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Rift Review: The Official Review - Edit
8.7
| Pros |
 Ascended Soul system Beautiful sounds & visuals Highly polished Massive rift invasions Open grouping |
| Cons |
 Bland crafting Only two leveling paths PvP imbalance Same old questing Tedious solo play |
NOTE: This review does not take into account the 1.1 “River of Souls” content update. It was written before the patch was released and therefore will not take 1.1 into effect.
Let’s face it. Rift is a very well made game from top to bottom. From rookie development studio and publisher Trion Worlds, Rift is a flagship title that has launched with perfect timing to draw gamers’ attention. It is both highly polished, and technologically innovative. It may not stray far from tradition in terms of gameplay, but what it strives to do it does exceedingly well. In an age where many gamers have grown impatient with unfinished products, Rift is a very welcome addition to the stable of MMORPGs.
That said, Rift is not without flaws. In a lot of aspects, its systems have become dated. Combat, questing, and crafting all function superbly, but are bland due to the simple fact that they have been done this way before. Still Trion Worlds’ freshman release is fantastic example of the kind of care and attention to detail and polish this industry direly needs. It’s a title I would gladly and quickly recommend to any player looking for a new but familiar home, and yet one I would advise caution to for those who are in search of something truly revolutionary.
For the purposes of this review I purchased my own digital copy from Trion, but they were kind enough to grant me Digital Collector’s Edition status to get the ugly as can be turtle mount. I played well into my 20s on my Defiant Cleric on a PvP server, and into my teens as a Guardian Cleric on a PvE server. In total during the live release I’ve played around thirty hours, which has sadly made it impossible for me to truly review what the end game holds. I will offer what I know of that content, but will not make a final judgment on what level 50 has in store. I do believe that my time spent in Telara from Alpha through Live has given me enough insight to take a stand on Rift. Now, let’s get into the details.
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Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory (Visuals)
Just when I thought I’d tired of the swords and boards fantasy trope, along comes Trion’s art team to make me reevaluate that stance. Rift is a very pretty game when your computer can handle it. And while it can run on a machine that can run Champions Online (my crap-tastic laptop), it doesn’t do so well. Make no bones about it to get the most out of Rift’s visuals you’ll need a decent video card and speedy CPU. I have an nVidia GTX460, 6GB of RAM, and quad-core clocked at over 3.2Ghz even I need to keep things at High (as opposed to Ultra) to maintain a steady frame-rate. Still the performance in Live is light-years ahead of the performance I experienced in Beta, and the simple fact that I can keep my settings on High during some of the game’s larger world events and not experience slow-down is nothing short of technical genius.
I will concede that the game’s style is very derivative of so much high fantasy. I mean, there are elves and dwarves and goblins after all. But the presentation from the way “QUEST ACCEPTED” pops onto the screen, to the sparkle of your chainmail is top notch. It may look familiar, like most games in this type of setting will, but it looks good. And that’s what counts. The way in which the surrounding world is affected by an open rift is gorgeous and I’d love to see the effect applied in larger scopes as the game grows.
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I’d have liked more enterable buildings to make Telara feel more like a world and less like a very convincing amusement park. But my only real complaint can be laid against the melee animations for combat. They just don’t seem very powerful when compared to their magical counterparts. It’s hard to imagine the simple whack of a hammer hurting more than the hurling of a giant fireball. But I guess that could be said of many MMOs.
Mine Ears Have, er, Heard the Glory? (Sound)
Inon Zur has composed some of my favorite music in videogames. From Baldur’s Gate II: The Throne of Bhaal to Fallout 3 more recently, the man’s great at setting an epic tone that carries you from relaxing moment to harrowing battle. Rift’s soundtrack is no different. The large sweeping orchestral score is one you should expect of a game that takes its content this seriously. It’s not the kind of stuff you’ll find yourself humming, but the audio cues for when something terrible is happening or when you’re in a peaceful glade are welcome and very atmospheric.
Additionally, the game’s sound effects are an appropriate mix of clangs, thuds, gurgles, and battle-cries. Wolves sound like wolves, and goblins sound like what I suspect goblins would sound like. The way in which the aural tone changes when you near an open rift is also very well done. There was obviously a lot of careful attention paid to the sound in Rift, which is a largely undervalued part of any MMORPG experience when it comes to immersion.
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Ascension Means Freedom (Character)
One of Rift’s chief innovations lies in the way it handles the class-based character system. Sure there are healers, tanks, and DPS classes but it’s the way in which Trion gives the player freedom to build and swap out their own combination of these that makes the old new again. Called “Ascended Souls”, Rift’s classes are split into four archetypes (warrior, rogue, mage, and cleric) which generally cover the roles you’d expect. But within each archetype are variations called “Souls” which offer their own distinct skill tree and abilities. For instance, as a Cleric the Cabalist is a damage over time DPS soul while the Shaman is a melee-focused DPS banger, and the Sentinel is single target and AOE healing master. Here’s the beauty: it’s up to the player to decide where they put their skill points, and they can mix and match up to any three souls in one build.
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One can also have up to four builds (once you buy the extra slots) to switch between at any given time. For myself and my Cleric loving ways, I generally keep a solo build that offers DPS with some heals to keep myself alive, a healing build that I use for Rifts and group PvE, and a PvP build or two as well. One of the PvP builds is for damage output, while the other is for healing and I can switch out of combat at will depending on the needs of my team. It’s a brilliant system that allows players a lot of freedom to tinker and make their perfect class for every situation.
"That said, Rift is not without flaws. In a lot of aspects, its systems have become dated. Combat, questing, and crafting all function superbly, but are bland due to the simple fact that they have been done this way before."
8.7? Really? No offense, but shouldn't something that is pretty much a copy in almost every way have a little more of a hill to climb? That's like giving "Skyline" two thumbs up because it looked good, even though it was a regurgitated Independance Day / War of the Worlds / any other alien invasion movie...
Rift is a solid game so in my opinion it is not over rated.
Aw, this comes with perfect timeing as Rifts servers just went down for 50mins for another patch.. Im lovin rift and how much Trion is patching+updateing this game.. 1 month after launch and were already into a world event + on the way to a brand new raid instance.. Awsomeness!
Neither is Skyline...
Played Rift in the last 2 Betas but decided not to sub. Review seems spot on from what I saw. Oddly enough, the only reason I din't sub is because I didn't like the artwork/graphics. In your article, you mention that the graphics look better now then in Beta, may warrant a second look.
While some may question the "8.7" rating, I can easily see why you gave it your rating. Compared to what's out there 8.7 is reasonable. The question is, if any of the upcoming hyped realeases deliver, will we have our first 10?
This thought process reminds me of the reason Microsoft Windows has been around for so long. I guess eventually more people will grow tired of the same old outdated software and call for something new, but in the end it's just a cycle.
It is kinda funny though, some people complained about Apple releasing the iPhone 3Gs, claiming it was just a way for them to make another pile of cash while offering very little improvment, but that's the environment we've created. As long as it's "solid" we'll pay for the same thing over and over again.
I will say that RIFT looks way better than WOW, I still don't see how there are people that will defend the visuals of WOW, it's ridiculous.
Agree with the review: Rift isn't new or entirely unique but it is fun, polished, and well supported. Thumbs up to Trion
Sounds pretty fair and balanced. It IS a very high score but there are a lot of redeeming aspects to Rift I guess. I can't judge whether its lack of more novelty would have merited a lower score.
I do consider it a "few months in" review and score though, in which longevity can't be measured yet. I also enjoyed games like WAR and AoC for around three months until the fun was suddenly over. After that period it is all about depth of content.
So I'm real curious to see how Rift's retention rates will pan out after a three month period. If it stays stable they have done an amazing job in my book.
Lol, I'm wondering what score GW2 will get then.
The game is polished and fun for a while, but I do not think it deserves an 8.7 by any means. The game does not do enough that is new and exciting to merit that score.
I played the game for two weeks after release and have already burnt out. It feels far too much like WoW... a game which curiously is rated far lower on this site despite having massively more content and features.
Just got done finishing the review and it's pretty spot on.. Would've been nice to see some comments on the end game raids since i'am only lv 25 myself and looking forward to getting info on those.. But still, very good review and very informative :)
Not to forget SW:ToR, I think that's an 11.5 for each.
Glad to see the 'buy it!' stamp is absent from this review (regardless of the score).
'Second opinion' = very nice idea.
Much better review format guys.
Agreed
I really like the way this was done. A column for the good points,a column for the bad, and a column summing it all up. The additiononal mini-review from Suzie was a bonus.
Too many times I read a review wishing to have more information than just a writers summing up-however interesting it might be.
Not so many MMOs are released that there needs to be such a rush on it.
I hope that when Tera, Star Wars,etc. come out that you will continue to use the same in-depth format.
Why even bother have a scale from 1-10 if the games you rate are always 7 or better. Personally I feel Rift is a good game if someone has never experienced an MMORPG before, with that said, Rift has quite a few short comings that I think many veteran players will agree either gives the game to much of a "been there - done that" feel or completely misses the boat. In my opinion, based on my experience with the game, I see it only rating a 6.5 at best.
Completely agree
New isnt really what the majority of mmo players want. This has been proven over and over again with games that try something new.
I love Rift and I agree with the score. The game is a marriage of many games into one. For some that is a bad thing. For me that is the reason I love the game. For those wanting something new and different you will be let down and probably will allow yourself to not like the game because of that. For others we finally have a game that combines the things we liked in other games without the things in those other games we didnt like. (WAR- no pve) (eq2- walk ten feet zone walk ten feet zone) (wow- cartoon graphics-never took itself serious-no sense of danger) I would like to see the crafting expanded. Not the biggest fan of the crafting. But anyways....day off and a world event is happening! off to Telara!
The bar is now set so low that almost anything can pass muster. can you play it on most machines? you can-well it must be a great game. Do they have a ton of quests?-they do then it must be a great game. Is there any type of crafting?-there is wow must be a great game. can you chat easily?-yea must be a great game. Do the mobs give me any type of resistance?-they do while it must be a great game. How about some type of creativity! Are the quests well thought out, do they have any type of story line that continues for many levels. Is combat fun or do I just keep swinging my sword or throwing my fire ball til I start to cry with boredom. Do I just run around collecting stuff then throw it on a table and voi-la there is my nice shiny bobble-or do I have to work just a little combine a few ingrediants a bit of magic and then voi-la. Can you fly , go underground make a clone of yourself-just something different. Are the mobs just standing there or do they move with any purpose maybe even hiding behind that rock.
Rift just seems like they took everyones mediocrity and said " here masses is what I have for you now bow down to the god of sameness and ehhhh" No I will not bow down to your so called god , save me from this abyss of nothing
Agreed.
I agree with the review and score. Rift is a solid MMO, it has plenty of content and fun PvP and the class system is beyond any other MMO out there atm. The additional bonus of a good Dev team that acknowledges issues quickly and is addressing the areas that need it most is rare in almost all MMO's especially the speed in which they do it. I also believe Rift set the bar for a solid launch as well, this was the best Ive ever seen in 12 years of MMO gaming. Sure Rift has some issues, its not perfect but its a decent game and I intend to play quite a while.
And here is your reward for best drama queen. You totally moved me!
But I have to agree with the score, Trion earned it, and if they keep up the good work, i'de expect them to get an upgrade to their score.
I like to think of the MMO genre in terms of evolution (whether or not you believe in it is irrelevant). In evolution there are many major points that can be mapped; the developement of a vertebral column, the developement of a hard shelled egg helping reproduction on land, etc. All these major events didn't just happen overnight. No one organism gave birth to a baby who suddenly had a backbone. All these major events were a culmination of multiple little changes.
So what I'm trying to say is that the MMO genre, more so than other genres, changes in baby steps and major revolutionary points in the genre are going to be recognized in after the fact. For example, no one could have predicted during WoW's developement the impact it was going to have. All WoW did was take all the little changes in the genre that occured before it and utilize them well. So in everyone's mind WoW marks a major evolutionary change in MMOs, but it could not have done that without the others that came before it.
