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Runescape: 2011 Re-Review
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
MMORPG.com's Adam Tingle has been spending some quality time with Runescape and has some new insights into the game in the official MMORPG.com re-review. Check out what Adam has to say and then add your comments to the mix when you're finished.
Everyone has played RuneScape, it is just one of those facts like eating spiders in your sleep, being in constant close proximity to rats, and hating the bottom-burp that is Piers Morgan. The chances are, if you are a goblin-loving type like the staff at this website, you will have found yourself fervently pawing at the sign-up page of the aforementioned game in an attempt to get that MMO fix that is so desperately needed.
Read more of Adam Tingle's Runescape: THe MMORPG.com Re-Review.
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Comments
i haven't played it.
shoulda used some gameplay screenshots. You cant give it an 8 with just concept art. Thats so wrong.
No doubt though Runescape is a childhood memory I will always have, It was such a great game back then. A Re-developed 3D runescape with updated combat I would be obssessed with.
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There's a lack fo screenshots because the game looks like crap, but that doesn't mean it can't be a good one.
Unfortunately, for me at least, bad graphics and bad gameplay are synonymous with this game. I found it terribly boring. Like those facebook games where you spent all your time staring at a UI and spamming buttons to gather materials (friends) to craft (build) your items (farm/castle/what-the-fuck-ever) just to use them in combat that's...stale, to say the least.
If you miss the days of simplicity I suppose you'll like this game. If you're looking for something exciting, I'd be hard-pressed to recommend Runescape to anyone. It ~is~ a crafter's paradise though, provided you have no care for graphics. If you like a slow, laid-back, slow, time-consuming, sloooooow game where you can literally build a life (because essentially that's how long it's going to take to do anything), have at it!
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I have to say that the second half of your post almost sounds like you are describing Minecraft
Nice write-up. Several people have recommended Runescape to me, but everytime I hear the word "sandbox", my ears close. It's just not my forte. And I agree, screenshots, no matter how bad, would have been better than concept art.
Oh yeah, almost forgot. In before the "Wtf, another 8+ score? You guys are teh suk!" crowd.
I want a mmorpg where people have gone through misery, have gone through school stuff and actually have had sex even. -sagil
I like RuneScape because it's so similar to EVE (in almost every way, good and bad. EVE offers more robust player politics and complex market tools, but that's about it).
Sorry, but giving this game an 8 is pure and simple "review inflation." This seriously de-legitimizes any scoring system MMORPG.com uses.
One thing the author failed to convey is that while combat is very bland looking, mechanical even, and less-engaging than AAA MMOs where'd you clicking abilities throughout a fight, the game's item loss on death makes combat quite thrilling.
For most players engaging in combat vs. a mob or a player, the worse the fight goes, the more exciting the fight gets. In other MMOs where dying is an annoying inconvenience, in RuneScape death means the loss of gear and goods that may very well have taken tens or hundreds of hours worth of effort to acquire. Dying for many players can be a devastating, rage-quitting experience.
So while combat in RuneScape can be very dull when you're fighting a severely under-powered foe, you get a bit of a rush when facing off with something that's a bit tougher than you, a rush you're not going to get in WoW or most other AAA MMOs.
I keep reading this in comments here. Where is the concept art? I saw 4 pics on page 1, and 3 on page 2, and they're all game-play pictures. Maybe it's been a while since you played, but RuneScape HD at high settings actually looks quite nice. They're also in the process of re-designing the art for their trees that is very, very impressive for RuneScape.
Originally, the article only had concept art. It has since been changed to show in-game screens. And let me say: Wow! That's some kind of ugly!.
I want a mmorpg where people have gone through misery, have gone through school stuff and actually have had sex even. -sagil
That can happen without harsh death penalties.
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Archaic is the only term that could possibly be used to describe this game. Yes, there are a few cool or interesting features, but it's bogged down by the completely uninvolved and boring mechanics. Combat, as stated, is flat and unimaginitive, but that goes for the rest of the game to. Tree cutting takes hours to get to max, most people use bots to level it up. Mining same thing, click on rock, wait, click on another rock, repeat. There is a chance of some terrible beasty popping out and trying to kill you when you do most of these gathering actions, to. I actually enjoyed that, added a bit of danger to the entirely mundane and boring grind that is ANYTHING in Runescape.
In fact, your last re-review gave this game a lower score, so how did it earn a rating of "Great:This game is a solid effort, and meets the expectations of what a high end MMORPG should be. This game is worth your time and money."? With combat the constitution of soggy bread and nearly every other mechanic based on turning a mill stone, how does this meet expectations of a high end MMORPG?
