Albion Online vs Ragnarok Online
Albion Online
Albion Online is an absolutely magnificent sandbox style MMORPG that recently went into its summer alpha stages and despite not being fully completed and released yet, it’s an incredible game that puts complete control in the players’ hands and delivers a full-fledged experience that games are rarely able to provide.For instance, the game doesn’t restrict you by imposing a class on you right from the get-go. Instead, you get to develop your character and mold him as you wish. This freedom in character customization makes the game’s PvP quite interesting because you’ll never know which skill sets your opponent will have. Its combat system is also pretty impressive and feels to be a lot more skill-based rather than the common hack-and-slash.
Being a sandbox game, you can build anything you want – most likely a shelter though – using the resource you’ve painstakingly harvested from the game environment. You can even craft items and furniture to be placed within your home, and of course, add some defenses so nobody would be crazy enough to try breaking in your place.
Albion Online is, without a doubt, an amazing MMORPG that fans of games like Minecraft would enjoy. It may not be voxel-based, but many of the game aspects does bring the latter game to mind... a lot.
Ragnarok Online
Ragnarok Online is a timeless classic and is among one of the very first anime-themed MMORPG that's based on a popular Korean comic series of the same name (which is still pretty popular now). The game is different from any other MMOs at that time mainly due to its unique graphical approach - using 2D sprites set in a 3D game environment. The game also infuses the "kawaii" and "chibi" concepts into its characters, giving rise to the famously cute Porings in the game.Gameplay-wise, Ragnarok Online has many features that may be relatively unheard of such as giving players the ability to set up their own vendors, in addition to having an auction house, to sell off items that have farmed or crafted. The job-based character progression system in this game is also incredibly in-depth, allowing for a wider variety of character builds. There are even collectible cards that players can not only collect from every single mob type in the game, but also equip these cards to enhance their equipment and stats.
It's not at all surprising to see that even 15 years after its initial release and having to put up with competition from its fully 3D sequel, Ragnarok Online 2, this game is still going pretty strong. If you consider yourself a hardcore MMO gamer, Ragnarok Online is a game you should try the first chance you get!