Bringing this all back to Rift, while I agree that it is pretty cookie cutter in many aspects (and I don't see myself playing it 4 months from now) it does make its little contribution to the genre. From here on out, it will be difficult for an MMO to be released unfinished and unstable. Rift has left its little mark on the genre whether it fails or succeeds, and can say it contributed to the overall evolution of MMO's.
By many accounts, including this review, the summary of the articles all seem to be similar. That is, well polished, bug free, nice graphics, good support, however, nothing new to see, bland quest system, and forgettable gameplay.
Just curious, but is this what it takes to get a 8.7 rating these days. Is this how low the gaming community's standards and expectations have gone? For any developer to release a stable, trouble free release is so shocking, so amazing in recent years that this is a shining star in the MMORPG world. Forget the quality of the game design, as long as it runs, it's awesome!
Look, I'm sure it's a fine game. Much succes to them, and I hope people have fun playing it. But really, giving it a "GREAT" rating simply because people have a relatively bug free gaming experience just shows how low expectations are. Pretty sad really.
Decent review... but 8.7 seems abit overated.
Good example to see the difference between movie critics and these so called game reviewers. While, the movie critics are not afraid to give most of the new rubbish with multimillion budget, which everybody seems to love, ratings like 30%, these game reviewers are always rating everything between 7 to 9, no matter how bad the game is, just because it's praised by the sheeps. And Rift? That wouldn't score more than 30% if the game-reviewers would be so harsh as movie critics.
Yes, being a veteran gamer, having played games on the commadore 64, I would very much agree every game is a "been there-done that." The only difference is, is how well the game is made and if i'm having fun in that game. And having played many a game in my life, i have to say i am enjoying myself in Rift quite a bit. Therefor i would have to disagree with that low balled score that you quoted, as i wouldnt even give it to AoC for its decent graphics and attempt to change melee combat.
I think the score is just fine. WoW-lovers will find plenty to hate, but the game is slick, fun to play and crammed full of content. It's devs are responsive to player-needs and in more than ten years of MMO's I have not seen a better launch. It won't be to everyone's taste but, for those coming to it without an axe to grind, it has plenty to offer.
Logic dictates: I don't like WoW, so I won't like Rift either.
It's even true in this case. There's more similarities between them than differences.
Very fair review. For those knocking it or the score, I can only assume you have had your eyes closed to the releases lately the huge problems andunreliability issues. Rift is not going to set the world alight with all it's features but it certainly begins it's life so well polished that you cannot really moan about it initial playability from launch. Furthermore is has some beautiful touches and a world event one month after launch, if this is the level of their commitment and if it continues like this in the coming months and years then I would see this title as being well placed to give even the monster that is WoW a run for it's money. Like another poster I have been playing since C64 days, tried many games bisited many MMO's from launch even got to the stage where I promised not to join any game at launche ever again. Rift has made me believe again that it is possible to launch a stable game, for that alone I suspect that they are to be applauded and rewarded.
A Kia runs well off the showroom floor, it still doesn't make it a Lexus.
(Wow isn't a Lexus either).
7.5 at best.
Demand a Re-review ASAP
in all seriousness though, this is MMORPG's review and not "said persons" review... why all the hate.. this score is based on what MMORPG thinks not what people who didnt enjoy the game thinks about the game etc.. you can take the score to heart or play the game and give it your own personal score etc..
Depends on why one doesn't like WoW. I hate the cartoon theme of it, but other than that, consider it possibly the best themepark MMOs out there - So I like Rift a lot better. Still, wish it felt less like a themepark, and wish it had a less instanced less gear-grind oriented endgame. Also wish making alts were more fun, especially since its even easier to hit the cap level in than WoW. So I'd give it an 8 or so, deducting a point each for those things, and chalking its lack of sandbox elements up to a difference in taste.
I'd only give it closer to 9, if I were grading on a curve, considering how awful just about all the competition is. I am hoping GW2 or SWTOR will be better, but experience dictates: not likely - and not soon enough. For most gamers looking for a new MMO to play, this one should be good for passing a few months, at least.
Hell, maybe they'll even have a better endgame before anything better comes along. Not that I'm holding my breath for it, though.
Good stuff -- I like the dual review format. That way, people can't just blame Bill (who seems to be everywhere, playing everything, and writing about them all!).
I wish you good luck in life with that attitude.
*shakes head*
The boobs are simply too small on female chars seriously how am I meant to play this :)
Good review and very honest...
I stopped reading where you called the release coming 2-3 years too late and just a couple of month before the real next-gen games hit the shelves a "lauch with perfect timing".
This game is the new definition of generic and just a few weeks after release you see people already being tired and bored of the same stuff they did for 6+years in other games already.
Well, Trion missed their "perfectly timed launch" by just a few years it seems...
I think it may have been an allusion to the Cataclysm fallout without just saying lolBlizzard.
[quote]The only thing that would make it better would be a Looking for Group tool, which we’ve been told team is devising.[/quote]
Also, there's a mistake in the review. There are 4 warfronts, not 3. The 4th is Port Scion and is available at level 50.
And I quote IGN "Quality compensates for a lack of originality."
True everywhere I go for this reviews of this game.
While I think the actual score was too high, I really like the rating format. We had a ramp up of 5 things Rift did right/wrong. Then a review with a second opinion. No sales pitch. Well done.
You cannot compare MMORPG.com reviews with reviews from other sites. Rift is, without question, an above average MMO. Here, an 8.7 is an above average score. That is a B+. Not perfect, not even exceptional, but certainly better than the majority of releases. I can't believe anyone would think this game deserves a 7 or less.
fair review in my opinion. An above average score for a decent mmorpg
With almost all MMORPG review scores between 7.5-8.7, I guess this is one of the better games. I still wish you guys would make a greater distinction between good games and bad games. AION got an 8.7 upon initial review, then an 8.0 on re-review (which said the game had improved, laugh). So, again I wish you had some type of formal numerical score.
Aside from that, I wish we could here a bit more about the endgame. It appears from the reviews that you don't want to go through the grind again of leveling, so hence most of the game is likely to be spent at endgame content, which is either raiding or PvP. I'm personally more interested in PvP, and unfortunately it seems that Rift is destined to be an unbalanced game, which is unfortunate but predictable. My guess is that after about 3-4 months, players will figure out which are the FOTM builds and that's about all you will see going forward.
A game that brings Nothing New to the table gets an 8.7
Because its "Well Polished"?
So thats what MMORPG.com bases 98% of its reviews on.
Polish.
Fantastic.
I agree..
Given that most game genres have been stagnant for such a long time, and that most people hate change (or can't handle anything outside of their familiar box), it's a very reasonable score.
Remember, game designers that attempt something new and innovative typically fail 90% (or more) of the time.
I personally would like to see the genre evolve, but on the other hand, I think what I really want is a new genre that's massively multiplayer and is NOTHING like an mmorpg that we know.
Heres a real question, how does not brinign anything new to teh table make it a bad game?
People nee dot get over the add obsessions with "new", and focus on what they like instead.
Honestly i would want to play a game that doesn't crash every second, need users to make a patcher for it,take sup 162 gigs of space on my hard drive because of a bad install.
I do want something new but so many recent mmos have been so rusty that it is a breath of fresh air to see something that actually works.
Yes, because that's the state of the genre itself. Almost all popular game genres don't deviate from the basic game mechanics. If they did, "most" of them wouldn't sell very well, unless they got lucky and did something magical. In the business world, you can't count on being magical.
With that said, a polished game that fits into its target genre and does it well, definitely deserves a high score whether you like it or not.
Metacritic, Rift:
Accumulative average Critic review: 8.4
Accumulative average user review: 8.1
If site reviews don't agree with you, it's a bit childish and immature to rant that the site must be bought or flawed. Seems to me that enough other critics and MMO gamers agree with a rating of 8+ for Rift, so mmorpg.com's review sounds fair and not out of touch with other reviews from critics and players.
You might not like that kind of MMO games, but at least respect people who do. Different games for different tastes.
I am not going to bite,it's my opinion and you have yours. Having played all 7 betas up nto level 42 and done all content on both factions i really don't think RIFT deserves the score it has got.
It's got nothing to do with repect at all,it's an opinion which everyone is allowed to have.
Well seeing how WOW has a 93 rating I don't see metacritic being to helpful, but most critics aren't. As for user ratings, I hardly think 150 something users really mean anything.
There really is no pleasing everyone, there's always going to be someone who disagrees. Personally I just don't agree with giving something that is a copy of another game an 8.7 rating, especially when that other game is 6 years old or whatever. Everyone has their opinion though.
http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/431/view/ratings
Even with the number of haters that probably rated the game a 1 (vs the fanboys who went straight 10s), and people like me who rated it a 4.8, the average rating on this site for both User Ratings and Staff Ratings are both 8.7.
The only thing I find odd is both are 8.7 lol.
I just think, and I know I say this a lot, originality or lack thereof should matter so much more than it does.
What if I told you 6.5 years ago, at WoW's release that games would be the same now? Or how about I say that now--"In October 2017, MMOs will be the same as now, just prettier."? When games get reviewed like that, that's where I'm afraid the industry is heading.
What if Titan is just... rofl.. a wow clone?
Rift isnt a bad game if you never played an MMO before.
Most people want more sameness.
Every new AAA game that is released has high scores initially. Look at Warhammer, it was on top for 3 or 4 months after it was released. Imo warhammer was a better more fun game.
Rift will share a similar fate imo, because once you get to cap level there really isnt much to do. Go do expert dungeons, which are the same dungeons you already did leveling up, with an added mob or two. BORING!
Pvp could be fun, but its the same 4 warfronts over and over again, 3 of which you did many times while leveling up.
The community is horrible, just a bunch of leet kiddies wanitng to know how much dps you are doing, and if you have proper gear, otherwise you cant be a cool kid.
Everyone is in an instance somewhere, so most of the time you dont see many people in the world, and if you do its a raid group doing a rift, so there isnt much PVP.
Was hoping they would add pvp only zones like Daoc has, and let the pve'ers do their thing, but that doesnt look like its gonna happen.
For me this game is just a WoW expansion, if you loved WoW then this is the game for you.
If you hated WoW as i did, then you will not like Rift either.
Then I demand you start your own gaming website and write your own bloody review mate. And while you're up get me a bacon sandwitch and a pint. =)
Personally I believe that Rift deserves 7675684675469754 out of 903442372704354.
Dude, seriously I was just about to type that, I went to make sure there wasn't some sort of originality rating on the ratings page. I really think there needs to be some sort of rating selection for originality of content, gameplay, or something.
One thing that might be something to look into, MMORPG, would be maybe a separate rating system for innovation/originality. It would allow the games individual rating for preformance, graphics, and such to remain the same and have a score that reflects it as an island by itself without taking into consideration if the mechanics or anything are just like somthing else. Then at the same time an originality rating system would help show the games merit as a newcomer into whichever genre it's coming into. I think that would be a fair rating system. You could put lots into that category, improvment of graphics in comparison to other games, combat mechanics (just the same ol' stuff or something different), innovative gameplay, character customization (maybe?), rifts would definitely fall into some sort of progression. I dunno just spit balling here. I think it would be a huge success for all those veterans who see games like this as deserving less than what they've been given.
1.1 sadly nullifies this review.
My prediction, even though I personally am looking forwards to GW2 is this... Because of the new MMO mindset created by Blizzards 12 million player WoW. Any new and original gameplay is not gonna be viewed favorably because todays new MMO player has lost the ability to enjoy the journey and only want to hit max lvl asap without reading anything and to hell with such a thing as role playing a char and enjoying the games many offerings and focusing only on combat see my previous thread on the subject here>>
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/311535/Todays-MMO-player.html
Excellent review. I agree with the score. I'm having a blast in the game and it ranks up there with many 8 out of 10 games console and PC I've played over the years. All haters need to find a new hobby, truly. You won't be satisfied with ANYTHING.
