Right, I've read a few (million) bad reviews of Runescape on MMORPG.com, and I've decided to have my own say.

I've played it for 5 years, I've seen the game grow and develop, and I know the game inside-out.

There's a lot wrong with the game, but I feel there's a good deal great about it as well.

- Well over 5 million players around the world:
Yes, more than 5,000,000 players in countries including the UK, USA, Netherlands, and even Australia. Now, compare Runescape to WoW, which deservingly boasts more than 10-11 million users worldwide. For a game that could do with some graphic overhauls, not that bad!

- Addictive:
Even Americans know that a good MMO has to be able to grab an audience and not let go, and that's exactly what Runescape does! Anyone who can call him... or herself, a serious gamer has become hooked on Runescape (and often wandered off to try new things). Personally I think Runescape is the kind of game where you'll either understand it, get good, get hooked. Or you'll not.

- Excellent fanbase/community:
A lot of players may use the Forums to trade items, join clans, or simply talk about the game, even make suggestions. What a lot of people don't realise, Runescape has a large number of fansites, including Rune HQ and Rune Tips, which offer players help with quests, databases of information on MOBs (creatures) and items, and even Forums where visitors can meet die-hard fans of the game and learn the 'tricks of the trade'. A number of Runescape clans also have their own off-game Forum boards and websites, I've even seen clans advertising on the social site Myspace.

- "MMORPG for Dummies":
Runescape is an excellent environment for getting to grips with EVERY possible aspect of Multiplayer Online Gaming, ranging from meeting new players to killing creatures, trading, boss monsters, quests, exploring, role-playing, clans and PVP. Unfortunately Runescape DOES have a seedier side to it (as uncounted thousands of you seem to have mentioned) including auto'ers, hackers and scammers. So I think this aspect is more on-the-fence.

- Originality:
Runescape was initially released in 2001, back before the days of Final Fantasy 11 and WoW, and since then VERY, VERY FEW games have tried (and succeeded) to imitate Runescape in any way.

(What other game can you Farm watermelons on?)


Not to mention Runescape is also incredibly convenient to access, requiring only an internet connection, JAVA, and no downloads.


That should cover it for now.

I never played runescape but you make great points. I have wondered about this game myself before. I thought about trying it just to see what it did right. I didn't answer yes or no though I have no experience with the game.

I have played Runscape for a couple years.  Here's my 2 cents:

-It's a good MMORPG starter game. 

-The design of the game really meant for young players between 6~15, hence it's a Java based with minimal system requirements to play.

-It's a grind to level 126 and with quests along the way. 

-Guild and clan system is at its infancy compare to other MMORPG. 

-The biggest time waster is the trading system where there isn't one; players have to stand there for hours and buy or sell their stuffs.  As a result, tons of trading scams .

-The game is more about individual play than group play. 

-There's no end game contents.  When you reached level 126, you will be so whipped to try a new MMORPG.

-If you happened to play the game the first couple years when it came out back in 2001and did the "quest" for PHAT(Party Hat) and other discontinued items,  you'll make the Runscape version of "Forbe's  Billionaires List"

Peace out.

+1

I think ppl bash the game for the bad graphics because it's the only weak part of it; but Runescape compensates by offerig rich in depth content to players, and like others said, very few games come even remotely close to it.

The thing I liked the most was that Runescape allows you to play both solo and in group. Joining a guild might be a smart move, but unlike any other game, you can be as succesfull as a solo player, if not even more. The second thing: it allows complete freedom - you choose what to do, and not the game deciding for you. You can train your fighting skills, but it's equally rewarding to raise the other skills. High skilled workers are always in demand and you can make a lot of money if you train enough to be able to produce and refine high quality materials. Last, but not least: this game has a very interesting and entertaining world, quite unique, I'd say. It has it's own mythology, legends, you are challenged to solve very elaborated quests (you will love this part of the game, it's challenging and features different levels of difficulty to ensure even the more experienced players will get a kick ouf of them), and many mini games await the bored player to take a break from the usual activities and win some fun & unique prizes.

