Today’s MMO industry is vastly different to that of a few years ago but I don’t feel some areas of change were really necessary. Developers and publishers seem to see browser or client based gaming as a selling point, rather than a definition of the game itself. Most of the older browser MMO games gave the impression that browser meant lower quality, less content and overall just a poor experience; while the client counterparts boasted more expansive games and better features.
Moving into more recent times and the overall opinion on each type of game has completely changed. Browser games like Runescape and City of Steam have helped prove to the industry that given time, browser games can compete on a content level with even the biggest client MMO games. While client MMO’s like Guild Wars 2 supports those that consider client games a superior experience.
I was recently lucky enough to gain early access to the upcoming Ecol Tactics Online, a browser-based strategy game based loosely on games like Final Fantasy Tactics, but I felt many aspects could be far greater with client support. The biggest problem for me here, and one I find with many of today’s browser games, is the removal of right-click. Being a flash based title Ecol Tactics Online displays flash settings when rick-click is used, rather than additional options within the game itself.
I want to be able to right click an item to find out its stats, not press a keyboard shortcut. I want to be able to play full-screen all the time, but that’s another feature browser titles seem to avoid.
What about you? Do you still feel there’s a large quality gap between client and browser MMO games? Would you avoid downloading a game you were excited about purely because of the client size?