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. jazzif
    Jun 29, 2011
    3
    Rift has a decent lore, graphics and a unique soul system that allows customization beyond other mmo games. Unfortunately that is about all it has above the rest because the rest is just good old fashion grinding and same old boring dungeon runs. Yes you will have to grind reputation, many different currencies and the rift feature is also just another form of grinding and are just reallyRift has a decent lore, graphics and a unique soul system that allows customization beyond other mmo games. Unfortunately that is about all it has above the rest because the rest is just good old fashion grinding and same old boring dungeon runs. Yes you will have to grind reputation, many different currencies and the rift feature is also just another form of grinding and are just really quick public quests that aren't anything special. You should be pulled into a rift, that would be much cooler :P Even warhammer had public areas similar to the rifts so its nothing that hasn't been done.

    If you are a pvp junkie (like myself) then Rift will let you down completely. The potential for great pvp play is in Rift but with the amount of stunning, silences and confusion along with spammable "polymorphing" and severely overclocked souls pvp play becomes frustrating and boring very quickly. PVP also has no affect on the game world as its just arena scrapping in small, chaotic and simple warfront maps. Once again, even Warhammer has this beat as well.

    Even though the game is all around plain and identical to the rest, the player base is very friendly and can be a lot of fun to play along with, so if your just a casual gamer this game is for you, but if your more hardcore and don't leave your basement often, I wouldn't recommend investing your time in it. Even at 50, raiding is just the same old stuff, nothing new at all. You will just once again have characters on a game that will eventually be behind within a year or two.

    We need something original! Rift gets a 3 for its effort at graphics, soul system and decent enough lore.    … Expand
  2. 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
  3. ojinneal
    Jun 16, 2011
    4
    I feel there's something missing. Rifts and invasions were fun for a little while and I liked tinkering with the soul tree, but after that it was just another mediocre MMO.
  4. Cruz
    Jun 9, 2011
    3
    Despite the seemingly innovative rift system for dynamic content, I found that Rift was one of the least imaginative, most formulaic MMO I have experienced in some time. It looks gorgeous on a high-end PC, but the game has little substance. The setting isn't very immersive or memorable, and there is almost no attempt to provide any mission content beyond the bog standard "hunt X of Y"Despite the seemingly innovative rift system for dynamic content, I found that Rift was one of the least imaginative, most formulaic MMO I have experienced in some time. It looks gorgeous on a high-end PC, but the game has little substance. The setting isn't very immersive or memorable, and there is almost no attempt to provide any mission content beyond the bog standard "hunt X of Y" stuff. The game is linear to the extreme; there's not much opportunity to cut your own path through the world. The dynamic rift events turn out to be context-free grinding...chaotic and not all that fun. The character customization is one of the more impressive features, but it is not as robust as it first appears since here are only certain soul combinations that are practical...a small minority of the technically possible combinations.… Expand
  5. 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
  6. Grygus
    Jun 1, 2011
    8
    I'm a long-time MMO whore, and have tried perhaps two dozen, including all of the major ones. Rift is essentially a "best of" collection of MMO ideas that came before it, with a few small innovations of its own. If you have played World of Warcraft then you will be instantly at home with the interface and msot of the character advancement concepts, but the talent trees and characterI'm a long-time MMO whore, and have tried perhaps two dozen, including all of the major ones. Rift is essentially a "best of" collection of MMO ideas that came before it, with a few small innovations of its own. If you have played World of Warcraft then you will be instantly at home with the interface and msot of the character advancement concepts, but the talent trees and character customization are far beyond WoW's meager offerings. Despite being a better game overall, this isn't a WoW-killer - it's too similar for that - but it's the first legitimate competition that game has seen. If you like fantasy-based MMOs, you should at least check out the 7 day free trial; this is currently the best MMO on the market.… Expand
  7. Liquidus
    May 30, 2011
    10
    If you are a fan of WoW then Rift will blow you away . Rift is the game that WoW wanted to be. visually stunning, epic story line, game play is flawless in every way. If you are a fan of MMo's I would advice that you do not miss this game.
  8. 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
  9. NorCalRoach
    May 26, 2011
    10
    I enjoy this game for its fantastic character creation, skill specializations options, model artwork, and rift invasion concepts. I especially enjoyed the rift invasions because players generally band together for common battles outside of a dungeon or pvp. It's fun defending a settlement or city against a massive invasion with other players that would otherwise be roaming around doingI enjoy this game for its fantastic character creation, skill specializations options, model artwork, and rift invasion concepts. I especially enjoyed the rift invasions because players generally band together for common battles outside of a dungeon or pvp. It's fun defending a settlement or city against a massive invasion with other players that would otherwise be roaming around doing their own thing. Rift includes this as well as all the other basic content you've known and come to love in other MMO's: good lore, pvp, guilds, etc.). I highly recommend giving it a shot.… Expand
  10. ImmortalGamer
    May 24, 2011
    9
    The Good:  A beautiful MMO that offers a vast set of customization options for the character creation as well as character advancement. Easy to pick up and learn for first-time MMO-ers. Allows the option of changing your character's party role (DPS, Healing, Tank, Support, CC) throughout the game and almost dynamically. A truly immersing story line driven by questsThe Good:  A beautiful MMO that offers a vast set of customization options for the character creation as well as character advancement. Easy to pick up and learn for first-time MMO-ers. Allows the option of changing your character's party role (DPS, Healing, Tank, Support, CC) throughout the game and almost dynamically. A truly immersing story line driven by quests that make sense.

