Gears Of War MMO Clones List
Who Wants A Gears Of War MMO?
Let’s face it, the original Gears of War was a good concept that got boring fast. The sequel fared better but was still lacking in certain creative avenues. Nevertheless, it was a fun game for what it was worth but a lot of people would love to see Gears of War as an MMO. The epic-scaled story about a post-apocalyptic war and the battle to save humanity screams for an action-MMO rendition, but since that isn’t happening anytime soon we just have to get stuck with Gears of War MMO-clones.
Now, I don’t think many gamers would mind clones for one of the best selling action franchises of all time, so here is a list for some of the noteworthy MMOTPS games out there (and coming soon) that imitate Epic’s Gears of War. And if you’re not keen on the games in this list, feel free to check out the entire MMO action game listing with Bright Hub’s MMOFPS Game Directory.
No. 5: Huxley
This is probably the least clone-worthy Gears of War game on this list. However, due to the lack of other games fitting the bill Huxley was picked to fill in this last spot. Nevertheless, running on the Unreal Engine 3 tech, some could call Huxley a close MMOFPS cousin of Gears of War. The major difference, however, is that Huxley is more-so oriented as an _Unreal Tournament-_style shooter rather than a brute force, visceral shooting game like Gears of War. Nevertheless, the game sports similar hulking characters, futuristic but recognizable weapons and a visual style that’s a cross between Final Fantasy meets, well, Gears of War.
No. 4: CrimeCraft
While it may not have the best of review scores out there, the “bad word of mouth” really has nothing to do with the in-game play. In fact, CrimeCraft has one of the most well constructed third-person shooter mechanics out there. Players can utilize a lot of in-game objects for cover, pick off foes with well-placed headshots, and use a variety of intense looking weapons in a crime-ridden future. The problem is that the game has very little to offer for non-paying gamers. Nevertheless, if you can find a way to live with the pay-to-play model you’ll at least find a decent over-the-should MMO shooting game in CrimeCraft.
No. 3: BattleSwarm
Reality Gap’s relatively unknown yet gorgeous, large world MMOTPS features unprecedented action that pushes the boundaries in the MMO genre. If you took the story and setting from Starship Troopers and plopped it into the Unreal Engine with Gears of War’s play-mechanics, you would have BattleSwarm. It has a replica over-the-shoulder view much like Gears of War, the exact same movement animations (they even roll and switch weapons the same as Marcus and crew) and the weapon setup and armor looks like the Section 8 texture scheme plastered over the Gears of War model files. That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given that this game, too, is also running on the Unreal Engine 3. To further buck the trend of just being “another clone”, BattleSwarm also features an opposing RTS mode that sees players in command of the alien-bug hordes…utilizing strategic skill to over-throw the human soldiers. This PvP-based MMO also comes equipped with PvE scenarios, a unique crafting system and tons of weapons and items to unlock via in-game looting. Add in the fact that it’s free-to-play and BattleSwarm is not your average MMOTPS.
No. 2: Dizzel
NeoWiz’s recently launched third-person MMO is mainly for Korean audiences but it has wow’d gamers across the globe with its strikingly similar visual style and gameplay mechanics of Epic’s testosterone-driven TPS. The characters aren’t quite as large as on BattleSwarm or Huxley and, thus, don’t quite resemble the same character designs as Gears of War, but the gameplay is almost completely and entirely identical to GoW. There is blind-firing, wall-hugging, and the chainsaw attacks are replaced with axes, but the effect is pretty much the same. Heck, even the blood-spatter is a direct imitation of Gears. Now if only this game could get an English translation this would easily be one of the best action MMOs out there.
No. 1: Project E
This is the top of the crop right here. Project E recently became well-known to North American gamers earlier this year, but GameHi’s MMOTPS was first revealed in late 2008 and has since then been part of a lot of talk among the MMO community as a serious Gears of War Clone. It features character classes, an over-the-shoulder camera, the same kind of cover and shooting mechanics and enemies that look a lot like green reincarnations of the Locust Horde. To top this all off the entire game takes place in a concurrent apocalyptic atmosphere where the humans are desperately trying to gain an advantage in the war against destructive creatures. Project E will support PvP and PvE scenarios where players can explore, make loot runs, craft and battle each other with guilds. The best part about it is that this free-to-play MMOTPS game is due out for North American gamers in early 2010. If you weren’t keeping an eye on this game before you might want to start now.
This post is part of the series: Top 5 MMORPG Lists
A few lists of top 5’s for MMORPGs