Rift (2011)

 PC
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 587 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 344 out of 587
  2. Mixed: 150 out of 587
  3. Negative: 93 out of 587
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  1. isidore12
    Sep 3, 2021
    7
    Rift used to be great for PvE, passable for PvP up to 2.0.

    The 3rd expansion was a massacre of the game:
    * world map with no details)
    * boring boss fights
    * daily quest: "click 20 times" (no joke)

    Most of old good players lefts, guilds are scarce.
  2. pythag0ras
    Jan 29, 2016
    6
    Pros:
    +engaging story
    +smooth PvE combat +Dimension system is interesting +Can solo or group to level effectively +Can get real money credits through in game currency +Great graphics +Large player community +world events +weekly updates +leveling is rewarding Cons: - Never seen such grinding.. nothing in RIFT gets done quickly.. -end game consists of repetitive daily and    Pros:
    +engaging story
    +smooth PvE combat
    +Dimension system is interesting
    +Can solo or group to level effectively
    +Can get real money credits through in game currency
    +Great graphics
    +Large player community
    +world events
    +weekly updates
    +leveling is rewarding

    Cons:
    - Never seen such grinding.. nothing in RIFT gets done quickly..
    -end game consists of repetitive daily and weekly quests , and dungeons to build up enough marks (takes years to get enough because you have a finite amount of dungeon bonuses per week. ) and just when you get enough marks they release an xpac that makes all your gear obsolete overnight. When your not grinding dailies/weeklies , youre waiting for raids . see next
    -Raiding --worst raiding of any game i have played. Extremely difficult and unforgiving on boss fights. Requires grinding the boss fight over and over and over again to get the mechanics down ..and oh you can only do it once a week. And then once you actually get through the raid you get to the end chest and its one piece of gear that everyone in the raid gets to roll on.. so more often then not ,you will put in a ton of work and still get nothing.
    -TOO MUCH RNG! Every single thing in the game is RNG based , which of course , adds to the grind. Many many situations where I spent hours working toward something just to never get it (but got to watch 3 other people get it like it was nothing ) Even the chests that you pay real money for are "random" , and usually contain many items that are not only useless (pvp announcer anyone?), but unable to be resold to players or vendors so usually deleted.
    -Dungeon runs take too long and have too high a learning curve for people new to that dungeon. also the loot is for the group to roll on so the majority of times you end up running the dungeon and getting nothing u can use at the end.
    -Constant remaking of the classes , you just get your rotation of your spells you have to cast and they then change it all and you're back to square one with relearning it.
    -No flying mounts (and the devs have stated they will not be adding them in the future) this means you are running everywhere..and the initial mount you can buy is so slow it doesnt even seem faster then being on foot.
    -TONS of restrictions unless you spend money.. no auction house access, the classes you have access to are under powered compared to the pay-for classes, you get knocked off your mount when anything looks at you, more that i cant remember offhand.

    All in all id say its worth playing ... but not worth paying a single dime for.    … Expand
  3. Delaro
    Jan 11, 2016
    6
    The Cons.
    1. The game runs horrible, Outdated Gamebryo DX9 Engine that is highly CPU dependent.
    2. PVP in this game is pointless there is not Gear Balance here so if your a new 65 get use to Dying. You simply can't kill someone in R2 and above gear unless it is 3 vs1 or better. PVP is still way off Balance most Souls are pointless to even try. 3. LvL 65 is Grindy as hell unless your    The Cons.
    1. The game runs horrible, Outdated Gamebryo DX9 Engine that is highly CPU dependent.
    2. PVP in this game is pointless there is not Gear Balance here so if your a new 65 get use to Dying. You simply can't kill someone in R2 and above gear unless it is 3 vs1 or better. PVP is still way off Balance most Souls are pointless to even try.
    3. LvL 65 is Grindy as hell unless your Raiding, the majority of what you do is Grind for Tokens this is where the game got boring with Dailies and Weeklies.
    4. The game is centralized around making Cash so expect to Fork up real cash if you want to be Competitive especially if PVP is your main concern.