To that though I would add just because lots of sites are paid off *hore* does not make him wrong. I played Rift, and I think this review is way off. Rift is like a 6 or 7 at best.
I call BS on this.. sounds to me you havent even played RIFT
While an originality rating is nice, I have to wonder why MMO gamers fuss so much more about originality and bashing MMO's that in their eyes don't tickle their innovation sweet spot, while singleplayer games are far less innovative in their genres (FPS/TPS, anyone?) qua mechanics and you hear a lot less ranting and whining about that.
Don't get me wrong, I love innovation and variety, that's why I'm looking forward to GW2 and TSW but also to SWTOR's quest revamp, and that's why I've played all kinds of MMO's. But innovation is just one factor that can make a game fun.
No, if there's one criterium that's a definitive must for MMORPG reviews, then it's longterm value.
It's all nice if professional reviewers and regular players rate the first 50-100 hours they've played. But in contrast to singleplayer games, gameplay in MMORPG's lasts longer than that and can change a lot, when leveling content is compared with the endgame content.
How an MMORPG can hold his own after the first 100-200 hours, that's one thing that's neglected in most reviews, but also the single most important thing for MMO gamers. Because its longterm value will determine whether they'll stick around and resub after the first month or two.
Your opinion. You're entitled to it. A lot of other people have different opinions than you have, and therefore will rate Rift differently.
Its hard to say a game is quality when you could be having the almost exact same experience playing another game that has already been released and has more content, more updates, and more players. The only reason I see to play Rift is because I have gotten bored of WoW but love WoW, which I think the developers knew, hence why their target audience is WoW players.
Well when it comes to single player games they are not meant to be played for long periods of time, or require subscriptions on top of the game cost. You, well I at least, play single player games for the story and fun. I could play the prince of persia, uncharted, Batman, assassin's creed games one after the other, but when it comes to MMORPG you're looking for something more. I'd explain that personally this way. I played WOW for years, and Eve, and unlike single player games you played the MMORPG's FOREVER in comparison, so really after a while going to a new game that is set up the same way is just repetitive and boring to me. With the single player games I think their times come, like assassins creed I think it's getting stale, same with the prince of persia games. Look at Rock Band. I think an amazing series of games would be Zelda or Final Fantasy (non-MMORPG) these games put out sequals of decades, but kept putting out original mechanics and such revolutionizing the game itself. That's what makes something amazing. This is also the reason I think that an originality/innovation rating system would be a plus for an addition IMO.
Also maybe Mario but I was a nintendo kid so I'm partial
This high of a rating for RIFT is, obviously, subjective, as all ratings and opinions are subjective. Just because it comes from MMORPG.com staff doesn't make it somehow more valuable. It's still...just an opinion. So I'm not sure why people are either all "high five" or "this sucks" about the review. Personally, I think to review RIFT that high is ludicrous, but that's because I wasn't too fond of the game and felt it was dry and bland. So...my opinion will be colored by that view. And I suppose if you are just STARVED for an MMO, your opinion might be higher of RIFT than mine. Frankly....I'm not that hungry yet.
Im not sure what to believe. The score of 8.7 or this list :
Those cons are not just minor details. But with a score of 8.7, there isnt much room for improvement, so I wonder if this is even on a scale of 1-10.
If the conclusion is something along the line of that its a very polished nice looking version of same old same old, then how can that score get so high? Or does innovation and improvement not count anymore?
The review seems solid, but the final score seems too much. I agree with others, it seems that its almost impossible for a MMO to not score good anymore.
I dont mind that its subjective. Its just odd to see that list of Cons together with that final score.
I think that FFXIV, STO, Earthrise and APB proved differently, and that's within the last year.
Not everyone is burnt out on certain traditional MMO features, not everyone needs huge doses of innovation to get their MMO fix. If an MMORPG is solid, has a good production value and quality and as a result is very enjoyable to quite a number of MMO gamers, then I don't see why it shouldn't get a high grade just because it isn't innovative enough for some.
Critics opinions through the years on MMO's really boils down to one thing -
"Damned if you do, Damned if you don't" . '
Of all the Fantasy type MMO's Rift has made the best first impression on me than any of the others I have tried. No other game in this MMO category has captured my interest.. I played a different genre of MMO for years and also tried WOW, LOTR, AOC, DAOC, EQ 1& 2, Lineage,, you name it , but just couldn't be captivated long enough in any of those to continue.. I am curious to all the critics as to what they would want in a MMO of this genre that would make it a 9 or 10, thats' if you really care about numbers.. Been a gamer since PONG.... To the C64 guys - All hail ZORK!
Rift is at this point my farvorite MMO. After many bugged launches of other games it was very refreshing to get into Rift with no bugs. for players like me playing as casual and not worried or care much about end game. Rift is very near perfect. Sure Crafting and collecting needs tweeks to it so it actually means something. Questing is tedious and often boring. That is where the Rifts and Invasions come in and break up the boring tedious stuff. Grinding in the MMO worlds seems to be the Norm. Rift changes the game a bit Making the grind a lot more fun.. When your going against the Rifts and invasions you forget your actually grinding...
Why try to be a game changer when those are typically the games that not enough people play to keep it an MMO. I think what they did was smart. Took several of the elements that people love from other MMO's and put their stamp on it. They are obviously doing something right with the attention they've been getting and the number of people currently playing.
Is it perfect? No. But I'll be playing it for quite a while and having a good time doing it. I hope it succeeds. I would probably give it an 8, mainly because due to the crafting system and speed of levelling (too quick) I don't feel I can go any higher.
Great game and fair reviews.
1.1 = More Rifts
/bleh
Can't wait until 1.5 Moar RIFTZ!
Come to the conclusion that Trion is the master of being stale. Had more fun in WAR than here, that's saying something.
I always read reviews on games but I believe to get a better idea of a game is to take it slow and play out all the content yourself before you can give a full well informed opinion.
I see nothing wrong with trion taking ideas from other mmos and perfecting it as they have clearly done with this game. Invasions is something new that keeps the game exciting but yes I would love to see more unique things added too as everyone does these days.
I just want to make the point that once I got to a certain level in game I found I was questing across 3 zones, if I get bored with one then I go to the other. It would be good though to have more of a choice of zones in all level ranges to quest in so starting anew doesn't become stale.
So, it's a blend of EQ2, VG, WoW..exactly what I want to do with my time, NOT
"I have an nVidia GTX460, 6GB of RAM, and quad-core clocked at over 3.2Ghz"
Either give your system specs or don't give your system specs. That says just enough to give the illusion of saying what you have, without actually specifying anything at all about your system.
What processor is it? Lots of processors of very different architectures have been quad cores and/or clocked over 3.2 GHz. There's quite a difference in performance between Propus and Sandy Bridge.
What video card is it? There are at least five different video cards that have been branded as GeForce GTX 460 something or other, and you don't say which you have. That's not counting different board partners or factory overclocks as different, either. The fastest of the GTX 460s offers well over double the performance of the slowest.
And for memory, 6 GB only makes sense if you have a Bloomfield processor, which was pretty much obsolete before any of the GTX 460s came out. Otherwise, you're mismatching memory slots, and possibly memory channels, which will hurt your performance.
Agree!
I haven't played Rift yet, but from the looks of it a lot of people say it has nothing really innovative, except the rifts and the class and souls system.
Innovation is what makes the world advance. If there wasn't innovation, all the people would never use internet, would never play a PS3 or XBOX-360, you will always play the first Prince of Persia and never the new ones, and never take photos or make videos with your cellphone. Now tell me (all those people that agree with the ratings from these forums), what is better, the old stuff or the new and upgraded stuff?
Even in games like PES / FIFA, you see innovation from one version to the next and not just in graphics. That's what makes the games get higher scores from the previous ones. FIFA just got 1st recently because it's gameplay finally innovated, and PES, that was 1st before, went down to 2nd. Finally some real competition again.
In MMORPGs, I almost never see innovations for the last 4-5 years. Finally we have some real innovations. And I heard Rift has some of them, as I said before, but still a LOT needs to change. The game might deserve a high score, but YOU CAN'T TELL ME THAT 7.5 ISN'T HIGH! If you had 7.5 (15 in 1-20 scale, or equals to B or B- in A-F scale) in most of your exams in school/university, you would considered one of the best in class. Having 8.7 in a game with SO MANY flaws in innovation, originality and some mechanics, it's not a good review. You need to have a LOT of innovation and originality, and very few flaws and old stuff.
Exactly. It can't have 10! I wouldn't mind if it could have, and I hope it will the best MMORPG I will ever play, but still, in order to get 10 it needs to be PERFECT! PERFECTION is something we can't see in games, unless there's no more room for innovation. I don't mean to offend MMORPG staff (I do like your work
), but If GW2 delivers everything they said and showed us so far with few flaws and gets less than 9.5 in your scale, Rift could never get close to 8.7.
I guess the MMORPG staff (and staff from other mmo forums too) should remake their most important points for reviews. And now it's the right time, since we finally have some games with innovations for the genre releasing in the next 6-12 months.
PS: Sorry for the long post. Got inspired today
The reason why people take review scores seriously is because they know it does matter to some degree. Are you saying that if 10 websites review a game (that has no demo) and they all give it a 5 out of 10 or worse, you're going to run out and buy it? Or do you just buy games on a whim witout any research at all?
Of course reviews are subjective, but it's also part of the equation for a purchase decision. I'm not going to buy a $50 game with a $15 sub if 9 out of 10 people who also enjoy the same genre as I say that it sucks. Believe me, I'll take their word for it. On the other hand, if the game still seems interesting to me, I might wait until it's $7 with no sub.
The same goes for other genres. If an open world action adventure comes out and 10 websites give it 8/10 or better, I might buy it that week, because I love that genre.
I guess the one-eyed is king among the blind, eh? ;)
Well, one has to appreciate that Trion succeeded in entirely manifesting their plan! I mean, how rare is THAT? It's super polished, and I'd say it extends the classic EQ-ish MMO formula to it's heights. I think Rift is in a way a continuation of EQ2 more than anything else. I don't see the WAR or WOW comparisions at all, save the UI maybe. It hasn't the PVP focus of WAR and it has nothing from WOW, outside UI and maybe the very basic "it has quests".
Rift also has some old fashioned-ness. Back when EQ2 was new, most areas outside of Qeynos were for groups only, because a lot of mobs were heroic. Rift is in a way similar, but while mobs are soloable, they are so densly packed and fast respawning in many areas, it makes soloing harsh and at least groups or duos the default way to play it. Which one may love or hate, as things are. Making a Cleric has given me max solo survivability (since I am a jerk and HATE to depend on others... ^^), but other classes I found way less survivable.
We all know Rift lacks replayability (actually it has zero), and IMVPO the lack of replayability should lower a rating considerable, given how many people love to play several alts. It's the same I said about DCU. Replayability is one of the most important features for the longevity of a MMO. Period.
Also the quests are VERY lackluster. Not bad, but nothing you'll write home about. The Rift experience is something truly awesome, always some invasion going on somewhere and Trion already started a worldwide, week-long event, which looks good for the future. I don't think it is entirely fair to compare a new MMO to MMOs which ran for years by now. EQ2 or WOW weren't any better or more complete, and even WOW took 5 years until it became good (with Cataclysm) on the quest-front.
Personally I always found the visuals stunning.
Overall I'd say 7.5 of 10 would be fair.
May I suggest a "revised" rating system for MMORPG.COM by adding a few more ratings:
1) Have a rating for PvE quality (rated by someone who actually likes PvE, which I believe is the majority of MMORPG.com staff).
2) Have a rating for PvP quality (rated by someone who actually likes PvP, which I believe is the minority of MMORPG.com staff).