    The Bad:  Public grouping system as it stands is a bit annoying. Gear could be a little more epic-looking. Not enough starting locations.

    Final Verdict:  I have about 30 hours in on this game and I am still itching to play it every day. The graphics are great, the storyline is fun and enjoyable and the wide array of character options make it loads of fun to think about when I'm not playing. If you are an MMO fan or want to be, buy this game.    … Expand
  11. 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.
  12. Darken
    May 21, 2011
    8
    I have actually started to play Rift beyond low levels and while I miss the stamina/sprint system of AoC, and especially the directionall combos and realistic movement. I have to admit being blown away be the graphic in Rift. The scenery is stunning and while the characters have pets and there are trolls etc. the actual look of the characters themselves is realistic in my view. I get aI have actually started to play Rift beyond low levels and while I miss the stamina/sprint system of AoC, and especially the directionall combos and realistic movement. I have to admit being blown away be the graphic in Rift. The scenery is stunning and while the characters have pets and there are trolls etc. the actual look of the characters themselves is realistic in my view. I get a good frame rate to with loads of players around, the coding is very good. I started playing on EU but switched to US servers because there are a tonne more players there until servers merge. Expected more players then they got however there are a few points about the game that I do not like. It favours range classes. I hate that in games, that some coward can be a mile away and kill me while I am engaging someone in melee and do "more" dps than me. I hate it but I have tried it and it is fun and easy do I see why the majority do go that way. Its the same in all MMO's. You always have tonnes of Rangers, Mages etc. The melee rogue I am playing is fun though and I do manage to get kills in mini games so far at low levels but I can see problems with having tonnes of people playing mage and marksman classes because its easy and OP ... Rifts can be small OR totally take out a complete zone. I have covered most things. I am rewriting this review and this is my new opinion of RIFT after playing longer.… Expand
  13. Rakajj
    May 19, 2011
    10
    As an MMO veteran with literally tens of thousands of hours played, I can confidently say Rift is an astonishing release that truly impresses me. Both Trion's willingness to listen to the community while still maintaining their vision for the game is something we haven't seen from a major MMO in quite sometime. Rift takes the concepts created in Everquest, Camelot, and Warhammer andAs an MMO veteran with literally tens of thousands of hours played, I can confidently say Rift is an astonishing release that truly impresses me. Both Trion's willingness to listen to the community while still maintaining their vision for the game is something we haven't seen from a major MMO in quite sometime. Rift takes the concepts created in Everquest, Camelot, and Warhammer and fleshes them out, adds their own sauce to the mix and an incredible game is the result. The game has its faults, but none of them aren't things that will be fixed over time and relative to any other MMO release ever done, this is an incredibly polished and finished game with a dev team that really has their stuff together.… Expand
  14. 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
  15. Arikon
    May 17, 2011
    10
    Could not stop playing this game for about 100 hours, now I have a hard time continuing. I loved the environments and the rifts were a great idea. This game is of course very hard to play by yourself, and can get boring when just killing a bunch of the same enemies. The overall scale of some of the monsters is great! Try not to get excited when you see the titanic baddies running atCould not stop playing this game for about 100 hours, now I have a hard time continuing. I loved the environments and the rifts were a great idea. This game is of course very hard to play by yourself, and can get boring when just killing a bunch of the same enemies. The overall scale of some of the monsters is great! Try not to get excited when you see the titanic baddies running at you. Overall a lot of fun but i could see a lot of people dropping their subscription after 100ish hours.… Expand
  16. Arshan
    May 17, 2011
    7
    Tried rift's free trial, because of all the fuss that's being made about it i decided to review it and since it aims to compete with World of Warcraft specifically i'll spend most of the time comparing Rift and WoW (world of warcraft):

