I have been an avid mmorpg fan since I was 12. Sherwood dungeon was one of the first online games I played. Eventually, I was introduced to Runescape, which was only the beginning of my journey, and after almost 10 years, I've seen players come and go, and when I bring up Runescape today, I often hear the question,

"Do you still play Runescape?"

Yes, I do. In fact, many people do. Who hasn't heard of Runescape before?
It's a game that has been with us since our early teenage years, maybe even childhood for some.

It's a game that's 16 years old, that's right, sixteen.

But what makes this game so good?

For a game to survive for more than a decade, there has to be something special about it, something to keep the game engaging and immersive for so long, and I think for Runescape, it's the sheer amount of content and how it's distributed that has kept old players hooked on the game and new players coming in.

Unlike many other grindfest games (Looking at you, Aeria Games) where the majority of quests are focused on killing a reskin of the monster you've been fighting for 10 hours. Runescape offers players 27 different skills to master, ranging from classic combat to fishing, cooking, farming and even complex dungeon delving.

It doesn't stop there. The game is also comprised of 212 quests, which include simple quests about helping to bake a cake, restoring guilds and even traveling to different dimensions and meeting the Elder Gods.

Runescape offers a vast and beautiful world with an almost endless system of skills, quests, bosses, raids, minigames, and the best part of all is that even 16 years after the game launched, it is being constantly updated, with two planned expansions coming out later this year.

The Community

Another of the many aspects that make this game great is its community. They're one of the most helpful communities I've seen in online gaming, very welcoming to new players and returning players alike, and often willing to lend a hand. There's also a lot of interaction between the developers and the player base in social media and in-game forums, which shows the interest and willingness the devs have to listen to the players and their feedback.

If you're an ex-Runescape player, there's no better time to get back into the game than now. If you've heard about the game before but never gave it a try, go do it now. I can assure that you will not regret it.

However....

On the other hand, something that new players often complain about and causes them to drop the game entirely is that barely a few hours in, the game already offers an enormous amount of content. It can be really overwhelming for new players who are not familiar with the world it has to offer. Thankfully, there are two really helpful systems in place to help the newbies get acquainted with the game. The "Path system" which guides the player through the early game after finishing the tutorial, introducing them to more in-depth training techniques and early quests. There are also the "Daily Challenges",  pushing you to further explore the game to complete said challenges, rewarding the player experience or a loot bag when completed.

 There's more! Besides in-game help, there are many sites with helpful information for newcomers, including social media fan pages, a wiki, and even starting guides such as this.

To sum it up, I think Runescape is one of the best MMORPGs out there, not only because of the vast content it offers but also because of its quality, the dev-player base interactions, and as mentioned before, how different it is from many other games in the same genre. If you're looking for a fresh experience, immersive lore, jolly co-operation or straight up grinding, Runescape is the game for you.

The day has finally come: the sequel to the immensely popular free-to-play browser-based MMORPG RuneScape, RuneScape 3, has just been released worldwide.

The MMO, heralded by creators Jagex as "Your Greatest Adventure," features new content and lore, beginning with a player-driven dynamic event called the Battle of Lumbridge. The Battle is one of many whose outcomes, decided by players, will determine the fate of the RuneScape world. The presence of these events is expected to make gameplay constantly epic and exciting.

CEO of Jagex Mark Gerhard said, “Married to the concept of our players determining the future of RuneScape, we believe RuneScape 3 is the most ambitious game ever launched on this cutting-edge future technology and lays the foundation for our upcoming expansion onto tablets.”

Besides its new features, the launch is globally incredible as well: RuneScape 3 is available in five different languages across 190 countries around the world.

“The simultaneous launch of RuneScape 3 around the world has been made possible by the hard work and dedication of our team over the last year,” said Phil Mansell, the Executive Producer of RuneScape 3. “RuneScape 3 ushers in a new age for players in terms of user-driven content, story, gameplay and technology, and we couldn’t be more excited for them to write the next chapter in RuneScape’s epic saga."

Though the sequel has received several significant updates across the board in its switch to an HTML 5 engine, RuneScape 3 is expected to continue to appeal to its massive amount of fans gained over the course of more than a decade.

Gerhard said, “Since launch, more than 220 million RuneScape player accounts have been created, we’ve developed 12 years of regular content, and the game is still growing. With the launch of RuneScape 3 we are looking forward to welcoming new and old players alike back to the magical world of Gielinor.”

All interested players can sign up on the game's official page to play today.

Think back to the turn of the century. Arguably, if you were steeped in video game culture by then, you'd most likely remember the popular MMO RuneScape. Heck, you might even still be playing it.

Well, developer Jagex Ltd. has announced the next big overhaul to the game since 2008, RuneScape 3. As mainly an engine improvement, current players won't need a brand new account. The game will utilize HTML5 and webGL for smoother running and enriched graphics. People with older PC setups are still free to use Java if that's their preference. All fans will be able to play it by Summer 2013.

Jagex has promised to expose more soon, but they've made the video above to report the basics.

Thanks to Massively by Joystiq & RuneScape.com