The worst thing about Runescape
Over a decade ago, two brothers working out of their parents’ house in Nottingham set themselves the impossible task of building their own graphical multi-user dungeon, a genre that later evolved into the MMOs we know today. RuneScape launched to the public in 2001 as a low-res browser game with only a few hundred players and 2-D sprites for monsters, but several years later it boasted over a million paying monthly subscribers. The 2007 Sunday Times Rich List even estimated the Gower brothers’ business empire to be worth over ￡113,000,000, due almost entirely to RuneScape.
Return to Canifis is set six months after the events of Betrayal at Falador, which saw the evil Lord Sulla defeated and disfigured at the hands of Kara-Meir. The seven heroes of Falador have since gone their separate ways, with Kara-Meir, Garrth and Arisha heading off into The Wilderness to track Sulla and Werewolf Jerrod, whilst Wizard Castimir, Dwarf Doric and Alchemist Ebenezer have returned to their homeland.
However be warned that getting to level 99 in ANY skill will be difficult and requires patience as well as dedication. When fighting monsters that are aggressive, turn on Auto Retaliate for an easier training experience. (and just to be safe!) Prifddinas is a giant skilling hub, a place where high level players can theoretically go and virtually never have a reason to leave. There is a ton of content, from pick pocketing elves to finding hidden titles, unlocking pets and other rewards, and I have only managed to scratch the surface.
Before I talk about gameplay, let’s discuss the worst thing about Runescape first – the graphics. Even during its original release, the graphics of the game were quite bad. Nowadays, although the graphics have improved, they are still far from being the best. Not exactly awesome, is it? To be fair, this is low res. The HD quality graphics are somewhat better. Also, customization is excellent. No two characters look alike since there are tons of different hairstyles, costumes, and equipment.
RuneScape 3 is due in the next few months, and it’s the biggest change to the game – for players and Jagex alike – since that time. “Every few years we want to do something really big, really special, something that’s a significant step forward,” says executive producer Phil Mansell. “We want to make a big improvement to the game on every single front.” In order to shore up the game against changing web standards and to enable Jagex to take greater advantage of modern hardware, RuneScape has been totally rebuilt for a new engine.
While the Java client will still be supported, the developers have spent the last year working on a new version of the game powered by HTML5. Experience RuneScape, one of the most refined and continuously updated games ever to grace the MMORPG genre. Customize your own character class with 26+ unique skills. Then set out to make your mark on the stars whether through world impacting events or PvP. RuneScape is the game that keeps on giving players something new to discover around every corner for years to come.
Where RuneScape shines is simple accessibility, allowing players to continue their adventure through web browsers. The brevity of solo missions helps, forgiving some of the repetition, and a robust, friendly player community makes exploring the world a joy. It’s easy to see why devoted users invest so much in it. However, for RuneScape neophytes such as myself, a lot of it will feel stilted. Mouse-clicking to move anywhere is slow, and combat feels restrained and boring.