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Rift from an MMO veterans point of view.
I've played it all...
UO, EQ, EQOA, EQ2, FFXI, WOW, LOTRO, DAOC, Aion, AOC, WAR, AO, SWG, FE, VG, Shadowbane, FFXIV, DF etc... and I'm sure there are some I'm forgetting.
I've played WoW off and on since release, but did not buy into Cataclysm. It was just time to move on.
Enter Rift.. I had not researched it at all, I didn't even care about it. The only information I had about it was what one of my friends had shared with me and even then I really didn't pay attention. I didn't think it would be a good game from how it sounded. One of the things I had missed about current MMO's were their lack of attention to the PVP parts of the game. Once my friend mentioned how Rift was handling PVP, my interest was suddenly peaked. So I managed to get a VIP beta key.. and here's what I found in the game. Please keep in mind that I've not stuck with any MMO except for WoW for more than a few months in the past year.
GRAPHICS
Trion was smart. They didn't do like many others have done in the past and try to make a ridiculously system intensive game. They designed the game so that it looks great, but will still play fairly well on lower end systems. Mine is several years old and I can still play on almost the highest of settings. The graphic style was a good balance of "realism" and "stylishness" for me. The character models didn't have a whole lot of customization options, but I believe there were more than WoW's system. I also felt the models looked good and fit into the world around them. They didn't look completely out of place like those in say, Vanguard. The world graphics fit the atmosphere of the game pretty well in my opinion. I really don't have any gripes about the graphics at all. They look better than WoW and they run well on lower end systems.
GAMEPLAY
Since this is only a review of the parts of the game I've actually played. Please don't take this and think that I'm referring that the entire game will be the same way, because we have yet to get to play the entire game as of yet. This is solely based on the short time I was in beta. I've heard alot of people scream that the game isn't as it was advertised, or that it isn't revolutionary.. etc. Does it have to be? WoW definitely wasn't, and it did very well. Usually from what I've found, games that try to be extremely different from what people are used to.. are the ones that don't do so hot. The gameplay in RIFT is definitely not revolutionary, but its very solid and smooth. What it does, it does well. The animations are smooth, the spell effects look great. I think everything they've done, takes WoW and amplifies it by a few notches. Which is what WoW did itself when it was released. They didn't rewrite the book on MMO's they just took what already works well and made it work even nicer. Most people who are looking for something "new" aren't really at all. Most just want a familiar game in a new setting. This is what RIFT does. It won't take long to familarize yourself with the controls or the game as it is indeed very similar to WoW and its counterparts. Is it a WoW clone? Depends on how you look at it.. are all the multitudes of FPS games with the same controls "clones"? There's a certain formula that just "works" and this is one of those formulas. Age of Conan and Darkfall tried to change that formula and look where they ended up. On a down note, I could see where the game might get boring Because of this.. because they all eventually do.. but there's always a downside.
SPECIAL FEATURES
RIFT includes a few things that we may have seen before in other games, but done in a new way. One of the biggest things I really enjoyed about the beta were the rifts, which are basically a more polished version of WAR's public quests.. which I always thought was a great idea if they had been implemented properly. I really like the fact that they can appear anywhere . Its like a "drive by" raid and allows for group play without all the pains of trying to form a group. I'm sure they could get overwhelming when trying to level up, but I think that if your smart.. you can avoid them or better yet.. participate.
The Crafting in Rift is nothing special at all, its more of the "it works, so why change it" formula that WoW capitalized on. If your playing this game to be a crafter, I would suggest finding something else. This is not a crafter's MMO. Crafting is more of a supplemental part of the main game and was never meant to be a game in itself here.
Rift's Soul system is one of, if not the coolest feature in the game. With the way they've designed the character customization.. (if they are able to keep it balanced) We will be able to create some of the most customizable characters in an MMO to date. This could easily go very bad, if they did not balance things properly. As usual my fear is that within a few months, the "hardcore" min maxers will have already figured out what builds are the absolute best and idiotic gamers will just follow suit, rather than experiment and play the souls they find to be the most fun for them.
