I downloaded and installed Runes of Magic over the weekend and it set a record with me. It set a record of being the game that lasted less than 5 minutes on my hard drive. I have never seen such a blatant copy and paste of WoW in my life. Everything from the character creation to the graphics (…kinda…) to the UI….all of it completely ripped off of WoW.
I know that some of you have tried it and may even like it, and that’s fine. For me the experience was completely negative because everything that was presented to within the first 5 minutes was waaaaay too familiar. Yes, I realize I’m supposed to get rid of that “executive” gamer in me, but my gawd…this shouldn’t count.
I’m sure that if I got past all of this that there are some unique elements to the game…like the duel class system. How can anyone expect to get to those features when these guys didn’t even try to create their own unique experience right out of the gate? They didn’t…even….try to create a different UI! A UI!!!
Fail.
D out.
Entries (RSS)
February 3rd, 2009 at 12:27 pm
This game was on my hard drive about 10 minutes. It was such a blatant rip off of WoW that I almost laughed for at least 3 minutes straight. The buffs, the moves, the classes, EVEN THE STARTING AREA look like Goldshire.
I guess if you want a WoW clone with crappy combat animations and rehashed environments, then this is your game since it is free. I was really let down by this one.
February 3rd, 2009 at 12:36 pm
I have not played this game at all. But every one rips off UIs people get pissed if they cant play a game quickly and sticking to a UI that people know is a way to keep them from getting pissed. Now with that said. The game art and every thing I have read about it sounds like a direct ripoff of WoW. Just free. That may work with the downturn in the economy. A lot of people will be looking for a WoW replacement after the new expansion wares off.
February 3rd, 2009 at 12:47 pm
lol… Because of TR I have a free play of Lineage II.
That pos lasted 5 minutes also.
February 3rd, 2009 at 12:55 pm
And people wonder why F2P games have a bad rap outside of Asia…
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:21 pm
While I hvae not seen Runes of Magic yet, I find it funny that you are so down on it for copying WoW when you are heavy into LOTRO now. I bought LOTRO at launch and was kind of put off by it because of how similar to WoW it was, especially UI wise. I am now back into the game thanks to the Moria expansion and wanting to check all of that out, and I can really see how the game has grown to have the playability of WoW, but with enough features that make it compelling on its own.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:36 pm
@Rob
I argued this many times when LOTRO was released. But the UI is a direct rip off AC2 (A turbine Game). I even made an image to demonstrate the similaritys it has to ac2 http://mmogchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/ui-comp.jpg. Sorry this is just a pet peeve of mine. WoW was not the first to do really any thing they just did it better then every one else. Well maybe the quest indicators that might of been new.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Yes, the game is quite similar to World of Warcraft in spirit and some part of the UI and graphics. I think that may potentially attract more people than drive them away and I guess that is intentional. It is not a bad game and do work for some casual play every now and then.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:49 pm
I will admit Rob has a point. I think Darren is more drawn to the community and setting of LOTRO however. Granted, a lot of bloggers avoid WoW like the plague then go and hop on a game that is just like it. Odd yes? I don’t really have anything against LOTRO other than the ugly interface and boring combat. Playing LOTRO is like walking through an MMO on Valium. As opposed to WoW where it is like a giant room of preschoolers hopped up on Mountain Dew.
Runes of Magic however is really LIKE WOW. I mean it is almost like they don’t even try to hide it. I think some are missing the point of his post. We are not talking about MMO mechanics here. What Darren and I are speaking of is it literally LOOKS JUST LIKE WOW. Even the buttons on the radar and the text look the same.
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:48 pm
It’s free, what do you expect? I think its taken a lot of good, and some bad, aspects of many games and mashed them up. Big deal if it looks like a clone. I think its pretty shallow to let that get in the way of at least giving the game play a shot.
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:22 pm
Yes…Hudson is correct. When I say “looks the same”, I mean that in a very literal sense.
Pure laziness if you ask me….and no one really does
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Darren, haven’t you heard that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?
But really, I think there might be something to riffing on something people are already comfortable with.
February 3rd, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Alright..I’ll take the hit and try it out tonight more in depth. Maess has a point…I’M GOIN IN! Cover me..
February 4th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
[...] that only villains with twirly moustaches and stovepipe hats ought to do at the notion that an MMOG fails because it didn’t come up with a fancy new take on the user [...]
February 5th, 2009 at 6:58 am
“Granted, a lot of bloggers avoid WoW like the plague then go and hop on a game that is just like it. Odd yes?”
No, it isn’t odd. Not when other MMOs have a much better community for that particular person. Note I said ‘that particular person’ — I didn’t say all the communities in WoW sucked, I didn’t say all the communities in other games are awesome, so hopefully enraged gamers won’t come crawling out of the woodwork.
In my case, I just found that I liked the attitude, atmosphere, and overall feel of the community on the EU-RP Laurelin server of LotRO much, much better than the communities of Argent Dawn RP, Doomhammer PvE, Defias Brotherhood RP-PvP, and Outlands PvP servers of WoW COMBINED.
