An In-Depth Review of
RuneScape
A Ten Ton Hammer
Browser-Based Game Review
By Cody
“Micajah” Bye
July 9, 2007 -
In the world of MMOG reporting, there is a constant focus on games
developed for the “premium” marketplace; games that
feature a stand-alone client, a fully realized graphics engine, and
have marketing employees promoting in-store retail versions of their
games. Titles like World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, and Age
of Conan dominate the vision of much of the industry, making it seem as
if they are the biggest fish in a small sea.
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Reality, however, is a far cry from what gamers are often
exposed to. While World of Warcraft reigns supreme in the Western MMOG
markets, it has a contender for that top spot, a game that boasts
several hundred thousand players on its servers at any given moment.
No, it’s not a full-scale premium MMOG. In fact,
it’s a game that can be played with any Internet browser that
supports Java on even a very low-end computer. The game in question is
RuneScape, which was originally produced by Jagex Ltd., a small,
UK-based development team with a minimal work force. Now, according to
href="http://www.greenfieldscommunications.co.uk/releases/screendigest_200307.pdf">Screen
Digest’s 2006 MMO Market Report, RuneScape is the
closest competitor to World of Warcraft, and the
href="http://www.jagex.com">Jagex Ltd. team has
grown to around 300 employees.
With these sort of numbers, it would be a shame to continue
ignoring RuneScape like many of the MMOG websites have, therefore Ten
Ton Hammer put their managing editor, Cody
“Micajah” Bye, on the task of getting to know the
world of RuneScape and determining why the game has developed such a
huge following.
Is that a LEGO Mini?
Initially, accessing RuneScape is an incredibly easy
experience. Since the game is browser-based, there are no hour long
installation times. Instead, a player merely needs to create an account
and fire up the RuneScape client, which is clearly labeled at the
game’s official website. After doing this, the game will
download a few files (which shouldn’t take very long, even on
a slow connection) and then you’re ready to begin your
adventures in RuneScape!
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Making a character is as easy as selecting your hair,
clothes, and features.
When you first enter the world of RuneScape, it’s
best to remember that the entire game has been developed to run through
an Internet browser. That said, the graphics in RuneScape are
incredibly basic, with character that are a cross between a LEGO mini
figure and the style of Asheron’s Call in the late 90s. While
that sounds a bit harsh, it isn’t entirely intended to be.
While the presentation may be slightly drab, it’s not jarring
to the eyes and that’s all that matters in game
that’s meant to be played on a variety of computers. To be
honest, the graphics don’t take away from the gameplay in
RuneScape at all, and visually are not harsh on the eyes.
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our RuneScape Game Page.
