Game of the Year 2004 Awards: Best Expansion
Myrthos, 2005-02-24

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.

Best MMORPG Expansion
Several expansions for online games saw the light of day last year. But only a few got the most light of them all.

The winner: Star Wars: Galaxies - Jump to Lightspeed
Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed was more than just an expansion. The space component of Star Wars Galaxies is basically an entire second game on top of the ground-based MMORPG. Jump to Lightspeed allows players to pursue a pilot career as either a Neutral, Rebel or Imperial pilot in the Star Wars universe. The unavoidable grind is somewhat easier to handle due to the mission-based advancement through the four tiers of the pilot professions. The missions are fun and challenging and once you have mastered pilot, you might want to check out the Deep Space PvP arena where a huge Imperial Star Destroyer and a Rebel Space Station serve as the basis for thrilling PvP space combat. Non-combat types have not been forgotten in Jump to Lightspeed. Players who aren't interested in space combat can become a Shipwright to supply all factions with space crafts and components. All in all, Jump to Lightspeed definitely deserves the "Best Expansion" award due to its scope.

(Moriendor)

Runner Up: Ultima Online - Samurai Empire
Ultima Online: Samurai Empire earns kudos as an expansion for a couple of reasons. For one, the introduction of Ancient Japanese culture into the mix presents a new and novel set of characters, both for the player to play as and to encounter as NPCs. Additionally, it introduced a novel set of new creatures. Now, admittedly, this has been done before in every other Ultima: Online expansion. So what really makes the difference here?

It's that finally…finally…the people making Ultima: Online have taken a bit of a look at Ultima history, and have taken a lesson from Serpent Isle's recipe for success: go back to the roots. Where Samurai Empire got it right, in my estimation, is their adaptation of the Lands of the Feudal Lords, unseen since Ultima 1, as the Tokuno Islands. Ultima has always done well when it remembers previous titles in the series, and even if Ultima: Online isn't considered ‘canon' Ultima, by taking a page out of history Samurai Empire has done well for itself.

Now if only they would slap a true 3D engine onto the game, instead of the hybrid 2/3D engine introduced in Age of Shadows, Ultima: Online might have a rich history ahead of it.

(WtfD)

Second Runner Up: Anarchy Online - Alien Invasion
The Alien Invasion expansion for Anarchy Online adds signfiicantly to the high-level content with the addition of player cities and alien attacks on those cities that must be thwarted. Building player cities is an expensive proposition so it's an activity suited to veterans and guilds looking for advanced content. The alien invasions are scaled to level and offer an exciting element ideal for guild play and successfully defeating the alien attackers yields special experience that gives access to all-new abilities. Throw in a huge number of extra items, weapons and armour and Alien Invasion is a solid expansion for an established game.

(Dhruin)

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

With 41% of our voters not knowing what to select.

The team showed the same winner:

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.