Hmm, how to go about this without either seeming like a rabid fanboy, or a complete idiot.....
WoW - A very simple game. Truly a beginners MMORPG in my opinion due to the soloability outside of instances and the simplitic interface. By far the easiest Ive seen in a long time. The graphics are actually pretty darn good if you can get past the totally cartoonish/childish look of everything. The world is put together rather well also. Yes, people on the game are a bit childish/elitist , but where is that NOT in any MMO. PvP is pretty cool, thre are constant raids going on all over Azeroth. Although many players end up with the same setup for PvP due to "What Works and What Doesnt" You can jump into the game really, but its hard to understand where you are going unless you find a nice player to at least point out. But the hardcore gamer will make this game look easy. Overall- Great game, wait til the new expansion Burning Crusades comes out. Then the endgame explodes!
FFXI- The job of all MMOs! Takes nothing but time and patience. Be ready to spend lots of time and money on great gear/items. The game opens up for you as you go along in aspects of seeing the large world of Vanadiel since you move constantly through leveling camps. At 65+ when you get through the terrible grinds that are Zilart/Chains of Promathia, you have the option to start facing the Gods, and other HNM (the equivalent of instance bosses except for the fact that there are no instances in FFXI, its all about who has the faster macro finger.)New ToUA expansion adds a somewhat DAoC RvR aspect with the addition of assault/beseiged. The PvP sucks in this game though. Ballista is so crappy that I'm not gonna comment on it. Graphics are dated but what do you expect when you share servers with Ps2 gamers. Overall - My favorite MMO mainly because I have played if for so long and cant stop.....
DAoC - Sweet, Sweet, RvR/PvP.....May another game never ever one up you on this. This game is the absolute best when it comes to all out seige warfare/PvP. In how many games can you have untold amounts of players battling for one little keep. In most games that = lag out the bum. The grinds and constant reequiping leads to some problems for most people as they just want to go kill people. But for the hardcore gamer looking for that awesome feel of creating that "Uber" PvP setup. This game is for you. Bonus points for being set up in the era of King Arthur. Overall - A Skill game. Have to really pay attention to how you set up your character. Graphics are great with the Catacombs Engine, and the Darkness Falls expansion only adds to the PvP fun. Im coming back to the game today after some time away, the RvR is just too good to forget.
Guild Wars - Eh....Good Story, Great Graphics, Decent Customization. Too Short, Not Enough Content, PvP = Repetative. Factions remedies this a bit with a new area, jobs, skills, story, pvp stuff. Overall - This is what you play when you are waiting for your money to clear in the bank or a server maintenance is going on.
Edited, Jun 27th 2006 at 9:40am EDT by Diein