|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Of all the MMORPGs over the years that have claimed to be "Epic", Rift is the only one in my opinion that actually lives up to that description. Closing the Rifts and fighting the Invasions are delicious!
I have to say that I have not been this excited about a game since 2004. (Yes, it was WoW. WoW in beta and release was actually a very good game, despite the horrid graphics.)
IMO, Rift was "Ready for Launch" by NORMAL industry standards when we saw it in August at GamesCom. But it was FAR from ready by Trion's standards. Some Alpha testers did start in August and more have been added since. Trion has completely redesigned whole zones based on Alpha tester feedback. We are shortly to see something unique in MMOs, IMO. A well polished game WITH End-game content in place AT LAUNCH!!! People can say, damn, that extra year of polish cost a LOT! No, it doesn't. It will pay off big time when the players don't cancel their subs after 3 months. This MAY become the new standard for game launch and will have raised the bar very high for most of the compitition. Blizzard can compete at that level, maybe NCSoft and EA.
NCSoft/EA? I can't even think of 1 game either company has produced that wasn't buggy as all get out at launch. They may have the money to do it, but that doesn't mean they have the want/skill.
/join the chorus. I became quite addicted (or rather, fell back into the habit) when i went back to WAR and joined Gaiscioch, but, i don't think i ever got so excited about a mostly PvE game ever.
