally affect the gameworld or provide a meaningful story arc. For both groups, the ease and emphasis on soloing potentially hurts grouping and social interaction. All up, it's a lost opportunity.

(Dhruin)

Second Runner Up: Lineage 2 - The Chaotic Chronicle
A lot of players will not admit it but the main reason of the initial hype phenomenon around Lineage II was the Dark Elves and their panties. Once that is left behind, the newcomer discovered at release a game literally infected by technical problems and player killers with no customization at all and difficult level curve. With millions of players in Asia according to NCsoft, Lineage II is a failure in our countries with only a few thousands.

(JRM)

The Numbers
To make it complete we now give you the top 10 as voted by our visitors:

And 15% of the voters didn't have a clue about what to select.

The team members list shows only two games they found disappointing:

List of the awards
Awards on RPGDot:
Best graphics
Best Sound and Music
Biggest Surprise
Biggest Disappointment
Most Anticipated
Dream Game
Best Console RPG
Best Non-RPG
Best RPG

Awards on MMORPGDot:
Best graphics
Best Sound and Music
Biggest Surprise
Biggest Disappointment
Most Anticipated
Dream Game
Best Expansion MMORPG
Best MMORPG

Note that percentages are rounded to the nearest number.