Rift Beta 5
The latest beta test for Rift, the upcoming fantasy-based MMO, has come and gone. A larger amount of players were allowed in this time to test the latest offerings from Trion. If their impressions of the same are close to mine, then they had plenty to like.
There are two opposing sides in the land of Telara. One side is “good,” while the other is “evil,” but that all depends on the point of view. Be that as it may, your first decision upon logging into the game is to select which side you want to belong to: Guardian or Defiant. Each side gets three races to select from. Character customization is very nice and detailed.
One worry of mine is that each side only has one starting area, no matter which race you choose. My worry was well-founded because with the influx of new testers the starting areas were packed. It was a literal sea of blue player names. As to be expected, competition over quest mobs was intense. I eventually got through, but this is a definite foreshadowing of a bigger issue when the game launches in March.
One of my first sights in Rift
The world of Telara is a beautiful one. The graphics used are of a more “real world” style as opposed to World of Warcraft’s cartoon style. I have always preferred the life-like graphical style, so I was definitely pleasedwith what I saw. My computer was able to handle it very well. It has an AMD Quad Core processor with an ATI 5770 video card. I couldn’t max every setting out, but I could darn close to it and still get very good frame rates. The only time I experienced major slowdowns were during rift events.
Broken castle with a rift in the background
Speaking of rifts, they are a major feature of the game. The barrier between Telara and the planes has been weakened, which allow rifts to occur across the land. Rifts are unmistakable because they are large and can be seen from a long distance. Once a rift opens, bad guys pour out of it, and it is your job to take them out. Failure to close a rift can result in an attack force gaining a foothold in your area, which will rampage across the land, terrorizing everyone they come across. If you are successful in closing a rift, you are rewarded with various planar currency, experience, and items.
A rift looms ahead
Another big feature in the game is how the Soul system works. Souls are subtypes of your class. You can use three souls at a time. For example, if you chose to be a Warrior when you went through the character customization, then you can pick among various warrior soul types. You could choose to be a Paragon, or a Riftblade, or a Champion. Or you could be all three things at once. There are many different types of souls to choose from, each with different skills. As you level up, you get points to put into your souls, which allows for a large amount of combinations to play with. To me, this is the biggest reason this game is so interesting. The possibilities are virtually endless!
I found the game to be is very good shape for being in beta test. Not once did I find any glaring or game-breaking problems. The game client never crashed on me. Everything ran very well. They have some class issues to work out yet, but overall, the game is very polished. I have high hopes for this one.
So, that is a quick summary of my early days of testing Rift. I can’t wait to play in the next beta event, which will start on February 4th. I hope to see you there!
Read MoreRift Beta 5 invitations are going out right now
Yep, for those of you waiting to get into the next Rift beta test, your wait is almost over. Trion began emailing them out tonight and everyone who is eligible should be getting their invitation within the next day or so. They are also emailing out VIP keys to select people. These keys can be used up to 25 times each, so many more testers are inbound! So get downloading and I will see you in-game on the 25th!
Bite of the Worgen
As the only person on earth to not play World of Warcraft’s Cataclysm expansion, I figured it was finally time to see what all the talk was about. I decided to start from scratch so that I could experience all the new content. I picked a Worgen mage and entered the game.
My first view of Gilneas
My very first sight was of Prince Liam Greymane giving orders to his troops. I soon learned that the city of Gilneas was under attack by rampaging Worgen and that I was needed to help in its defense. I was given a quest to go kill some Worgen, so off I went with staff in hand.
Worgen's attack
After I had dispatched some baddies, I was tasked with gathering up some crucial supplies by locating several boxes scattered throughout the surrounding area. I also had to rescue some frightened citizens from their homes. After doing all I could to help the situation here, I was sent on to the Military District to receive further instructions.
The king wanted me to find a man named Darius Crowley, once considered a traitor, but now needed to help fight off the invaders. Along the way I found my class trainer and received a new spell – Arcane Missiles. This spell is a little different from the version prior to Cataclysm. With the new version you must cast another spell before Arcane Missiles will be available. I found it to be a bit annoying after being used to casting it whenever I wanted.
King Genn Greymane
I found Crowley and some of his men guarding a wounded man. They needed help holding off the attacking Worgen for two minutes so that they would have time to bandage him. So, for the next two minutes we fought off several waves of Worgen. There were plenty of them but they were easy to kill. Even so, two minutes seemed a very long time. After the attack was over, Crowley sent me to a basement where a stash of big cannons were hidden.
My fate awaits
See that guy in the picture above? Josiah Avery is the man responsible for turning me into a Worgen. He attacked upon my arrival, and before I could kill him, he had bitten me. Lorna Crowley and her two dogs came to my rescue. She then gave me one of her dogs and had me find and kill invisible Worgen. The dog was able to smell them out, so he led me right to them.
The rescuers
After that, they needed someone to lead a large group of Worgen away from one of the main gates, so the King gave me his own horse to attempt the deed. It was quite the ride.
Ever feel like you're being followed?
Upon complete of that crazy ride, I soon learned that I was bound to repeat it again. Crowley had his cannons in place and needed help getting the enemy in range of them. I jumped on the horse with him and away we went. I was tasked with throwing torches into groups of Worgen, which would get their attention so that they would chase us. It was a very fun exercise.
Now that the enemy was in front of the cannons, it was time to see the fireworks. Crowley ordered me to take control of the cannons and kill 80 of the attacking Worgen. I was able to turn, raise, and lower the cannons so that I could aim them at large concentrations of the enemy. I also had a great time doing this.
Cannons standing ready
Unfortunately, the cannons could not kill them fast enough, so we were ordered to fall back to the cathedral that was behind us. They soon broke through, however, and we were attacked on all sides. This is where it turned bad for me. The bite I received from Josiah Avery was a Worgen bite. It quickly began to affect me and I soon turned on my friends and attacked them. The last thing I saw before blacking out was of Worgen flying in from the windows to kill everyone.
I had become a Worgen.
Human no longer
I was impressed with the Worgen starting area. I was very engaged with what was happening around me. Everything I accomplished was fun to do. The mad dashes on horseback and the firing of huge cannons enriched the experience and pulled me in. I had a great time. I hope the good experiences continue as I delve deeper in Cataclysm.
Read More
The dark side of gaming
Addiction to video games can be a serious problem. It is bad enough if you are single as only messing with your own life, but when you are a mother of six, things can deteriorate rapidly. That is what happened to a woman in Pennsylvania. She became so addiction to online games that we did not feed or clean her kids. They slept on mattresses with no sheets or covers and they were filthy. You can read the story by clicking here.
In my younger years, I played Everquest every single night for hours at a time. While I would not say that I was addicted to it, it was a major part of my life for four years. Most nights I would rather play the game than do anything else. My attitude towards gaming has changed drastically since then. I now play at a very casual pace.
Gaming addiction can be as powerful as any other. Just like with drug or alcohol abuse, it can lead to a person putting others in harms way. This story is a reminder that we must be careful with how attached we become to video games. Real life must come first.
Read More