Many ppl are now hyped about Darkfall - "the first game in which you are completely free"...well, believe it or not, it's pretty much what Runescape currently offers (apart from the PVP all areas): you can be a knight, a mage or an archer, you can go questing, treasure hunting (that's right, you can go on treasure hunts), you can harvest and cook your own food, build your armor and weapons yourself, build your own house, join a guild, create jewelry, harvest herbs and make powerful and useful pots, slay beasts, fight dragons and other rewarding bosses, you can solve quests and become a hero and eventually a legend, or you can steal from market stalls and even from the players' pockets or fight ppl to death in the wilderness! And on top of all this, even "grinding" will be more fun due to the various events implemented by the Jagex stuff - you can get small presents from strange persons such as the old man or the drunk pirate, xp from the kind genie of the lamp, mime clothes & new moves from the annoying mime, money from solving the maze challenge, or you can get into a fight with the drunken dwarf or be chased by an angry troll, hehe! And that's a nice feature I'd like to see more often in other games too...

People assume I am a runescape hater... but I am not, If I was I wouldn't have played the game for as many years as I have. Yes.. I am very disappointed in the way they have been handling alot of issues, but there are some really great things about it that I have yet to find all in one place in another game....

The Pros of runescape:

1.You have one character that can do anything and everything equally if you choose, you can be a ranger, mage, melee or skiller equally without having to choose anything before you start... you can do what you want when you want , or do them all or nothing at all if you so chose.

2. pvp and noncombat areas.. you can skill peacefully or fight monstrs without having to worry about being ganged up on and squished before you even learn how to work the game controls.. you can max all your levels without ever stepping foot in pvp if you choose. If you want to be ganged up on there are single and  multi combat areas where you can train skills or fight whenever you want. If chaos and bloodshed anything goes all or nothing is your style go wildy and pk and join in clan wars, if you love pvp but are intimidated by the chaos of wildy, there is duel arena, fight pits, and castle wars, where you lose nothing to play. If you are a risk taker, you can stake at duel arena for millions.. there are so many options for every type of player and every type of mood when it comes to the areas on runescape for pvp. 

3. The community.. runescape is played all over the world and you can play your character on any of the worlds .. not having to create new ones everywhere you go. On every world you will find people everywhere you go from all over. While questing, skilling, training combat,  or anything.. you meet tons of people. You can talk to friends from all over the world without running up long distance bills. You do not need to know anyone playing or have a clan or guild to start, you will meet so many people while playing that you will wish you had more room on your friends list there. Runescape is friendly to both the sole player and the clans. They have many forums for people to do trade or discuss topics, They are putting in an exchange this month to make trade even easier. People on runescape age from 13- 50+ you will always  be able to find people in your age range that play . ( runescape requires you to be at least 13 yrs of age or older to play.. for those of you who think 6 yr olds are allowed. If they openly admit they are younger they can be banned for lying on their contract when setting up their account.

4.Runescape is very affordable and accessable to players everywhere. whether or not you have the fastest computer or a sad one held together with a yo yo string ( like my friend really had lol) you can still play runescape. It is great to be able to spend time with friends that do not have a lot of money to spend on games. they can play rs for free or only $5 a month without having to buy the latest video card or tons of memory.

5. runescape is endless. It  has many skills to train, and tons to do.. there is always something to do on runescape, whether you are killing goblins in lumby or slaughtering at god wars, there is never a lack of stuff to do.  Even once you max out at 126 with all 99 stats, there is always castle wars , fight pits, duel arena, clan wars and events, pking,  money making to be done. It is an ever changing game with constant updates.The only way the game ends is if you turn it off.

6. Runescape is very easy to play. There are not tons of conrols that make it confusing like a lot of other games. You can kick back and relax if you want sippin your bahama mama and still be able to get  things done in game. Though if you try that during clan wars you might get p00n3d. You can choose the pace you want when you want by doing whatever suits your mood.  It is not over complicated with buttons and controls. 

7.Security, they actually have bank pins to help protect accounts, and if your account gets stolen you can get it recovered fairly easy if you keep you billing and sign up information. Alot of games  do not offer the amount of security as they do. Yes thing can still happen  as they did to me) If it weren't for the bank pin I would have lost alot more when I was hacked.