3) Have a rating for innovation
4) Have an overall rating for game satisfaction/graphics/polish/etc. (similar to the rating you have now).
Personally, if a game was poor in PvE but fantastic in PvP, that would be great for me but terrible for others. Furthermore, I suspect the rating for PvE and innovation could be done rather quickly, with the PvP rating and overall satisfaction rating coming on later on after more extensive gameplay. Trying to write a review for the game with limited time in PvP and/or endgame content is just not realistic. I know you try to get th reviews out quickly, but you sacrafice too much in quality to get it out quickly.
everyone keeps crying for a game to "bring something new to the table". Then games like Final Fantasy XIV and Mortal Online come out and people crap on it.
A game like Rift comes out, and people still crap on it but its doing a lot better than both FFXIV and Mortal Online. You tell me whos right, and whos wrong?
MMO's are a genre and much of what you see in Rift and other MMO's that share similarities are part of this genre. Its been proven when you deviate too much from these models, the MMO community runs from it.
For further information on this subject, see Star Wars: The Old Republic
lol Thats true however...
FFXIV noticeably failed with its interface. I still want to play the damn game because i have thought it looks great for a long time but even the players that enjoy the game suggest to stay away until its fixed more.
Mortal Online is another thing, all it takes is reading just a little bit good and bad and you can decide if you want to play it or not. People dont dislike it because it doesnt offer some great gameplay (as far as i can tell), they dislike it simply because it is unfinished well ok and some anger at the small staff they have for whatever reasons goin on with the game.
Then you take into consideration the fact that all the word on the "street" is Rift is a finished product, and you can see that its really well done and Trion has backed it up like crazy since the start. Until things change and if they change you can tell that Trion really gives a crap, theyre on the ball and constantly keeping their world alive.
Im not a fan of Rift, im just saying. I wont forget the name Trion and i will be looking for any other games they put up.
Very good review. I would give it a little higher review, maybe a 9.0 even, but 8.7 is fair enough. As I've told several of my friends that I've gotten "Riftified" (that's my word, but you can use it hehe), other than it's class and invasion system there's nothing new, but Rift has taken many parts of what has worked in the past and put a very very nice polish on. If you've ever played EQ, WoW, EQ2, LOTRO, or pretty much any other fantasy-based mmo, you'll probably like Rift. I've gotten to level 50, and I can add that the game is still fun at the end. However, in some of the mid-zones (level 30-45ish) the invasions are more ignored and avoided, since they're very strong (and when I went through it there weren't many players in the zones, like 10-20 maybe). I'm on my second character and in those zones again, and it seems to be much better when an invasion comes around. Instead of 20 people trying to take on an onslaught of 500 there's more like a 100 or so.
I run Rift with all the settings on maximum, and the graphics/sounds are one of the best parts of this game. However, I can still run it on my 5 year old laptop without any problems, (the graphics are just toned down alot) and they look better than any game I've ever played on that laptop. In the major invasion raids, especially the ending boss fights my FPS barely drops on either computer (which is amazing). I've recommended this to any of my friends I've made over the past almost 20 years of MMO playing, most of them are already playing it.
8.7 is way to high a score IMO. I would put it more like 7.0-7.5 (Good) but def not great.
I enjoyed Beta 6 & 7 and the first 3 weeks of launch but this week I've hardly logged in. As others have said it's nothing new and I'm finding it a bit stale. I will most likely sub for another month to get my Rogue to 50 and see whats on offer but I as it's the same gear grind I doubt they will see me playing any longer than that.
If you haven't been playing this genre for long you will probably enjoy the game but for those who are looking for something more than the gear grind you will not get it. My rating would be 7/10.
i find more important all the CONS than the PROS from this review.... if Trion addressed those as of patch 1.1 then its ok... otherwise, Rift needs that fixxed for me to go back to play it ( just a personal opinion here)...
Rift is a solid game..
Just becuase its not innovative doesnt mean it should get a bad grade for it.Rift is good at what it does..
Some people are saying a 6.5? seriously? this is the first game in nearly a decade that released as a solid complete MMO from levels 1-50 and with minimal bugs.
6.5? really? this must mean that MMO's like Mortal are like a -100..
Good game.. but the AH SUCK!!!
I always read these comments then ask myself ..Self "how many of these people making these comments about the game have a sub and are playing the finished game?" Sure Rift is a "Clone" of WoW And WoW is a "Clone" of Everquest and Everquest is a "Clone" of Meridan 59. The List goes on and on. I am Playing Rift now And its a great well made game with a great story.
So you Played this type of game before I understand its "the same old thing " its the same people who complain that a game like EVE is "So different and unplayable". Play the game, Tell me what you dont like about it, what do you like about it, what do you think needs improvement? But alias I think im asking for blood from a rock with most of the people here. oh and if you do play Tell us your Char. name and Server I would love to come visit you !
To be honest, I put probably 50 hours into the game over the past 3 weeks and what I found to be most aggravating is the one feature i was really looking forward to in this title, and that is the souls system. It is wildly unbalanced at all levels, and this results in there actually being fewer choices available than you would like. Now this is coming from someone who enjoys PvP, and likes to do a dungeon with a minimal amount of repeated deaths. While yes, you can spec however you like, that's a pretty sorry consolation when you die repeatedly to either bosses or other players. It's just not enjoyable to get facestomped over and over to the point you end up sitting in the graveyard as much as you are fighting. I have been in this position from both angles. Where I was trying a soul combo out and it was just horrible, and when I was running a dungeon and someone else was horrible. It's frustrating, and not enjoyable at all.
I think the lack of an easily usable parser is very, very telling in this game. While you may not want a "recount competition" it is a very useful measuring stick when looking at damage taken and damage done. If one tank is taking double the damage of another in similar gear, then something is broken. If one DPS is doing double the damage of another DPS, then something is broken. When it's the same player and they are just changing souls, then that's even more horribly broken.
So in my mind you can't have
+Ascended soul system
when you have
-PvP imbalance
Because no one can seriously believe that when PvP imbalance is bad enough to make it a con, that there isn't going to be spillover in PvE. The concept is great, sure. Won't argue that. The execution of it leaves something to be desired.
I gave this game a shot, a month of playing around an hour and half a day average is more than adequate in my opinion to get a feel for the game. While I did not rush to 50, I have friends who picked up the game that did. I got bored with warriors at 37, the combat was repetitive and the tanking was frustrating (lack of good cooldowns, mitgation was awful). At which point I rolled a rogue because we were light on support classes, and I leveled that to 40. I felt that given the recent track record of MMOs I'd just take it pretty easy and let them rush if they wanted to, they would see what there was at max level and I could go on that + what my own opinion of the game up to that point is. I was pretty much going on them whether I would cancel my account or not. I didn't have a terrible time with the game, but it certainly became very grindy, very quickly. But they are all cancelling after being 50 for 2 and half weeks. I don't much see the point of playing when I'm not having a great time, plus most of the people I intended to play the game with are quitting.
It's a good game, but not great. I'd feel it deserver much closer to a 7. Reason being I can't really agree with 2 of your + being Ascended souls and Highly Polished. If I'd only played into the mid 20's I would probably agree with you. I have to say the first zone is definitely the best. The quests are no where near as repetitive, the overlap is better, and it's just a better flow in general (the one hiccough being the damnably stupidly designed epic quest that sends you into a dungeon 4 levels under you by the time you get done with it and overall is a huge waste of time because the objectives are so annoying). By the time you get into the mid 30's it's a huge grind. The quest creativity is just gone. It's a lifeless go here, kill this, pick this up, use this on this guy compilation worsened by the fact that a lot of it is just in open terrain where they plopped down the mobs with maybe a building or two.
I can't say that the entire game is highly polished. The game works, no doubt, but there are a lot of glaring issues with the class system and quest flow, and questing in general. You can argue that questing is a small part of the game, I will concede this only if people are going to be playing for months. If it is so tedious, onerous, and repetitive that people don't WANT to get to max level.... well then they aren't going to stick around for months, are they ? And once you get max level, what's important ? Class balance is in my top 5 for sure. And that's a con, a big one.
I actually agree with both reviews' negative and positive points and would grade it a bit lower at 8/10.
I'm enjoying it for now and after two betas and the first month, I subscribed for 6 months and will concurrently only play the sublime LOTRO which still is the best mmorpg ever made.
Btw Rift at 8.99 euros/month and no item shop made it the cheapest and fairest p2p AAA mmo around.
What games have you been playing? I have a hard time thinking of AAA titles relesed over the last 5-7 years with such a limited starting area / questing path AT LAUNCH than RIFT. Aion is one that I can think of though, I'll give you that one.
I don't mind the lack of originality so much as I do the fact that most of the features that people bash RIFT as generic for are NOT done better than games released 7 years ago. Want to be generic, that's ok, but at least make the generic game features BETTER than older mmo's. I think RIFT completely fails at this.
1. Questing - same as, or worse, depending on what mmo you compare it to.
2. Crafting - same as, or worse, depending on what mmo you compare it to.
3. Amount of starting areas - Worse
4. Race selection / originality / number of options - Worse
5. End game - same as (gear grind through raiding or pvp)
6. Achievements - same as, STILL just a point system with no sort of rewards.
7. Housing - Worse, non existent and unlikely to ever be in game.
8. Reputation - same as (reputation grinding)
9. Cities - Worse (lack of at all and non impressive size. Very much lacks an awe factor)
10. Lore - Same as (seriously, what an unoriginal story)
I think that's enough to get my point across. I love the actual rift's and invasions, they are definitely fun. But MAN what a drag the rest of it all is.
I agree with the guy saying, that a different rating might make sense. For example, and I'm just guessing here since I just played the beta, for Rift you could do it like this:
It's a well written and well judged review of Rift that Bill has written here, but I do find myself wondering how he has come to a score of 8.7. It's Bill's opionion and I'll accept that, but it's fairly clear his list of pros are not so seriously outweighing the cons to justify a score of 8.7, even if he does go into a lot of detail to back up his feelings. It makes me wonder what an amazing game that does everything would get. It would have to be a guaranteed 10 on this system.
I do get the opinion from a lot of talk on Rift that people feel they need to justify the game in context with other MMOs. Statements such as 'I guess that could be said of many MMOs' seems to crop up alot, and have done here. It just appears to be the reviewer saying that he or she knows it's not great, but it's the same everywhere, right? I don't know, is it?
The long and short of it is that Rift has gotten 8.7 on the basis of three facts. That it looks great (which means Guild Wars 2 - judging by current screenshots and videos - should start at the same level - we'll see), that it has something different in the form of dynamic content (Guild Wars2 again?) and the what I admit is a very interesting class system. Of course the truth about the class system that is not even hinted at is that it's wasted in a game that caters so little to tactical grouping and so greatly to going it alone. I actually fail to understand how so many people can say that Rift changes the social aspect of MMOs. There's no close grouping, but a mass of people all after the same goals. I also don't understand this review saying that Rift's solo gameplay is so tedious when the game focuses so heavily on letting everyone manage by themselves. Wasn't the open group system only added after players complained they never felt that grouping was commonplace, hence people were content to solo. Now group play in Rift is lauded upon and the review score reflects what?
If the questing has been totally mind-blowing, the levelling paths more than two, the crafting on a whole new level and all the little niggles sorted then would Rift have had to be a 10? I find it strange that somewhat big things like these can damage the score by only 1.3. The lack of replayability, that seems to be a big concern of both Bill and the second opinion, must have been tossed aside.
When Bill posted his reviews methods a few days back I replied that a review score was personal and as long as the reviewer posted their reasons then it should be accepted. I'll stand by that but I am at a loss as to how the score of 8.7 was arrived at. Does the fact that game released stable mean an automatic 6, or something? Shouldn't that be expected? I guess what I am saying is that I'm unsure how the points explained reflect upon the final score.