    The Pros.
    1. Good Story line.
    2. Lots to do if you like Achievements, Crafting and Puzzles.
    3. Plenty of Group Activity.    … Expand
  4. MarcTryon
    Nov 27, 2014
    5
    How quickly things change. You can see a positive review from me in July. Now, after a very ill-considered change to the auction house and increasing lag and instability, including a much higher frequency of a very annoying appearance bug (face turns pale and lips green) that you can find references to in forums as far back as 2012, I have to drop my rating.

    The game has its moments but    How quickly things change. You can see a positive review from me in July. Now, after a very ill-considered change to the auction house and increasing lag and instability, including a much higher frequency of a very annoying appearance bug (face turns pale and lips green) that you can find references to in forums as far back as 2012, I have to drop my rating.

    The game has its moments but the combat is sluggish by modern standards and Trion has clearly decided to put it in 'harvest' mode: minimal support while they extract what cash they can. I'd suggest thinking twice about any long term commitment to it but it's worth dabbling with.    … Expand
  5. Winterlight212
    Nov 13, 2014
    7
    SEEMS like it really could be fun, but there were certain things that annoyed me, can't put my finger on it exactly, but just didn't "FEEL" right and I think "FEEL" is a big part of any game. I may re-visit this game in the future, but for now I'm done. Don't take my word, haven't really given this game as much effort as other games I've played, but I really couldn't get into this game that much.
  6. aatassi
    Feb 28, 2014
    6
    Played for 3 days until lvl 20
    Good things : graphics similar to Guild wars 1, sound, rifts, mounts, special items used during quests, skills tree
    less : no story lines, quests similar after a moment, need 5 players to sign for guild creation, dungeons mobs
    Game play : 5, graphics : 6, Back ground : 6, lifetime : 6, sound : 7
  7. Hall7718
    Feb 21, 2014
    7
    Rift scores positive points for their unique talent system (souls). However, the system was also hard to balance. Loved the open world events (Rifts). High marks on innovation.
  8. Tetsuro
    Jan 23, 2014
    6
    It's a decent game with nice but 'rigid' graphics. Gameplay could be a bit awkward to one used to the likes of Ultima Online or Neverwinter Nights and AI is a bit on the 'stupid side'. The game in itself is very little compelling, it's boring (in everything.. from graphics, to monsters, to quests) and party with someone else is boring too. I have not found any decent player to form a realIt's a decent game with nice but 'rigid' graphics. Gameplay could be a bit awkward to one used to the likes of Ultima Online or Neverwinter Nights and AI is a bit on the 'stupid side'. The game in itself is very little compelling, it's boring (in everything.. from graphics, to monsters, to quests) and party with someone else is boring too. I have not found any decent player to form a real party to do PvE, everyone is busy on doing its things even if it's playing inside a party. And the talking system does not help at all since it's akward (where it was the center of the game in Ultima Online for example). I give it a & but I could have done better with my time.… Expand
  9. Mac_55555
    Nov 3, 2013
    6
    Rift has the same issues as WOW see below), as they copied almost every feature from that game. So where does wow/rift go wrong? It’s a cookie cutter type game with no depth in gear, spells or abilities… everyone has the same stuff. A new expansion comes out, your: Int, Agi, Str goes up 20 points… ooowee, how exciting! These games are good for a while but you tire of them quickly.Rift has the same issues as WOW see below), as they copied almost every feature from that game. So where does wow/rift go wrong? It’s a cookie cutter type game with no depth in gear, spells or abilities… everyone has the same stuff. A new expansion comes out, your: Int, Agi, Str goes up 20 points… ooowee, how exciting! These games are good for a while but you tire of them quickly.

    Rift figured it would copy WOW because they are successful, which is only partly true. WOW is successful largely due to the fact that there is no competition for this genre game on the market, rather than it being an epic game to play.

