First Impressions of Rift: Planes of Telara

Rift: Planes of Telara looks interesting but the proof will be in how it plays, and whether enough players will pay a subscription fee for yet another MMO in the medieval fantasy genre. The similarities to World of Warcraft are pretty obvious. The differences from WoW are subtle but important. The models of characters are much better conceived and more intricate than the WoW models. The landscapes are more in keeping with the dark fantasy ideal than WoW, which strays into futuristic diversions from medieval times. Rift offers much more choice in character talents, with at least four specializations to select after the original class selection. For example, a player selecting Warrior as a class can specialize in at least four different areas: Champion, Reaver, Paladin or Warlord. More specializations are expected before launch. The talent interface is remarkably similar to the WoW interface, but it has more talents that depend on previous selections. The game is now in beta, and is expected to launch in 2011.