Disagreement Heirarchy
The rating I would assume is NOT based using OTHER games as a comparison. You cant do that, its unfair to say the least because Runescape is a different kind of game. You cant compare an independent game made ten years ago on Java to a current AAA high-def title.
A game is rated on against itself and its feature list. Let me tell you, Runescape for all its tediousness and low-rez graphics has just as many features that many AAA titles have. By all your standards, then Ultima Online, this genre defining game, would only score a 3-4 if re-rated today, and that would piss many of you off. But it has subpar graphics, lots of grind, and other issues that you see in most MMO's. Double Standards abound.
Silly Adam, don't you know that you must hate Runescape, all the cool MMORPG player do.
I've never played, and while the graphics do remind me of the games I played in the 90's nothings to say it couldn't be fun even today. (besides, I played EVE for 3 years and stared at the dots......)
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I think if you wanted a great old game with not so great 90s graphics, then you would be much better off playing Asherons Call. Runescape is a 90s level game on par with a ps1 diablo clone made in an era when games were well into using 3d. The combat system is not something to write home about either, its hardly a system at all, have knife will stab.Runescape does have that sort of UO gathering thing and player housing I can give them kudos for that, but they sorely lack in the pvp strategy market. Seriously a 2d nentindo game from the 80s is almost more complicated, actually I think final fight IS more complicated.
To be
FAIR as the game stands now I can give it a low 7 on sandbox elements and how they attract lots of players so the world is rather alive. But I couldn't get anywhere past 8.3 until the pvp/combat system is far far better than it is now. Of course that would mean a major game overhaul which I doubt will happen.
But thats just me, its easy to hate on runescape, but I have played it, its a lot more engrossing than most asian grinders.
I started playing rs when it was 2 weeks old lol and yet their it is still up huge memorys with friends, and family. although it is such a great game, i agree it needs updating. then again it wouldnt be a browser based game, look of how far it has come for being a bbg. although when a rs3 comes out with good graphics and all with charecter switch over... I will be playing that indeeeed lol
RuneScape is a well deserving 8. Graphic's not the greatest even with the HD format now, and combat is not the most entertaining while leveling. RuneScape is very immersive and filled with depth. To say that it is extermely grindy would be inncorrect as there are many mini-game alternatiives to leveling up all sorts of skills. RuneScape is browser based, and there is no other game in even close comparison that is browse based. Combat may be bland but fighting in the Wilderness or Dueling Arena offers a thrill you cannot recieve from any other MMO title. This Java Sandbox is extremely entertaining, for hours on end. I've played RuneScape on and off for five years and have seen it come a very long way. My best MMO memories have been with RuneScape, and I've played multiple MMO's. If you haven't tried it out I definitely reccomend it, it will be worth your time.
I found the interface to be very slow and hard to control; the camera never felt quite right either. Couldn't enjoy the game very much.
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The community in an MMORPG makes a bit of difference. It can determine whether you like the game or not. The community in this game is, to put it nicely, insanely atrocious. Most people speak in 1337 speak, which is the least of your problems. Most everyone is a pain in the rear in this game: being a newbie in this game is like being a woman in Wulfgar's tribe in RA Salvatore's books: basically, you're treated like a piece of crap. Which brings me to another point: most every person in RS is an egotistical son of a (BEEP). Sure, you have the people that'll help you out and be considerate in game if you're level 5 with bronze equipment, but most will be like "LOL U N00B IM LEVEL 61 AND I GOTZ TEH FULL RUNE LOL M I RITE M I RITE". The community in this game, I reiterate, is insanely atrocious. Don't expect anything good.
I just started playing again and I've had a great time so far. But I will admit that like many people have stated, the game's community is absolutely horrible. Of course...half of them are kids and teenagers with no manners and sense of decency (not that there aren't any adults playing, there are still plenty). But I usually just ignore the jerks and get on with my day, and it's really not a big deal at all. Other than that, I personally don't find the game all that bad. It's one of those games that you either love or you hate. For some people, the gameplay is extremely boring and outdated...for me, I like it for the most part, and It keeps me interested. For those that haven't tried it, I'd recommend giving it a shot, you really don't have anything to lose other than time (which if you're an mmo player, then you obviously have time to blow)...and if you don't like it, then no harm done.
runescape would be great if it the devs would just remake it from scratch to compete with some other mmos. I'm sure the have the money for it. The game is good as is, bt with the dated graphics and slow grind I can't stand playing for long.
I've never played Runescape. Nor will I ever want to. Ragnarok Online was my first MMO, and it far supercedes Runescape.
LOL that was funny, you should consider making that your sig.