MMOs in particular seem to thrive under the fantasy milieu, and it's easy to see why. Starting from nothing, with only a sword and some armor as your only possessions, the development of your character is represented easily with simple visuals. The higher level you get, the more splendid your avatar becomes. And it doesn't matter how outlandish the costumes get; it's fantasy -- there's no need to ground it in reality. This is something fantasy shares with science fiction; the designers have pretty much free rein to go wild with their costume ideas. A simple hand wave is all it takes to dismiss the notion of conforming to physics. And that alone makes it an attractive setting for game developers.

However, it's also that that makes non-fantasy titles stand out even more strongly. Consider the upcoming title APB, by Realtime Worlds. Do yourself a favor and search online for the character creation videos released around the time of last year's Game Developers Conference. Look at the incredible variety of customization options available to you in creating your modern, urban character. These are easily on par with anything World of Warcraft or Age of Conan has to offer.

What about combat? Well, it could be argued that any combat system must reduce down to merely two methods: meleé and distance. Certainly the fantasy genre has the most recognizable means of effecting both: swords, knives, clubs, morning stars, bows, crossbows. But that doesn't mean that they can only be used in that atmosphere. Think about those great feudal Japan titles like the Tenchu series, or the massive Chinese battles of the Dynasty Warrior series. They all include the aforementioned weapons and many others besides: tonfa, naginata, guan do, blowguns, and shuriken.

If we bring the time period even further forward, without getting too far into science fiction, we still have the option of choosing some pretty advanced technology, including mobile armor, air support, howitzers and mortar charges, etc. And that's not even accounting for the increasingly sophisticated real-time communications and imaging tech being developed, the use of which is changing the face of the battlefield.