Rift

[Niode]

So has anybody been trying the game? My buddy and I got Ally keys for the world event that is currently occurring. Now I'm not a big fan of MMORPGs really, I played a little bit of WoW but I ultimately get bored around level 30-40, can't see the point when the quests are ultimately; go here, fetch that, talk to this guy, kill that dude. Yawn. I got addicted to the brightly coloured spreadsheet that is Runescape when I was younger (around the first year or so that it was launched as Runescape) and a friend gave me a 30 day card and a key for Warhammer: Age of Reckoning when that launched. I played for a couple of days and gave up. Boring. I did get stuck into Guild Wars but I wouldn't really class that as an MMORPG, it's more of a RPG with MMO elements. Especially with the instanced areas and the limited amount of people in a party.

Now Rift... It's like a 'best of' of MMORPG/RPG design choices. It looks like Guild Wars/Aion, has a skill tree that I can only really describe as the illegitimate lovechild of Guild Wars and Diablo, the entire skill/crafting mechanic shamelessly stolen from WoW (even the 'Butchery' icons are ripped directly out of WoW's 'Skinning' profession) and the world events from WAR. For some reason though, you kind of forgive the fact that it's taken all these ideas from it's rivals because it's so damn polished you'd swear you were playing a game that's been going for as long as WoW. Plus the improvements in the interface and the imaginative NPC/MOB designs just make the entire experience enjoyable. Whoever had the idea for AoE looting is a fucking genius, give that man/woman a beer/puppy and a handjob/footrub (delete where applicable). Seriously.

Now here's where the game truly distances itself from it's rivals. The titular Rifts. Rifts can happen anywhere. You can cause the planes to rupture and a rift event will occur. This brings it's own currency for beating the mobs it spawns which can be spent on unique items separate from the standard currency the game uses (for those wondering, they stole the copper, silver, gold currency from WoW, only this time it's silver, gold, platinum). It's like mini raids, everywhere. Anytime. So just when you get bored of running around questing and working on your professions a rift event will happen and keep you occupied for a while. When that's over you go back to your grind. To me, that's fucking genius. It's like a break from the game that refreshes you and lets you keep going without getting bogged down in quest tedium that a lot of these games suffer from. It's a genius design element that will keep players playing long into the night without them even realising it.

Oh dear...

[J T]

It's a genius design element that will keep players playing long into the night without them even realising it.

Oh dear...

"Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 3:59 am"

Oh dear indeed.

[emwearz]

RIFT requires a recurring monthly subscription fee.

They lost me here. The way I see it, either charge for the game, or charge a subscription fee, not both. Pay $50 to download, then pay every month from then on, no thanks.

[Niode]

RIFT requires a recurring monthly subscription fee.

They lost me here. The way I see it, either charge for the game, or charge a subscription fee, not both. Pay $50 to download, then pay every month from then on, no thanks.

Yeah I feel you. This is why I'm looking forward to Guild Wars 2 so much. I seriously can't wait for that game to drop. Especially if it gives me as much joy as the original. I put a ridiculous amount of hours into that game. I never did get round to finishing the rest of the expansions. I played the hell out of prophecies though. The community took a serious nose dive and I struggle to find people wanting to play it.

I'm contemplating getting a 60 day card and seeing how it goes. The 60 day card is only £12 which isn't a lot considering I can get the full game for £17 which comes with 30 days playtime anyway. I figure that's enough to see most of the solo-able content. End games never really interest me.

[AmishSamurai]

Yeah. I don't do monthly subscriptions, even if the game is amazing. I'll pay once, or play a free MMO with optional paid content, but not a monthly subscription. I am looking forward to Guild Wars II though, and The Old Republic if it's a pay-once thing.

[Yiddishpilot]

I've been playing rift for about a week and I really enjoy it. I like it so much that I cancelled my wow subscription. I like that I can play it casually and still have fun.

[brunoafh]

RIFT requires a recurring monthly subscription fee.

They lost me here. The way I see it, either charge for the game, or charge a subscription fee, not both. Pay $50 to download, then pay every month from then on, no thanks.

Agreed. I've never played a pay-to-play game, never will.

[Octopod]

I'd pay anything to be back to the classic EQ era.

[Hatta]

I played a lot of Rifts back in high school.

[AmishSamurai]

I played a lot of Rifts back in high school.

Oh God. So much Mega Damage O_O....