GameContent

Rifts and invasions deliver a welcome dose of unpredictability.  Flexible class system is fun to tinker with.  Vibrant and attractive world is a pleasure to explore.  Fully featured and completely stable.  Makes it easy for players to come together and defeat big monsters.

More Information

Those aforementioned rifts are the spice in this welcoming comfort food. As you roam about the world of Telara--completing quests and trotting to dungeons--great dimensional portals open in the firmament. The sky darkens, gushing water or purple goo erupts under your feet, and creatures spawn forth in a wink of bright light. If you defeat those meanies, one group after another spawns in until a hulking final boss appears. Nearby players converge to fight these demons and reap rewards of currency and helpful items, and the game easily groups them together into ad hoc raid groups. Rifts open seemingly anywhere--possibly even right above you. The first time such an event occurs in your immediate vicinity, it is spectacular. Should an earth rift appear, the crackling and crunching of stone under your feet is awe inspiring. When a death rift erupts, the violent violet tentacles reaching down from the heavens look as if they might snatch you up and feed you to the rift's gaping maw. You might be questing peacefully on your own or with friends, only to have a marauding band of demons trudge by you. Depending on your current focus, you might welcome the opportunity to bond with local players and pelt these invaders with spells and arrows, or you might resent the fact that your goals were interrupted by powerful monsters capable of destroying your lonesome self in a few short seconds. Nevertheless, you'll probably be inclined to stick with your compatriots and roam from one hot spot to the next, temporarily ridding the region of invaders and closing rifts. Nothing beats galloping on your fantastical gazelle or oversized tortoise toward the dreadful portal clouding the horizon.Rifts and invasions are the best part of the game and a natural evolution of the public quests. The key difference is that you don't go to the quest--the quest descends upon the land, bringing local players together long enough to foster a sense of community that even most solitary questers can appreciate. When you come near players and groups in battle, you are automatically prompted to join them. When the job is complete, you can go your separate ways or stick together to take on quests meant for small parties, such as taking down the lumbering giants that meander about the local mountain ridges. In any case, the large-scale skirmishes against the most colossal bosses are dazzling to watch and fun to participate in, even when the game's normally solid frame rate drops as a result of all this spellcasting and swordfighting. Underneath all of this "rifting" is a fairly standard online RPG in which you take quests from non-player characters, kill and collect things on their behalf, and return for a reward. All the while, you gain experience that boosts you ever onward to the level cap of 50. The opening tutorial has you hitting the ground running, which makes for an exciting introduction, but it comes at the expense of allowing you to wallow in this new virtual world. You're more likely to see quests as a reason to go do battle and explore Telara than as a way to learn more about the events that caused this world to be torn apart. It's in the questing, as well as other ways, in which Rift proves itself to be a derivative MMOG delivered with uncommon excellence. If you've ventured in World of Warcrafts Azeroth, the art will also seem familiar, as will most elements of the interface. Leftovers from other fantasy games will feel right at home. Outside of questing, rifts, and dungeons, you can spend time collecting materials and crafting them into gear and helpful baubles. You can take on up to three different professions. You simply visit a loom, furnace, or some such device; choose your recipe; and craft the equipment. You may also perhaps enhance it with an augmenting gem. Still, Rift's economy is robust, and you earn different sorts of currencies for performing different actions. You earn planarite for closing rifts and use it to buy specific goods. Gold and platinum are your standard currency, which is useful for standard items. You earn artisan marks by completing work orders and exchange them for recipes. Should you be on the hunt for new spaulders or a shiny sword, you're almost sure to find what you need at the auction house; conversely, if you put an item you've crafted up for auction, there's a good chance it will be quickly sold