    Simply put: It is World of Warcraft, but with better graphics (still not really good though), unimaginative enemies, crappy animations, a more fun talent    Tried rift's free trial, because of all the fuss that's being made about it i decided to review it and since it aims to compete with World of Warcraft specifically i'll spend most of the time comparing Rift and WoW (world of warcraft):

    Simply put: It is World of Warcraft, but with better graphics (still not really good though), unimaginative enemies, crappy animations, a more fun talent tree specialisation (with the drawback that it becomes boring after a certain time and doesn't work well for the balance in player versus player combat) and ofcourse it has Rifts.
    The music is slightly worse then that of WoW, but that matters little because in practice very few people play mmo's with the original music on.

    The story behind rift isn't exactly remarkable but that's no surprise when it has to compare to games which are based on already existing expansive storylines. (World of Warcraft, DC Universe Online, Lord of the Rings online, Star wars: knights of the old republic etc.)

    In the end it's a decent but unremarkable mmo with some decent new additions that get old really fast: - Rifts are fun but after a while they're not more remarkable then any other random event in any given mmo.

    - Rift's main competitor (World of Warcraft) has worse graphics, but better music and more interesting enemies, of course this only matters if you care about such things.

    - The talent (or soul system as they call it) is far more customisable then that of any other, however in practice only a few combinations "work" and it gives problems for player versus player based combat as some soul combinations are a lot stronger then others.
    In the end this means that while you do have more choice you will always go for a certain choice if you want to compete with others, since some combinations simply stand out too much.

    In the end all the difference between Rift and World of Warcraft is a matter of taste, however World of Warcraft has a lot more content for the moment due to its age.    … Expand
  17. Itzal
    May 16, 2011
    3
    The good:
    Some of the dungeon mechanics are refreshing. The environment and UI both are pleasing to the eye. The music in some of the zones is excellent. The in game community is both helpful and friendly.
    The Bad: The class system is still under development. It should have been handled in alpha. Itemization needs some work. Crafting system still needs some work as the numbers on the    The good:
    Some of the dungeon mechanics are refreshing. The environment and UI both are pleasing to the eye. The music in some of the zones is excellent. The in game community is both helpful and friendly.

    The Bad:
    The class system is still under development. It should have been handled in alpha. Itemization needs some work. Crafting system still needs some work as the numbers on the green gear are bellow quest rewards and random green item drops. Mats for some of the crafting tiers are sparse and are in zones higher than what your questing in. End game is the standard grind dungeons and BG's for faction to get gear for next tier of faction grind. Gold spammers are a little more prevalent than I would like. Overall leveling was fun until about level 40. That is where it went stale for me as I did not see too many new quest types or mechanics. New MMO players will like it . Vets that expect something more might not. If you have a interest I recommend the 7 day free trial before you drink the cool aid    … Expand
  18. eulia
    May 14, 2011
    0
    Trion Worlds tries way too hard to have its cake and eat it too. With a slogan like "You're not in Azeroth anymore", you'd expect Rift to be a game bent on trying to break the mould and perhaps change the MMO genre. You'd only be partly right. You're not in Azeroth, no, you're in an even worse designed and staler world with much less to do. Class system - One of the main selling pointsTrion Worlds tries way too hard to have its cake and eat it too. With a slogan like "You're not in Azeroth anymore", you'd expect Rift to be a game bent on trying to break the mould and perhaps change the MMO genre. You'd only be partly right. You're not in Azeroth, no, you're in an even worse designed and staler world with much less to do. Class system - One of the main selling points of the game is the versatility of the classes, but it doesn't really exist, except in certain cases. The underlying theme in class customisation in Rift is similar to other MMOs - if you customise your character's talents in the wrong way or attempt to create an interesting build, you will almost certainly fail throughout the content, which seems to be almost the same philosophy of WoW, which Trion Worlds attempts to insist that they are not. The Warrior: the usual plate-wearing class which ends up being the only viable tank in the game, but also has the best overall damage by far, making it imbalanced. The Cleric: a hybrid class that can sort of tank, is great at healing, and only does okay damage, despite the majority of their talent trees being damage-focused. Also, if one wishes to heal as a Cleric, there are very few options available as any deviation from pre-determined builds will result in many party deaths. The Mage: The typical spell caster with a tree for healing allies via damage done and some great support talents, as well as very good damage, but still worse than the Warrior.

