Hal Hanlin talks to Ripten
Some Sunday reading for you, a couple of more RIFT articles from the Intertubes:
If you get a minute outside of the Open Beta then there are a few new articles that have popped up around the Intertubes today.
If you spot any RIFT news around the Internet, let the community know via this link.
A new RIFT preview has now gone live on the main IncGamers.com website this evening which looks back at Beta 6 and ahead to the open Beta tomorrow which we are all rather excited about. Here’s a snip from the preview:
Once again Beta 6 ran very smoothly with TRION only pulling the servers down for a few short 30 minute periods to apply two patches. The queues from the start of Beta five were nonexistent in Beta 6 which is a great sign and showed that TRION have a pretty good handle on how many servers they are going to require come launch. The real test comes tomorrow when the Beta goes into its open phase, I have a feeling every man and his dog is going to be hitting the servers come 6PM GMT. From past experience, I think TRION will be well prepared, something you can’t say often these days when it comes to MMO Beta testing.
We’ve all read posts on the official boards comparing RIFT to WoW and you have to actually play to realise that the two are quite different. I don’t even think they are similar in style whatsoever. Anyway, Massively has posted a new article entitled Enter At Your Own Rift: Dispelling the WoWhammer myth which addresses some of the points that have been raised by MMO players since the Beta started.
Thanks to Eshne for spotting the story. Don’t forget you can submit any RIFT stories yourself by whacking this link.
With the provocative title of ‘RIFT: New and innovstive or World of Warcraft clone?’, ChicagoNow.com has taken a look at the game and commented on numerous features such as UI, graphics, classes etc. The article is basicaly an overview of what MMO gamers can expect so it could be worth a read if you’ve not yet played the game. Here’s what they have to say on the RIFTs:
This concept was mostly pioneered by Warhammer Online, though in WAR’s public quest system specific events would happen at specific locations in the world and players would have to work together to defeat the monster or save the village or protect the treasure. Rifts simply take it a step further. Rifts randomly appear everywhere throughout the world, including on top of players and villages. If not dealt with effectively by players, they will spawn monsters that will invade and take over player controlled towns.
A new article on G4 takes a look at the first MMO releases of 2011 and RIFT gets a good mention in the line-up, probably the best comments of the lot and deservedly so. Here’s a snip:
Dynamic content is another strong suit for this title. Rifts are appearing all over the land and creatures from other planes of existence are spilling in to Telara. Players must slay the creatures and close the rift. What’s the big deal about that, you say? The rifts change the playing field constantly. One may open over your quest hub and you must battle it down before you can turn in your quest objectives. Another rift may hit a local town and you must group on the fly with nearby players to stem the flow of beasts pouring out of it. Small rifts, big rifts, random rifts, dev driven rifts on event weekends. Now, you’re starting to get the idea of the immediacy and fun of the game
The main IncGamers.com site is sporting a spanking-new hands-on preview of RIFT based on extensive play time over the past four Beta tests. Here’s a snip:
The MMO market is a funny one, last year we saw previously subscription- based games move over to a free to play model and the introduction of more micro-transactions. With World of Warcraft having dominated the space for so long it almost feels like developers had given up trying to compete. However, there is a shining beacon on the horizon that may just be one game that has slipped under many an MMO gamers’ radar, TRION World’s RIFT.
RIFT has really slipped under a lot of people’s radar and the latest blog on the Blue Kae blog reiterates the fact. Mentioned in the ‘Looking forward to in 2011-MMOs section‘, RIFT gets some coverage and it seems the author is pretty open to the concept of RIFT. Here’s a snip:
I’ve been in a few of the semi-closed beta events and gotten a chance to experience the new system. It is quite a bit of fun, and in several ways rifts could be considered a more dynamic version of Warhammer public quests. The game is an evolutionary mix of WoW’s and Warhammer’s game designs with a touch of Aion’s graphical style. In short, it doesn’t break the DIKU mold common to MMOs, but it is fun.
Hot off the press is a new RIFT preview this time over at GameOn.Net. The article covers topics such as game mechanics, combat and the game’s strengths. Here’s a snip:
This one is a big fat yes. Even in beta the game displayed the level of quality that many launched MMO’s have failed (and still fail) to achieve. The visuals are magnificent, the soundtrack is rich and compelling, and the animations are smooth and dynamic. With investors like Time Warner and NBC giving Trion Worlds some serious cash to throw around, it’s clear that they lobbed most of it into the pockets of the art and sound teams. It’s undeniably impressive, and it’s something to be applauded especially for a company as relatively unknown as this.
Some more RIFT coverage for you this evening in the form of a new preview over in GameZone. Here’s a quick snip:
One glance at RIFT and you’ll see that the game is absolutely stunning, provided you have the rig to maximize your graphic settings. It might not be the most original when it comes to control and overall user interface, but I think that’s what Trion is trying to capitalize on. Rather than completely reworking their own UI, RIFT plays a lot like World of Warcraft, and other similar MMOs. Though this might come across as a cop-out, it ensures that you’ll be able to jump into RIFT and feel right at home, if you’re already an established veteran of MMOs.
© IncGamers Ltd 2010
