Darkfall: Unholy Wars is a unique title. Full-loot, full-PvP, in a huge sandbox is a daunting and grueling mechanic for an MMO. But it makes for an experience like no other MMO. The combat is fast paced, crafting is integral and character progression is constant. In addition to this, clan warfare is highly encouraged, allowing for full on clan battles, which is where the fun starts. Aventurine have made a good go of polishing up their game from the first iteration of Darkfall. Unholy Wars truly shows off what a hardcore MMORPG really is and can be.

Defiance is a really fun game despite its numerous rough edges. But can that fun overcome its mediocrity? That would likely be up to each individual gamer. If you’re hankering for an online PvE-centric shooter that’s out of beta, Defiance may be for you. If you’re a mega-fan of the show and like to game, it’s also probably a no-brainer. But if you’re looking for a polished and complete experience to rival other MMOs on the market, you might be better off waiting to see if Trion can remedy the problems marring Defiance’s launch. If the blogs from the studio are any indication, Defiance could wind up being a diamond in the rough. But it’s going to take some time to get there, and hopefully it will before we all forget it exists.

While there’s no doubt that AoW has levels of intricacy that are unusual in MMOs today, those intricacies are numerous, and the localization an ongoing effort, making the whole experience difficult for many. Not everyone has the time or the patience to read through scads of text, assimilate and apply those many, many lessons. For those that do, power to you. Here’s hoping you find plenty of gold at the end of that complicated, text-heavy rainbow.

Salem is a stellar and charming sandbox title from Paradox Interactive. Set in the 17th century, Salem boasts a charming art style, while offering a hardcore and innovative free-to-play gaming experience. Something which is rare to come across in the current MMO market. The building and crafting system allow your character to progress and your homestead to expand, giving a rewarding and unique experience.

I think this game is going to be a sleeper. For me, the only thing that might make TMI’s silly aesthetic even better is if they replaced the grown-up sound effects with recordings of gamers going, “Pew! Pew! RAWR! Crash!” But as I said, it’s still early yet. The Missing Ink is one to watch.

The War Z has about as much value as its crappy in-game melee weaponry and that’s not much at all. At least it doesn’t cost anything to play after you buy it, and the cash shop items are fair enough, so you won’t see people running around with machine guns just because they spent money. If you’re going to give your money to a zombie-survival game, grab ArmA II and a copy of the DayZ mod, or wait for the full retail version of DayZ to arrive on digital store shelves and check that out. Do not buy into The War Z.

When the opening credits for a game are more dramatic and compelling than the game itself, that’s a problem. With a company as large and well known as SOE, I have certain expectations, few of which were met in this game. Maybe they’ll improve WO in time with the help of developer Gamepot. They certainly seem to be working on it. Unfortunately, I’m just not inclined to wait around to find out.

DK Online is a frustrating mess of a game. It has its good moments, but mostly is a chore. Its grinding and generic leveling system are straight out of Korea and will likely make you switch off almost instantly. Castle Sieges and the Shapeshifting system breathe some life into this bland game, but only for a few brief moments. The Sieges themselves often become disorganized and pointless, while the Shapeshifting system, although useful at first, ends up fading into the background just like any other gimmick. DK Online is not worth a fuss over.

Path of Exile is an excellent addition to the ARPG roster. Easily competing with the likes of Diablo and Torchlight. This independent hack-and-slasher manages to surpass its idols, while carving out its own particular niche; and with an asking price of nothing, there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't check it out: Path of Exile is the hidden gem of the year.

This game bored me senseless. It not only didn’t engage me, at times it seemed to go out of its way to actively repel me. While there are probably plenty of gamers out there who might enjoy a game that requires so little thought or personal engagement, I’m not one of them. I won’t be playing this game again and I won’t be looking for anything else produced by Mira Game either.

In the end, the DeepWorld is that of the post-apocalyptic survivor. You are almost alone in this world. You travel and gather resources, you find remnants of civilizations and you encounter the buildings of others. I only wish there was some way to leave them a note. A chalkboard you could build for a visitor to say. "Leroy was here, friend me?"

Sadly, the game may not be around much longer if it doesn't get an influx of new or returning players. The main game areas are empty, the game client displays news from Mother's Day 2012, and there is little forum activity aside from attempts to get some customer service. Perhaps hosting a holiday event or adding new content would entice new and old players back to help Hello Kitty rescue her friends.

Gamers looking for a mobile MMO that they can pick up for a minute and drop in a manner of seconds will enjoy Arcane Legends. Players of Spacetime Studios' other mobile games may wish to take a few minutes to familiarize themselves with how Arcane Legends functions. There are differences. It may be slight enough to ignore in the early levels, but if you don't like to die, you'll need to pay attention. The game is in its early stages of growth and may be missing some features, but it is totally playable and absolutely fun.

