Recent reviews by Rift

Before purchasing, I had no intention of buying this game. I was turned off by the fact the setting includes Conquistadors. But, I allowed myself to be open to the opinions of my friends who have been playing the game. I let go of my biases, especially after I heard that Conquistadors are relegated to mostly an aesthetic and not a theme.

After playing the game, I'm glad I did purchase it. It's a long way towards the actual gameplay I want from an MMO. The gathering doesn't take you away from enjoying the rest of the game as you are still participating in it while you are gathering. The crafting is actually useful. The skill-based leveling is a great alternative to the flat progression found in most other MMOs.

I am hopeful for the future of the game.

Update: After playing more. I'd definitely say this is what ESO should have been. The leveling reminds me of Skyrim and Oblivion. The Life Staff and the Fire Staff are the only weapons I dislike so far. Overall, my opinion has only improved of this game.

I was only introduced to the Shadowrun Pen and Paper system recently. Go figure, someone born in the 80's who is only just now being introduced to SR. Anyway, here goes.

I don't know if it's just the fact I don't care enough about Voice Acting to be hypercritical about it in this game like some of the reviews I have read, or if I just haven't found any fault in it as of yet. Still playing the game, so I'll have to keep listening. Although, for me, the only thing Voice Acting is good for is to make it so I don't have to read the text myself.

As far as the Skill system is concerned, I like the utter freedom you get when playing the Pen and Paper system, and yes the SR: Returns Skill system gives you a bit more freedom than the system present in this title, but I like the choices you have to make. It forces you to build a cohesive character rather than one that can be all things to all people. Why am I going to be this physical powerhouse that can at the same time finesse his way through the entire game. In a single player game, it's fine to max out everything. In a multiplayer game, you have other players to fill in the holes left by our character concept.

As for the gameplay, it plays almost identically to SR: Returns. You have your allotted movement and actions. The only difference being you could perform an aggressive action and still move after in SR: Returns. In this you have to do your moving before any aggresive actions. So far, I am pretty enamored of the mechanics. I haven't come across the hazards others talked about as of yet.

So far, I am throroughly enjoying this game.