    The Rogue: Easily the worst class of all to play. Despite traditionally being a pure damage class, their damage is easily beaten by every other class, except for the Cleric with which they are equal. They have a tanking tree, but you can only tank one target with it and have very little survivability. They also have a support tree, but it is easily replaced by the Mage's support tree, which provides far more buffs, debuffs, and can cure allies, unlike the Rogue's. Magi also have the option to switch to their healing tree for more healing intensive fights, or to a damage tree and easily outperform a better-equipped Rogue. It is a truly useless class.

    Rifts - The namesake of the game, they are events that spawn enemies and provide reputation and experience. These are fun at first, but quickly become tedious and repetitive. There are also Invasions and Footholds, which are essentially rifts that don't despawn after a given time and usually take hold of a quest hub and/or certain reputation vendors, at which point all friendly NPCs disappear until the Invaders an/or Foothold are defeated. This wouldn't normally be a problem, but all too often 10 or more Invasion forces (individually they are solo'able) will occupy one particular point, making it impossible to clear out by yourself and therefor make it impossible to turn in and pick up new quests without begging in various chat channels for help. There are end-game rifts, however, the required tools used to summon them drop from dungeons which provide far better rewards, so it seems pointless to do them when the same time could be put towards running those dungeons again, or simply solo'ing normal rifts if you desire the reputation rewards. All in all, rifts are not really a fun and exciting community experience, but more of a repetitive nuisance.

    Dungeons: The dungeon experience in Rift is almost exactly the same as in WoW. The only difference is that at end-game, Expert dungeons (same as Heroics in WoW) require one of the DPS to fill a support buffer/minor healer role instead of the typical 1 tank / 1 heal / 3 DPS, but that is honestly where the changes end. Just as in WoW, you'll experience the same dungeons but at a harder difficulty with a couple of extra bosses and slightly different mechanics than the lower level version. You'll also get better loot than the lower level versions, and you'll earn tokens from killing bosses which you can turn in for even better gear or certain crafting ingredients. Sounds a lot like Azeroth to me. Crafting: The crafting is very easy in Rift but the trade-off is that the high end crafted items are worse than the random mob drops in Experts. The only reason to take on a profession would be to 1) make bigger bags, and 2) gather materials to sell on the auction house, which other people won't buy because the random drops are better than anything they can craft.

    Graphics: The graphics and overall look of the game is quite lackluster, and brings nothing special to the table. It's a very bleak and dead world with very few colours and little artistic work. The comparisons to WoW are usually seen as unfair and irrelevant among the Rift community, but they are completely valid. Trion made it clear that they wanted to be compared to WoW, and specifically on how different and better Rift is. However, they've merely produced an equally priced knockoff with nothing special or innovative.    … Expand
  19. Xiphus200
    May 13, 2011
    8
    RIFT is a well polished game that brings many popular aspects of other MMOs together. The random zone events make for some fun times as you team up with your fellow players fend off planar invasions. The "Soul Tree" class system allows for the creation of a unique character though some combinations will ultimatly shine through as the standards. If you are looking for a change of scenary inRIFT is a well polished game that brings many popular aspects of other MMOs together. The random zone events make for some fun times as you team up with your fellow players fend off planar invasions. The "Soul Tree" class system allows for the creation of a unique character though some combinations will ultimatly shine through as the standards. If you are looking for a change of scenary in a MMO then RIFT is worth a try, but it doesn't bring a whole lot new to the table.… Expand
  20. Jokr
    May 10, 2011
    7
    A new mmorpg wanting to compete with the heavy weight that World of Warcraft is (literally as seen in the advertisement campaigns) that does a lot of things right, but nothing really new. Trion worlds gathered most of the solid and safe mechanics other mmorpgs and of course WoW has to offer, added a new and quite interesting lore to it, let it bake for about the right amount of time andA new mmorpg wanting to compete with the heavy weight that World of Warcraft is (literally as seen in the advertisement campaigns) that does a lot of things right, but nothing really new. Trion worlds gathered most of the solid and safe mechanics other mmorpgs and of course WoW has to offer, added a new and quite interesting lore to it, let it bake for about the right amount of time and voilà there is Rift.