I looked at review scores for all the MMOs that this site have done and it makes a lot more sense with that comparison. Very few games get a poor score here. Over 50% of games or expansions reviewed by mmorpg.com have got 7.0 or greater, including such oft-claimed masterpieces (take that as you like) as Age of Conan, Aion and PixieHollow (??). It makes the score of 8.7 seem only just above average, and more justified, to me. If all games are getting such great reviews from a MMO centered website then I fear for the future of MMOs. They may aswell keep making Rifts if they're guaranteed praise despite the negatives.
All in all it does justify looking at a lot of reviews for any game and always trying to play a demo. It's something I always look to do. I really think magazine reviews are a lot less favourable to games than website based reviews are. I'm eagerly awaiting the UK PC Gamer review of Rift on April 13th.
Very well written feedback!
(if just we could highlight the best feedbacks, so it is more easy to navigate a long thread like this!)
8.7 ? What a load of crap.
Try 7.0
So far for me game is the best thing that has happened in gaming industry since release of wow. Loved also war, aoc .... but were plagued to much by months and months of constant problems, lag, .... etc. And still are, mainly War. Rift, besides having impressive graphics, lovely quests (if you do NOT READ at all quests, please do not complain, begone), .... is lag free on max settings and so far (up to lv. 25 as im altholic no one of my alts is past 25) nearly bug free. Small and not anyoing bugs.
And about complaining about "all seen, nothing new". Car maker has produced great looking car, no service required, ... all great ... but - how terrible - he is using WHEELS!! Can you immagine??? Every car in past had whells! They should invent something "new"! They are bad, bad, bad, ... ueeee .. ueee.... Of course :-) needed at end but such utterly stupid complaints make me more :-(.
Good review and i agree with it. And i really looking forward to a bright future for this game! Already this polished, just imagine how it will be in a couple of years.
Looking at MMO and the state they were in at launch. Rifts is miles ahead in play style, end game content, char builds and I dont care what they said about crafting its worth doing because items you make are always better then what you get from questing. I am always wearing armor I can use and my jeweler is the same. I think this MMO will be around for a long time.
My point was that the list of Cons dont fit in a game that scores a 8.7 :
8.7
Great
Compare the pros with cons. Cons basically says, boring crafting, imbalanced PVP (enough to make the Cons list), boring solo play, only 2 leveling paths (= lack of replayability).
You can forget the same old questing comment, because these cons alone are already quite serious on their own.
Then look at the Pros : Beautifull graphics, highly polished, open grouping (that is minor), massive rift invasions, ascended soul system.
So yeah, I can understand the cynical remarks of posters if they say that Rift received a 8.7 because its polished.
I can understand that a review would always be subjective to some extent, but at least a reviewer on a website like this should try to keep other players in mind with reviewing. Unbalanced PVP, boring solo play , lack of replayability are serious cons, even if the reviewer doesnt care about them himself. Its as if the pros/cons list if for others and the score for himself.
I agree with the review and rating, but as most ratings go, the criteria that is used to determine the score is somewhat vague. The only area Rift really lacks to me is innovation, although they have a solid framework to build upon with Rifts and World Events. I have loved Rift since beta and am lovin' it in release.
challenge accepted.
i give it an 8.7
For now this game isn't worth playing.
Omg, Trion pulled an NGE because they balanced warriors to be closer in line with the other classes/souls!
It's April 1st but seriously ....
The soul system is now pretty much useless, which is one of my personal complaints. As the classes changed (i.e. Rogue and Warrior) are now pigeon holed.
It is also nowhere close to the amount of changes SOE did with the NGE, but as I said I've never seen a game change so much, so quickly, other for there.
totally agree. I never comment on reviews but I had to in the case of RIFT. With this insanely high score for RIFT I have lost my faith in MMORPG's reviews.
Once again mmorpg.com does it. Review a game based on short term enjoyment, like a single player game, rather than long term. MMORPGs are not single player games and they come with more fees, i.e. the subscription fee, and as such should be reviewed on the basis if the game is worth the subscription fee on top of the one time cost.
"I am having fun right now." is simply not enough. The question to be asked is:
"Will I have fun 3-4 months down the road so to warrant the monthly subscription fee?"
And for me the answer is simply no. Even casuals will cap this game in one or two months and then have to make due with the end game content which for sure wont last more than a month at most.
More over, the reviewer admits that he hasnt even got close to the end game so in fact this "review" is a preview/first impression article. It is like watching the first hour of a movie and write a review on that.
Right right, warriors got pigeon holed because now they do damage in line with other dps classes* instead of face rolling? Please, go to your talent calculator, make some adjustments and see how far you are actually behind instead of how far you actually perceive you are.
*Pyro mages excluding. But then again, when pyros get inevitably toned down and we hear the same moaning from mages, should we take it any more seriously than the warrior whining?
For you perhaps, the reviewers have a different opinion. The subscribers in the end may get in line with either your opinion or the reviewerers opinion. April 4th is just 3 days away and we'll see (or won't I suppose) the retention rate of the game after the first month.
8.7?! overrated, 8.0 tops.
Thousands of users/players have scored Rift a 8.64 so the 8.7 seems reasonable to me.
Rift is a great game. Not groundbreaking, but fun, polished, and has some fresh new ideas that can and likely will be expanded upon as the game matures.
I'm having a blast and don't see any reason why I won't be having fun playing Rift for a long time to come.
Lol @ 8.7. It hardly hits 7
Fair review, and spot on to what my experience has been.
Here is my "pinch point".....the expectations of the "current average MMO player"
As a gamer that got into MMORPG games in the days of Ultima Online (because I wasn't getting what I needed in casual console games), I LIKE the tried and true fantasy trope of MMORPGs. I LIKE a highlight + click + use skill / spell combat system. I LIKE 3rd person view character control and camera angles.
In the Rift review, the author slams Trion for Rift's solo experience being bland and boring....as if it were an area that Rift could improve upon to make his solo gaming experience better.
THIS IS A MMORPG! There are several aspects of MMORPGs that make them unique to other game genere's.....which many of players appreicate. If your solo experience in a game geared for group play is boring, then I suggest finding your gaming entertainment in one of the many game generes that are suited for more casual gaming requirments. Its fustrating as a gamer who left casual gaming because I wanted something more challenging and deep, only to have all the casuals jump the fence and start trying to remake MMORPGs into the image of FPS games or single player RPG experiences.
For arguments sake, lets go ahead and embrace the big tent theory on MMORPG gaming (stuff to do for all kinds).....how do you think improving solo play would effect the attractiveness of grouping? WOW is your perfect example. They made soloing (atleast at early levels) the most attractive and lucrative method of leveling...to the point where the community at large needed an automated group generator w/ instant teleporting to and from the dungeon just to improve group play prior to endgame content. For a MMORPG, thats sort of sad. And for a MMORPG to get a ding on its rating because its solo content isn't as fun as the group experience is......thats sort of sad too.
My biggest issue with Rift, WoW, and all of the huther humdrum games of their ilk is that there is no purpose for a guild. To me, guilds are the backbone for any game. If there is a system in place that allows guilds to have goals to work toward, the game has a better community. Guilds that have no goals or limits, I'm looking at you 1k+ guilds, are just groups of strangers who get together to raid for new gear ad nauseum. And this is what Rift's system is. Levels really mean nothing but getting new perks that really don't matter
So far, the game that I think had the best guild system, albeit wasn't the best game, was Lineage 2. Levels allowed a new number of members to join, thus giving your clan an incentive to level. Clans could declare wars on other clans, join together in alliances to defend or assault castles, take over castles and raise taxes, and work on raising a dragon. Joining a clan was an important decision because if you were kicked out or left a clan, you couldn't join one for a set amount of real days (I can't remember what that number was). This meant that clans were filled with more people of a like mind and were more closely knit. This bacic premise of the guild, added with taking over territories or building cities/guild halls, would help build a community that isn't so set on the me me me of todays games, which would inadvertantly make the community much better and the game more enjoyable.
I found Rift's community to be an exact copy of WoW's, with the added bonus of everything always being compared to WoW. Hell, in Rift they talk about WoW more often than people in WoW talk about WoW. It's annoying and helped me decide to leave the game.
After logging untold hours in Rift the review score and analysis was spot on. {mod edit} Trion sadly enough is an exception and not the rule to how software companies should behave. Polish, quality and a large amount of care has been put into this title and the speed in which they have responded to problems has been amazing. The industry as a whole should be ashamed at their performance and quality and should look to Trion to understand a winning formula.
I would argue that thousands of players who have played the game have rated Rift an average of 8.64 so it's not far fetched.
Good points...I also played Lineage 2 and fully understand where your coming from.
However, what your asking for (make guilds meaningful) involves rolling back several game dynamics that have been considered new "standards" for MMO development.
Instances - I left L2 right before they introduced the instances they have....but what having a "instanceless" world meant was that you couldn't hide from people. Hunting grounds that gave the best XP & Loot was a premium, and the competition you had in a FFA environment meant you had to join a guild if you wanted access to those resources.
Because hunting grounds were constantly being fought over, guild members would get constant battle rally crys to drop what your doing to go fight for your guildies in an exciting open world battle.
These fights breed rivalries. Guilds find other Guilds they love to hate....and great competitions between guilds or alliances are born...which also improve guild cohesion.
Solo Friendly Content - With the "WOW-Boomers" emerging in the MMORPG market, we have a MUCH more casual playerbase than the days of traditional MMORPG gaming. As you will remember, you could level SOLO in Lineage 2, you did so to your detriment because it was so painstakingly slower than if you grouped. This brought people together out of necessity and guilds were formed.
The new "WOW-Boomers" are used to a casual MMO that is suited for very limited play windows. They expect to get a considerable amount of progress in game within a 30 - 60 minute window, and in intermitent intervals. They demand from the developers that they are able to solo their way to endgame content. With no driver to bring people together, you end up with a fractured community like you see in many of the new casual MMORPGs.
My thought is that it doesn't matter if they rely upon a standard formula but whether or not they do it well.
If Rift was a person's first mmo then being a game that uses many of the same mechanics as games that went before it wouldn't be an issue.
That issue is more for people who are looking for something new.
So giving the game a worse score just because a contingent of players have done it before doesn't seem fair. One could say "worst case scenario" that Rift is not for players who are over this standard method of game play. In which case the game would have to stand on its own merits and be judged on what it's trying to do.
Personally I give the game an 8.0
I also played lineage 2 and those are good points. However Lineage 2 was trying to do something completely different than Rift.
Lineage 2 is more of a (for lack of a better term) social sandbox game. The game was completely about player interactions.Whether it be guildmates, warring another, sieges, trying to win dusk/dawn, pker's, griefers, working the economy, etc.
Rift is a themepark game. You pay your ticket and ride the rides.
One can't compare them except to other games that are aiming for the same goals.
Some peopel would have hated the Lineage 2 system. Some people love just logging in and doing what's available (ride the rides).
Without a doubt Lineage 2 & Rift (and other theme parks) are two different games. To the point letum was making about guilds; I was just pointing out some of the differences between these two games that have an effect on the overall community.
As for Lineage 2, for all the things they did wrong (and boy, did they screw up on many levels).....they did a great job at mixing sandbox with linear play. The leveling process was about as linear as it can get....but the environment was wide open and allowed for players to generate dynamic content using the sandbox tools available to them (non instanced premium hunting grounds, castle siege system, FFA combat system)
The cons LARGERLY outweight the good and it gets an 8.7. I dont get it. Yes the game is polished, yes the graphics and sound are nice, the soul thing is different, rift are okay, but the game is way too similar to WOW and for that is not worth that score. Bottom line the game is just boring for anyone who played WOW for years.
This comment is really on the mark if you ask me. The reviewer stated that he did not get to play Whitefall Steppes, suggesting he did not even make it to level 40. Reviewing a game that is intended to last months and years on the levelling content is bad form and simply pathetic. The reviewer needs to get to 50 and experience the hollow end-game content to actually be able to make a sound judgment.
