RuneScape... An MMO that has been around for many years. Lots of people love it, even more hate it or so they say. How bad can it be when millions of people have accounts and there are usually over 100,000 people playing it at a time. I think the reason it is so liked is because it is a browser based game that does not require any downloads, but this classic RPG still has its qualities that make it rise above many top games.

Let us start with the good things about RuneScape. It is free (unless you want to upgrade to an account with more features), playable on any computer with java, has lots of action packed adventuring, and there is always lots of new content being added. The quests in RuneScape are some of the best that I have seen in free MMO’s. They are special, not just kill 10 of these- or find this item. There are big storylines to them and you figure out what you have to do for the quest as you go along and the storyline is revealed. All your quests are also handily available to see in your quest-book and the book shows where to start them. RuneScape is a very easy game to start off in thanks to a private area for noobs, called Tutorial Island. This Island will teach you the basics of the game before sending you out into the real world. Yes, Runescape may not have the best combat system, but there are tons of skills to train. Attack, Strength, Defence, HitPoints, Mining, Smithing, Fishing, Woodcutting, Firemaking, Cooking, Crafting, Runecrafting, Magic, and Ranging, are just some of the skills available to train. This allows you to become strong in one skill and gain rewards such as access to certain guilds and skill capes for maxing the skill. As your skills improve, the things you can do with the skills rise in number. The game being around for a long time has quite a number of in- game items. The amount of items increases dramatically for members (paid accounts) but there is still a good amount for free players

However, on the flip side, RuneScape also has its cons. Probably the worst thing about RuneScape is its graphics. Your characters head is pretty much a blob of colour and outfits are sketchy. They have recently improved the graphics of the layout and landscape- but I can’t stand having a “blob” character. RuneScape can also get unfair with all the hackers and bots out there. It is so easy to run scripts that there are people who max a skill without even playing much. RuneScape also lags unbearably if you are on a computer that isn’t that fast (like mine!). There is the downside of membership too. Almost all the updates now are for members and membership costs $7 a month. If you have the money then it is a whole lot funner (yes, I know that isn’t a word).

My verdict for RuneScape is it is a great game, with bad graphics. If you are more interested in the content than what things look like, and you don’t want to download a big file. It is also great for big community where you can meet fun people and friends. Some good advice is to beware of spammers and scammers. Definitely try it out and see what you think. It even has an amazing innovative music system with hundreds of songs to help pass time!
These are my views on the game and I hope you share the same. So put on your clothes and head off Tutorial Island on RuneScape.


Review by Chris, Freemmogamer.com - Posted Mar 9, 2009