Hooked

Nerdgasm to follow:

So when I first got Rift it was just cause Chad was pestering me to try it, and I figured I was pretty bored on the weekends anyway since Ryan moved so I’d give it a shot.  I did not expect to get into it much, I thought I was done with MMOs.

Wrong.  I am hooked to this game.  It feels like the first game to do MMOs RIGHT since WoW.  And it’s learned from WoW and other MMOs along the way.  It has the best of WoW, Warhammer, Aion, etc all in one with beautiful graphics.  And it does a few new things really well.  The fact that you can have 3 “roles” and re-spec on the fly out of combat is great.  And the rifts are awesome.  Rifts open up throughout the world and they’re like mini raids / public quests. 

It was a free-play weekend so Chad and I convinced Brett and Linda to give it a shot and they’re now seriously considering picking it up too.  Over the weekend we all played together and it was a ton of fun.  Facetime on iPhone is an awesome addition to gaming together! 

It just seems everyone is at a weird time in life where they have a lot of free time.  Chad doesn’t do much on weekends other then spend time with Olga, Brett and Linda are biding their time until they move to Vancouver, and I have a lot of free time on weekends now that Ryan has moved.  It lets us play without any guilt!

Today Chad and I did our first instance.  It was hands down the coolest instance I’ve done in an MMO to date.  It starts in summer and as you progress the seasons change.  At the end you’re climbing a mountain in an insane blizzard where you can barely see in front of you, adding to the epic feeling and sense of confusion.  Incredibly well done instance, and it was only the first.

The world is beautifully done and the graphics are amazing.  The game feels amazingly polished and balanced, especially when you consider it just came out and from a no-name studio!  There’s always something to do as well.  Plus my friends are playing.  Not just close personal friends, but friends from BioWare and Longtail play too.  I think I’ll be playing this game for a while…  In fact, I’m considering getting a new PC next month to run it better.  My PC is 5 years old, it’s been time for a new one for a while, and I can afford it.  But it’ll have to wait until after I pay for my wisdom teeth coming out and then my plane tickets to and from Winnipeg for my Dad’s wedding.

It’s exciting to be into an MMO again.  Forgot how fun they can be.
Nerdgasm over.