But we don’t have.
I’ve been working on some content related to MMO emulators recently and I decided to go ahead and put up a list of five games that I wish we could see private servers for, but haven’t. For the purposes of selection, I went with games that have shut down and of which there has either been no publicly acknowledged work on a private server, or those who had work being done but have since dissolved.
So here are five MMOs I wish would get a private server.
1. Tabula Rasa
Richard Garriott may have fallen out of grace with the MMO community over his handling of Shroud of the Avatar, but there’s an alternate timeline where Tabula Rasa didn’t throw a nuclear bomb into NCSoft’s finances and the game was able to get a second shot at success. While it had numerous problems, every time we bring up MMO emulators I always see a tidal wave of people wishing that Tabula Rasa would be brought back from the dead.
There have been several attempts to bring Tabula Rasa back to life, but so far none have borne fruit.
2. Crimecraft
Crimecraft is a title I miss from time to time, a game that met an unfortunate end due to the bankruptcy of its developer and the inability of the company that took it over to properly maintain it. Seriously, Crimecraft ultimately died because it just stopped working on modern Windows versions and the folks at Mayn Games didn’t have the access to code to fix it. Crimecraft probably wouldn’t make most lists for an emulator, but the game had a special place in my heart during the rare times that it was actually playable and not overrun with hackers.
Also I still have the graphic novel they published.
3. Asheron’s Call 2
I’d be lying if I sat here and said I was a big fan of Asheron’s Call 2, in fact I’d be lying if I said I ever gave the game much of a chance during its lifetime. But that being said, the people who loved Asheron’s Call 2 really loved Asheron’s Call 2. Unfortunately that love combined with the intricate nature of the game hasn’t led to the release of a functioning private server. And unfortunately Warner Bros. flat out lied to us by stating they would release community-run servers for the game. They never did.
So this one isn’t so much for me as it is for the Asheron’s Call community.
4. Defiance
Despite all of the criticisms I had of Defiance, I really miss this game. Like, I think about it a lot. To an unhealthy extent. Defiance had its fair share of problems, but now that Gamigo has abandoned the title it’s about time a group of intrepid developers get together to raise it from the dead and give it the polish it deserved but never received.
I want to drive around on my buggy and grind reputation by doing the same public events over and over again. It was a simple life, but it was mine.
5. Marvel Heroes
Another game I miss on regular occasion. Marvel Heroes was a Diablo-style game with a crapload of heroes and eventually villains to play as, with tons of cosmetics and content that evolved as the movies came out. Just imagine how great Marvel Heroes would be nowadays if they were able to bring in more content based around the films. If only Gazillion’s CEO hadn’t been a massive dirtbag of a human, we might still be playing this game today.
I’m making myself sad with this article.
MMO Fallout 