I would just like to remind everyne that there is a thread for suggestions for our review policy located over in the Site Suggestions forum. That is the proper place for discussion related to our overall review process.
Please remain on the topic of this review or Rift itself in this thread.
This comment is really on the mark if you ask me. The reviewer stated that he did not get to play Whitefall Steppes, suggesting he did not even make it to level 40. Reviewing a game that is intended to last months and years on the levelling content is bad form and simply pathetic. The reviewer needs to get to 50 and experience the hollow end-game content to actually be able to make a sound judgment. (sorry double post, quote didn't go through)
Yamota makes good points though. The end game is what is really important in most MMO's, how can you review a game if you haven't even experienced it? It's biased.
This website hasn't been good for reviews in a long time. I wouldn't trust what they say myself. Anyone that gives a game like Rift and DCUO an 8 or higher has lost all integrity.
It's a good thing you guys don't review cars:
Can you believe what Ford did? Put 4 tires on a car...again. And OMG, they are still using doors and steering wheels.
Or houses:
Wow, a roof again? They've been using roofs for thousands of years now. How unoriginal.
Or shirts:
OMG, only two sleeves again...I just bought a shirt with two sleeves like last year.
Originality is in the STORY! It's in the RIFTS! Basic mechanics are just that. Basic. Mechanics. Its what you use because it works. If I were to sell you a pair of running shoes made of thumbtacks, would you buy them because its original and new? No, you would buy the same running shoes they have made for years now, with slight internal upgrades, but in the end it still has laces and a soles.
Too many of these commentors are thinking about the wrong apsects of the game. The basic mechanics of an mmo can change slightly, but they will still be present in all mmo's.
That's not an opinion, that's an assumption.
You know what they say about " assumptions".
Besides...many other games have paid adds here too and most have received poor reviews anyways.
What about the thousands of players that have rated Rift an average of 8.64? Are they paid for too?
Solid review, fair score.
Most of these comments actually prove one thing:
People have no idea what they want anymore. They'll bitch about something regardless.
Oh, I completely agreed with you. I was just adding my 2 cents.
I would agree with this. trion did a wonderful job of delivering a finished polished product.
With that said I will probably not be renewing my subscription this month. And I feel bad about that. Trion did such a good job of delivering an actual finished playable content rich product of exactly the type we have been begging for here for years. They did everything right and deserve to be hailed for it.
BUT
God help me for saying this, it really is more of exactly the same thing we have been doing for years and years and years. Take every one of these games you have been playing for the past 12 years. Take them all. Put them in a blender and hit puree'. You got's your elves your dwarves your dragons your paladins your angels your mysterious demonic things from beyond. Your classes your crafting, even the UI. It is extremely well polished stuff that we have done a million times before. It's fun. If I was a newcommer to MMO's this game would be pure crack. As a veteran it is very very good. Just not enough to overcome that sense of "been there done that, now why am I doing it all over again exactly?" for me.
First comment was exactly what I was thinking! Mind you, ever since MMORPG did a piece where all 6 or so staff reviewers thought DCUO was the greatest thing since sliced bread they've lacked anything in the way of credibility for me.
I'll agree with you on most points, but wanted to add that the eventual reality that you state after "BUT" is a direct result of the types of game MMORPGs have become about.
The focus of MMORPGs is no longer about virtual worlds where players create dynamic endgame content using sandbox tools. The focus of MMORPGs has become much about the actualy game play...the levels, the gear, the way your toon looks when you swing a sword, the scripted dungeon & quest content. You can only do those things so many times before you get board.
In a sandbox MMO, where players generate the majority of the content.....the objective is not to grind reputation or gear ad nausium....the objective is to interact with different people (be it cooperatively or competitively). If this is the focus, then the game "ages" alot slower. People have more stuff to do and get board a lot slower than if they are forced down the same narrow leveling path every time they log in.
8.7 is so over-rated ....... i rather buy ps3 games monthly rather than playing rift.
I agree with what you say about them being different games and just about everything you said. I only use L2 as an example because it's the only game I've played with a halfway decent guild concept. Every other game I've played seems to have tacked on guilds. Games like Rift are designed for soloer's and instances, but this doesn't mean they can't have a robust sytstem. An imaginative designer can add in a great guild system into any type of game. A blend of instanced dungeons and open world dungeons could be blended nicely.
Very accurate review rating. I know that haters don't like to see it because it defuses their petty arguements about the game which are getting squashed every day
Um, who cares if it seems like WoW. WoW was 6 sx years ago!
{mod edit}
It deserves the score of got because of what it is, not because of what something else is (or was, rather). It is highly polished and as fun as an mmo can be. For the next generation of mmo gamers, who never have or will play WoW, Rift will be as fulfilling as its predecessor.
I'm not going to argue with the score, but am I the only one seriously bothered by "polished" being a main selling point. I see this term coupled with a lot of Rift recommendations, but polish is something EVERY game should have. It's like selling someone a pen and saying, "You'll love it, it has INK!". I'll admit, I'm not sure if this is a problem with Rift or a problem with the MMORPG genre.
Anyways, congrats to Trion and Rift fans, good reviews definitely help with sales. Got tired of this game during open beta, but I'll be keeping an eye on it and how it deals with the release of other MMOGs this year.
The game meats poor MMORPG standards well. However if it would be reviewed as a normal game the score it's received would be much lower. It just another bland MMORPG title.
I think most people here that give negative feedback are just too into WoW that are so worried about the playerbase there. And people whining about "Nothing new" or "Blah blah blah Clone", you know what? Not all want "NEW" because some want the same things from other MMOs minus the don'ts, and here is Rift. And hint: You can't please everyone. So don't think the game should have a lower score just because it isn't what you want,{mod edit}
It doesn't diffuse anything. The rating is one person's point of view, not a final word on how good Rift is. Have a look at the reviews that mmorpg.com have given to other games - here you go - and you'll see that Rift isn't seriously above the curve in their eyes.
If anything, it is saying that mmorpg.com are too gratifying in their reviews, or that all MMOs are so similar in the last few years that nothing stands out. It'll be hard to say that any new games are so much better than Rift because the review scale would have to be extended to 15 to judge anything.
Good review, the score seems good considering it is better than WoW in many ways, although the same in others. Which WoW wasn't the first do a lot of the things it does but the first to refine what was available in multiple games already. But to the original reviewer, their system being quite good compared to mine, and they only had their settings on high? I only use a dual core 3.2ghz with the same GTX 460, and only 4 gb of ram vise the 6 for the reviewer and i have my settings on Ultra+. I have the water quality maxed and view distance on draw objects maxed and I still get 30 fps on average even during PVP or huge rift raids. I'm running windows 7 as well...
The class system is awesome and the rift war is really good dynamic content that even the casual gamer can have fun with for an hour. Even gain raid quality gear without raids feeling like a second job. But there are raid dungeons for the hardcore as well. I think they have a good mix of casual to hardcore content available and they are adding in content at a good rate. The first 3 months are the most important of any MMO and how they can give players content to keep them going for the next year before coming out with an expansion is very important.
I honestly don't care for PVP to be purely balanced, it would be waaaay to boring if it was. But I do hope they add more maps and maybe some contested open world pvp areas with added benefits from participating that is equal to raid content. You win some and you lose some... it boils down to a lot of times if people in the warfronts know what they are doing and how well they are coordinated. Because no matter how you slice it, the FotM build is not greater than a group of well coordinated players.
So a game that looks 6 years old, uses 6 year old (older considering the development time WoW took) systems and mechanics deserves a high rating? I don't follow your logic.
{mod edit}
8.7 is just way to high. I mean it can't beat wows score. Get over it Rift is a great game even if its like wow or any other mmo that you want to compair it to.
Solid game play, some of the best graphics, great pve and pvp but thats not enough so I'll just trash the game for the next 6 month in hopes that if fails. LOL not going to happen.
Its not a perfect game and I don't think I've seen anyone say that it is.
I still love how so many people think the graphics suck and that wows are better.
Really? get a better pc, wow systems won't run rift and all its beauty sorry.
Rift and trion have earned the 8.7 score and I think its spot on. Just because you don't like the game and it beat the score of your game doesn't you need to come and cry about it.
GW2 will get a high score if they pull off what they have stated. It looks great and can't wait to play it. SW:tor will be a pile of crap thanks to EA so have fun with that one. To bad bioware can't call all of the shots on that one then it would be great.
isn't it strange how MMOs seem to be going backwards? We are losing our open worlds in favor of little theme park experiences that play more like single player games merely in a persistant online setting.
Pure true.
It's too high a score, Bill, {mod edit}. Reality is that the game sales aren't that great and next gen games lie GW2 and SW"TOR will hit later this year...move along folks...nothing to really see here!
It is strange for me considering "existing" in an open persistent world was what drew me to this genre in the first place.
I could have seen this game deserving of a score of maybe 8 about 3 or 4 years ago, but in 2011, a game should have to do more than what Rift does to warrant a score that is representative of the best of the genre.
Glad I got to play so many of the betas or I might have purchased the game based solely on that rating.
ya its amazing with all those important negatives to give this game an 8.7 is a little hard to believe as one person said if this is an 8.7 what are they going to give GW2 an 13.6
Really? Next Gen? Lets see....They will be played on a pc with a keyboard, monitor etc.... I think your next gen speach should be withheld until they come out with helmet UI's that read your mind or they actually digitize you and put you into the game....... Next Gen looks suspiciously like this gen!
Seriously, If you think SWTOR and GW2 are really next gen and are gonna be soooooo worth it. I will be willing to let you purchase the next gen pet rock that we've developed in our ultra secret stone quarry.. Shhh.....you didnt hear this from me but this next gen rock will sit there taking up space like no other pet rock before it. Sure its three times the price of the original pet rock, but we've taught it new tricks and it even does impersonations...You'll love its impersonation of G.W Bush doing his pose as Rodans 'Thinker"........You will be the talk of the town. ;)
I would have thought a 7 more real world estimate for a game like this.
Yes. That would have been absolutely reasonable. It's a well-made solid title but it uses the same regurgitated formula that has been used for far too many years. Ratings that high are unjustified in my opinion, and only further encourage the same uninspired development that has brought the genre to the level of stagnation.
Oh well, it's not my site or review so in the end, it's just my opinion.
Funny I thought if you did what is expected and more and its flawless... its a 10. Is Rift a better WoW than WoW? Yes, so 10 it is =P You can't argue that it should be a 7 because it didn't do something radically different when in most cases radically different earns you a 5 for being... radically different ;) Its WoW with an open class system and dynamic world events... sound like more to me.
The negatives listed while likely true and a big could care less for me. Crafting is never fun, rolling alts to do starter content is ugh, solo has actually been fun given the zone design and PvP is for those other servers. As for questing? Its an MMO, you want EQ style questing?
7.5 in my book, those cons should have carried more weight than they did. (But hey, I only give WOW about an 8.0) and haven't played a single game worthy of a 9.0 yet. (I'm a tough grader)
what is actually ridiculous is trying to compare Rift and WoW in terms of graphics.... one is more realistic and one is more cartoonish...... graphics are too different to be compared...... if you like realistic graphics you will like Rift more, if you like cartoony graphics youll pick WoW...
note im only talking about graphic visuals here..... no mechanics, no gameplay, no lore, no anything else, just graphics...
i do prefer realistic graphics but ground texture in Rift (on ultra) looks like made of rubber instead of realistic ground texture (dirt ground texture only, hard floor texture looks good)... thats the only thing i hate from Rifts graphics
Listing the cons like this make the game look far worse than it is. The crafting is not bland. Its just standard, but it works very well, and at end game provides some nice items. The daily repeatables too, give you a reason to craft as well, for added xp and gold.
