A great online adventure (Runescape)

Member Name: rachelkanga

Product:	Runescape
Date:	20/02/05 (2632 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great fun and easy to play, Lots to do , Free

Disadvantages: No real point, Have to pay to get more quest opportunities

This is probably an unusual choice for me as I do not play role playing games very often but I came across this on a online free play games site called www.miniclip.co.uk when trying to find some online children’s games in the school holiday and unfortunately became slightly addicted.

~What is Runescape~

Runescape is a 3D online environment, a world full of wizards, goblins, and imps. You design your own character and complete quests and skills to make the character stronger in order to be able to take on more powerful monsters and receive greater rewards. All the other characters that you come up against are other online users also playing like yourself, they are also trying to complete the same quests and collect the same items, and it possible to start wars against them.

~How to Play~

When you arrive at the first screen you are given the option of logging in as an existing user or setting up a new account. Obviously if you are new to the game you need the new user account. Click the Play Game button under New User and you are taken to a screen where you will need to select a username. Any name to the maximum of 12 characters is acceptable but you will have to check for availability. Once you have found an available name you will be taken to a second screen where a list of Terms and Conditions are listed which you need to agree to before you can play. If you agree to the Terms and Conditions you are then taken to the Choose a Password. This can be anything from 5 - 20 letters in length and a mixture of letters and numbers is recommended. Once you have created a password you are sent to the final screen which confirms that an account has been created for you and you are then prompted to start by pressing Play Game button.

From here you get another option as to whether you wish to play game in High Density for which you need a computer with a minimum spec of 128Mb Ram + 500Mhz CPU or in low Density for which you need a computer with a minimum spec of 64b Ram + 300Mhz CPU.

When you have picked the density of the game you wish to play you are taken to a long list of different worlds which you have the option to join. They are in country order but you do not have to play in the country in which you are based, just remember the language of players before joining.

The game should then start to load. You will prompted again to input you username and password here as this is where the game begins and before was only the sign up process.

All new players are sent to Tutorial Island, a place where you get to learn the basics of what Runescape is all about.

You must first design you character and there are a number to choose from. You can change the head, jaw, torso, arms, hands, legs and feet and then change the colour. Once you have your character you can start to learn how to play.

A Runescape guide will talk you through everything that you need to know and how to do it. As you walk through you will realise that there are chests, cupboards, cabinets, desks etc containing items that you can pick up and you keep them in your inventory. You need to get used to how to pick things up so it worth practising in this area.

The first guide you meet will be the Survival guide who gives you a bronze hatchet and a tinderbox. The first task will be to cut down a tree. If you take your time here you can actually improve your woodcutting skill quite quickly.

Once you have practised chopping down trees and lighting fires you are given a net to try catching shrimp in the pond and once you have done this you will learn how to cook the shrimp on the fires.

Once you have complete your survival training you need to find your next instructor who is the Chef. He will teach you how to make bread. He gives you a Pot of Flour and a Bucket of Water.

You will also learn about the music that you will be able to play at this point. After completing this part of you training you will head out of the door for the next guide. You will be introduced to actions her and shown how to run which will enable you to get round the world much quicker although it will tire you out quicker.

The next guide is the Quest Guide. You will discover that there are 18 quests which you can complete as a free player but to complete all you will have to join and pay a fee. The quests are all written in red as they are un-started. When you start a quest they turn yellow and when completed they turn green.

The next guide is Mining and Smithing. After you have prospected the rocks to see what you can mine from them, the guide will give you a bronze pickaxe. Once you have collected both tin and copper ore you will be told to use the furnaces to melt them together to make a bronze bar. The mining Guide will give you a hammer to enable you to make a dagger using the bars you have made and an anvil.

The next guide you will meet is the Combat Guide who will teach you how to tackle the various monsters that you are going to come up against in the game. Firstly he shows you how to wield the equipment that you find. He then gives you a bronze sword and a wooden shield and you can go into the pit to tackle the giant rats. Once you have practiced this task you leave and speak to the guide again and this time he will give you some bronze arrows and a short bow to enable you to fight from long distance.

Once you have completed the combat section you leave the cave and return to normal world and are outside the Bank of Runescape. Here you get the opportunity to store items that you have picked up throughout the game. This is a good idea as you end up with nothing should you die unless you have stored the items in the bank.

Once you are happy about storing items in the bank you move onto the next guide who is the Financial guide. He tells you that there are three ways to make money. Combat, quests and trading.

a) Combat - enemies will drop things when they die and it worth trying to collect them as they do.
b) Quests - Many people require things doing and they will reward you for them.
c) Trading - by improving your skills you are able to make items which you can then sell on to make extra money.

The next Guide is the Priest. He will tell you how to use prayers to help you in battle and what you need to do in order to boost your prayer levels. He will also tell you about the friends and ignore lists which you can make to tell you when people you like or dislike are playing.

You then move to your final instructor on Tutorial Island. He will teach you about Magic. He will give you some Air Runes and Mind Runes. You need to collect the runes throughout the game in order to be able to cast spells. You will get the opportunity to try out a wind spell on some chickens to see how it works and then you will be transported to the main land and the start of the game.

There is a world map on the runescape website to help you find your way around although it is possible to find a map during the game. It is important to talk to other players as they may be willing to trade items with you as you will only start with a few basic items mainly those which you have been working with in the tutorial.

I am not going to tell you how to play the game, where to go or which quests are the easiest to do as you can discover that for yourself, whatever level you are at you will be able to complete various quests and improve constantly on your skills.

Remember to cut down trees, light fires, catch fish, and fight monsters as this is the only way your skill levels will improve.

Final Summary

Runescape is the best online game I have come across and never ends. Unfortunately there is no reward for completing the game and there is no real aim to it, as you decide what it is you want to achieve yourself. As I mentioned it started as a quick look and I soon found it competitive and addictive. If you have friends that you can play against you find yourself becoming competitive in a bid to be stronger than them and it is good watching your character improve and you feel a real sense of achievement when you finally complete a quest.

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