Just wanted to say first that I just found this section of the forums, it's awesome and with any luck ill pop out quite a few reviews, it's not every day a company lets you even post about other games on their forums, so thanks guys!
Now, why runescape? Because I have seen 2 "reviews" on it that aren't actually reviews, followed by many posts including misguided and out of date information that noones corrected. I'll start by quashing those misguided comments in the other two threads then followup with a review.
Zyrex wrote:"it seems that there has been a moderate drop of online players each day after they took out wildy and added the 3000 gold rule."
Response: While this was true initially, and for a time after, the game itself seems to be recovering with a new era of players who never knew the wilderness, along with those who never utilized it. You must also take into account the slew of bots used to generate in game cash for RL trades, which i'm sorry to say is a very very high number. It may be so that they game has actually been growing quite a bit, which isn't readily visible to the players.
A lot of players:"Runescape sucks"(or something along those lines) ...Please state reasons, although they may be obvious to you.
Zageros+many others in some form:"They will not come out with a RS 3 that is high on graphics because they took a poll and found out that alot of players player RS because they can't play anything else. "
Response:They ARE and will have a new major graphics update up in a month including fullscreen. The old settings will still work, but the new ones are definetly looking at an extreme improvement.
Prolific:"Best PK system ever though"(refering to wild)
Response:The wilderness was removed from the game.
============Runescape===========
Runescape is a 3d browser based mmorpg which uses java, but can also run standalone through it's browser based client. Runescapes positive defining qualities are it's ability to run on very low end computers. It's extremely frequent updates which are always adding new content (up to once a week). The result? Another strong defining quality of not only a high amount of content, but a slew of skills to train in, being runescapes most defining quality, and probably the thing maintaining its popularity more than the fact it can run on low end systems. While most mmorpgs today are rushed into beta, and right back out with no skill system short of combat skills, runescape deilvers in non combat skills, giving those non fighters something to do. It also maintains a very large player base which can be good for players to find those people they actually enjoy talking to (especially on it's popular fansites). While admittedly there are many bad seeds as with any online community (and probly more so in this game) there are also plenty of good ones among them. So for players wanting to train up all those unique skills and learn to do, and create different things in game, it's definetly worth trying.
Ok I admit..some take it too far.
On the other hand...
I have listed runescapes positive qualities now it's negative. As I mentioned previoussly Runescape houses a very immature player base. What else is wrong? The skill system I mentioned is monotonous, and once you've explored, discovered, learned the game, participated in many of the quests, you'l find yourself doing the same thing over and over.
The lack of a PVP system. What was once a PVP anywhere if you chose to be a pk turned to pking in the wilderness only for those who wanted, followed by the removal of this completely leaving a lackluster pking system driving many players off. Their active stance against real world traders has failed to eliminate the real world traders while causing side affects like the removal of a free PVP system. So no PVP, i'm not a PVPer what else is wrong with it you ask? Well the combat system period is ancient, it's basically a click to attack, and you watch numbers go up as you and your opponent/monster do dmg to eachother, if your hp gets low simply click a piece of food and heal. As you can imagine this gets old very very fast. In this day and age where most games feature nothing but a combat system this game definetly does not cater to your average fighter. That in itself is one of the two major downfalls of the game, without the sophistocated combat system players demand, all thats left is playing with all those skills I mentioned.
What is the other major pitfall I speak of? The graphics. Now i'm not one to bash graphics, I don't mind bad graphics. The problem isn't the graphics so much as the fact that your forced to play on such a small screen, it'l leave you feeling like your playing on your cell phone leaving you feeling with a somewhat empty feeling as you realise your playing on a tiny box in the middle of your monitor. The positive? They're going to impliment a new graphics mode soon including fullscreen, as well as improved graphics. Will they suffice? You decide.
Click here for full size image
I personally see it as a major advancement the game has needed. The other being that pesky combat system I mentioned, including revamping of PVP.
Bottom line? If your curious, give it a month and wait for that graphics update. Give it a chance and play it for at least half an hour after you finish the tutorial. Theres a lot more than meets the eye. Who knows, you may find yourself enjoying the quests, and learning all the skills it has to offer. On the other hand you may find yourself bored of the combat system quickly. Just remember to try both along with 1 or 2 quests before discarding it completely. If you have no interest in the game at this moment, don't waste your time. I mainly reccomend it for people curious about different methods popular games use to attract their players.