February 5th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Ok I have posted my thoughts about it after actually giving the game more than 10 minutes and judging it a little harshly.
February 7th, 2009 at 11:40 am
I customize my UI so heavily that I could really care less what the UI actually looks like. Hell I don’t know the last time I played with the default UI. I do feel like I’m becoming a martian among the gaming community and bloggers. I want to see and experience good content. I want to have fun without EARNING my way via some second job in-game grind. That is all and that is it.
The rest of it is just non-sense now – epics, UI is or isn’t like another, cloning, rip offs. WAR went off and intentionally didn’t copy WOW on some basic UI elements and guess what? WAR had some of the crappiest UI behavior I’ve run across in a long time. Initial mail system was EPIC FAIL. Auction House close to an EPIC fail. Bags/inventory awkward and different without bringing any value. Different has to bring a value add or it’s a waste of development time and player timing in learning the “something different”. I want to know when MMORPG got away from being about experiencing content in a genre specific context that is enjoyable and rewarding?!? I’m seriously starting to think people have lots their minds and lost sight of the purpose of playing games. Either I’m crazy or all of you have gone crazy. Depending on the day my opinion on who is actually crazy changes.
February 7th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
I’m not sure how “looking like x” equates to a fair assessment. Are you implying that WoW wouldn’t be fun, no matter how the game was changed?
Bah, you know what you’re right, you should just discount anything that looks similar to another game. Forget Diablo 3, it looks just like D2.
February 9th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
So its Wow with new quests and storylines that’s free. I suspect it will be more successful than some of the more original games that came out in the last two years. Reading this and the comments is kind’ve like listening to a bunch of actors complaining about how bad the popular TV shows are.
February 10th, 2009 at 8:59 am
[...] Unlike Runes of Magic, Atlantica lasted about 2 hours on my hard drive before being uninstalled. At first, I liked Atlantica Online…but not for reasons you’re probably thinking. The character creation I hated. It was typical Anime “everything must look feminine” bullshit that you typically see (…gawd…I LOATHE this art style…). Actually, I did a little experiment and quickly switched between a male and female character and besides a dress, there was no difference to my eyes. I’m just personally wondering when Asian MMOs are going to grow a pair and put in strong male characters that actually look like they are strong. It’s ok guys. It’s ok to have muscles and facial hair. Really. [...]
February 11th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
So you formed an opinion in five minutes eh? =P disqualified yourself as a reviewer there. Ya it is control wise very similar to a mix between wow and the witcher by some strange method. Although I played it last night for about an hour and actually found it quite entertaining. I have been looking for something that allows me a little more freedom in character like i had back in the old asherons call days. This looks like it might give me a little of that, if they can fix the weird animation stuttering anyways. You should of called your blog “theselfrighteousgamer”….er never mind thats already taken…/elitist on
February 12th, 2009 at 6:08 am
You know WoW doesnt really do anything opriginal either, and is just a rip off of various MMOs before it right?
To knock another game because it copys WoW is just stupid.
March 6th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
ROM goes beyond just having an almost identical UI as WoW….. even the animations, and models seem uncomfortably identical. PCs and NPCs alike shift their weight and scratch their yawn just like humans, gathering and skill animations are EXACTLY like those in WoW… I cant help but feel like someone got their hands on the guts of WoW, and quite literally reskinned the while thing.
March 6th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
sorry about the typos there…. little keyboard, clumsy fingers!
March 19th, 2009 at 9:58 am
[...] first really took note of the game Runes of Magic when Darren complained that it was a complete rip-off of World of [...]
March 22nd, 2009 at 11:53 pm
I couldnt get into Wow from jump. And yet I enjoy RoM…it possessed an ease of character movement, and the controls were similair enough to CoH to make it easy for me to move about. As for it being a rip off, imitation is a greatest form of flattery, or so they say. For what its worth I find the community friendly and helpful. Something I havent experienced in a free game before. And the graphics are nice enough to hold my interest. ((I hate the cartoonish graphics that seem the norm for FTP games with a passion))
June 4th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
And WoW ripped off EverQuest. Why does everyone seem to think MMORPGs began with WoW?
July 30th, 2009 at 4:23 am
hey people, can i just say that i have been playing runes of magic for about 4 weeks now, and after playing wow for 4 years and lotro 2 years and lineage II for 2 years, i gotta say that YES rom is very much similair to wow, but for FREE??? surely no-one can complain at that?? the only ones complainin are thos who have wasted there time grinding with wow and building an empire and now those using rom which is wow for free are as smug as anything and ex wow players are just jealous that they have been paying for something, that if waited a few years would have got for free …. like me!!! give this game a good 4 weeks and i guarantee that you will be hooked. thankyou, shaunieboy™
August 25th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
it might be a ripoff but at less it is free and u dont have to wast youre money awy
November 6th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Bounty Bay Online gold was hot with Bounty Bay Online in China, that you can buy Bounty Bay Coin, so many people will useBounty Bay Gold, but in each kind of Bounty Bay Online you still can useBbo gold.