    So instead of being creative and coming up with an epic NEW game, Rift sealed its fate by coping another game on the market; a game with more resources and experience in the market. To add to their problems, their developers are not as good as WOW’s (less cash to work with), they have not figured out a proper PVP balance between classes (big issue!), class/gear/dungeons have even less depth. And selling gear and mounts for cash (US dollars) is simply a mistake in the long run. Yes, you make some quick cash but this will come back to bite them later, as it creates major imbalances in PVP and spoils the idea that earn quality gear! Rift definitely has some positive like good support, and sound on-line game play, but the focus of this post is how to improve the game.

    So the big question, how do you fix these games, or better yet, make a game that blows the competition away! Think unique and individual. Who wants to be the same as everyone else? Instead of spending all that time developing PVE which no one plays in end game you build up a colossal gear stash 1st, a broad range of abilities to level (slowly), EQ’s AA were very good. I could say so much here but don’t have the time or space to write it. How do you make PVE fun? Opportunities for reward!! (GEAR), make it challenging where you require team play, and easy group joining creates friendships, roaming rare monsters and again drops worthy GEAR). I’d make opportunities for good gear equal whether it’s PVP, PVE or Raid and almost everything would be drops… very little purchased! How about building your own weapons with special abilities, weapons that level with the character (30-40 levels minimum) so the gear drop really mean something. More of the gear is tradable. And when gear drops is for your level not something you out grew five levels ago!

    PVP is based on skill, rather than level/gear so you avoid the unbalanced PVP matches. And is it really that difficult to balance the different classes? It must be because Rift does a horrible job of it, as of 10/2013 rogues and heals rule in PVP, mages are pawns and clerics, warriors do ok.    … Expand
  10. Kaytyworg
    Oct 27, 2013
    7
    RIFT has a feel like WoW--I'm pretty sure it was designed that way. Starting areas for Guardians and Defiants are both interesting. Rifts were fun--at first After the starting areas, the game starts to bog down--leveling seems slow, and I for one got tired of fighting ghouls and ghosts and demons and zombies, or undead whatevers. Like some other games I've played, you have NO chanceRIFT has a feel like WoW--I'm pretty sure it was designed that way. Starting areas for Guardians and Defiants are both interesting. Rifts were fun--at first After the starting areas, the game starts to bog down--leveling seems slow, and I for one got tired of fighting ghouls and ghosts and demons and zombies, or undead whatevers. Like some other games I've played, you have NO chance fighting anything much above your own level. C'mon, guys, you should at least have SOME chance at this Other players were friendly and helpful at first, then things degenerated into kill-fests with not much interaction. End-game content was geared at the Uber-characters(Twinks)--My 50 got Nowhere repeatedly (I -think- that was the highest level!)
    Lack of interesting things to fight made me leave. Too bad--Game showed promise.    … Expand
  11. Kalfear
    May 18, 2013
    7
    Great game in theory, quite enjoyed beta testing this game and early retail
    in the end though it was to small, to short, to confined for a MMORPG
    Voiced NPCs would have also helped greatly as most folks just ingored the typing and choose the one option that made most sense to them. Talking to players at end game I would say 7 in 10 honestly had no idea what the storyline while leveling    Great game in theory, quite enjoyed beta testing this game and early retail
    in the end though it was to small, to short, to confined for a MMORPG
    Voiced NPCs would have also helped greatly as most folks just ingored the typing and choose the one option that made most sense to them. Talking to players at end game I would say 7 in 10 honestly had no idea what the storyline while leveling up was because they didnt need to read it.