And two leveling paths is not entirely accurate. If you play the entire game, to its fullest, you can definitely have over 4 paths. As all the added xp from crafting, exploring, pvp, and rifts make it so you do not get to see all the zones. For instance, after scarwood, I was able to go to moonshade than right to stillmoor. Which left Iron pine peak, shimmersand, and droughtlands for another toon to complete. And thats just on guardian side. Because you can do the same zones on defiant side, but with different hubs and quests for the most part.
PvP imbalance should not go against a game that said it was focusing on PvE content. And regardless of any imbalance that a min/maxer might complain about, the pvp is still fun, despite being similar to other games.
The questing may seem similar to past mmo's, but guess what, it works. And most every other game out there has the same questing system. You can not directly port a single player rpg quest system into an mmo, and until someone explains how you can change the industry standard quest system to something else, that WORKS. I would say that Rift questing is satisfactory at worst.
And as far as solo play in an mmo, give me a break. I can go with the typical response that its an Massively Multiplayer game, and you should be playing with others, otherwise go play an rpg. But aside from that, the solo play is not that prevalent with warfronts and rift open groups. Even I run quests solo a good portion of the time, but always find myself in open groups to take down local rifts, and then continue on. Its a long stretch from tedious.
The problem is that a majority of these nay sayers either didn't play rift to end game, or rushed through the game. Either way, I have a strong guild in game, that hasn't lost members. The server is always medium or higher, and there are plenty of people at rift invasions to make them exciting. Add to that Trion's awesome responses to what the community wants, and the fact that they have already made a great content update, and this game is a solid 85 at worst all day long.
^*sigh*^
Crafting is not standard, if you look at other games, not just wow. Its way under the common standard.
Game is great for Veterans and begginers alike.
As for Tedious Solo Play? come on, seems to me like straw clutching.
8.7 is okay for me, mmkay a bit high maybe. But if you lower it, then you have to degrade many games here by ~.5
Now I am not a professional game tester and such, just the idiot who plays games for fun. But when I look at the technical part of the game, it seems to be a 9+. Game runs like butter, enough content at release, Massive Multiplayer possible in a non instanced open world (no Freemarch 1,2,3...), next level of open grouping.
Then there is the actual game. I am so bored of it, because I played this kind of MMO for years already - but this is a matter of taste. For what this game is, a "Mostly PvE-MMO" I guess, it has too few activities besides killing mobs. There is more possible than standard crafting and collecting shinies.
It seems that the reviewer played the game up to the point where I'm finding many people fading away or quitting. I'm still playing Rift and enjoying it, but there is just this certain 'dull-ness' factor that is creeping in and I've seen a number of friends just stop playing already. Someone said Rift is a game without a Soul, and it is starting to feel that way to me.
For me the biggest detractor of Rift is linearity, or feeling like I'm on the exact same rails as everybody else. Although the landscapes are beautiful, they also feel small and confining. In Vanguard you could get seriously lost and eating my something bad and never get back to your tombstone. In Rift, death can be a means of quicker travel and the landmass really isn't big enough to give you the sense of exploration or discovery.
Character customization, also, in this game is a joke. A serious joke. How could a game take that many steps back and not get it noticed in a review?
Blah...
Customization during the creation? It's actually better than most MMO's I've played (Aside from Perfect World International, the character creation in that is insane).
Customization in game? Yeah, it's probably lacking. I thought there was a dye system, which is kinda cool. But I don't know if there's a barber or anything like that.
All that being said, I really don't think character customization is the games issue at all.
I am prob more critical of the reviewer than the actual game, but lets face it the game is a hodge podge of other games especially WAR and WOW, how far have we come when the standard for a game is "well at least the launch did not crash to many times" is that the new standard for games-Really. The reviewer gives many of the games important points a con, yet because it runs smoothly and the chat works hey its a 8.7. Is It just we are so happy to have any type of game that can combat WOW that we cheer when crafting does'nt tottaly suck (I am looking at you AOC) Ah well I am waiting for Bio wares epic, if they cant do it I will quit mmo's for ever orrrrr until someone comes along who can wow me with a ui that works lol.
I can count so many MMO's that have better that it's staggering. You'll also note the dates. This is a 2011 release... the bar has been set, and it was missed.
EverQuest II (Released 2004)
Vanguard (Released 2007)
Champions Online (Released 2009)
City of Heroes (Released 2004)
Star Wars Galaxies (Released -2003-)
AION (Released 2009)
EVE Online (Released 2003)
Age of Conan (Released 2008)
I can keep naming them, really, heh. I think there are a few free to play titles that also beat it. However, RIFT is a AAA multi-million dollar, big budget MMO developped to be a subscription model game. Compared to freemium or free to play? Of course it's going to blow them out of the water. But compared to products it stands next to? It not only missed the bar, it was miles away getting a milkshake.
I think its because there seem to be plenty of options during character creation. Not lots, but maybe enough. Problem is, most of them don't do much, when seen from even just a few paces away. I see people who look like clones all the time, even though the only thing they did the same was hair style / color.
I even wonder if over half the customization options get thrown out, when you're at even a slight distance. It's either that, or the changes that the sliders make really are that subtle.
The devs say they kept customization to a minimum for performance reasons, but it seems like a cop out to me. I don't know why they cant just gradually trim customization choices as needed during a crowded raid. They could start with the most subtle choices like nose shape, working all the way up to.. well, everything that's currently left out entirely already. Even hair styles could be grouped by similarity, and then when things get really crowded, you get one of the main five hairstyles, instead of all 30.
I was dissapointed with the lack of custimization... however, if that's the biggest dissapointment in a game, that's actually a pretty good sign. It's something that can easily be addressed if they really think it is an issue, and it's something that I'm completely willing to look past if so many other things are done right.
Customization can be fun with a large assortment of options, especially for one who likes to RP in a game. But the major factor is, how many actually zoom in that close to another players face or your own avatars face for that matter to look at the details? A very small percentage and that is what Trion is probably thinking. I rather them spend the first year of release working on more content before facial customizations.
Besides, MMORPG means Most Men Online Role Play Girls and its not for there facial features. :P
I disagree. In Aion, I saw lots of different looking people, without needing to zoom in on thier faces. Players would even compliment eachother's customization choices now and then, because the system was flexible enough to get pretty creative with.
From what I've seen, it's guys who play girls that seem to care the most of all, closely followed by girls who play girls.
edit: i hate mmorpg's enahnced editor.
My biggest disapointment in Rift: PVP. Man it's terrible.
I've played heaps of PVE games with PVP tacked on as an afterthought, but this one takes the cake. But well done Trion in turning PVP into a mindless instanced grindfest.
To all you guys out there bashing Trion on "originality", just how "original" is a game supposed to be? Ok, let's take out questing, leveling, dungeons, pvp, crafting, talent speccing, and anything else that makes a game and what do you have? Nothing, that's what! Yeah, a game with nothing sounds really fun. And games that have tried to be "daring", "innovative", and "original" are also no longer around except for Eve. In fact, Eve is the only game that I know of that was "original" and "innovative" in any real sense of the word.
No, I don't look for "originality" of mechanics in a game, I look for fun and new content. The way mmo's are done now are fine. The only two things that bother me about most new games that come out is that (a) they have no content to speak of and (b) they're buggy as hell.
EXACTLY!!!!!
The game runs better than any game I have been with at launch over the past 5 years. That in itself is terrific. The graphics are perfect for what the game is. Take a look at the detail of a Rift opening and look at it in the sky, its very well detailed. The story-line is great as well. And because they have so many different planes of elements, they have so much room for content its absurd. And to speak of content, launch content is jam packed, with a nice patch and new content out only a month after launch.
I'm so sick of hearing people say Rift lacks originality. No game has ever allowed you to pick a calling and then choose from 8 different souls to customize your toon. How many other games are there where a rogue can be ranged dps, melee dps, tank and healer with the click of a button?
The rift invasions are not static pq's like in warhammer. Sure they are similar in open grouping and evolving phases, but thats where it ends. Rifts can pop up anywhere at any time, and thats the beauty of them. I can be questing in any part of the zone and suddenly a rift shows up to break the quest grind. And they are both solo and group friendly. And now invasions are a HUGE original addition. From the start beginning emote to the end boss battle, rift invasions are terrific. There is nothing more fun than desperately trying to hold on to a wardstone while another mass group is trying to shut down rifts.
They have loads of factions for people that love to faction grind. Both through pve zones, rifts and pvp. They have terrific rewards from all paths you choose. And the itemization is almost perfect for a majority of their loot, unlike games like AoC at release.
Because a game takes a warfront system that works, a crafting system that works, and a questing system that works does not mean lack of originality. They took working systems and added their story to them and the story and environments is what makes it original.
I can quote again what I wrote previously in that, if you guys were reviewing cars now a days, would you never drive another because cars keep being made with tires and doors? I think not. Why? Because thats what it takes for a car to work properly nowadays. Sure a time may come when things change, but the technology is not there yet. So why create something that wll not work do to technology restrictions, when you can improve, customize and flesh out a system that has become the industry standard?
You can not say a game is bad because it is similar to something you played in the past. You have to be unbiased and think about the game as its own entity. Is it fun to play? If you say no, and the answer is because you yourself are bored with fantasy mmo's, then you're opinion is invalid. You will be bored with anything. If you say no, because of bad game design, bad infrastructure, bugs, exploits, etc then your opinion is valid.
Rift has no game breaking bugs. Has great servers. Deals well with exploits and values its community feedback. Rift is a great game and Trion a good starting developer. If you are bored, just say it, and stop blaming the game for your lack of interest, when in reality you just aren't interested in the genre any more.
And for those that are looking forward to TOR, I hate to tell you this, but a majority of the quests are the standard go kill this, go get that. So does that mean that bioware should get a bad score?
The review is wrong on any possible level.
They removed sounds
The soul system is a fake
The invasions are worth nothing and in that regard open gouping is worth nothing and restricted to your own faction.
The game is the same old instance and raid farming using in stone written soul builds.
The only real pro is, that trion managed it to have a coherent graphics design on a rather high level. From hair cuts to architecture anything seems coherent. Not that its a huge achievement, but Trions seems to be one of the first who cared to ask or hire pros for concept art from hair cuts to architecture.
The female character just have the better animations/looks in Rift. This is not necessary my opinion, but what the fans post on the forum.
Perosnally i think it doesnt matter. You cant acuse me of cross dressing when playing a female animal race. I am not that sick :p
This was a really nice review. I liked the additional review as well, I hope that figures in more reviews in the future. I agree also with what both have said, though I can't speak for end-game at all as I haven't hit it even remotely yet.
I'm very taken by this game. For me, it's the best post-WoW release I've played, and so far it's better than WoW. I do some quests, and yes the quests are kind of bland, but I am running around closing rifts, fighting off invasions, looking for artifacts, exploring, just killing a mob to see how it fights and what it drops, etc. while I'm questing. I don't see how anyone can play this game exactly like WoW: just go to point A to point B and complete quests. There are so many other things to do at the same time!
I think the pace is just about right too. I've played quite a few hours by now but still haven't hit lvl 20. I just hit a primary goal of my own, which was to buy a mount. Does this game have longetivity for me? I think so actually. I wouldn't mind having an alt at some point.
My only complaint so far is that crafting is pretty dull, but fortunately it's not as tedious as it can be in some games (DAoC). I have been making myself some green clothing for my little Necro, and I like the fact that I could take up just butchering as a harvest skill and use my third skill to runecarve with.
Would I qualify this game as an 8.7/10? I haven't seen quite enough of the game to give it a definite score yet, but I would say that I think it deserves better than most games on the market today. I do feel that mmorpg.com does not reward innovation enough (like for those games that get low ratings but try to break the mould), but this game deservers far higher than Teala's 6.5. Tentatively, I would rate it at an 8/10.
I have to agree.
