Back from Rift....

[Abriael]

...just that the reviews on the Japanese sites were not a iota more favorable.

I actually read quite a few of those, and they were, while critical and rightfully so, much less disfavorable.

Unless you consider angry 2channers as "reviewers"... Experience teaches me that those don't hold much credibility.

The game is nowhere near perfect, but it's definitely not as bad as some make it out to be. It has quite a few redeeming features (that most biased reviewers very conveniently ignored), and the attempt to innovate a completely stale genre is something I can definitely applaud and support.

Maybe it'll be a long term innovation, but if it works, it'll be worthwile.

Comparing a game with the plague is way overdramatic and hyperbolic, so I don't think it warrants further comment.