8.character modifications, though the graphics aren't the best, your character can change everything about it except name at any time you choose. You can change hair, skin, clothes,  even gender at will. There are  too many armors and clothes in runescape to possibly collect them all, you can change everything about your outfit to suit your style or needs. You can have mage range gear on or mage range melee gear or mage range and a nurses hat anythime you want.  whether it be your shirt , pants, shorts, dress, gloves,hats, shoes whatever you can have  any combination you want. Unlike most other games where your characters options are very limited. The combinations are endless.

9. Though I have not always had a great expieriance with their customer service dept, I will commend their tech support. I had problems when I first started out with a quest, and they told me where in my bank the key I needed was.  They were really great throughout the years to me in helping me with various isues I couldn't figure out on my own.  They even investigated people using programs to cheat in trades and fighting when customer service had already sent automated response... tech responded  very well and was very helpful.. They seemed to actually care.

10. To me the Best thing about runescape is that I can have fun with my friends helping them. The generosity of others on the game as well.  Alot of people helped me along the way, though I have never asked anyone for anything ever in the game besides advice.  The friends I know for real playing and the ones I have met along the way, they have all been generous and kind, and overall really good hearted  people. Being able to have worked up from my sup3rn00bness  to being able to repay their generosity is the best part of the game for me .. yea sure I have been dissappointed in some things in runescape, I have to thank them for creating such a game that I met these good people. Thank you jagex. 

forgive my typos.. 4 am .. and i need more liquor =x.

What do you mean by "JAVA"? Do you mean that it can run on Windows, Mac and Linux? Or do you mean that the graphics and functions and very impressive for Java? Before you respond, check out Wurm Online.

I think that RuneScape is a decent game, considering that I still play it.

The only pro it has is you can play it in a browser anywhere.

other than that there are no pros, the game sucks something fierce.

Originally posted by Nadril

The only pro it has is you can play it in a browser anywhere.

 

 

other than that there are no pros, the game sucks something fierce.

How long did you play runescape? And .. what lvl did you get your character to?

Originally posted by Llamster

What do you mean by "JAVA"? Do you mean that it can run on Windows, Mac and Linux? Or do you mean that the graphics and functions and very impressive for Java? Before you respond, check out Wurm Online.

I think that RuneScape is a decent game, considering that I still play it.

Wurm online having better graphics than runescape might have something to do with the fact that to play wurm online you need 512mb RAM, for rs its somewhere near 70mb.

Originally posted by deviliscious

Originally posted by Nadril

The only pro it has is you can play it in a browser anywhere.

 

 

other than that there are no pros, the game sucks something fierce.

How long did you play runescape? And .. what lvl did you get your character to?

I played back in the day when I was a kid, started in RSC. Got in the mid 80's there and quit for a bit. Started up again when I was 14/15 and tried RS2 for a little bit, got up in the 90's and quit because of how bad it was.

Don't even bother telling me there is something better at higher levels, there isn't. The game doesn't have any sort of 'end game' now and it's pvp is all but a broken mess now. At least in RSC the PvP had some sort of saving merit to the rest of the crap fest.

(I played back in the day when I was a kid, started in RSC. Got in the mid 80's there and quit for a bit. Started up again when I was 14/15 and tried RS2 for a little bit, got up in the 90's and quit because of how bad it was.)...

So.. you haven't played it in like 4 years? With updates being done every week for the last 4 years .. you  wouldn't even recognize the game now lol...It is an ever changing game. No there is no end to it and yea  by todays standards 90 is low combat lol.

Originally posted by deviliscious

(I played back in the day when I was a kid, started in RSC. Got in the mid 80's there and quit for a bit. Started up again when I was 14/15 and tried RS2 for a little bit, got up in the 90's and quit because of how bad it was.)...

So.. you haven't played it in like 4 years? With updates being done every week for the last 4 years .. you  wouldn't even recognize the game now lol...It is an ever changing game. No there is no end to it and yea  by todays standards 90 is low combat lol.

 

By todays standards yes. And just because i haven't played 4 years doesn't mean anything. I kept up with the game for a bit, but the fact is more content does not equal anything that has actually revamped the combat system.