    The game is polished, borrows traditional and established mechanics from the genre and does it quite well. It looks shiny too and offers a unique and at first sight very deep soul system with a lot of variation. This variation starts to vanish in the endgame content when you are easily outperformed by players of the same skill but simply different soul and talent combinations which become sort of mandatory to compete giving all those players who thought they can use their unique combinations at any point of the game a straight middle finger.

    The leveling content is really fun, the rifts offer short periods of fun and action and give you an overall fun experience until the level cap of 50. From this point the game changes to the grind dungeons grind raids end game content that so many other mmorpgs have as well. For my taste this is a quite cheap approach and while I see that many players like it and that it can give you hours of content if you wish to do it, the presentation and motivation in Rift to grind that content is beneath average.

    I simply did not feel motivated to grind my plaques and gear and even though I had an active guild and really decent gear, for the early state of the game, I did not find it fun anymore. The PvP is, just like WoW, mostly playing Warfronts and getting your Favour (Honor) to buy more items. There is a deeper specialisation for your spec if you want to focus more on PvP, but there again some specs just overtrump most others which takes away a lot of the variation.

    Overall I give this game 8/10 for the leveling content which you should be able to finish within the first "free" month. 5/10 for the content past level 50 for which you have to pay a subscription ( you sure can start raiding within the first month but there is really no point if you don't want to play this game for a longer time and want to subscribe) what results in a 6.5 /10. Having some faith in Trion worlds to make the end game more fun I give Rift 7/10.    … Expand
  21. Cell1e
    May 8, 2011
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I enjoyed this game, this crafting is fun and useful and collecting the artifacts is really nice too. Im not one for online games as I lose interest in them after a while (as a solo player) but this one kept my interest for longer than most. The rifts are a nice one of letting people who like to solo beenfit from nice rewards and drops. Good job to the developers there.… Expand
  22. akelz7
    May 7, 2011
    7
    It's a WoW clone. Plain and simple, it's WoW but with a few name changes and pretty graphics. That's a good thing, because WoW is a good MMO, but in the end it's all personal preference that would make you play rift. If you like WC lore like I do, play WoW, if you want pretty graphics, play Rift.
  23. Adler1945
    May 6, 2011
    7
    Well, now that the game is a couple of months into being online, and the whole euphoria of "NEW TOY SYNDROME" has worn off for me, I think it's a good time to sit down and write a review. This review will be organized based off of multiple sections and each will be given their own score, with an average score being the final.
    Graphics- 8: Many people immediate jump in and give this game a    Well, now that the game is a couple of months into being online, and the whole euphoria of "NEW TOY SYNDROME" has worn off for me, I think it's a good time to sit down and write a review. This review will be organized based off of multiple sections and each will be given their own score, with an average score being the final.
    Graphics- 8: Many people immediate jump in and give this game a 10 for one reason...you need a top end graphics card or SLI rig to be able to run it at maximum all. While this does lead to a very VERY pretty game, it still is not nearly as beautiful as some in the genre, most notably Final Fantasy 14.There is no real Anti-Aliasing option between "Edge Smoothing" and "Supersampling" (which can lead to a really big difference in visual quality...at the expense of 2/3 of your FPS) and the graphics don't rate max level in my book. The surrounding areas, while MUCH more pretty and realistic than WoW, still have some flaws that are glaringly obvious, especially in viewing objects at distance, some of the animal animations, and the like. I think the biggest glaring graphic issue for me is a graphics snafu on the wall of the tunnel leading to the CC instance where the lack of coordination in graphics for the wall shows a completely visible LINE in the graphics halfway up the wall.-Tacky...
    Gameplay/UI -6: The gameplay and UI for this game is pretty much your cut and dry MMORPG circa...well pretty much anything nowadays. Simple AWSD with numbered boxes, cooldowns, and the like. The gameplay itself can be kinda wonky with areas STILL not loading correctly and random disconnects still plaguing a majority of the population.
    Customization of Character/Class-10: The amount of customization of your character on the creation screen is on par with games like AoC and well beyond WoW and some of the other, older MMOs. The customization of your class is where this game is AWESOME in that you have, not only 2 but FOUR different spec sets you can keep at once and interchange as you need to. These specs are chosen among the 8 different souls your class can use, leading to just about any number of possible specs to fit just about any play desires...Sadly there is very limited healing among warriors, which makes soloing a bit of a chore, but otherwise it is worlds apart from pretty much every other MMO as far as customization of your class is concerned.
    Immersion-6: Back at launch of the game I would have given this a 10, but that was before I made it through to the end-zones and saw how LIMITED the world is in Rift. Firstly there are only 2 capitol cities. Each of which is about half the size of a Capitol City in WoW. TWO. That's it. Aside from that you have a few mid-range size towns (think slightly smaller Southshore or Tarren Mill) scattered about, lots of little outposts with 4-6 quest NPCs, and LOTS of mobs that want to kill you. You can't take two steps in this game without getting agro from SOMETHING. The Rifts add a sense of urgency and need to the zone, but if you fail Rift invasions there really isn't a huge downside aside from having to kill invasion points and such to get quest givers back. A super boss that will 1-shot anyone would be a good consequence in my book. Sadly, the game lacks in pretty much anything that makes you want to care about your faction or the people of Telara. Once outside of the starter zones you find that all of the citizens of Telara are either giving you quests, are guards, or one of maybe 50 npcs that are meant to add "feel" to the game. Sadly this does NOT provide any immersion value at all unless you find constantly fighting for your life to be an immersive experience.
    RP-Friendly- 3: This is where the game really suffers. The lack of areas for players to congregate for RP purposes (There are only 3-4 inn type places for tavern RP), the lack of comprehensive lore (they're still making it up as they go), and the complete lack of immersive areas where people can actually try to base a RP event around leads the RP to mainly be Tavern-based or PvP based. At least on my server. Developers- 6: I give the devs a 6 primarily due to their obvious willingness to be open and willing to admit mistakes. (Check the RoS apology) However, they are also very absorbed in trying to make everyone happy, and thus have made some MASSIVE (no exaggeration) changes to classes/souls all in the name of "Balance" that have effectively either ruined the soul for their role (Riftblade) or made it damn near unkillable (Pyro). This leads me to some sad conclusions for the future.
    Sadly, the direction of the game has taken even more of a turn toward being a WoW copy. The implementation of a LFD system, the blatant favoritism of certain souls, and the lack of direction of the game other than creating events based off of the Rifts (More combat, less immersion) has the game leaning away from the slogan "We're not in Azeroth anymore" and more toward "A prettier, smaller Azeroth".    … Expand
  24. Amilmadien
    May 5, 2011
    7
    I'll be honest here - I was hoping for something a little more unique. Instead I just got World of WarhammerQuest. I can't complain about the game's stability and beauty, nor Trion's dedication to quality and customer service. However, you can count me out of this loop. I've run my last quest and /ignored my last griefer, because playing WoW again was not what I wanted.
  25. reviewfrommewhe
    May 1, 2011
    1
    - Very boring and repetitive questlines. - PvP instances are really mediocre. PvP is quite often premades repeatedly steamrolling pugs, and this is apparently working as intended. Both sides have what is basically a Warhammer Bright Wizard locking down the battlefield with mass AE and mass CC.

