I've played a few MMOs. UO was fun because it had so much variety in items and customizations in characters and housing. But it's open-ended gameplay gets old and there is almost no story to it.

EQ2 is a solid game that I picked over WoW because it's graphics are great and not as "cartoonie" as WoW's. The quests in EQ2 are interesting, many are rewarding to finish, the other players are great and EQ2's housing isdonewell. A plus for new players would be that the latest expansion includes all other expansions as well... great for new players.... but that setup ends up costing more for the players that have to pay a higher price even if they already have all the other expansions....

I made the mistake of thinking that Vanguard would be on parwith EQ2, since it is from some of the same people. BIG MISTAKE!! Vanguardwas a total mess of a game. A huge grind with little reward and a broken economy. Boy, I wish I could get my money back on that one! And you can't even sell the used game..... pphhtt!

Anyway, when you get tired of paying full price for expansions and dishing out monthly fees.... And you want a game with some real story and plot.... You can get alot of bang for your buck with a great single player game like Gothic3.... Took me 8mnths to finish one of the endings in that one and I think it was only $30.

The worst game I've played lately is one I took a chance on... Vanguard. I played the free 1st month that comes with the game and then went back to EQ2 which is 10 times better compared. Vanguard is a complete grind. I didn't find anything interesting in the way of locals or opponents, and I think the economy seemed screwed up to me. I thought I had waited long enough for them to patch things up before I tried it; boy was I wrong.

 I don't agree Gothic 3 is one of the worst. It's excellent if you've got the rig that will let it shine.