First round match in MMORPG Showdown 3. 

The Match-Up

This match-up pits two of the better looking free MMORPGs against each other. In fact, Rappelz was GameOgre.com's New Free MMORPG of the Year for 2006 while Sword of the New World was GameOgre.com's New Free MMORPG of the Year for 2007. However, these two games are also very different. While Rappelz is a standard fantasy MMO with little innovation, Sword of the New World is a very innovative MMO that is set in the Baroque period of Europe. Those two key differences were mentioned in both the voting and the forum discussion, but voting was still close in each. Weighing features against each other, this match should have been a rout for Sword of the New World but it ended up being one of the closest matches yet. After all the smoke cleared, the two games both had a final score of 7.2. Thus, the forum voting was used as a tiebreaker to give Sword of the New World the narrow victory. Sword of the New World was defeated in the semi-finals last year by Lord of the Rings Online. Can it go further this year?  

Tale of the Tape

Rappelz

• Free to play after buying one of the campaigns.
• Great graphics for a free MMO.
• GameOgre.com's New Free MMORPG of the Year for 2006.
• Fun pet system. Pets include such various creatures as orcs, yetis, and skeleton warriors.
• Has major updates or versions known as Epics.
• Sells items through a cash shop.
• Point-and-click control system.

Versus 

Sword of the New World

• Free to play.
• Some versions are known as Granado Espada.
• GameOgre.com's New Free MMORPG of the Year for 2007.
• Impressive 3D graphics.
• Soloing is a major factor in the game due to the MCC (multiple character control) system.
• Can use experience cards to level up characters.
• Various forms of PvP such as family vs. family duels, city vs. city PvP wars, and arena style PvP.
• Players can control up to 3 characters at once.
• Every player has his or her own family. All the characters of a player are in that family and they all share the same last name.

Select Comments For Rappelz (Edited for Presentation)

Rating: 9
Author: buzzsaw
Comment: There are better free MMORPGs, but I like Rappelz over Sword of the New World. Rappelz is a grindfest, but it's more fun to play.

Rating: 8
Author: Axeforhire66
Comment: I think this game offers some nice features and is a well-polished game. Nothing too spectacular or new but it's nicely done.

Rating: 7
Author: aaddron
Comment: Good game, but the point-and-click movement only hurts it. Also, Rappelz needs more polish. It feels rushed then forgotten.

Select Comments for Sword of the New World (Edited for Presentation)

Rating: 8
Author: Tiraldric
Comment: Sword of the New World definably has the lead of the two MMORPG. The features are more innovative and they bring the game to a different level than the practical stale foreign-MMO experience. The graphics are solid. For a game that plays free, I doubt many can complain. The list of faults I could generate for either game is a rather small amount, so both games certainly have potential. However, the multi-character family system Sword has my vote.

Rating: 10
Author: awesomedrako
Comment: Sword of the New World is much more unique than Rappelz. Rappelz is just another MMORPG where you move around, kill stuff, take quests, blah blah blah. In contrast, Sword of the New World has you control a TEAM of characters. No other MMORPG I know lets you do that. In addition, it's really easy to control the team. In fact, its easier than it is to control one character in some MMORPGs. SotNW isn't boring in any way either. It has lots of quests and things to do to keep you amused.

Rating: 9
Author: Lancelot67
Comment: Rappelz is nothing. It's your run-of-the-mill MMO. This is something unique.

The Voting

Rappelz received a total score of 7.2

Sword of the New World received a total score of 7.2

The Result

Sword of the New World Wins Via Tiebreaker!