Reviewed by Tiffany Craig
“Factions fight heroically in a world scarred by battles for dominance. There is one person capable of fulfilling their race’s destiny but will they realize the path that lays before them?” So movie voice over man would say if Codemasters had hired him for Rising Force Online. Your journey is solitary and filled with strife, or the kind of classic story that makes a hero. But is the struggle for the resources of Novus a glossy popcorn blockbuster or a new wave Truffaut-esque classic?
RF Online happens in a sci-fi society where three opposing factions; The Cora, Bellato and Accretians fight for control of a planet’s resources. Each faction has distinct traits they bring to one of the many wars in a hope to win Novus’ ores.
Holy Alliance Cora is comprised of lithe elven creatures with very little armor. They are magicians and spiritualists that can draw mighty spirits to battle on their side. Their headquarters is straight from a fantasy wonderland; with long sweeping plains, curves and many silver sparkles brought out by beautiful and richly detailed graphics.
Bellato Union look like a combination of real and Anime people wearing formal shorts. They’re engineers who create giant battle Mechs with a little magic. Their headquarters is greedy, yet equal, with even the smallest of NPCs referred to as ‘Citizen’.
Accretia Empire is in stark contrast with both other factions. Their headquarters is located on a bleak part of Novus only decorated by a few sad little trees. But who needs water and foliage when you’re a cyborg? The Accretians follow and respect logic, complete devotion to the empire and a code of very little personality. These devotions leave little room for houseplants. They achieve the ability to transform and siege through enemy defenses.
Factions only interact in contested areas and are never on the same side. The most common conflict is during the hugely important Chip Wars. The Haloscene Keeper, the protector of the Crag mine, gives favor to the victor for 8 hours. The triumphant then receive a significant economic boost from primary access to the mine and its ore. The other factions can still mine during periods of dominance but won’t have as much as the winner. But getting to the raging conflict and experiencing all of the awesome stuff is a lesson in solitary monster killing or ore gathering. You’re left alone to the tedium of hacking monsters to quota whilst chugging healing potions purchased at the friendly neighborhood NPC merchant. At least it’s easy to get up there eventually.
Interaction with other characters and players during early days will come from the Map chat, trading or invitations to join other players during quests. In the Map chat, there is unsurprisingly, a lot of LOLing and dubious creatures trying to purchase or sell valuables with irritating amounts of posts. It is a useful tool if the occasionally lackluster game instructions leave you in the middle of level 26 monster territories when you’re a little level 4. The higher you are and the areas you frequent will influence your character’s interactions. When you’re around monsters that are more difficult then, someone may ask you to come and join their party to give them a hand. It’s a way of making questing more bearable with the incentives socializing, cooperation and tactics. Guilds are around but groups of players already acquainted and higher levels tend to dominate, probably since you have to be a level 25 to start one of your own. The Codemasters’ forums have an extensive list of what is available on what server and the types of characters they’re seeking.
Low level tasks also allow ample time to figure out controls, shortcuts, inventory and how to use your journal. The tutorial does explain, but if you want to get straight into things then making practical sense of it whilst killing Young Flems works as well. Character movement and targeting is point and click, with heavy use of function keys for skills and regeneration aids. But often times you’ll face the old difficulty of running past whatever monster you’ve targeted because you didn’t stop. During higher level battles, this running can make the difference between starting on full or at a huge disadvantage.
There are some added issues with AI and environment during monster battles. Often non-aggressive foes will disconcertingly walk right through you. Throughout you’ll find that you can’t run away without changing perspective because the piece of landscape is a part of what you’re fighting, or you’ll have difficulty keeping a perspective on your fight because you’ve been merged at the groin with your enemy target.
The music of the world is a combination of thumping marches while you’re out completing quests or soft melodies for your downtime. They’re neither intrusive nor completely in the background, so they blend in for a good mix. Monster sounds vary between the comical and just plain useful. It’s good to hear the spitting sound of a Ratmoth so you don’t wonder why your hit points have suddenly taken a dive.
Ultimately RF Online may feel like a good popcorn flick. But if you suddenly found yourself with nothing in your pantry except for bags of buttered microwave popcorn to eat for a month and no way of getting any extra food, then you may grow tired of it. Perhaps you wouldn’t like popcorn as much as you once did, perhaps the very sight of it would make you long for a table full of sprouts.
More variation in early quests and higher level battles could massively improve enjoyment of this game. Like too much popcorn, sitting for long stretches and clicking on the mouse button can be dehydrating and boring. The difference is some very neat treats at the bottom of this particular bag, making them the reason most keep playing. For the time being, RF Online is more of an adventure in Sylvester Stallone’s back catalog and less an in depth retrospective of Laurence Olivier. Good for a big shiny laugh but may not survive the test of time.
Special thanks to Sam Cordier and Codemasters for providing a copy of this title.