Rift - first impressions of the new MMO

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Verdict:
We're yet to be convinced, but it's early days yet...

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We've been playing the new fantasy MMO Rift - is it worth a look? Are we hooked on a new WoW alternative, or is it another undercooked game...

It takes a lot of balls these days to launch a new MMO.

Whether your game is set in a modern day super hero metropolis, or the far future of humanity, it's impossible to avoid comparisons to the elephant in the room - World of Warcraft. When you're actually pushing a new fantasy game yourself, based on a wholly new and fresh IP, it must be doubly daunting.

Because, regardless of Rift's own intentions of entering the space, the comparison is impossible to avoid. Already the forums are full of gamers looking not just for a good new MMO, but one that will sate their dissatisfaction with WoW. There are also those who claim the game's simply too similar - and boy are those flame wars intense!

Then again, the game almost begs comparison in some ways... maybe it's the big black death-aspect Dragon that's one of the main villains... who knows. But we're getting ahead of ourselves; we started playing yesterday, so we thought we'd share our first impressions of our first session with Rift.

Like any game worth its salt this days, it kicks off with an action-packed CGI intro. It introduces the core concepts - two opposed factions, rifts that spew bad staff, general arse-kicking - of the game pretty simply, and then it's into the nitty-gritty of getting your first toon up and grinding.

Your first choice is what faction you wish to belong to, and the server you want to play on.

So, basically, Guardians to be a demi-god, Defiant to be a bunch of folks whining because they're not gods. The choice is obvious, really... Guardian it is!

Product Info

Supplier:

QVS Software

price check*

$4.74	PAYLES They Call Me Trinity [9317485000144]A drifter comes to town where hi... MegaBuy Technology Superstore (QLD)

$4.74	GRYPH Howling V1 The Freaks [9317206032812]Ian Richards is a drifter. Down ... MegaBuy Technology Superstore (QLD)

$8.58	UNI The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (Supercharged Edition) [505058261... MegaBuy Technology Superstore (QLD)

$8.58	UNI The Grifters [5050582216417]Release Date:27 Jul 2004(M) Shipping genera... MegaBuy Technology Superstore (QLD)

$8.58	UNI High Plains Drifter [5050582002041]Release Date:16 Oct 2002(M) Shipping... MegaBuy Technology Superstore (QLD)

$8.69	EA Love Ranch [9398711091297]Director Taylor Hackford explores the rift tha... MegaBuy Technology Superstore (QLD)

See more results for rift on staticice.com.au

*Products and prices sourced from staticICE and are in no way associated with Atomic MPC

