RF Online

RF Online is a massively multiplayer online game that combines elements of fantasy and futuristic sci-fi. Create custom characters by choosing one of three races, including the Accretia, a race of technologically advanced cyborgs; the Cora, a spiritual and mystical race that harnesses the power of magic; and the Bellato, who use their engineering skills to operate machines and mech units. Engage in large-scale player-versus-player battles as you fight for control of the Novus galaxy.

I have to say that I'm inherently biased towards most games that have Transformers in them. RF Online (Rising Force Online) does not have actual Transformers in it, but it does have a race called the Accretian Empire that do look a little like Transformers. So of course, when I got the game I decided to play as them. The Transformers are pissed off at everyone because their home planet is out of resources. They've tried to go out and get more, but the compassionless peoples of the Holy Alliance Cora (Elves) and the Bellato Union (Humans) are fighting them. These evil bastards are blocking the Transformers from getting the resources they need for survival because (presumably) they're jealous of their awesome swords, metallic bodies, and skills with the ladies.

So yes, that means that RF Online is another in an endless list of MMORPGs that have been released since EverQuest popularized the genre. Now, as fun as creating a character might sound from my awesome introduction, the actual character creation mode is light on options. For my Transformer, I could only manipulate his eye color, body type, and a few other minor (very minor) cosmetic details. Even worse, all of the starting skill points are allocated for you, so you can't customize your stats in any way when you start (like having more health, less stamina or more stamina, less force power). There are also only five classes to play: warriors, rangers, wizards, specialists, and dual classes. Most of those are pretty self-explanatory, but specialists are good at producing goods and supporting other classes during battles. Personally, I chose to play as a warrior because I don't think Transformers should mess around with making things and the like (sadly, the Accretians do not actually transform until very high levels that I have yet to attain).

After my brief tinkering with the character creator, I was finally dropped into the world and was treated to a slow-but-helpful tutorial on how to move my Transformer around and most importantly how to kill things. Moving is simple and involves you clicking somewhere and your character walking towards that waypoint. It can get a little tricky at long distances because your character has a tendency to get stuck on things, so you have to monitor it constantly, but it works well with the third-person perspective. Killing things in this game is also straightforward. You just click on the things you want to attack and then your character automatically attacks them. To keep things from getting stale, my Transformer had some sweet combat skills and I was instantly glad that I picked him because he swings his sword around with an entertaining finesse and grace that actually makes watching his automated attacks interesting. These skills grow more powerful as the game goes on and are super-strong, but you can't rely on them all the time because you only have a small skill pool.