Over the last few days I spent some time in one of my older MMO favs, Atlantica Online. It got me thinking, what do the majority prefer? Turn-based or real-time combat features? Sadly the awfully dated graphics meant I wasn’t able to enjoy Atlantica Online like I once did, but the turn-based combat still deserves some credit.
I’ve found my personal tastes have changed over the years. In my younger gaming days I preferred the turn-based combat featured in games like Final Fantasy and Legend of Legaia, but as I grew older I craved the fast-paced action of real-time combat. However, today I find myself returning to my turn-based routes, mainly because I feel my reaction speeds just cannot compete with the younger gamers of today, Call of Duty and Battlefield 3 proved that.
There have been a good variety of MMO games that featured turn-based combat in recent years, such as Atlantica Online and the recently released Ecol Tactics Online. Both games feature a mercenary based, turn-based combat system, although Ecol Tactics Online uses a Final Fantasy Tactics approach, while Atlantica Online features a more traditional approach to turn-based combat.
Turn-based mechanics haven’t really evolved in the same way as their real-time counterparts, especially in the MMO world. If we compare the likes of Runescape and World of Warcraft to more recent action packed MMO games like Guild Wars 2 and TERA Online, the differences are obvious.
So although turn-based mechanics don’t have the large leaps in evolution featured in the real-time world, I still find my personal tastes swinging towards the nostalgia of yesteryear. But what do you guys think? Do you prefer the skill-based adrenaline of real-time combat or the tactical and strategical approach of turn-based mechanics?