Game Review #2 - RF Online

Rising Force, RF for short, is perhaps one of the best mmorpgs I have ever played. Unfortunately, due to the failed attempt to renew the contract with the Korean main branch, RF Online will be shutting down for both North America and Europe on November 10th, 2008. It is very sad to hear the destruction of such great game. Nonetheless, I believe this game still deserves to have a review. Who knows, maybe another company will run RF Online in due time. If such thing happens, I will be sure to return to this game.

Now, what makes this game so unique and special? This mmorpg is the very first mmorpg which I played that has strong emphasis on the player vs player system. The game evolves the pvp concept to a much larger scene and ultimately motivates player to continue to play. Everyday, there will be 3 wars, known as Chip Wars, between 3 races: Accretian, Bellato, and Cora. The winner of CW will receive not only a race buff while causing the other two races to receive negative buff, or debuff, but they will also gain the advantage of mining in the core for materials that ultimately will be transformed into fortune until the next CW.

Due to the awesomeness of this game, I have created and played nearly every single class in all three races. So therefore, I am quite an experienced player ^_^

The Accretian race, acc for short, is a robot race which has stronger raw power in terms of damage and defense. Their race special is the launcher, available to all acc players. However, only the Striker class will be able to use launcher to its maximm potential.

The Cora race, the elf looking race, place much emphasis on its ability to use magic. Their race special is their animus, or summons. Only Grazier, a branch from the spiritualist tree, and specialists are able to summon these handy creatures to aid them in battle. However, specialists' animuses are smaller and have weaker functions as oppose to the real animus summoned by the Grazier.

The Bellato race, the futuristic dwarves, is my personal favorite race to play. Their ability to pilot Massive Armor Unit, MAU for short, is the race special for the Bellato Race. However, only the Armor Riders, a branch from the specialist tree, is able to pilot them. Nonetheless, Bellato possess much potential and is a race greatly underestimated due to their size.

The main money eater in this game is potions. Potions can cost anywhere from 500k up to a skyrocketed 3 mil for enough potions for a grind run. This may cause some difficulty when trying to save up money, however, this really depends on the player. I did went through some difficulties in saving up money as the game progresses due to the fact that monster damage constantly increases as if your new high level armor has no meaning, forcing players to purchase expensive potions. It is not hard to guess that eventually all players will have to grind to make money.

Each week, there will be a public election for each race to nominate their race leader and archon councils. These special players will obtain special race buffs as well as several other benefits. However, this system, although interesting, often causes turmoil and political scandals within the game. Thus, disrupting the general peace within the race. However, I do love this unique election system.

As the game progresses, player will have be exposed more and more to players of different races. Thus, increase the chances of being killed on site. This predatoring behavior often causes frustrations and complaints within the race. Eventually, such resentment transform into motivation for players to become stronger and taste the sweetness of revenge. Ultimately, RF became more of a political game than a regular mmorpg.

If not for the fact that RF is going to be discontinued, I would have still stick with it. It is really a shame that such great game is destroyed due to some failure in negotiation. Nonetheless, I do hope that this game will return in the near future with lots of promises that this game is currently providing to the Asia continent. Rest in peace, RF Online, for you serve me greatly as a valuable source of entertainment.

Rating: 8.5/10 - a very delicate and awesome game with contents.

Grind: 5/10 - some people may find it grindy. Personally, I don't find grinding all that bad in this game because you have to constantly scan around your map for potential raiders and dangers.

Fun: 9/10 - With the conflicts between the 3 rising powers of the universe, you will never be bored.