Rift: Free To Play Model Coming Soon

So it's been announced recently that Rift will be coming onto the free to play format, much like almost all other MMOs after a certain amount of time (exceptions including Eve and WoW).

This needs to be a very careful undertaking however as we have seen the free to play model crash and burn for games in the past. Yes, there's no subscription, but how is it best to implement factors into the game so the developer can still earn money?

A personal no no for me is buying quest packs, we saw this in LOTRO and I don't think it works too well. Ultimately this kind of DLC means you can't progress without investing (much like paying to be able to go into different parts of the world, or to be able to level up).

I hope Rift does adopt a winning scheme (Guild Wars 2 is testament that it can be done, but I guess that was made from the ground up as a non-subscription game, that could make a difference).

Going free to play can either make or break a game. I guess we'll find out (I'm sure it'll be fine!)

My Top 10 Games..

Ten games is quite hard to come up with. Games that come immediately to mind are:

1. Burnout Revenge (multiplayer was the best I've seen in a game to date, its just too bad it's not a popular game anymore.
2. Broken Sword.
3. Discworld
4. Super Mario: All Stars
5. Tomb Raider (although very much dated now.)
6. Half Life (series)
7. Rift
8. Simcity 4 (yet to play the new one)
9. Far Cry 3
10. Guild Wars 2 (subject to change)

From this, I feel I hold a lot of nostalgia for games gone by. What are yours?

MMOs: What Is The Best Character Class?

Whether you want to be a Rogue, a Warrior, a Mage or choose from many other options, what is the best one to choose?

Is there actually a preferred one, or has each got its own merits and downfalls? Does it matter what game you are playing (for instance in some games, there is the option to undertake class customisation, rather than be restricted to certain elements purely because of your class.)

An experienced MMO player would of meddled with some, if not all, the classes on offer to see what each one is like. Are Warriors and Mages all there cracked up to be.. or is the priest/healer class just as riveting?

Personally, my favourite class at the moment is the rogue-like class, with the ability to deal damage from afar but still have sustainable armor and also a companion to help you in your travels (speaking from Rift).

Rant: Logging Into Guild Wars 2!

I have been trying to login to Guild Wars 2 this afternoon, and it would not let me login. My first assumption was that this was due to the fact that I had not logged in for a month or two and I had forgot my password (although I was certian I had it correct).

I clicked the 'recover my account' button and this led to a webpage that was currently unavailable. From this, I then clicked onto the 'reset my password' button, this link was also not working. From this, I then went directly to the website and went through the reset process, after fully entering the serial code from the box, amongst other details, I successfully reset my password.

I tried to login again and it still tells me my details are invalid, both username and password. I could reset it again but id have to enter in the serial code again.

Not to mention the other various times it has asked me to authorise my location because im logging in on a different device, although I don't turn my router off and I use the same computer. I had to disable this function.

Result. MMOs sometimes may not realise how fickle the genre is and due to the wide competition there is out there, it is very easy to move on. I gave up and began to boot up WoW so I can plow through, up to level twenty, to see if I want to get back into that instead.

Games can have security but some are overly done. It is only a game at the end of the day and I find it easier to login to things that should be more secure (like banking), than I do into this game.

Rant over. Thanks for listening.