Rift: Planes of Telara

After many Betas of Rift I can safely say that it is a decently solid game. There is a lot of polish on many features of the game. Some big things done well and even some little things that really make a lot of sense. Is it a WOW killer?

I doubt it very seriously even though it does seem to be put together very well and Trion Worlds seems to really have their thumb on the pulse of a large player base. I don’t believe that they will in this market place take a huge share of the MMO population at least not as a main subscription game. I believe that they are going to be a great second game for the people who can spend another $15 a month on top of what they spend already. To say they they will take a measurable chuck of Blizzard’s money would be unwise. I do believe however that they will fall in line with most of the games to follow the Blizzwhale and be able to create a comfortable player base probably in the 500k range. I think that any company shooting for more than that is over reaching and will be disappointed. Like many companies like Turbine and Cryptic they will probably end up in some type of a hybrid subscription model which is not a bad thing because there is quite the potential to make even more money with that model.

That being said I would recommend that if you haven’t already tried it in a beta try it see what you think. If you are new to MMOs it may be a little overwhelming not that I am saying it is over complicated just that if you are not use to building a character and knowing what stats are what it could be. For those who have play MMOs and you are looking for something new give it a try there is a lot of interesting things in this game. The Soul Tree system being the most interesting giving you the option to choose 3 different Souls at a time and distribute skill points to give you and extreme amount of options to your character build. Next is the live events like the Rifts and the Invasions. These are global public events where you can join forces with other players and drive back the invading forces.

As to some of the little things options like AOE looting is a really nice touch that I would love to see in a lot more of the games I play. As to the cons of this game it is still basically old hat re-polished. To everyone booing me be honest with yourselves it really is. Look at combat, moving around, and a very linear questing progression and tell me that any of it is fresh. Of all the things in Rift the horrible run speed I mean it feels like you are almost walking backwards and you are actually running. All in all I really think that if you want something new to play go ahead and take the leap but if you are happy with your current subscription game stay where you are. To clarify and conclude I do not hate this game I just will not be spending money on it if it becomes free to play I would be more likely but until then my subscription and my limited play time will stay where it is. In my current situation with my work schedule I makes no sense for me to be paying more than one subscription I really hope in the future that will change but until then Rift will just have to wait for me. Thanks for reading ~ Bor.

Rift Open Beta info ↓

RIFT Open Beta Begins Feb 15, 2011
02/07/2011

Telara the Merciless – a six-day Open Beta event – begins on February 15th. Servers are open from 10:00 AM PST on Tuesday, February 15th through 7:00AM on Monday, February 21st. Join the fight for Telara’s survival in the final RIFT beta event!

Visit www.RIFTgame.com/beta for more information.

Open Beta – Telara the Merciless

Tuesday, Feb. 15 2011 at 10:00 AM PST (18:00 GMT) through 10:00 AM PST (18:00 GMT) on Monday, Feb. 21 2011

Levels 1 – 42

A tireless and unending force, the planes of Telara continue their assault on humanity. The final (beta) battle is at hand and the fate of the planet lies in the courage and strength of Telara’s champions. Become one of the Ascended and fight back against a world that promises to otherwise snuff out the last bastions of hope.

Play to Win! Defeat any dungeon boss and you could be eligible to win an NVIDIA 460 video card! Terms and conditions apply, click here for details. And In-Game Prize Packs will be given away to ten (10) select players who complete the objective!

Beta Event dates subject to change and/or cancellation at any time in Trion’s sole discretion.