Trying out the Rift beta!
It's still very crashy, and getting signed in is a chore: It took me a while before I could even get to my character creation screen, then it took me a while before I could sign in on said character, and then the server went kaput while I was actually playing. Hopefully, this will change before it goes live.
Thus far, I'd say that it's definitely in "WoW clone" (or, more accurately, "EverQuest clone like WoW") territory. I didn't get much of a chance to test it out, but all of the play mechanics seem very similar-more so even than Allods, really. I've heard claims that the graphics "aren't as good" as WoW's, and I'd be inclined to disagree. But comparisons aren't as easy as all that, since the color scheme is a lot more muted and the style is less cartoony; more like DDO, to tell the truth. (And it lacks a lot of DDO's weaknesses in the graphics department.)
All in all? It'll probably appeal to WoW players. It may even end up being a worthy competitor once the bugs are worked out (especially seeing how much Blizzard cut corners with Cataclysm). But as a new game without the huge and epic backstory that WoW had, what it's not going to do is "kill" WoW.
And it needs report and ignore functions. You'd think game companies would know by now that the idea that a beta test is for working the bugs out simply does not occur to most electronic gamers. Oh, nooooo...a beta test is partly an opportunity to play the game early (and for free), partly an excuse to be a complete and utter asshat in the absence of any sort of moderation.
Most of said asshattery, by the way, was composed of people either bashing on WoW, singing its praises and white-knighting it, or strawmanning each other.
ETA: Just making sure I wasn't breaking any NDAs. Not actively talking about anything spoileriffic, so I should be fine, but even so.
Thus far, I'd say that it's definitely in "WoW clone" (or, more accurately, "EverQuest clone like WoW") territory. I didn't get much of a chance to test it out, but all of the play mechanics seem very similar-more so even than Allods, really. I've heard claims that the graphics "aren't as good" as WoW's, and I'd be inclined to disagree. But comparisons aren't as easy as all that, since the color scheme is a lot more muted and the style is less cartoony; more like DDO, to tell the truth. (And it lacks a lot of DDO's weaknesses in the graphics department.)
All in all? It'll probably appeal to WoW players. It may even end up being a worthy competitor once the bugs are worked out (especially seeing how much Blizzard cut corners with Cataclysm). But as a new game without the huge and epic backstory that WoW had, what it's not going to do is "kill" WoW.
And it needs report and ignore functions. You'd think game companies would know by now that the idea that a beta test is for working the bugs out simply does not occur to most electronic gamers. Oh, nooooo...a beta test is partly an opportunity to play the game early (and for free), partly an excuse to be a complete and utter asshat in the absence of any sort of moderation.
Most of said asshattery, by the way, was composed of people either bashing on WoW, singing its praises and white-knighting it, or strawmanning each other.
ETA: Just making sure I wasn't breaking any NDAs. Not actively talking about anything spoileriffic, so I should be fine, but even so.