If you're like me and you've been wishing to see what a game along the lines of Battlefield could be like with the scale of an MMO this is definitely a title you won't want to miss. And at the low price of free, why would you?

For all of the things that it does well, Forge feels like it needs more time in development and beta to achieve its potential. I really like the game's model of instanced PvP, and enjoy Forge's dynamic third-person combat. The overall features feel unfinished, however, and while it looks like Dark Vale Games is aware of Forge's missing - and necessary - elements and is working to include them, the game in its released state requires a bit of faith in the developers to make it what it should be. The core gameplay experience is fun and frantic, but Forge will need to attend to a more robust feature set to encourage the dedicated community it requires to succeed.

Storm Legion is arguably the best expansion to come out in 2012 for any MMO. If you have not already played Rift now is a great time to give it a try. With the introduction of Dimensions Trion has set Rift up to have a lot of interesting and unique player created content to supplement Trion's internal development cycle.

RaiderZ is a very fun action-oriented MMORPG. With action combat and very good monster/zone design, it's one of the better MMOs on the free-to-play market at the moment. Although it is not without faults, it still makes for a very enjoyable casual experience.

I love being able to talk like a pirate each and every day. Now that I have found my way through the combat system, I am a fan, pure and simple. Anyone who has a bent for strategic game play and goofy pirate jokes will adore this game.

For me, Mists is an excellent World of Warcraft expansion. However, in terms of MMOs in general it does not bring the thunder that a WoW expansion used too. If you are a veteran WoW player than Mists has a lot to offer in terms of game play and especially content. If you are a hardened MMO vet looking for something new this is not the game for you any more.

Take my advice and consider doing something else with your life that's more meaningful than playing this sad excuse of a bait-and-switch. Much as I don't like poo-pooing on others' hard work and effort, I see no reason why anyone else should have to go through the same heartbreak that I did.

I must admit that I was a bit full of trepidation when trying out Dofus for the first time, having liked Wakfu so much and being worried that its predecessor would turn out to be more basic or unpolished. I'm surprised and happy to report the exact opposite, and that I like Dofus' fun approach to traditional MMORPG gameplay even more than Wakfu's open-ended sandbox and social features, which is saying a lot.

What faults I've found in my time with the title are minor in comparison to the leaps and bounds the game has made towards taking MMORPGs to new places. ArenaNet set out to make a game they wanted to play. Along the way, they've created one of the best titles of the year in any genre, and indeed one of the best MMORPGs ever made.

Truly there are not enough good things to say about Torchlight II even with the minor issues it does have. It is one of the most refreshingly fun action RPGs ever. Its predecessor was lots of fun too. But with the addition of multiplayer, the dungeon generator and the modding tools, the series becomes something special, something different on the scene and something worthy of your time and money to play. Runic Games has my vote for Developer of the Year.

Overall, I leave Dino Storm in a bittersweet state of mind. On one hand I am very happy and optimistic about the future of browser-based games, given that they have been frequently overlooked within the past few years. On the other hand, however, I wish Dino Storm had been able to draw me in for a longer period of time.

No matter how elaborate a review is, there is one thing that numbers can never really convey and that is whether a game is fun. The simple fact is that Digimon Masters Online is a fun game. It's not perfect and it has a few obvious flaws, but the game is entertaining. For a child making their first foray into the digital world or for a long-time fan returning to the memories of youth there is nothing quite like watching your Digimon evolve for the first time.

Continent of the Ninth isn't a horrible game, whatever the score here may indicate. The action is fun and intense early on. It just gets a little repetitive rather quickly. Once you slog through the first 20-25 levels and reach your advanced class selection and get more into the PvP side of things, the game opens up quite a bit. Unfortunately to get to that point you'll spend a lot of time running the same dungeons over and over.

There is a lot of potential here and Dawn of Fantasy has already improved by leaps and bounds since it was released almost a year ago. Sure, there are still some issues and glitches, but it is moving in the right direction. If you're looking for a pure RTS experience, there are better RTS titles out there. And if you're looking for the MMO side of the equation, naturally there are better MMO titles out there. But if you're looking for a solid MMORTS title, Dawn of Fantasy is one of your best options out there. It is very nice to see people taking the MMORTS out of the browser.

Hunter Blade is a decently fun and very familiar action oriented MMO. Working your way through hunts and slicing through monstrous beasts is a satisfying time waster. But with flaws such as the game-breaking fatigue system and the lacklustre social activity, unfortunately we will just see Hunter Blade put to bed in time.