Rift is a fairly new MMORPG with gameplay much like WoW, WAR and EverQuest, but with a bit more complexity and options in both your character choice and gameplay. There is a fairly nice balance of complex and simple gameplay so the newer MMORPG players don't get too confused and for the veterans of the genre to feel challenged.
The game starts off very simple, you first create your character out of four classes (Warrior, Mage, Cleric, Rogue) but as soon as you enter the starting zone and begin questing you get three souls (basicall your skill trees) you are free to choose your souls out of the 9 provided for your class which quickly gives you a sense of diversity as you separate yourself from the pack. You can basically build your character any way you like and have many diverse combat options to switch between.
Although this system gives you tons of customization it can also get very confusing even for experienced gamers because with all the creativity its easy to at first end up with a very mediocre character, but as you figure it out you can really make a very unique and versatile character.
As for the name Rift it is named for the rifts that tear open the sky in random locations on the map and spill out monsters for you and your fellow gamers to battle and in turn close the rift. This feature adds a bit of surprise to the game as you never know when you will encounter one and how strong the monsters will be. This gives a little bit of dimension to the static questing and grinding.
As for the gameplay, this game looks and plays beautifully, it definitely has the graphics to stress most mid-high end video cards as well as a very polished combat and movement system that you will fall in love with if you familiar with other MMORPG combat systems that feel very stationary and glitchy as well as how difficult it can be getting from place to place due to geographical obstacles.
This game is by no means revolutionary or even particularly new it just takes things from previous MMOs and makes them better even the whole rift system is just a better version of the public quests found in WAR. However it is well worth a try if you are in the market for a new MMO or if you are like me and need something to kill the time as you wait for D3 and GW2.