    - While the class structure initially looks great, it in fact is a nightmare of min maxing    - Very boring and repetitive questlines. - PvP instances are really mediocre. PvP is quite often premades repeatedly steamrolling pugs, and this is apparently working as intended. Both sides have what is basically a Warhammer Bright Wizard locking down the battlefield with mass AE and mass CC.

    - While the class structure initially looks great, it in fact is a nightmare of min maxing players vs. devs. Yo-yoing balance patches and random nerfs are pretty commonplace, but they seem to break more than they fix. - The Rift events (their signature "thang") are either nonexistant or overly in your face, locking down entire zones with 12 total players in them with no chance against the NPC invaders. The loot from Rifts sort of sucks relative to other lvl 50 gear so its no surprise people dont really seem to bother.

    - The "elite" PvE instances (the ones you run to grind tokens for gear, just like WoW) are rehashes of the instances you see from lvl 1 - 50 with yet more trash to clear.

    - Crafting is a luck based system in which you grind dailies to get tokens to get uber patterns. So are some of the gathering "recipes" - random luck based drops off nodes. Yay for luck based MMOs.

    - The devs seem sort of out of touch as to what the players are actually doing in PvE, PvP and with the construction of their characters using the "unique" soul system. One example is that there are two main healing classes and the one that is the better of the two cannot even queue as heals using the (now in Alpha) looking for group tool. This is apparently working as intended.

