RPGDot 2003 Awards: Best MMORPG
The MMORPGDot Team, 2004-01-16

The last couple of weeks you could vote for the best RPGs and MMORPGs that have been released in 2003. Not us but you the player decide who receives the RPGDot 2003 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 2003.

Best MMORPG
What MMORPG was the best of the best in 2003? From the previous awards things should come as no surprise.

The winner: Final Fantasy XI
Final Fantasy XI won the award for best MMORPG of the year because of one simple thing: Gameplay. Folks who log onto Massively Multiplayer games are not looking for manipluative experiences. They're not looking to provide their own content, or form some sort of grand new social order. They're there to have fun. And FFXI delivers fun in spades. From the first moment in the game, the easy to find quests and engaging combat system ensures that folks who choose to tread the paths of Vana D'iel have a blast while doing so. Add to this the intriguing mission-type quests and the conflicts between the three cities, instanced housing, a fun crafting system and you have our winner for the best MMOG of 2003.

(Dialogue)

Runner Up: Star Wars: Galaxies - An Empire Divided
In a year where the crop of MMORPGs lacked a lot of lustre, it's no surprise to see SWG in the top list. The real question is would it have made such a list among a greater number of slightly better games? It most probably would have, yes. Although it failed to satisfy some of those who most anticipated the game, SWG remains among the better MMORPGs to have come out in recent years, and certainly ranks among the best live games today. And the good news is that it keeps getting better with the recent additions of player-run cities, mountable rides and vehicles, and the upcoming space expansion. In a lacklustre year, SWG remained a very good game, offering enough refreshing concepts to be worthy of its place among the top three.

(Ekim)

Second Runner Up: A Tale in the Desert
A Tale in the Desert is certainly the most remarkable mmorpg out there right now. With its Egyptian desert setting and the focus entirely on crafting and socializing, the game's design principles are totally different from what we see in most mainstream mmorpg's. Lead designer Andrew Tepper always said that he made AtitD as the game he'd always wanted to play himself. His game showing up on the third best mmorpg from 2003 proves that he wasn't alone in what he wanted.

(Hyrrix)

The Numbers
To make it complete we now give you the top 5 as voted by our visitors:

And 61,4 % of those who participated were unable to select one of the games.

We, the MMORPGDot team also voted to create our own top 3:

The team switched first and third place compared to the voters table. But that should not come as a real surrise.

Note that percentages are rounded to the nearest number.

Overview of all awards on MMORPGDot
 Best Sound
 Best Graphics
 Best Atmosphere
 Biggest Surprise
 Biggest Disappointment
 Most Anticipated
 Best Expansion
 Best MMORPG

Overview of all awards on RPGDot
 Best Sound
 Best Graphics
 Best Atmosphere
 Biggest Surprise
 Biggest Disappointment
 Most Anticipated
 Dream Game
 Best RPG/RPG-Strategy Expansion
 Best Non-RPG
 Best RPG-Strategy
 Best RPG