    Good game that could have been much much much better

    I have not tried the new expansion that brought forth many changes    … Expand
  12. AtlasOrion
    Dec 4, 2012
    7
    Rift has a lot of great things going for it, but needs a lot too. The fights are confusing as heck, especially coming from WoW, and end game is very disappointing. The world looks AMAZING and the mounts and mobs are awesome, but the weapon and armor are completely "meh", could use a Korean touch. The rifts are super fun and always give you something to do, the quests are decent andRift has a lot of great things going for it, but needs a lot too. The fights are confusing as heck, especially coming from WoW, and end game is very disappointing. The world looks AMAZING and the mounts and mobs are awesome, but the weapon and armor are completely "meh", could use a Korean touch. The rifts are super fun and always give you something to do, the quests are decent and engaging and world events are sufficiently fun - but the instanced encounters are a mess.

    And the community is both good and bad - they're friendly and helpful in general, it's not full of trolls like WoW, but in instances everyone treats it like a speed run and doesn't talk. So you don't get a chance to learn anything unless you're doing guild runs. I played for 6 months and gave up on end game, levelling the different classes is really fun but ends at level 60 =(.

    The game looks amazing and has excellent playability - from fully customizable UI to complex talent trees that can be swapped out and customized endlessly. The game feels polished and well thought out, but boss mechanics need to be more transparent.    … Expand
  13. hakblood
    Oct 11, 2012
    7
    This review is just Rift and the 1st 6 months from release. It was a fun and polished entry to the MMO market. It is a WoW-clone, no bones about it, but it was entertaining and better then the later xpacs of WoW. The class system was nice for the players, like myself, whom like versatility. I let my sub lapse after 6 months and moved on, however i enjoyed it enough, that with an upcomingThis review is just Rift and the 1st 6 months from release. It was a fun and polished entry to the MMO market. It is a WoW-clone, no bones about it, but it was entertaining and better then the later xpacs of WoW. The class system was nice for the players, like myself, whom like versatility. I let my sub lapse after 6 months and moved on, however i enjoyed it enough, that with an upcoming Xpac on the horizon, I am considering re-subbing.… Expand
  14. goliva
    Aug 28, 2012
    7
    This game is a WoW clone, a good one but the graphs are more serious-realistic look like. At first sight it looks kinda bad, but if you give it a chance and explore and level your character further on, you will find it pretty entertaining.
  15. sundog005
    Apr 16, 2012
    5
    I played rift til level 30, its a WoW clone like AoC and most MMO's out there...if you like that stuff you'll love Rift its WoW in a new setting, ofc it has all the old problems WoW did, Elitism over gear, unbalanced class's that can solo better than others, in fact solo elites in a bikini and not lose any health from what i saw and heard....if you are a power player and like no challengeI played rift til level 30, its a WoW clone like AoC and most MMO's out there...if you like that stuff you'll love Rift its WoW in a new setting, ofc it has all the old problems WoW did, Elitism over gear, unbalanced class's that can solo better than others, in fact solo elites in a bikini and not lose any health from what i saw and heard....if you are a power player and like no challenge and bragging rights its a game for you....the Clerics and Mages don't even need to rest or buy drinks, I believe the phrase the players use is "Duracel" Clerics and "Energizer" mages....they seem to be oblivious of the fact that if you are fighting elites solo and not losing health the game is broken badly. The macro system is also a leet kids wet dream of convenience and mash this button to win gameplay, the players didn't even talk to each other in instances or when they did it was a novelty thing, sad proof that tactics and teamwork were not required in this so called MULTIPLAYER game...try the trial don't buy it like i did you'll regret it, if you're an old school fairplay gamer like me...unless they fundamentally change it in the new patch which i haven't seen any signs of, i'm not going back....bring on a balanced MMO someone please! sheesh or even something vaguely original lol...i ask too much obviously! apologies *sighes and heads back to skyrim with his tail between his legs*
    It gets 5 for the cool Rift effects!    … Expand
  16. Silas32
    Apr 16, 2012
    7
    similar to wow, but still original... The way you can customize your character is far better than wow... Its random events like rift invasions do the game more exciting.
  17. bosnian
    Mar 18, 2012
    5
