Semi-final match in MMORPG Showdown 3. 

The Match-Up

Although Guild Wars and Lord of the Rings Online faced each other last year in a great match, this year's match proved to be even closer. In fact, Lord of the Rings Online may have come the closest to finally beating Guild Wars. Guild Wars jumped out to an early lead in both regular voting and the forum discussion. It looked like it would be an easy victory again for Guild Wars. The forum discussion had already turned to a Guild Wars vs. RuneScape conversation. However, Lord of the Rings Online not only came back from an early deficit, but took the lead twice. Guild Wars just managed to pull out the victory on the final day of voting to stay undefeated. Thus, Guild Wars will take on RuneScape in the finals after all.    

Tale of the Tape

Guild Wars

• Free to play after buying one of the campaigns.
• One of the best reviewed games on GameOgre.com.
• Winner of the first two MMORPG Showdowns.
• GameOgre.com's Online Game of the Year for 2006.
• Two successful expansion/sequels.
• Strong PvP focus.
• Henchmen and Hero systems enables more solo play.
• Level cap is 20.
• Has had one regular expansion and will have a sequel.

Versus 

Lord of the Rings Online

• Based on one of the best fantasy franchises ever.
• Pay-to-play
• Runner-up in last year's MMORPG Showdown.
• First major expansion pack known as Mines of Moria will greatly expand the game.
• One of the few highly anticipated MMORPGs to deliver over the past couple of years.
• One of the better reviewed MMORPGs on GameOgre.

Select Comments For Guild Wars (Edited for Presentation)

Rating: 10
Author: komgred
Comment: Gameplay: Gameplay is standard to the MMO format. Quests are fun and implemented in a perfect way. When choosing a class you get to mix them up with another class which is a very unique feature that I have never seen in any other MMORPG. Having two classes creates a lot of different ways to play the game. Each character has 8 skills which keeps the game simple and the action fast. Since the world is instanced, you get to have it all to yourself so you can keep questing or farming without worrying about other people. The level cap is 20 which means that grinding has been minimzed. PvP is awesome and well balanced. The game has a few campaigns and an expansion, so it has a lot of content. 9/10

Graphics: The graphics are very good and they make the environment stand out. Old machines can run the game. 9/10

Community: The community is absolutely fantastic. It is very warm welcoming. Guilds are just simply fantastic and you make a lot of friends. 10/10

Difficulty: Same as WoW. Easy to get started and has a simple layout so you can figure everything out by yourself. Also, soloing is very easy. 10/10

Overall: 10/10

Rating: 9
Author: Aaddron
Comment: Guild Wars is very polished and has improved a lot since release. The game's unique story telling is the thing that sets Guild Wars apart from other MMOs. It has tons of quest and plenty of things to do once you reach the max level of 20. It's just a vary well-done game.

Rating: 10
Author: webber
Comment: Guild Wars and Lord of the Rings Online are both great games but I give the edge to Guild Wars because of its better PvP.

Select Comments for Lord of the Rings Online (Edited for Presentation)

Rating: 9
Author: ScareCrow
Comment: LoTRO is an online game based on the acclaimed LoTR books by J.R.R Tolkien. The fact that it has a huge mainstream appeal, combined with its stellar graphics, sound, storyline, gameplay and the strange thing that makes me enjoy grinding. The quests, called chapters, can get slightly repetitive, but they are always fun.

With all it's features, it once looked to be a WoW killer. Although it hasn't killed WoW, it maintains a strong player base. With the Mines of Moria expansion it will probably be around for a good few years.

Rating: 10
Author: weehut
Comment: The grinding in LoTRO is absolutely amazing and is fun. Spell animations are unsurpassed by any other MMORPG, the sound quality is great, and it has a stellar plotline mixed in as well. To make things even better, I loved the LoTR book series too, so playing around in Middle Earth is like heaven to me.

Rating: 9
Author: komgred
Comment: Gameplay: The gameplay is very standard to the MMO format. Camera angles can be switched between first person and third person options. The main storyline is set up as a series of books, which feature quests called chapters. The story is very enjoyable as your character is actually involved and recognized in them. Quests are very fun to do with friends and solo. Instances are well designed with good bosses. The first expansion, Mines of Moria, has already been released and contains a lot of content. Characters can obtain titles and traits by completing deeds. Deeds are earned in each area of the game, by killing a specific amount of monsters, using a certain ability a set number of times and many other ways. Titles add a new layer of customization to the game by adding additional information to your name. Traits give characters different bonuses or abilities. Any trait combination can be equipped as long as they have enough trait slots. In the crafting side of the game, characters cannot choose a single profession, but they choose a vocation which is composed of three professions. Most vocations include a gathering profession and two crafting professions that complement each other. It is the best crafting system I have ever seen in any MMO. When characters reach level 5 they can learn to play musical instruments. The instrument can be played in real time on three octaves and ABC notation with the music being broadcast to nearby players. PvP is in the form of PvMP (Players vs Monster Player). Monster Play is unlocked when a character reaches level 10; players can then play a level 60 monster. PvMP is based in the Ettenmoors where players fight for the control of various keeps. PvMP is very well balanced and the classes are also well balanced. 10/10

Graphics: The graphics are very good looking. They make the environment stand out, which is what I usually say. Nothing else, it is just simply amazing. 9/10

Community: One of the best I have seen in any MMORPG. Most of them are all LOTR fans, very friendly and the game has a very warm welcoming atmosphere. 10/10

Difficulty: A bit hard to get started out in this game, but you will get the hang of it after 30 minutes. Quests are simple and soloable. 8/10

Overall: 9/10

The Voting

Guild Wars received a total score of 6.8

Lord of the Rings Online received a total score of 6.7

The Result

Guild Wars Wins!