I have played all of thoes you mentioned with exception of Aion and I completely disagree with you. COH and CO where far and above others but the others you mentioned? At the base of all of thoes games customization is the same base rift has. With exception of weight (in rift you cant make a fat character) at its base all the cusmization is baseline for MMO's right now. It might have a handfull less of select options such as tattoo's but overall they are the same. As to customization through gear most games today are the same. Everyone is after the same endgame gear and all that gear looks the same. Yes its really as simple as that.
So yes, of all rifts faults customization is not one of them. I am a 6month subscriber to rift though I see plenty of its faults I just have hopes for the game. Trion as far as updating the game has shown so far to listne to what the players want. I say SO FAR because there has been other companies like that who have taken a turn for the worse.
Really? People cry about a game not being so differenet and super ground breaking that every aspect of the game has to be new...... and if it's not we will call it a WoW clone pretty much is what's being said. With that being said here's this for an example. Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest same similarities different games and both great just like every other jrpg game right? Call of Duty and Battlefield just like ever other shoter game? Boarderlands and Fallout ? Warcraft, Starcraft and Command and Conquer? Resident Evil and Silent Hill?
People need to stop pointing out the similarities of the games and look at the differences between the two cause if you dwell on the same aspects of the game of course it will remind you of the other game look outside the box at the differences cause if you played MMOs before WoW it's based off of alot of EQ and DoAc.
Overall there will be similar aspects in EVERY game you play and if you don't like Rift then get over it go back to whatever game you were playing before. WoW is an amazing game but overall people want something new with the same idea and Rift delievers that will it become as big as WoW? No, but it has potential to not be a flop like every other MMO after WoW.
Also I am sure everyone who says this game is overated isn't max level in the game nor has really played it to even give your 2 cents about the game so lets be honest. On top of that jeez the game hasn't even been out for 2 months and you say it's horrible and sucks. Did you play WoW at release? Do you remember when there were no battlegrounds? Druids and Warlocks were the worse classes in the game? No flying mounts? No dual spec? Tier 2 droped in Molten Core? Before Arenas? 1-60 took 20 days of gameplay? Before gear score? Before heroics? Before every kid thought he was leet sauce cause he has badge gear and heroic gear?
Look at WoW when it was released to now and all the changes it has gotten the game would be laughable with the bugs and the lack of content that was released with the and the first year it was out when there were only around 2-3 million players.
It's an MMO it will grow and expand and become better later on if you don't like it then don't like it move along but before you judge the game give it an honest try.
That was almost 7 years ago with the game being developed back in 2000. There is no excuse now, therefore your point is moot. Thousands of players have expressed their dissatisfaction with Rift endgame content. It is extremely hand held and very linear. Theres a reason theres been a huge outcry on multiple review AND fan sites, yet any form of critism on the official forums, is met by a swift deletion and/or forum suspension, no matter how well thought out and constructive the post may have been.
Look at the games that recently within the last few years that have came out. Rift is by far well ahead of any of the other MMOs that have ever been released including WoW for years. Also this is Trions first game as a company and it has done a very nice job on rift overall. The game has been out for alittle over a month. What do you expect it to have be at the top of its game? No, it's a MMO there is goign to be trial and error the game will grow expand and get better.
WoW was an amazing and awesome game but hasn't for a few expansions in my opinion but who cares it's my opinion just like this post and your post and everyone else on this forum if you don't like it don't play it but don't expect a MMO within its first year to be the most amazing game ever. Also don't listen to word of mouth check the game out yourself play the endgame and then judge the game before you rant "it isn't good" "people say the endgame ihand held and very linear" like said it's an opinion just like this post.
It's Trions first game give it time maybe it will be great maybe not can't judge a MMO for sure within the first month of release.
After one month of play and reaching level 30 with four char classes, I am very bored.
Whilst it is a beautiful game and has a lot of good features, like the class system, the quests are just plain too boring and note, I do read all the text for each quest. I also find the closing of rifts is a big yawn by now, you done one you done them all. It is the same thing over and over and over. Every rift is basically the same. Or the invaders popping up everywhere, the same and again the same.
I find that to get into a group is a real pain and have only been successful once or twice to find a group, so I am basically stuck with doing solo quests and closing rifts (where you just click to get into a group).
I am a very keen crafter but even that is not holding my interest.
I was much more involved in Wow and found it much more interesting. Levelled a char in every class up to the top and played for five years. So going back to it is not an option because I am all played out of Wow now. Same with GW which I loved every minute of. Now eagerly awaiting GW2.
So I must sadly say I am disappointed with Rift, which has such great potential and could be not only a good but a great game.
Perhaps Rift is more suited to the very young crowd, but to each his own, I am just giving my opinion of a 20 year veteran of MMO games.
I have been playing Rift for several weeks. It has become very boring. I have played other games as Rohan, WOW, Perfect World, 2Moons, Silkroad, AOC and others. Rift is disappointing in that you run out of quests at a higher level. You run all over the map on the game to take quest/quests, complete quest, run to npc for more quests. There is a lot of time wasted running back and forth and all over. Each area has one portal and you have one portal stone which you set as your home. The colors in the game are drab, graphics fairly nice. When you sign up for the game, you are required to provide either PayPal, a Rift time card or a credit card even though you have time (I purchased the game and 30 days came "free").
This is one game I will not renew my subscription nor if I know now what I did when I thought of purchasing the game; I would have passed. Even as a free game I don't think I would wasted my time playing it. It is not as good as this web site has it rated, I would rate it a 6.5
I wish this game had a free trial, could of saved myself $59. I cancelled my subscription on day 1.
It's key features that set it apart from other games are all cons not pros. Rifts were boring by the 5th one.
Combat is slow and tedious and I was playing the mage (nuker) class. Soloing is tedious at best. Mob density is way too high in areas making solo play an exercise in futility. Constant drinking to regen mana/health plus a never ending stream of ghost crawls back to your corpse makes this game about as fun as a root canal.
Game is boring and stale. It's just generic MMO 543,332.
Their is allways room for innovation though. Cant agree with that comment.
Well ya must have missed the open beta right before launch or the "Two" weekend free trials. But ya a free trial is what ya needed.
i didnt like it, cause it looked so overloaded and heavy. the graphics been nice and everything looked awesome...yet it just looked to much for my eyes. i had to take a break after 15min. everywhere this fog, fights, fire, numbers, people, screaming of mobs...its just been to much. wonder how you can relax from hard day, concentration on your skills and basics if you already get tired looking at the screen...
love character customization in this game thom, wish more games would implement it.
didn't have a chance to play this game , but a I heard it is not that bad at all... maybe I'll try it someday
I played this game and got my Warrior to level 50. I did enjoy the quests. The puzzles and cairns were a nice feature. I know I will probably get slammed, but I'm not into PvP and the game just lost my interest now that I'm level 50.
What is the point of doing quests when your XP gained is useless? Perhaps I'm used to Final Fantasy XI where you merited after you levelled, but it seems quite pointless when none of the rewards are better than the dungeon gear that I already have.
Sure I could do dungeons and raids to get better gear, but I'm just not that motivated to do so.
I really would have like to have been able to choose Cleric, Rogue or Mage on the same character and level another profession rather than starting another character. I am aware that they allow you to switch roles and that was although that was novel and interesting I really didn't find it all that useful other than switching between DPS and tank.
I found the snow weather effect in Iron Peak to be really annoying and would have preferred to be able to turn that off.
Their inability or unwillingness to take care of RMT / Platinum selling people spamming shouts in the main towns was unacceptable.
It was not a controller friendly game and found that to be a negative factor.
The graphice were good, but all of the little kids jumping around town and riding their mounts over other people were strange. Maybe they should be put into a romper room so they can jump on the space bubble like they used to at McDonalds?
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Overall I like Rift and think it is a very well done game. I like the class system and the flexibility it offers. However, I am extremely disappointment that unless you want to raid, there is literally nothing to do at level 50 once you have your Tier 2 gear. And considering there currently isn't anything AFTER Tier 2 for groupers, grinding out Tier 2s for gear you don't need if you don't want to raid.
This problem is compounded by the fact that the way the game is set up provides little incentive for me to want to create alts. If you make an alt, even if you are the opposite faction, after the first two zones you will be leveling in exactly the same places. I wish it was like EQ1 where each race had their own starting town and there were several leveling zones for each level range.
Overall it is a very well crafted game, but I think it could have used about half a year more development time before it was released. It just feels unfinished to me. Sadly I think it will end up going to way of games like Warhammer and AoC, and be a wasteland by the end of the year.
My Ratings:
Quality of what is there : 10
Graphics : 7 (still some work left on character agility and animation)
Combat system : 6 (way too old and done before, however working)
Character design : 8 (the free blending of character classes have been seen before but are stil the best out there)
Number of new innovative systems : 0 (nothing new at all, not even a single isolated system, what a disaster)
I just started on a trail membership with Rift. Comments here and comments from friends made me decide to do the massive download and give it a shot. For years I played WoW and I began that game as a Warlock. One of the reasons I quit WoW was the sad state of the Warlock class which saw it's downfall with the release of WoLK. So of course I began Rift as a Lock because .. well I guess no matter which toon I have played (played all classes at high lvl in WoW) I have always seen myself as a Lock at heart.
I find the Rift Warlock exciting mostly because I can custom design my Lock the way I think Locks should be. I can bring the wrath of God down upon my enemies and even heal myself and my team mates if I choose to. No longer do I have to depend on a weak and boarderline useless pet (though I can have that too). Without question the Rift Lock is superior than the shell of a Lock WoW had to offer me.
The graphics are very nice and as mentioned the game is clean and nicely done. There is just enough familiar aspects to keep me from being completely lost in the new experience and most of my screen isn't taken up with junk so I can enjoy the scenery.
Much like the reviewer I will have to reserve final judgement until I reach the final level but once my trail membership has expired I will be opting for a pay for account.
Really loving rift and what it had done to help out new mmorpgs. Its been long time, since aion for me that I have enjoyed an mmo. Go Rift!
Result: GREAT!
So that's what a great game is like? *shudders* The PvE has no replay value and is the same stuff as always. The crafting sucks, the pvp is imbalanced, and solo you can't have fun no matter what. And then it's a great game? Yeah right... And this "ascended system" is simply giving each class more talent trees while reducing the number of classes. It has the "great advantage" of reducing the replay value and allows everyone to do everything, which means each player is interchangable with any other.
I don't hate the game. I tried it, nearly bought it. But the lack of depth, of replay value, of crafting, of... anything interesting made me realize I wouldn't play it for long. That it gets such a rating means that either the author of the article is simply a huge fan of rift and the rating is not objective in any way, or that the article is sponsored by trion.
Yep because everyone that likes a game you dont is a biased fanboy...
How could he possible enjoy a game that you cant stand?!?!?!? How dare he!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*Rolls eyes*
Hey I nearly bought the game. I played the betas and the free weekends. But if you give me a game with no replayability, sucky crafting and everything be as generic as possible, then I pass. It's like me searching for a fine restaurant to have dinner at, and someone hands me an average slightly warm and mushy hamburger. For some people that's heaven, and when I'm really hungry and got nothing else, I might take a bit too. But it's nothing I'd want to happen more often than necessary.
The rating might be fine for those who never played MMORPGs before or those who are interested in nothing but generic theme park MMORPGs, but for gamers with some experience it's just wrong.
You contradict yourself in your attempt to bolster your close minded view of Rift. Any experienced gamer knows that they can't make a strong judgement of an entire game through beta play and free weekends. You don't like themepark MMO's. That's fine but don't pretend to know what the rest of the game is like especially since you never played it to 50. Any experienced gamer knows that you can't do that.
See its all a matter of opinion. You don't like it but a very good portion of people do.
I don't see any flod with the crafting mathods.
Rift has 2 lvling methods, that's good, WOW maybe have mor races and that mask more ways to lvl.
But, as I have seen, all the players going to the human part in the alliance and to the orgs parts in the hord. So as I see it wow have 2 lvling mathods.
The story in rift is slot better cause it's new and never been used. Un like wow that have a rely used story