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30 Comments

Brock Mar 1, 2011 6:18 PM	It's early days yet, but I am really enjoying it. Class/talent customization is a step above that of WoW... UI customization that's built in to the game is pretty nice as well. I know what you mean about the pace of the gameplay, but I found that is only early on in the game, now I'm mid-20's, it's becoming a lot more fast-paced, probably not quite to the standard of WoW, but it's definitely a lot more fun to play! I think I'll keep playing this as long as the player-base stays solid. :)
wraith676 Mar 1, 2011 7:56 PM	It wouldnt be a certain rake would it?
Hawkeye Mar 1, 2011 8:07 PM	And the points are claimed!
mudjimba Mar 1, 2011 8:15 PM	Damnn mmo's and there sucking me in.
V1RUS Mar 1, 2011 9:41 PM	From What iv seen and heard this even in its early stages, Has and will Pass WoW in all aspects of the MMO
codecreeper Mar 1, 2011 10:37 PM	Kinda looks good so far. Is this game based on subs or you just pay for the client. WoW is beginning suck and i am really looking for something new to play.
Hawkeye Mar 1, 2011 10:38 PM	Personally, I think WoW still has the edge in terms of polish and storytelling. Oh, and Brock, the UI customisation is very reminiscent of LotRO :)
Brock Mar 1, 2011 11:47 PM	Yeah, WoW definitely is more polished, but I guess 5+ years of time to refine the game, and listen to the community (lol, if you want to believe Blizzard actually listen to their player-base rather than act off pure guess-work...) will do that for an MMO. UI is like LotRO yeah, I played LotRO to about level 35 but got a bit bored. Not sure what it was, combat seemed sluggish or something... This has me by the balls (ie. social-life-altering) though. The combat is far from boring. PVP is fun. The Rift events are great and there's actually decent rewards offered for participating (unlike WAR where it only rewarded you average quality items for your level, Rift seems to offer a currency that you can use at any level, to turn in for items later on.) Excellent so far!
Meowkitty Mar 2, 2011 8:13 AM	Zone chat looks awesome, Chuck Norris is a Murlock. and is the dancing any good? do the elves dance like Britney or Napolian Dynamite? and can you do /train ? the Jokes, do they tell funny jokes? and, how did Palladium books react to the use of dimentional rifts in a fantasy setting?
Hawkeye Mar 2, 2011 10:04 AM	Good last question! Though, I don't think the concept is entirely Palladium's - many settings have used the idea before :)
Ihsan Mar 2, 2011 10:06 AM	I would of thought the better description for Defiant was whiners who experiment on live prisoners of war (from a war that is completely an utterly the Defiant's fault) in order to make the uber race... You honestly had that many problems with the net coding? I don't think I've spoken to anyone that's even contemplating using some form of ping lowering service.
Hawkeye Mar 2, 2011 10:51 AM	I only said the game felt a little sluggish :)
codecreeper Mar 2, 2011 1:02 PM	Looking at the forums this morning for Rift. It seems like a wow clone ,in fact most of the complaints are the same. DPS meters, Lag ,Guild Problems and such. After reading all this i decided to give RIFT a miss for now. May as well wait for Guild Wars 2 or something better.
Brock Mar 2, 2011 4:48 PM	codecreeper - DPS meters are only a complaint for people who actually care about their DPS min/max'ing. Trion will no doubt add some form of DPS meter in the future, but there are already combat parses on the net for those who are interested in it. No lag so far, it's running perfectly, netcode is very good. I am using Lowerping as well to give it an extra boost, though it's not needed! And guild problems are a problem in any MMO, you'll run into it in GW2 as well. I have fortunately found a good guild (joined last night) that is full of mature players who are all playing the game for the same reason as me - fun. :)
codecreeper Mar 2, 2011 5:06 PM	Maybe so but it still sounds like WoW in many ways. You guys should post a followup in one months time to see if it still worth playing. That is normally when the lustre starts to wear off. Sorry to sound like negative person ,have fun to all those that play Rift.
Hawkeye Mar 2, 2011 5:18 PM	What interests me is that WoW at the moment is a lot like Doom back in the day when all FPS were considered 'doom clones'. But now, the standards set by Doom are the standards that MAKE an FPS. I think WoW is much the same - Blizz has done a lot of good work finding out what makes an MMO tick, and there's no harm in following that pattern. LotRO, for instance (which I go on about like a broken record) could be called even more of a WoW clone, but really... is that bad? I don't think so. It's a model that works.
Brock Mar 2, 2011 5:20 PM	It does sound like WoW, and it is essentially WoW, with a few distinct differences, some, Rift does better, others, WoW does better. ;) Just means people have choice now! Heh. I agree on the followup review!
Brock Mar 2, 2011 5:21 PM	Spot on Hawkeye!
Hawkeye Mar 2, 2011 5:42 PM	Also, there'll be a full review verdict on the game in issue 123, and if I am still playing it, another follow up in three months. IF. Biiiiig if :) But I think that's bit of a benchmark in itself.
Meowkitty Mar 2, 2011 5:45 PM	yes, wow is a peer benchmark. all the companies are in it to out do the benchmark and maybe even become it. a fantasy MMO is what it is. aren't they mostly LOTR rip offs in some form or another. I am also very pleased to have found another Palladium RPG player. my respect for the magazine has increased. :P
Hawkeye Mar 3, 2011 9:57 AM	Oh, I've not played it, but being a nerdy roleplayer in general I'm certainly aware of it :) Been trying to stick with Rifts and I'm finding it a real slog. I'm not sure what it is, but I'm just not enjoying it much.
codecreeper Mar 3, 2011 3:33 PM	Maybe Rift is saturated with too many wow players. I been reading the Rift Forums it seems most of the action is at the end game ,like WoW. I wish MMO's would stop trying to clone WoW and make something Original. Why not a MECH Warrior style MMO, where you get a basic mech and storage shed for parts to collect. You could go out in Squads and collects parts from the kills and then learn to build another Mech.
Ihsan Mar 3, 2011 3:52 PM	Something like Perpetuum online?
Brock Mar 3, 2011 4:41 PM	codecreeper, like Hawkeye said above - something original won't really work, not right now. Everyone is still infected with the WoW-bug whether they like it or not. It is a model that works and if a company does it right (like I believe Trion have so far) then it will turn out to be quite successful! :) Hawkeye, I managed to find myself a guild of a few tight knit players - about 30 odd people, we've been doing a mix of dungeons, Rifts, and Warfronts together and it's a heap of fun. There's a lot to do in the game already and it will only get better. Also; the amount of Rifts in a zone is calculated on how many people are in that zone at the time (not sure if this was stated in the article) so it's important that us Aussies are on Briarcliff I think.
AnthraxPants Mar 3, 2011 5:42 PM	This game would be better if eveln had more stars. ;) If i don't see more community spirit I'll be forced to eat the cheese and I only have some old stuff (editor~ better make some new cheese then). I hope I just didn't create a Rift.
codecreeper Mar 4, 2011 8:28 PM	I got itchy fingers and got this MMO. So far at lvl7 this game feels like Lotro and plays like Warhammer Online. Graphics are nice and fast.
codecreeper Mar 5, 2011 11:20 AM	update: It so grindy ,damn shame. So i canceled my Subs just playing on 30days free time now.
Brock Mar 5, 2011 11:29 AM	MMO... What did you expect o.O The beauty of it is different things are available to 'soften' the grind, Rifts, Warfronts, Dungeons and quests.. Fast to level and not monotonous if you combine all of those into your time on the game. :)
cpz01 Mar 5, 2011 3:49 PM	As someone who has been playing it for a fair amount of time now (5 betas and launch) i have really been enjoying it. Sure it doesnt really bring anything that WOW and WAR didn't bring but what it does do really quite well is keep the game fun... who doest love having a rift open infront of them and having all there quest npc jump into battle.
johnzantey Mar 8, 2011 3:42 PM	As said in the comments already, WoW is a proven formula that seems to be the current benchmark of MMO's. That is a good thing, as it makes competition, and I believe RIFT has brought a LOT of it to the table. Of course, you can't compete with a game that has been dazzling players for 6+ yrs (myself included), although as a just released, it has a lot to offer. Also, because it feels like other MMO's, I believe that it makes it intuitive for new players to jump on board and ride the RIFT wave, no hassles... just slightly different game mechanics (like planarites, planar essences, etc..). I do LOVE the fact that a RIFT raid is completely dynamic, in that it can happen any where any time. I especially like that places can be taken over... I suppose to equate to WoW in simple-ish terms.. like the Scorge and Defias raiding in Elwynn Forest and places like GS being taken over by them - including the quest givers... if left unattended, the whole zone could be taken over. Over all, the players have to reclaim these foothold invasions by going into battle against the invaders - this is in my eyes the best part of the game. I still like and play WoW, although I also like RIFT, so to me, that's win/win :P

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