PVP in RIFT is something I haven't gotten to do a whole lot of so I can't really comment alot.. but from everything I've seen and read. They've put alot of thought into the PVP part of the game, so that its not just "Tacked on" like it is in most other games that focus mainly on PVE. It seems to have a purpose on its on, and I like the faction based system because I really think we will see some good world PVP out of it with how different the factions are.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I'll be preordering the game, with several of my former WoW and Conan guild mates. I cannot tell you if the game will last for any of us, but as of now its surpassed everything else we've tried in the past year and is finally allowing us to lay the world of Azeroth to rest, and that for us is great because we were pretty sick of that world. If your looking for revolutionary, your looking in the wrong place. If you just want a fun game in a new setting that does what you already know very well.. Rift is your game, as it stands in beta.
www.facebook.com/themarksmovierules
Currently playing:
FFXIV on Behemoth, FFXI on Eden, and Gloria Victis on NA.
Comments
Nice review, yea WOW changed things up in some bad ways...instances suck... it takes away from the immersion of the game world. This game could turn out to be ok if they do things right. I just wish newer games would implement more of a death penalty. I think not having challenge in some ways like things used to be before WOW makes a game weak.
"I've heard alot of people scream that the game isn't as it was advertised, or that it isn't revolutionary.. etc. Does it have to be?"
That will be an individuals decision, for me yes it does. Not that I'm mad about this or that, I'm just looking for something new and fresh in gameplay. I've done this all before and it just makes me tired now. Actually I'm looking at a long line of upcoming coop RPG games instead of MMO's. To me it never had to be an mmo, just small group coop'ing was good enough. Coop games imo each have unique styles to themselves instead of nearly the same techiniques of the mmo genre, they usually are more faster paced as well, and a story you can invovle yourself with etc.
For Example:
Two Worlds 2
Hunted Demon Forge
Bulletstorm
Firefall
Brink
Dungeon Defenders
Fable 3
Magicka
DaggerDale
Rage
Torchlight 2
Mytheon - A different type of MMO
Will Guild Wars 2 bring something truly fresh to the MMO genre? Will there ever be a Action Space Sim released? Is DCUO considered different enough? Heck I still like DDO the best as it is a much different take on the MMO scene.
Rift is smart in they are hoping they can tap off the WoW player who is looking for something else, without having to change up much. God Bless, I've heard of worse strategies. Are people ready for more of the same ole, same ole? That is something that differs from person to person.
To the OP, pretty good summary of the game. My biggest concern is the RIFTS. At times I find them to be occuring too often and taking away from the questing, but hope this is only for BETA purposes to put a stress test on the servers. Aside from that, am having fun, reporting bugs, and taking screenshots. Too bad BETA 5 ends now.
A realygood read this was.
My self has gamed for about 10 years more or less,( WoW on and off since release)
Though, as a month after Cata came i quit WoW to whait for SWTOR, but i feel i need something to "kill" time whit until then.
and i`v tried most of the mmos i chould get my mits on latly and i mostly don`t get over lvl 10
(got maxed chars in Aion, War, AoC) but as you said, and i realised when i read it, is i am realy looking for a "new" wow.
And it looks like Rift will not only be a filler but maby a more long time investment if what i read here is true (as i am sure of).
So, got a Beta key and will have a go on the 4th Feb, if i like it , i`ll just buy it and probably wil lanyhow><
But anyhow, realy thanks for the grate Review, realy made Rift stand out in the nebula of MMOs thats out now.
Good Review. I liked how you really didn't really try to oversell the game. It made for a good read, and an honest one. I think you were spot on in a lot of your comments, and it's true that Rift will appeal to those that are just looking for a variation of the same old. I personally like that I don't have to relearn a whole new UI, auction house, or basic in game organization. All they really did was enhance what already worked, and added a few new things to change it up which all fit into the game well. Thanks for the review, I feel optimistic about Rift's future.