Not playing a game for  4 years that is updated every week does matter considering you are criticizing the game it was not the game it is.. you might as well be   talking about a game that doesn;t exist anymore. Yes there have been drastic changes in combat in the last 4 years, and we expect more to come .. all i see that needs to be done  to combat is less luck factor more skills. Though for the most part in pking that luck factor isn't as noticable because it is about real skill .. it only affects death matches and duels really.

Runescape is seen different in the eyes everyone. Some think it's fun, while others think it's the dumbest game ever. It, in my opinion is an O.K. game. It could use some updates. As an example the chances of them actually changing the graphics are not too high at this point in time. But this isn't like WOW or any other MMO, this is Runescape.

The graphics represent a delicate issue: all players would love better graphics, but any veteran player knows this is unlikely to happen. Runescape never was about graphics and should be taken as it is: you either love it or hate it, but don't expect more from it than what was intended in the first place.

And again, Runescape is not about PVP either. It's one feature of the game, but not the main thing. Lately it gained more importance, more options were added, but still the skills, quests and the new areas & maps are the main concern for the devs - and it's normal, these are the things that make the difference between Runescape and any other PVP "let's kill everybody" type of MMO. I prefer to play a more solo oriented game rather than one that has only PVP and nothing more.

And again, Runescape is not about PVP either. It's one feature of the game, but not the main thing. Lately it gained more importance, more options were added, but still the skills, quests and the new areas & maps are the main concern for the devs - and it's normal, these are the things that make the difference between Runescape and any other PVP "let's kill everybody" type of MMO. I prefer to play a more solo oriented game rather than one that has only PVP and nothing more.

Originally it was all about pvp... when the world was all wildy, and actually the opposite is true, it is less pvp than it used to be. With the more nontradable items introduced it has taken away the spoils of player killing, with the more options added for pvp combat areas that have no risks such as castlewars, duel arena, and fight pits it has taken away alot from the pvp winner takes all part of the game... but with the recent updates added to teleblock ( actually that had no affect) and the player takes precidence over npcs they are bringing a little of that back, not as much as it really needs to have brought back but at least it is something. Though that changed alot of the tactics used in pkin, it made it a tad bit easier to stop people from fleeing a fight. Actually  even though I have trained alot of skills, I hate the " skilling " I like the wildy... I stayed there for a year only leaving to bank lol. I like clan wars,  mage bank pking, and rouges castle... I like the anything goes winner takes all fighting out there. I do like the pvp side of it and have been involved with the whole clan side of runescape.. I don't think they need to add more clan features simply because we wouldn;t use them anyhow .. we fight using headsets  because typing is slow in battle. I would like to see more done to bring fighters to the wildy, not skillers.. the abyss should be taken out of wildy... and I would looove to see notradables done away with but that isn't going to happen lol.  All the one item pkrs take alot of the fun out of combat.. but then again , I don't see the point in having an item if it is too expensive to pk in. Now i like to do things solo too, and I play that way alot, but i like the versatility of being able to do both.

Initially the Runescape world was not "all wildy"; the game had a simple duel system letting the players decide whether they wanted to fight or not. Now they changed their opinion on the matter again and tried to bring that old duel flavor back. It was not a bad choice after all, some people like the idea of PVP with rules, some sort of gentlemen sport.

Do you remember when there were no banks? And when they first put in banks .. everyone stayed huddled in banks and you stepped outside and died. That was basically all there was then. Stand in a bank and dare each other to walk outside lol.

I think this is the beauty of Runescape: it grew around the players, it was developped in front of our eyes. Most of the stuff that is now in game is there because at one point some players suggested all those things. It is a world that evolved along with the players. Maybe that's why Runescape has such dedicated fans (I'm not talking about me, hehe); most of the games are put together and released in the form the devs wanted, while in Runescape thing went like: "what new things would you like to see / experience"?

PS: most of the time when taking a longer break from a game I get a weird feeling when returning - like it's a complete strange alien world...but with Runescape it's quite the opposite - no matter how long the break, I always feel at home. Somehow this game managed to glue to me, hehe; although I'm not playing it anymore, I get in game from time to time and take a walk through the lands...

If you take a walk near the duel arena today you will see riots lol...