UPDATE: This review is out-dated. Take it with a grain of salt. Maybe a pitcher of salt.

Rift is, in a sentence, the best hardcore fantasy MMORPG on the market. It's challenging, artistically stunning, and offers everything you could want in your hardcore MMORPG experience. The diversity of the soul system ensures that your character is never pidgeonholed into a single role; Clerics of other MMORPGS might be restricted to healing, but in Rift, they can heal, DPS, and tank if they so desire. The only thing your character is restricted to is a "calling," but within each "calling" are 9 classes, and at any given time, you can multi-class up to three of them. While it has little to offer in the way of players who enjoy casual or fluff gaming, Rift is truly the #1 hardcore MMORPG of this decade.

UPDATE: This review is out-dated. Take it with a grain of salt. Maybe a pitcher of salt. Rift is, in a sentence, the best hardcore fantasy MMORPG on the market. It's challenging, artistically stunning, and offers everything you could want in your hardcore MMORPG experience. The diversity of the soul system ensures that your character is never pidgeonholed into a single role; Clerics of other MMORPGS might be restricted to healing, but in Rift, they can heal, DPS, and tank if they so desire. The only thing your character is restricted to is a "calling," but within each "calling" are 9 classes, and at any given time, you can multi-class up to three of them. While it has little to offer in the way of players who enjoy casual or fluff gaming, Rift is truly the #1 hardcore MMORPG of this decade.