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Runes of Magic Review for PC

Runes of Magic Review for PC

Expectations Happily Exceeded

Sure it’s free, but what price must we pay for freedom? Well, in the case of Runes of Magic, that all depends on how much time you have on your hands. This massively multiplayer online RPG is available to players for free. That’s right; but there can be some costs involved. Notice that I said “can be.” You’re under no obligation to pay for anything in this game, but you’ll have to be prepared to spend a lot of time with it looking for things and acquiring skills, a process that could be truncated by purchasing various aids. And by “purchasing,” I mean with real money, not ivory skulls or floating bananas.

Runes of Magic screenshot

It’s always a great day when you get more than you expect, and such is the case with Runes of Magic. As a free download, my expectations were not high, and that just comes with experience. Typically, free games lack production values from the graphics to the storyline. Runes of Magic will change your perception of free games. It’s a damn good game from tip to stern and all points in between. The only real issues are the lack of promised content, since the game was officially released (as opposed to the beta version) as a pay-and-play concept. Let me remind you that the game is entirely free to play, if you want it that way.

According to the developers, virtually everything that you can purchase can be found or acquired in-game for free. The items that are not available in-game are things such as furnishing for your crib and other accessories, which have no affect on the gameplay. There are those that are suspicious of this form of merchandising. Some think players will be able to buy their way to the top. The developers assure us that this feature is only to help level the playfield for weekend warriors that don’t have the time to devote to acquiring such elements in-game. Let’s face it; the developers have to be able to generate revenue to keep a game like this alive. That may explain why much the promised content was not available on the game’s release.

Runes of Magic screenshot

Ravenfall is a seaside port that was supposed to be unveiled during the worldwide release. It’s an area purported to be teeming with pirates and rife with high adventure. Perhaps the developers (Runewaker) need more capital, or it just wasn’t ready in time. The game is being translated and in the process of having the characters Western-ized from the original Asian version. It’s also promised that new content will be made available every four or five months. Only time will tell, but for the time being, you’ve got nothing to lose and everything to love about spending some time with Runes of Magic.

Runes of Magic is comprised of a series of quests, so far more than a thousand, with more to come. You choose a character and a class, along with a sub-class, and immerse yourself in the mystery surrounding a long-forgotten magical empire. In the process, you will do battle with various monsters, solve puzzles, locate items, dungeon-crawl, collect cards, and craft various items to enhance your abilities and weaponry. Comparisons to World of Warcraft are inevitable, and if you’re ever going to be compared to another game that would be the one. There is plenty to do in Runes, not just a lot of mindless grinding to level-up, and it all seems rather well balanced at this juncture. I hope that Runewaker can sustain this level of quality.

Runes of Magic screenshot

There are six main classes and sub-classes to choose from for a total of thirty different class combinations. The classes include mage, knight, warrior, priest, scout, and rogue. Once you level your main class to 10, you will proceed to the revered city of Varanas where you will select your sub-class. The gathering skills will allow you to collect wood, herbs, and minerals for production.

Runes of Magic screenshot

Utilizing the six production skills of carpentry, cooking, alchemy, blacksmithing, tailoring, and armor-crafting, you can create a plethora of items including potions, clothes, weapons, and protective armor. It will take a long time to collect and produce things if you don’t plan on making some actual cash purchases, but as I mentioned, there’s a lot of appealing quests in the game to keep you interested.

Refined customization of items can be enhanced and hastened by the use of the Arcane Transmutor. This feature allows you to acquire attributes from weapons and armor and blend it with other items. You can purchase gold or diamonds with real money to access the Transmutor, or you can complete the 10 daily quests to acquire the juice for the use of the Transmuter. You are not forced to level-up at any time, so you won’t necessarily feel pressured to part with your hard-earned cash. Just know your place and don’t try to take on any characters with too high a level. The same goes for player-vs.-player servers where you might feel the need to level-up quickly to get in on the action. You will receive items for successful kills, so take your time and savor the slaughter before you reach for your wallet.

Runes of Magic is a deep game, but it’s very user-friendly for beginners – large arrows will literally point you in the right direction if you need them. In addition, a more subtle radar system will help you locate loot, villages, and NPCs. I never really felt lost in the game, as much as I felt as though I was exploring new territory. The control system offers both point-and-click with the mouse or various key commands. It’s a natural-feeling system that you adapt to using the shortcuts for popular moves. There are some excellent panoramic views of valleys, mountains, desert wastelands, forests, and sprawling cites. The map is huge and very nicely detailed, but there are some work-in-progress issues such as seemingly unfinished regions, inappropriate sound cue activations, and some poor translations.

By all indications, Runes of Magic is only going to get bigger and better. Although it’s available for free, if you love the game, you should feel obligated to support the developers by visiting the Item Shop. If you’re a purist, keep in mind that you can purchase items that are purely cosmetic. Consider that your price of admission to a wonderfully enchanted world.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.1 Graphics
Large map with good details. Some unfinished regions are present. Great character models. 4.4 Control
Point-and-click with the mouse is easy to learn, but you soon adapt to key shortcuts. 2.2 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Uneven audio. Missed cues and random triggering of sounds. 4.5 Play Value
Lots of quest variety. There’s always something to do. 4.2 Overall Rating – Great
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • Free2play, no monthly fees, free download.
  • Dual class system with switchable primary and secondary classes.
  • Instanced and persistent dungeons.
  • Dynamic item system: Upgrades with hundreds of runes.
  • PvP system (Player vs. Player duels).
  • Housing: personalization with individual furniture for players and guilds.
  • Scalable user interface based on the users flavor (development of own add-ons possible)
  • In-game map and radar system to find dealers, resources, and quests easily.

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