Enter the RIFT

So this is my Rift Review. I'll address what I think makes the game good, bad, and unique with a lot of in depth points. So let's get to it, shall we? 

I've been playing the game for a total of 8 days now, and believe i have experienced a lot in the game itself, and with all this under the belt, it's time I voiced a good opinion on the game.


Factions
The first thing I note about the factions, is they actually make themselves feel alive. Before the Shade and Regulos' reemergence, it's possible to believe that at some point in time that the two factions were just one wide planet with some key differences, and then they had their two radical splits. This is different then most MMO's where everyone hate's each other for the sake of it, while here everyone hate each other because of this great disaster and the sides chosen

Races
Each of the six races on Telara have their own unique feel to them, and while not many, their racial buffs get to the point and save a lot of the unneeded 'well this is nice, but this doesn't fit' factor. And unless you're an RP'er, or you really hate the ideals of a faction, you can base your race on what you want to do, with the racial buffs seamlessly fitting into place.

Character Creation
This is one of the THE best character creators I've seen in an MMO, in fact the only thing better I could think of is the creation depth of Dragon Age: Origins. Though I do with there were a lot more markings and many more hairstyles. 

Starting Zones
While from a flavor perspective, and the sake of telling the story, I can see why everyone gets the same starting area. However one of the few things that I did like about WoW was that everyone got their own starting area. While doubtful, I am hoping that when the game is released, everyone does get their own starting area, and the Future Story is something special for the beta testers. 

The World
Short of that feeling that everything starts out seeming like other MMO's, it has a very unique feel to it. The random appearances of Rifts drastically changing the environment around them is a real boon, as it's always fun to have one open up right on top of you. As you move along in the world, it starts to feel less and less similar, and more like it's own unique place.

The Classes
Much like all games, you get your set of classes, and what makes each one unique isn't so much the base class as the different souls you can combine. I've never seen a game have such depth in simply taking your character where you want. Want to be an effective healer AND an effective tank? it can be done. Want to fight from long range and teleport? It can be done. Self healing DPS? It can be done. The amount of different combination given by the soul trees is amazing, and it's one thing that I feel will keep the game fresh for quite some time. 

Graphics
The graphics will require some people to get upgrades, but I feel that the age of making games for everyone's graphics are coming to an end. It's visually stunning to see the game on high settings, and if you really intend to shell out for this game, i suggest a graphics upgrade. The animations are well done, though narrow. This isn't a bad thing, since when you take a look, most MMO's have between 5-10 animations that they reuse with different flares for uniqueness. 

Crafting
There's not much for me to say about crafting short of it feels like most MMO professions and that I haven't done much with my professions due to simply enjoying the game itself. It feels very Warcraft, where I personally prefer the Crafting on Final Fantasy XIV.

Conclusion 
After playing Warcraft (2 Years), Final Fantasy XI (6 Years) & Final Fantasy XIV (6 months), I can say that this is so much of a refreshing change to me. WoW was fun, but it seemed so forced to someone like me, who generally didn't like it as much as the kids do. Warcraft is very cartoon-like, and is soooooo easy. Even my 10 year old has a level 51 character!! And he has only been on Warcraft for 8 months. Final Fantasy XI & XIV are the complete opposite of Warcraft. Leveling is hard, Crafting is hard, and in Final Fantasy XI, getting a party together is almost impossible nowadays. Final Fantasy XI & XIV makes you earn everything, where Warcraft gives you everything.
I have high hopes for Rift. The graphics are 2nd only to Final Fantasy XIV, and the gameplay is easy to pick up like Warcraft, but I feel everything is not fed to you on a spoon like Warcraft.

Although Final Fantasy XIV will remain my number 1 MMO, Rift now overtakes Warcraft in number 2.