    Great graphics and nice balance to the most polished MMO I have seen on the release date. However, game offers one thing that is different from any other MMO, a rift concept, which was cool for the first 20 hours or so and got incredibly old and tideous after that. Other than that, it is WoW... released 7 years later.
  18. dionissos
    Dec 31, 2011
    6
    Ok rift has not bring revolution to mmorpg genre. It seem to follow the same path like wow and any other wow clone in mmorpg. Same boring quests, same gameplay mechanics , boring pvp.
    Is not bad game if you never play again a mmoprg but is boring for a veteran in this genre. The game has some good moment like the nice graphics and the open world and a nice idea for the randomly invasion of    Ok rift has not bring revolution to mmorpg genre. It seem to follow the same path like wow and any other wow clone in mmorpg. Same boring quests, same gameplay mechanics , boring pvp.
    Is not bad game if you never play again a mmoprg but is boring for a veteran in this genre. The game has some good moment like the nice graphics and the open world and a nice idea for the randomly invasion of mob through rifts.    … Expand
  19. HopelesslyGame
    Dec 6, 2011
    6
    I have written a short review on this game. A quick summary of why I gave it a score of 6: Technically wonderful with lovely graphics, smooth response and very minor glitches. However, gameplay feels a bit bland for long-time players of MMORPGs. Good effort from Trion.
    http://www.hopelesslygame.com/2011/04/entering-the-rift/
  20. prh99
    Oct 7, 2011
    5
    You're not going to kill WoW by copying it. The interface, talent trees, and professions etc all feel very WoW like, sure there are some minor additions and tweaks, but this is very much a game buy a company who wanted to go the safe route. Which is not surprising given the costs and time required to make a triple-a MMO, but to then try to go head to head with an 800 pound gorilla that isYou're not going to kill WoW by copying it. The interface, talent trees, and professions etc all feel very WoW like, sure there are some minor additions and tweaks, but this is very much a game buy a company who wanted to go the safe route. Which is not surprising given the costs and time required to make a triple-a MMO, but to then try to go head to head with an 800 pound gorilla that is WoW and invite direct comparison in the ads was fool-hardy at the very least. I mean Warcraft has 20 years of story and lore development from it's origins as an RTS, you can't beat that. It's not a bad game, but it was never going to be a WoW killer. Trion should be congratulated on making a very polished game, and hopefully their future releases will start to veer off the path Blizzard created.… Expand
  21. Sicklecell
    Sep 25, 2011
    5
    Disappointing game because it's really not about "rifts". It's about dungeons.. and lots of them. The way the game is sold is as an alternative to WoW but it's that only in the sense that fast food is dinner compared to a meat and potatoes meal. There is a TON of grinding for nothing but gear at endgame so if you were looking to escape from WoW because of that, you actually fell out of theDisappointing game because it's really not about "rifts". It's about dungeons.. and lots of them. The way the game is sold is as an alternative to WoW but it's that only in the sense that fast food is dinner compared to a meat and potatoes meal. There is a TON of grinding for nothing but gear at endgame so if you were looking to escape from WoW because of that, you actually fell out of the frying pan into the fire. Rifts seem to be static loot pinatas that you whack every so often and coins for gear come out. Whack enough rifts and you get some really super average gear that isn't worth the time. the lower levels in this game are absolutely abandoned and if you start now, you won't be doing a lot of the huge boss rift invasions because of lack of interest from the community. most people are level 50 and play on alts which they are speedleveling to 50 to play with buddies, so noobs won't get the time of day. fanbois will say "my server is packed and we do stuff all the time" but that's everygame has one or three servers like that while the rest are dying. Rift has about 70 servers mothballed; not technically closed but not technically open neither. If you have a toon there, you can stay but if you start the game you won't even see the server on your list. There are plenty of folks who made homes on them only to have Trion shut them off from everyone else but you can transfer out. That ruined a lot of communities in the game and people quit. their sub rate is bargain basement (probably the lowest in the industry) due to falling subs so if you pay for a year in advance you can pay as little as $120. Pretty desperate but if it fills the game then good idea I guess. SWTOR and GW2 will be coming out soon (GW2 next year) so I'd play consoles until then like BF3, GoW3, Madden, etc and save the 120 bucks for the big event games coming like those. RIFT will probably be going FTP by next summer so holding off would be wise while they try to fix