RF Online
RF Online Much like DC Universe Online, RF aka Rising Force Online was released initially as a paid MMORPG gaming service. It is now a free to play game much to the delight of millions of MMORPG gaming fans out there. Its player base was not huge enough to sustain as a paid service and not many people were playing the game back when it was first released in 2006. It stayed as a paid service until 2008 when developer CCR decided to relaunch the game shortly after as a free to play service.
A benefit about the game being rereleased is the fact that gamers can now experience a high quality made video game without paying a cent. RF Online offers excellent graphics and high production values that are rarely seen in most other free to play MMORPG games. The graphics still look great, although some might say they look a tad outdated when compared to more modern MMORPG games like Wizards 101 and DC Universe Online. Nevertheless, many people wont care too much considering you do not have to pay to play and enjoy the game.
One thing I liked about the game is that it is one of the few games out there that actually includes a cinematic introduction video. These were common back in the day but have sadly gone missing in recent video games. If you have played games such as Modern Warfare 3 or Uncharted 3, you would have noticed these games just immediately greet you with the main menu. The introduction cinematic is lengthy and great to watch. It looks and sounds like something you would normally see from a Final Fantasy game. Even the song that is used during the introduction sounds similar.
Soon after you have viewed the excellent introduction cut scene, you have to create your on screen avatar and the type of character you want him or her to be like. There are three distinct and diverse races you can get to be in RF Online. These include the Bellato Union, Holy Alliance Cora and the Accretia Empire. The Bellatos and Coras are your typical humans and elf like characters. The Accretia Empire is arguably the best type of character in this game as they are huge robot like characters. The only downside to being these guys is that they are all males. There is oddly no females in the Accretia Empire.
After you have chosen who you want to be, you can alter their appearance and choose the type of fighter they will be. The classes you can be are: Warrior, Ranger, Specialist and Mystic. Warriors are great for close ranged combat while rangers are good at fighting from afar. The other two classes specialize in magic attacks.
Finally with all that out of the way, you can then enter the futuristic world of RF Online. Before you can even touch a single button, you now have to undergo one of the longest tutorials ever created in a video game. Not only does this game teach you the very basics of its controls, but even talks about the games settings. It will take you a good 10-15 minutes to go over the games mandatory tutorial. I like games that have tutorials but I prefer when they are integrated into a specific mission and not just all at the beginning in one entire block.
Finally getting past the lengthy tutorial, you are then ready to play RF Online. Gameplay wise, combat can be quite fun. Although it uses the typical point and click combat system we have seen in lots of other MMORPG games, you can use other skills which you can map onto your keyboard. Different classes will have a varying move sets so be sure to choose the right skill for you class type or your attacks will not work. The more of a specific skill you use, you can level that skill up and become more powerful.
One thing I did not like about the game is the lack of direction. One of the first missions is to kill 10 monsters from outside your headquarters. The only thing the game told you is that this specific type of monster is located just outside the headquarters. This may seem like easy instructions to follow but they’re not as nobody tells you that the headquarters is really huge! Not to mention I stumbled across a warp gate and ended up getting transported into another area littered with some powerful monsters I was not supposed to battle yet! In the end, I eventually found the monsters I was looking for but the map did not show me the way as the game does not include a waypoint.
One thing that will appeal to some gamers is that you can access some pretty awesome and powerful weapons early on in the game. Even if you are a beginner in RF Online, you can have access to some of the games most powerful weapons without even needing to level up for hours on end. Some people might disagree with me on this, but I feel it is a great way to encourage more people in playing the game. After all, not all of us have the free time to level up.
RF Online is a high quality MMORPG game that has great graphics and enjoyable gameplay to boot. For some people, the visuals may not be as flashy as more modern MMORPG games, but for a title that was released originally in 2006, they still hold up pretty well in 2012. It is also great that RF Online is science fiction based as most other MMORPG games are set in the past. All in all, RF Online is one title MMORPG fans should definitely check out.