"Depends on how you look at it.. are all the multitudes of FPS games with the same controls "clones"?" Yes...they are, which is why I don't buy COD every year. I wait until something new happens. In the MMO world revolution still has yet to come. This is my opinion and only mine but why the hell would you buy RIFT when its the same damn formula as every other MMO? It felt like playing wow. The RIFT system is WAR, the graphics are WAR, the setup is the same as every other MMO. Yeah its polished but so what....same MMO different story; same quests, same UI. I just don't understand why people buy into this crap. You want a new revolutionary MMO? Well then.....eve, darkfall, fallen earth, even EQ1. They're not casual but at least they are way different and do things better than this rip-off.
So a post that says.. "It's a clone but a shiny new clone."
That's cool.
Thats what I found out to i would be questing and the next thing I new id be joining in a rift lol sometimes it was cool and others I just wanted to finish my quests up but the game is alot of fun!
They pushed out as many rifts as they could in beta 5 to test the system... it will be much less when the game goes live...
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
Ya it is cool. I really wish people would stop the "clone" train. Honestly, everyone should call COD a Doom clone. Or Tekken a Street fighter clone. All tehse MMO's are just that , MMO's. they ar eint eh same genre.
Also lets ont forget how Blizzard made WoW so popular. By making a so called clone! When it came to WoW , Blizzard made a eq/daoc clone and made it better. So why can't other game makers do the same with WoW? Becasue some of you don;t like the genre? Cause some of you want MMOFPS'es or MMO action games? These are MMORPGS. You remembre RPG's right? RPG's were always built around the dice roll. RPG's were always built for creating and developing characters and stories. Its not suppose to be some twitch game or some stupid esport, or something else.
People who dont like wow or other games from the MMORPG genre need to GTFO and go back to your gaming console. Go play medal of honor, oh wait you can't MOH is a Halo clone.
The rifts scale with the population of the zone....meaning they won't be rampant and spawn all over the place if there are only a few people in the zone. In beta however, the population is concentrated in certian zones so the rifts are non stop. The rifts are designed to be dynamic so how frequent they spawn is built into the design...more players(in zone) = more rifts....less players(in zone) = less rifts. Hope this makes sense so no worries when in a few months when people have capped and you reroll a new char. and not a lot of players around, you will be able to quest without rifts becoming a nusiance.
WoW was not a clone of EQ. WoW was the evolution of EQ. Gameplay-wise, they are next to nothing alike, but the underlying philosophy behind the two games are exactly the same.
We have yet to see the evolution of WoW, but GW2 and SW:TOR stand the best chances out of anything we've seen in a long time.
If RIFT had half the changes that took place between Tekken 2 vs Street Fighter II in it's copying of WoW; you'd have ground to stand on.
Your missing his point.
Everyone has opinions, but does that make them the universal truth??? NO!
if it wasnt for UO or EQ WoW wouldnt have had a clue on how to make a true mmo...wait they didnt my bad..blizz just took it and added / twisted the elements around and put it on easymode..oh and perty colors
I very rarely post on forums, I usually just read.
I just wanted to say, that this post quoted above, is the nerdiest thing I've ever seen.
Currently Playing: PoE/TSW
Played Chronologically: EQ, EQ2, WoW, GW, Vanguard, Hellgate, AoC, WAR, DF, UO, Tera, PoE, TSW
Quite a few things are missing (or conveniently ignored) in that rose colored review. You forgot to say that compared to WoW at release, which had 6 different starter areas, here you have only two. You forgot to say that compared to WoW where you always had the choice between several zones when you were leveling, here you are on rails with no choice at all.
It's a sub par WoW clone with decent polish, but which will be short lived because of the lack of content diversity.
Respect, walk
Are you talkin' to me? Are you talkin' to me?
- PANTERA at HELLFEST 2023
Yeah, lets have a debate over semantics.
Who gives a rats ass who did what first and who copies over from another.
Fact is all games are a progression of an earlier generation.
Even if a game just puts in 1 new feature, it's an evolution.
But then again ... who cares?
If you like a game, will you not play it because your elitist pshyche can't handle the fact it's not next generation ... because it's a so-called clone. Yeah right, I believe you.
Short lived? Possibly, but it won't be because of what Rift does or doesn't offer- it'll only be because of the expected releases for this year.