the awful PvP balancing and at least give people something to fight for as now it's just arenaball with no ball. World PvP is non-existant. The game has good things like hit a button and sell all your grey loot, decent graphics (not AoC or FFXIV worthy), and low price. But the replayability is awful because there are only TWO starting zones.. that's right.. two. For a mmo launching in 2011 that's lazy. The armors look horrible (do a Google search for Rift armor and you'll see) and they repeat like.. level 10, 20, 30, 40 etc. So if you find some epic gear at 50 it will have 50 stats but looks EXACTLY like level 30 gear. Again, LAZY DESIGN. It's hard to believe they spend 50 million dollars on this and five or six years development. They didnt even have guild banks at launch. The mounts are all the same that repeat like CE mount: plain turtle. World event mount: Green turtle. Achievement mount: White turtle. LAZY DESIGN. The lore is pretty bland and mundane; it inspires nothing. You dont feel a part of the world or like your fighting to keep mobs from invading.. it feels like your grinding for loot because the story is canned. The game was few bugs at launch but as it's gone on, it's gotten more buggy. Notsure how that happens but things just get broke. Maintainence is pretty much almost every day and for 20-30 minutes at a time but you can have several of those.. sometimes back to back which is annoying. Better way would be once a week for four hours and then done but the piecemeal work is upsetting. The community is made up of 600k people from WoW (or was) so it was kind of immature to start but now it's just plain nasty with one or two nice guilds telling trying to convince everyone new this isn't "their community" even though they play their game. Amazingly funny that. Anyways, to recap: WAIT FOR THE SUMMER WHEN RIFT GOES FTP as they already have a cash shop in the works from their other game that they will no doubt switch over because the population is dropping fast. if you have other games you've been wanting to try FTP now (Fallen Earth, DCUO, EQ2, LOTRO, AoC, WoW trail, Dragon Nest, Champs Online, Star Trek online) you'd be better off spending 10 or 15 bucks once or twice in there and be done with it.… Expand
  22. Daematune
    Aug 1, 2011
    6
    RIFT is by far not perfect, but an excellent start to possibly something great. The class system is easily the biggest reason you would play this game. It offers a range of choices for any play-style you can really think of, it lacks healer roles though, and is impossible to be balanced. The quest system is repetitive and very boring. The game world itself is extremely small. The biggestRIFT is by far not perfect, but an excellent start to possibly something great. The class system is easily the biggest reason you would play this game. It offers a range of choices for any play-style you can really think of, it lacks healer roles though, and is impossible to be balanced. The quest system is repetitive and very boring. The game world itself is extremely small. The biggest thing that really stunk is that the dungeons are very, very easy.. even in Tier 1 and Tier 2 and some raids, the boss fights are simply tank and spanks with one easy tactic. The dungeon finder as well as the PvP queues are very long as well. If your looking for a challenge with good quality to it you might want to look elsewhere, it's highly overrated.… Expand
  23. Fredelas
    Jul 18, 2011
    7
    Lacking in end-game at launch, but frequent live events are entertaining. Not a lot of new concepts, but the game play is still fun and above average.
  24. grandroyal
    Jul 10, 2011
    6
    This game is exactly what it appears to be, a WoW clone with a better graphics engine. This is either a good or a bad thing, depending on your experience. For me, it was a bad thing. Right from the start of this game, I couldn't find any reason to care about the plot or my character's progress. After character creation you're given a very small piece of lore to explain whats going on, andThis game is exactly what it appears to be, a WoW clone with a better graphics engine. This is either a good or a bad thing, depending on your experience. For me, it was a bad thing. Right from the start of this game, I couldn't find any reason to care about the plot or my character's progress. After character creation you're given a very small piece of lore to explain whats going on, and then sent to the leveling treadmill. To be fair, the Defiant's starting zone was actually pretty cool, and their story works well. The Guardian's however, is just..... bad. So with little incentive to read into the thin plot, I found myself grinding levels, professions, rifts, etc... then I realized that I'd already spent 100's of hours doing the same thing in WoW - and honestly this game just convinced me to go back to WoW (which I haven't played in over a year). Seriously, with the time I've invested in WoW and how many friends I have there, Rift offers absolutely nothing extra to make me want to make a permanent switch.

