Some new, some old all done right from the moment you open the box.
Rift is not a ground breaking experience, it dosen't reinvent the MMO game but it takes elements of popular games and then rebuilds them and sets them up for you (the player) in a package that is as mentioned solid and ready to play out of the box. So why is that so important? Well if you're like me and you've played most MMO launches since MMOs started you'll have trouble remembering a launch that wasn't bugged, broken, or just plain painful on a gaming standpoint. Its sad to say that most MMOers automaticaly believe that when a game is launched it automaticaly will some how be broken and need lots of work in its first few months to become the "game it should have been at launch." Far to many MMOs this year have taken that into mind, the largest bieng the PC launch of FF13 which was nearly unplayable in the sense that it had nothing to do. Rift on the other hand will surprise anyone in the fact that it is totaly playable right out of the box. The game is solid and has all the features and experiences you've come to expect from other games like WoW, WAR, and Guild Wars.
So other than being a complete product what does Rift offer its players? Well the short answer is Rifts... it offers Rifts. Rifts are where the game truely shines and why it is that I still play it. Its an amazing experience to a Rift invasion of a total zone. The sky blackens or changes color and large ammounts of monsters spawn forth from rifts throughout the zone. From that point on its upto the players in the zone to defend their hubs and then go out on the hunt for rifts to try and close them to prevent more invasions.
So what is wrong with Rifts? Yes Rifts dose have some issues, in my opinion the world itself dosn't feel as alive as it could. You're a member of one of two factions that dosn't truely control land, rather they are an entity on a mission to convert others and defeate their foes be they Defiant or Guardian. The problem with that is you don't truely feel like the people you are aiding are "you're fellow citizens of your faction" but rather are people you're trying to impress to join your faction. The world is in complet disaray and the faction you chose is trying to unite the various governments under their banner, so its more like you're on a crusade or a conversion war. On the other hand this faction standpoint is very uinque in the gaming world and is a breath of fresh air, just it wasn't what I expected. Lastly Rifts dosn't bring a ton of new concepts to the MMO universe so if you're looking for a ground shattering experience you might not find it.
Overall Rifts is a solid, fun, MMORPG that you can dive into without worry that some bug will kill your fun. On the other hand it won't shatter your idea of what an MMORPG should be, but then again it dosn't seem like RIfts was trying to do that in the first place.