As far as the starter areas- did you ever look at WAR on release? They had three leveling paths for the three different races per side and it did horribly. It separated players to the point that you pretty much had to bring your friends with you in the same race. I was pleased when I saw that I could roll any defiant race and still start out leveling with friends that chose a different race- to each his own I guess. How long do you spend in starter areas anyway?
I'm not going to defend Rift's choices for development because people that don't like it (or are just a fan of other games and out of some kind of warped notion of honor feel like ripping on it) are going to spout nonsense, and I have so far enjoyed playing it, and that's what it comes down to.
If players spent as much time with meaningful critiques rather than common bitching and moaning about the most trivial aspects of MMOs perhaps we'd all be playing better games.
When you consider the money that was put into Rifts compaired to WoW, then WoW should have had 20+ starter zones and 50+ secondary zones before the mid levels.
The content is an issue, thats the big stick WoW can always wave around, but its a rather dry old stick these days. The fanbois need somewhere new to go, alt number seven on WoW bores even them. Rift may well be a game I play for only a few months, I don't know yet. But is it worth the asking price? Damn sure it is.
I believe this strategy isnt so good. I mean, if a person is bored/tired of WoW, the said person would like to see something different, not something where they'll feel like being in WoW right? If a person is not bored/tired of WoW, they'll stick with it right? Well at least that's for me, I got bored of WoW and I didnt like any of the WoW clones I tried because it felt like I was playing the game I was bored of with only different skin.
I know there are people who wants WoW with different skin but there's also a lot of people like me who are bored of blue-y and are soon as bored after trying yellow-y , green-y and violet-y , I'd simply just like to see z instead of different coloured y for example. It's absurd how all these cloning companies thinks everyone will play their y when the original y is much more polished etc.
It's not the gameplay that I am bored/tired, it's the overall face, and most of these "new" games has the same face. Same jigsaw crafting, same model how the static world works, same mostly-autoattacking enemies with no depth in them, same quest structure, same class structure, same spells with different names and effects, same instance grind structure to hoard loot to get to stage 2 loot stage 3 loot stage 4 etc, same everything with different name and skin. For crying out loud, keep the same gameplay but make other stuff that are actually new.
Rift might have enough fresh spice into it to last a bit longer than the free month or even a couple, but I'm afraid the "I'm doing the exact same things all over again" feeling might hit sooner than later, for those who are looking for something a bit different, new.
And then there are the people who bored of wow at some point, checked the expansions, although nothing really clicked and they are on the lookout for that vanilla feeling that was lost in what is now a game played almost exclusively in instances.
There's something else, too.
Why go play "new WoW clone number 1293", which does everything worse than WoW and has less content even though it's decently polished, when you have a guild and friends in WoW to play with? Why go play a game that offers nothing really different, and lose all those people you met in the game you come from?
Some WoW players will come to Rift, many will play Rift as "second MMORPG" while remaining subbed to WoW, and will quit once they reached max level and realized how much more content WoW has there.
Respect, walk
Are you talkin' to me? Are you talkin' to me?
- PANTERA at HELLFEST 2023
Now I can't say this will happen, but what if.
Rifts might be fun the first month, but it's possible people will get bored fast. And what happens when the big population leave an area and new players are left alone to fight these Rifts that will after some time send out patrols etc. I see problems here.
In the patch they will add somekind of Boss that will spawn and it's up to players to form a raid and take it down fast. Here I also see problem. The Guilds with many memeber will rule these events and the small Guilds can just stand on the side and watch. More info on that patch can be found if you use Google, maybe even in this forum. Not going to link to it.
One starting area for the faction, nothing more. This will be boring fast. Most people will make new characters over and over again. I think this will hurt the game. Yes, you will rush that part... but it's boring. And having a game that it's boring from start is bad.
Animations. The game look great and all that, but the animations are very boring and clunky.
Mobs AI, do they have any?
Classes, sure it's great that this game have a lot of them. But I think the Devs will get a lot of work here when the real PvP starts.
Whats the point killing the Rifts? They spawn a new one 2 sec after anyway? What we do ingame, is there any effect on the world? Can we take over areas? What I know so far is that we can't. So it's same old mmorpg with battlegrounds and normal quests. New names and monsters, but nothing new.