    Anyway, great game engine, designed well, but absolutely no originality and therefore no lasting value. Sorry.    … Expand
  25. guinevere2
    Jul 9, 2011
    5
    I just could not get into this game...It does everything right, it is polished, has nice graphic and character creation/development system...but everything else about it seems to be so uhmm, generic and unmemorable, that after 3 days I had to force myself to log in. In my opinion this game ia a monument of how lackluster the mmorpg bussines has become. It is just the same WoW over and overI just could not get into this game...It does everything right, it is polished, has nice graphic and character creation/development system...but everything else about it seems to be so uhmm, generic and unmemorable, that after 3 days I had to force myself to log in. In my opinion this game ia a monument of how lackluster the mmorpg bussines has become. It is just the same WoW over and over and over again made by different company under different name with different world, races and classes, but the core is the same. The only innovative thing about Rift are those "rift events" which turned to be just another excuse to mob grinding...Crafting is poorly designed and unexciting, no open world pvp makes the game even more boring later on...It is just another WoW clone with total lack of immersion factors… Expand
  26. Flash_Over
    Jun 23, 2011
    5
    I will start with the Pros. The games graphics are very impressive. The dungeon system is smooth. Basically everything you would expect from a paid MMORPG is here. Also RIFT brings more things to the table, like multi-class system tree which allows for good variety of game play. Character customization is also more in-depth then most other MMORPGs. The rift events also add a good twist.I will start with the Pros. The games graphics are very impressive. The dungeon system is smooth. Basically everything you would expect from a paid MMORPG is here. Also RIFT brings more things to the table, like multi-class system tree which allows for good variety of game play. Character customization is also more in-depth then most other MMORPGs. The rift events also add a good twist. Cons: The graphics and cities could be a major lag issue for people with less powerful computers. Even by lowing the graphics the mire presence of many players in fairly small cities could cause a major lag issue. The dungeon system is smooth, but they do not make key factors in boss fights easily recognizable (Which could be a con and pro). Rift events especially major ones cause such huge lag problems and can be chaotic with 50+ players attacking the same target, thus moving or even fighting nearly impossible. The armor and some weapons from level 1-40 are pretty much the same looking, 0 variety. The game also lacks a in-game re-customization of your character like WoWs and Lord of the Rings Online's Barbershop. It also lacks a dungeon finder leaving instances easily skipped to avoid the headache of spamming for LFG. Most of all the combat experience is smooth, but leaves you empty hearted and yearning for the "I just kicked some butt" feeling. That eventually leaves you bored and uninterested in grinding. Over all, this games a dud, but by far the best MMO to be released since 2004. If you like casual RPGs with low intensity leveling and combat. Rift is the game for you!… Expand
  27. dondon
    Jun 9, 2011
    6
    Been there done that. Nothing new to make the game call itself it's own. Something new to look at and better graphics. If this was my first paying MMO ever I would keep going with it but it's not. If your looking for ranked PVP you won't find it here. Devs themselves stated they will not implement ranked arenas but there is battlegrounds for those light pvpers. Combat a lot like WoW,Been there done that. Nothing new to make the game call itself it's own. Something new to look at and better graphics. If this was my first paying MMO ever I would keep going with it but it's not. If your looking for ranked PVP you won't find it here. Devs themselves stated they will not implement ranked arenas but there is battlegrounds for those light pvpers. Combat a lot like WoW, nothing new except learning mechanics for the bosses.… Expand
  28. disorient
    May 29, 2011
    7
