NDA Lifted

[ariesel]

So...



I'll start off with a positive note: beta is very smooth.

Rift...

is small - doesn't take much travel at all to get from place to place. The newbie experience is basically do all the quests (mostly kill this many and take to whomever) and be led by the hand to the next place, which you can usually see from where you are It doesn't get much better with the "major" cities.

is solo-able - As a cleric class, any of them, I could handle anything non-rift/invasion. That included multiple pulls of two levels above.

's graphics - meh (edit: I just realized this sounds like the graphics aren't nice. They are, but imho nothing you haven't seen before.)

has Rifts - think kinda random Warhammer group quests. Swarm, boss, boss. I fear the newbie areas will turn into exactly what they were in WH. And after about two rift appearances...boring.

's crafting - gather things off the ground or dead animals & click.

Rift will be a good game for the newbie MMO player, the casual player, players that want to level easy and fast, and people with money to burn. It is not next-gen, the graphics are ho hum, the combat very easy, and if you stand in one place for a long time, prepare to want to strangle most of the npcs. I'll play in the 3rd beta, but I'm saving my money for something else.

If something exciting happens next week, I'll be sure to add it

[Rakul]

So, overall grade would roughly be a C-?

[Morreion]

Thanks for the review, Arie! I'll be picking up the game, not sure how long I'll be playing it- we will see!

[Regolyth]

Wow, I couldn't disagree more with Ariesel. Sorry.

While I do agree that it's like most other MMOs out there, it's to be expected. It's the same genre. Outside the soul system and rifts, there's not much more you can do to change how an MMORPG plays. And "meh" to the graphics? I thought the graphics were really great.

I played a ranger during my time in Rift. It plays a lot like a Hunter from WoW. A lot of the same skills and the pet reacts the same way (although you can't tame pets, you just have a list to summon from). The other souls (skill trees) that he has access to changes it up a lot though.

The game reminds me a lot of both WoW and WAR. The interface and gameplay is a mix of the two. The "rifts" that occur throughout the game are basically public quests (like WAR). The game is pretty straight forward. Get a quest, do the quest, gain levels and XP. The story is pretty interesting, and the graphics are amazing (especially the underwater stuff). It's like most any other MMORPG out there, just more polished and less... annoying.

I really enjoyed the time I spent in the beta. To be honest, I have seen more bugs and bad content in released game than Rift had in beta. Then again, I only got to play through the first twenty levels.

[ariesel]

Oh I agree that the game is very well done, polished and not glitchy. I'm just looking for something more challenging and different. I got bored very quickly. I guess I've finally gotten to the point of not wanting to spend my time or money on something that won't be entertaining for a long time.

When the pvp starts, that will hopefully add a bit more challenge to the game.

<sigh> I have a funny feeling there won't be an MMO for me in a loooong time. I want difficult brought back! ;D

[Morreion]

Sounds like Jaded MMORPG Syndrome Arie- been there done that several times. I know what you mean. And mass-market games will not be very challenging or very different, I'm afraid...

[ariesel]

I agree with Gamer Chick's review in your article post.

Had fun grouping with the guild Revelation in beta 3. Towards the end of the beta we just ran around sealing up all the rifts that were popping all over the place.

If you plan on playing a true healer, you'll have a group whenever you wish. Just make sure you're fine with the usual stand there and heal away. Though right now you can solo a ton, which is cool for the loner types.

I played a strong druid/purifier/warden this time. I kept waiting for my fairy pet to yell, "Listen!" ;D

[Morreion]

I thought MMO Gamer Chick's review was pretty good at distilling several other reviews I've read as well- thanks for the feedback, Arie!

By the way, how do you like the soul combination system? Is your Druid/Purifier/Warden unique enough to beat a single class system?

[ariesel]

The soul system is pretty cool and makes it much more interesting than a single class system. It'll take a little time to discover the "best" distribution of points for one's style of play, but with the cleric class you can choose whether you want to be pure heal, heal & tank, heal & dps, tank with a little healing, a mean caster, etc. I've already seen guides out there for what people have determined to be optimum souls for whatever.

The only drawback is that people are still used to the traditional way of playing, so if you are the healer in the group, you better darn well have put enough points in your healing tree(s). I remember playing the healer in WH that got her power from hitting things, and players would still harass me as to why I was fighting instead of healing.

Supposedly after level 20 is when you really have to decide what souls you want to focus on, as you can eventually buy more souls and the rumor is that game play will be harder. Since the beta cap is 20, it's kinda hard to know. I can tell you that up to 20 isn't hard at all right now .

[Morreion]

Thanks for the info!

Let's hope that things are more difficult post-20!