First Impressions

There was this guy I knew....he played World of Warcraft. He was a co-leader of of casually hardcore guild and main tank for a 10man raiding group that plowed it's way through the Wrath of the Lich King content. But recently, he found himself pretty bored with the game. He would log on occasionally and do a battleground or maybe some dailies - but the excitement just wasn't there anymore.

Then one day a friend says to him, "Hey, have you heard about this game called Rift?" Yeah, he had heard about it, but never really looked into it.

"It's just like WoW" said the friend.

•INSERT RECORD STOP HERE•

Here's the deal...Rift is and isn't "just like WoW." For those of you thinking about making the switch - I highly recommend it. Here's why.

It IS just like WoW
What I like about this game is that there isn't a huge learning curve for people who have been playing WoW. Rift seems to have taken the idea "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" and ran with it. Everything from quest text boxes to talent trees are extremely familiar. I even found that most of the default keybindings are the same as WoW - which I'm chalking up as a one for the plus column because everytime I instinctively reached for a key, it did exactly what I was expecting it to do. I've tried other new MMOs and in trying to make it their own, they move stuff....just a little....and it bugs the crap out of me. It's like trying a new restaurant out. You order the hamburger but all you really wanted was a Double-Double from In-N-Out.

It ISN'T just like WoW

Here's the part I have to sell you on.

First off, the graphics are (in my humble, yet correct, opinion) way better. I can't tell you how many times I've heard the "WoW has a stylized look that's unique and therefore good" argument. Let's be honest here people...you just say that because you're talking yourself into believing that they're good. WoW is a graphics system/look that is FIVE YEARS OLD. Yes, they've updated it but it's still old. Trust me, my fat ass doesn't look any better now then it did 5 years ago and I am in no way stylized. But wait there's more! Not only is the engine better - I think the world just has a better look to it. When that first Rift opens up right on top of you - you'll know what I mean.

Speaking of Rifts (see how smooth I am?) - open public quests bringing a community together to fight a common enemy? Sold. I never played an MMO with something like this so it's all new to me. It's a great way to meet new people and definitely takes some of the boredom out of leveling up.

And what's an MMO without Dungeons? I'm not too deep into the game yet, but an entry level dungeon (check out Iron Tombs) where each boss actually has fight mechanics to it? Sold again.


Sign here on the dotted line
Rift is taking everything you know and love about MMOs and making them better. One million registered users right out of the gate.

I think you're the perfect 1,000,001.

Remember, You are a beautiful and unique snowflake.