    Rift decided WoW is a genre and added to it this game has been methodically conceived and implemented. The development must have been tightly perfected because it preforms really, really well and with no compromise. Few places are completely safe for a character so the entire experience is much more lively. World combat features that were limited to special events (eg, zombie invasion) orRift decided WoW is a genre and added to it this game has been methodically conceived and implemented. The development must have been tightly perfected because it preforms really, really well and with no compromise. Few places are completely safe for a character so the entire experience is much more lively. World combat features that were limited to special events (eg, zombie invasion) or zones (eg, halaa) in WoW are accessible in different modes of play all over the map. The originality of this game is in the technology instead of the immersion, and on the latter Trion is making no pretense.
    This is the best example of a mainstream MMO right now and would deserve a 10, but I can't give it a higher rating because may God help you if your account is plundered.    … Expand
  29. Thane
    May 22, 2011
    7
    Polished and with a broken public quest features inspired from WAR, Rift doesn't bring enough worth playing for veterans, but for new people in the mmorpg genre, can be a fun experience.
  30. Dethstar
    May 17, 2011
    5
    I have been playing since early beta and finally gave up today. The launch was pretty smooth and the game felt alot more finished than many MMOs at release. All great stuff. Unfortunately, its so like World of Warcraft I just got serious dejavu all the time. Now that might sound like a good idea but consider that Wow is something like 10 years old now. It just feels out of date. TheI have been playing since early beta and finally gave up today. The launch was pretty smooth and the game felt alot more finished than many MMOs at release. All great stuff. Unfortunately, its so like World of Warcraft I just got serious dejavu all the time. Now that might sound like a good idea but consider that Wow is something like 10 years old now. It just feels out of date. The PvP in particularly is a disaster. World pvp has no integration or objective so in reality your just harassing people which soon gets boring. There is a lack of end game content and for the first weeks until recently to hide this Trion just made the game harder and harder. People started to leave in frustration, both at the lack of content and the lack of difficulty. So a week or 2 ago in some sort of kneejerk reaction they dumbed the game down to the point where pretty much anyone can do anything. Reducing everything to a mindless grind and putting a massive skill gap between the end game raids and the general instances dungeons. (Same ones you probably already done a 100x or more). If you like PvP then this is probably the worst MMO choice you could make. If you like WoW, your probably already playing it. Also, forgot to mention, it runs like a lame dog on high end machines. particularly multi gpu. All this has resulted in a game loosing subscribers hand over fist (at least on the pvp servers I play on) I actually cancelled my subscription today. I had more than 50 people on my friends list 4 weeks after launch. Now, only 1 or 2 are still playing. Its cartoony and its simple, its very safe for kids being highly corny with some of the most corny cartoonish voice acting you will see this side of loony tunes. I would feel comfortable with my teenage kids playing it. is probably the only real positive I can offer on this after experiencing as much as I can get out of it.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

27
#27 Best PC Game of 2011
31
#31 Most Discussed PC Game of 2011
50
#50 Most Shared PC Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 59 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 56 out of 59
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 59
  3. Negative: 0 out of 59
  1. AusGamers
    Nov 29, 2011
    90
    There have been obvious comparisons made to WoW, with some even going as far as calling it a clone. But what makes Rift so special is that it goes out of its way to avoid falling into the same traps as the many that have fallen before it. It avoids the painful, mindnumbing grind, makes incremental patches everyday and listens intently to its rapidly growing community.
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  2. Computer Games Online RO
    Jul 20, 2011
    89
    It's true that the soul trees offer outstanding flexibility for character development and the rifts bring a welcome sense of insecurity into Telara's everyday life, but for some players this simply might not be enough.
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  3. Gamers.at
    Jun 28, 2011
    88
    Rift offers a really polished MMO experience but looks and feels much like a mix of many good MMOs like World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online and Warhammer Online.
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