    - While gathering or traveling expect masses of gray mobs to aggro you, slow you down, dismount you and force you to clear them. All while trying to get your luck based crafting daily done so you can once again not get a tablet that is necessary to get the good patterns.

    Try it if you gotta, but I highly recommend a one month sub because thats about all the gameplay Rift has in it.    … Expand
  26. VahlemonShireck
    Apr 26, 2011
    10
    Rift proved to be a very refreshing experience, not so much because of new features for the genre as much as a combination of the great features that already exist in the genre. Trion Worlds got so much right from the start in this game. With some time, Rift might just as well become the new standard for the MMORPG genre.
  27. babylon
    Apr 25, 2011
    0
    WARNING: Same person who destroyed Warhammer Online - Adam Gershowitz - is in control of game balance here. Great game - up till "balance" patch 1.1, which destroyed a bunch of playstyles in a game which claims to promote versatility in how you can build your characters (this is now gone), and indicates future issues with how game "balance" will be handled. After this patch and the massiveWARNING: Same person who destroyed Warhammer Online - Adam Gershowitz - is in control of game balance here. Great game - up till "balance" patch 1.1, which destroyed a bunch of playstyles in a game which claims to promote versatility in how you can build your characters (this is now gone), and indicates future issues with how game "balance" will be handled. After this patch and the massive outcry from players, it has been revealed that the person responsible for game balance is the same person who destroyed Warhammer Online - Adam Gershowitz. Warning for all gamers intending on playing this game - with Adam in control of game balance. you can expect things to go very, very wrong very soon.… Expand
  28. horsington
    Apr 25, 2011
    3
    I played the beta and this should have been a clear indicator of what was in store, but there was a group of gaming friends still interested in playing so I tagged along on release. Here it is a month later and I'm bored to tears of the end game content, fed up with repetitive key mashing for DPS and lackluster PVP. It was a great idea of Trion to learn from their peers in the gamingI played the beta and this should have been a clear indicator of what was in store, but there was a group of gaming friends still interested in playing so I tagged along on release. Here it is a month later and I'm bored to tears of the end game content, fed up with repetitive key mashing for DPS and lackluster PVP. It was a great idea of Trion to learn from their peers in the gaming world, to simply create a frankenstein game that just mashed together parts of others is a bit weak though. The leveling was a series of 'quickly get to the yellow ring and kill everything, never mind WHY I'm doing it' that was simplistic and short lived (thankfully). You are rewarded at endgame with tedious dungeons littered with trash mobs, weak loot and the never ending quest for items with purple frames. Trion did add new class structure and features, but these are not enough to overlook the boring old shell of a game this is. It's environments are generic and cliche, its encounters are the same old formula and the story is lacking on so many levels (as well as utterly unimportant), They had the chance to make something amazing, and instead spit out a WoW clone.… Expand
  29. sliven
    Apr 22, 2011
    10
    Fantastic game with lot of fun. I feel like in 2004 when I discovered MMO games with everquest2. Lot of things to do : history quests, discovery, hidden stuff and quests, rifts, invasions, events, pvp, craft... I didn't had so much fun with MMO's since Eq2, si i recommend it to everybody who get bored with their actual game !
  30. moocow
    Apr 22, 2011
    4
    Definitely overrated game. Certainly better than other MMO releases within the last 3 or 4 years, but nothing special or new. Pros- beautiful graphics; great scaling with system compatibility; extreme character variety; smooth launch and updates; fresh take on PvP; non-instanced raids; takes the best from well-played MMOs and bundles them.
    Cons- the grind: same old linear quests;    Definitely overrated game. Certainly better than other MMO releases within the last 3 or 4 years, but nothing special or new. Pros- beautiful graphics; great scaling with system compatibility; extreme character variety; smooth launch and updates; fresh take on PvP; non-instanced raids; takes the best from well-played MMOs and bundles them.
    Cons- the grind: same old linear quests; single player is far too easy, no one forms parties or even chats; PvP is chaotic and unbalanced-but at least it is not WoW garbage; horribly convoluted lore; character classes have too much variablility- I wanted to build a melee healer (Justicar) but the lack of abilities and DPS forced me to cast (Purifier) ranged spells all the time. Most character builds oddly end up performing in a similar fashion despite the vast breadth of choices for development. ---I wish this game luck because WoW veterans (I started in 2004) have been starving for a decent MMO again.    … 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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